High Stakes Poker Season 7 already here. We have new players, a controversial new host, and a new location. It's easy to see that things have changed this season, but have they changed for the better?
The loss of durrrr is definitely sad, but there is a silver replacement. Dwan has a big impact on table dynamics and the show definitely goes differently without him.
Instead of these sharks, we were given whales. Robert Kroak, Phil Ruffin and Bill Klein are all very rich, so we get a lot more authentic high stakes dynamics.
Real-world games of this level are usually built around a few wealthy players willing to give up an edge in exchange for fighting the best players in the world. This is exactly what is happening here.
Around them are professionals such as Doyle Brunson, Antonio Esfandiari and Barry Greenstein. This is a game that can take place independently of the television cameras.
Host - Grade: C +
Since the founding of HSP, Gabe Kaplan has been the man behind the microphone, but that era has come to an end. Norm MacDonald is now in this area. People are not happy.
The peculiarity of Norm McDonald is that many people simply do not think that he is funny. I mean, he got canned food from Saturday Night Live because one executive watched the show and made sure Norm had no talent and was not fit for television.
But people who love Norm McDonald think he has a great sense of humor. Belonging to the latter group, we quickly jumped to defend Norm. However, after watching two episodes, we downgraded "defense" to "suspension of the judgment." We hope he takes the role because his dry, monotonous style doesn't really suit poker commentary. Kara Scott is great as usual and she raises the letter grade to the full +.
Action - Score: A
The action is one area that passed with flying colors. In the first episode we saw two big all-ins, and in the second we faced the $ 600,000 monster between Barry Greenstein and Antonio Esfandiari.
As much as we love large dollar amounts, they are only half of the compelling poker action. Without interesting lines and strategy, this is just a degenerate gambling game.
So far, strategy has been abundant. From Vanessa Selbst's critical talk with the queens against Phil Ruffin's set to Barry's heroic $ 100,000 bluff, we had no shortage of spoken ammo in the water cooler on Monday.
The whales have money to burn and we hope the first bank makes over a million dollars this season.
Final grade: B +
A lot of people clap their gums saying something like "RIP HSP" and the like. We are here to tell you that the mood is far from the truth.
The show is different, so if fighting Ivy and Dwan was the only reason you tuned in, you need to make some adjustments. Yes, your beloved Gabe Kaplan is gone, but give Norm a chance. He may surprise you.
Finally, with legal whale-based gaming, we're really excited to see who's winning the money. These rich guys are comfortable shedding a million dollars a day. Let's see how the professionals relate to this.