The Joey Del Experience: The Poker Star Episode Two

It had to happen eventually. Poker has hit the reality television circuit. Full Tilt is hosting their Australian Poker Hero show in the near future but PokerStars has gotten the ball rolling with their Joe Hachem inspired reality series The Poker Star which is currently airing on ONE HD. This has become the topic of choice in certain poker circles so I thought I would use this week’s edition to share some of my thoughts on the show.

 I was sceptical about this show initially and had no desire to watch it however a good friend of mine, Donna, is on the show so I gave it a go, partly because I am a good friend and partly because she is hot and the more time one can spend watching her without being labelled a ‘stalker’ the better.

I can’t believe I am saying this but I love it! Some poker aficionados dislike it as some of the players are average at best. However I think this is what makes it great. This is more a reality TV show than it is a poker show. It is targeted at the general public not the poker tragic. So far I think it has been done really well. I just finished episode two in which the task was for the contestants to remain focussed and follow a set of instructions whilst swimming through shark infested waters. One of the girls (Amanda, there will be comments later) was petrified of water and was effected by the whole ordeal. They made her go last so they could maintain maximum viewing time on her distress and when the time came for her to actually complete the task it became pretty emotional. All in all I would say it was great television.

Below are my thoughts on the contestants of the show. It is only episode two and these can and probably will change as the season continues. I just thought they could be interesting discussion points.

Tom

Tom was evicted first so there isn’t much to say. He runs a bar in St.Kilda and seemed like a nice, funny guy. He has an awesome beard and all I could think of was the guy from ‘The Hangover’ movie. This probably added to his comedic value. As he is evicted he obviously has no chance of winning.

Shane

Wow... From his sad little ear ring to his belt buckle that says ‘All In’, this guy was born to put everyone on tilt, starting from the doctor that delivered him at birth to the coroner that will finally put an end to it all. The guy has to either be the biggest moron in the history of the Earth or he is the smartest guy ever. Is he a loser or is he tricking everyone? Time will tell but for now I am suggesting that it is legit and that he has zero chance of winning this thing.

Sally

Sally falls into a grey area for me as I am biased. I have played against Sally before and I have lost numerous pay cheques to the bookmaking business she is associated with. I regard Sally as a solid poker player but she has shown nothing in the first two episodes to suggest that. However she is cute as all hell and this is television. Besides that, Joe seems to hold a soft spot for her. This should buy her enough time to get her game back on track and play the type of poker I think she is able too. If she can do that I think she could make a deep run in this show.

Ron

This guy is a dead set champion! He is sixty-years old and beat cancer last year. I know another poker player who went on to beat cancer. His name was Paren “Puzz” Arzoomanian and he went on to win the Sydney ANZPT event shortly afterwards. Maybe Ron holds the same fate. He has a pretty decent game for an old guy who hasn’t been playing for that long. He isn’t afraid to be aggressive. I hope he goes well and when he is eventually eliminated I hope he tells me which one is his local RSL because he seems like the kind of guy that you would like to sit down and have a drink with.

Martin

The second evicted. A fire fighter by day and a loving father by night is the impression that we were given of Martin. He seemed like a decent bloke although we didn’t see a lot of him. He made one ridiculous call when play was nine-handed. After a raise and then a re-raise all in over the top he called with . This was more than enough for Hachem who sent Martin home.

Katie

She apparently plays full time however we haven’t seen anything to suggest that is possible at the moment. The few plays we have seen her make have been marginal at best. However life isn’t all about poker and she seems to be a very lovely, caring, kind girl. She is also cute but does have one of those annoying overly Australian accents. I am quite happy to stand corrected when I see more of her play but I am afraid that her eviction may be imminent.

Josh

Josh is a young lawyer type of guy and looks about as slimy as you would expect him to look. His long hair may have finally been what I needed to encourage me to get a haircut as it is vomit-inducing. He seems   to understand how to play poker at a decent level, but I don’t think he has the personality or the poster boy looks to make it all the way to being ‘The Poker Star’. He should go far though.

Donna

As I have already mentioned Donna is a good friend of mine so it is impossible not to hold bias. I have played a bit with Donna and she can play tournament poker. She is not the best ever player but she is the kind of girl who will sit down and listen to advice that is given to her. So with the tutelage of poker stalwarts such as Joe Hachem and Lee Nelson there to help, this experience will help her game regardless of where she finishes. She is beautiful, well spoken and a polite person so she could go all the way. I wouldn’t say she is my number one pick but I am still cheering for her!

Chris

This is my number one pick. I don’t know much about him as a poker player but as a marketing tool he is great for the show. He is young, good looking, well spoken and seems like a genuinely nice guy. For the reality television tragic out there he is reminiscent of Ben who won the first series of Big Brother. He sat in the back, you heard nothing of him and then BANG! Winner! I just see this guy on all the posters for season two of this show so I am picking him.

Ben

Uggh...I am shuddering as I think of this guy. I pride myself on being a sexist sleaze. But this guy is a joke. He is downright creepy and disgusting. You know the old guy who buys a sports car and cruises around thinking that he is still 18? That’s Ben. When he talks to the girls on the show he makes me feel like I am a piece of meat! He seems to know how to play poker though and I think he will hang around until the last couple of weeks.

Amanda

I know Amanda, not well. But I have played against her at Crown and I recognise her. However I have never known anything about her. By watching the show I have found out that she is a single mum and has two kids. This was news to me and it certainly helps to paint a picture of the poker room. Everyone at the table seems the same but everyone has their own lives and their own things that are driving them to want to be the best. The thing in episode two with her and being afraid of water brought me very close to tears (This isn’t massive, I cry in about every second movie I watch). It has been nice to see the whole picture of who Amanda is and I hope she goes far.

So there you have it. My look at The Poker Star and the contestants, I am usually wrong with most things in life so I imagine the opposite of what I predicted for everyone to be true. I guess we will wait and see...

Have a great week and best of luck in whatever it is you do!

- Joey Del