Gsn High Stakes

[eboyd21 0]

so i just finished watching the season of high stakes and i have one small complaint.......gabe kaplan is an idiot ......there is a reason he is commentating and not playing. he really said that no limit hold em is by far sammy farha's best game. its a fact all over that farha is one of the best pl omaha players there is. he is also constantly criticizing people's play ....for me it makes an awesome show almost unwatchable.

[dereeekho 0]

I don't mind Kaplan's commentary. There are things to learn from hearing what Kaplan says, and his commentary is fairly accurate too.

[21gambit 0]

so i just finished watching the season of high stakes and i have one small complaint.......gabe kaplan is an idiot ......there is a reason he is commentating and not playing. he really said that no limit hold em is by far sammy farha's best game. its a fact all over that farha is one of the best pl omaha players there is. he is also constantly criticizing people's play ....for me it makes an awesome show almost unwatchable.

Theres also a reason your watching and not commentating. Hes proven himself to be a good player time and again, maybe not world class, but good.My real question is, wtf is AJ Benza doing on there? Sounds like his VH1 true story is on its way.

[etip 0]

so i just finished watching the season of high stakes and i have one small complaint.......gabe kaplan is an idiot ......there is a reason he is commentating and not playing. he really said that no limit hold em is by far sammy farha's best game. its a fact all over that farha is one of the best pl omaha players there is. he is also constantly criticizing people's play ....for me it makes an awesome show almost unwatchable.

Supposedly Kaplan plays with those guys every now and then - he used to play with them a lot 10+ years ago, I think.I'm pretty sure he mentioned Sammy and his Omaha skills at least once. I like how he is criticizing people's play... he usually hits pretty close to home IMO, when he's guessing what the players are thinking about during a hand. I think Gabe makes the show better because he has played with the players before, at high stakes. In fact, Howard Lederer is the only other player I can think of who has played at a similar level and can accurately depict the real dynamics of the table. Can you imagine Chris Rose doing the commentary, or even Michael Konick (or even better -- Norman Chad!!!!)???

[violaman 0]

For a show that has been so innovative in televising a cash game and limiting amateur competition, they sure haven't gotten rid of some of the junky things like Gabe Kaplan. He probably was left in the Golden Nugget closet after last year's NBC heads up championship, but that was no reason to bring him back. I also wonder why both commentators had to have lots of facial hair, is GSN trying to give an example of why high stakes gambling is a testosterone heavy venture, or is it just a real problem for these too buffoons to look as dumb as they sound?I really liked the setup of this show, just like I like the coverage of live at the bike, but changing the comentators before the next season is a must. There are so many good players out there who speak well who could replace Kaplan or that other noname donkey such as any of the players in the game, who could spend a day in the booth. Even tournament folk like Howard Lederer and Nolan Dalla could do a great job. I still find myself forgiving of the commentator problems because the concept is so good.

[srblan 0]

I actually enjoy Gabe Kaplan's commentary. The main reason that he's not playing is that he's mostly a limit hold 'em player, so he'd be out of his element playing here. Kaplan has been a poker commentator for years, he used to do the WSOP...

[The Jackal 0]

I'm not a fan of Gabe's commentating. He seems to be a nice guy, and fairly entertaining at times, but his thoughts on what the players are thinking and doing is very inacurate. The best I've heard commentating is Howard Lederer by far! Every other commentator has no idea what the pros are doing. What I like about Howard is he can still commentate, even though the style he is describing is not his own style. Take the Poker at the Plaza tourney. Daniel plays a very different style than Howard, yet Howard could still give you an idea as to what Daniel is up to. I think it's the next thing to be improved in Poker. Get some good commentators that have a clue about the fundamentals of poker.

[Kaedin 0]

lots of people here seem to love him. I think he sounds like the 100lb 5'3 guy that didnt make the football team, but proceeds to tell stories like he did.The one hand that really chaffed my balls was (i dont remember the hand, but I remember his commentary) where he said:And so and so makes a value bet (he was bluffing), someone raised "and so-and-so makes a value raise" (a value raise? really?) And then finally farha had a OESD and re-raised and Kaplan goes 'And farha is making a value reraise'. Okay, dude, what, was value bet the secret word for the night? I think you've butchered it enough for a life time.

[getarealjob 0]

I agree. The only good commentator I've heard since the renainsance of t.v. poker is Howard Lederer.Just because you play well, doesn't mean you can commentate either though. Negreanu really sucks as as commentator. Most pros would suck. For some reason, Howard is really good because he is extremely articulate and objective in his analysis. He has a kind of Howard Cosell style. Put a non-crass, non-sardonic, color man like that Richard Konick guy with Lederer, and you get a decent poker commentary duo.Gabe Kaplan has a really dry sardonic sense of humor like a guy whose wife won't fu*k him enough. He basically comes off as a guy who hasn't been laid for twenty years. I really hate how he commentates like he's well accomplished and an authority in poker. It devalues a good show. I too enjoy high stakes poker, but the entertainment value is seriously diminished by poor commentary.

[davezz5 0]

AJ benza is pointless.I could look at Gabe, nod my head,look at the camera nod my head, laugh at Gabe's witty quip then say "lets get back to the action". Great.

[jafrey 0]

To take a little from suited-up's way of answering. Kaplan is the best amateur commentator in the history of televised poker. THAT IS ALL!

[canateian 0]

I've really gotten into the show. After the first episode which was basically just raises with junk and continuation bets[which is still better than the wpt all in fests but still boring] the shows improved greatly and gotten quite entertaining

[Dane 0]

The show was getting to be a bore, but then Phil Helmut showed up Man seeing him going allin in a split second with the worst hand was so funny, loved the instant replay action

[fatman 1]

I absolutely love watching the show but can't stand the two commentators. Some of the things they say is just plain stupid. Howard Lederer is one of the best there is at this. If he is not playing he should be commentating.

[Desslock 0]

I've really gotten into the show. After the first episode which was basically just raises with junk and continuation bets[which is still better than the wpt all in fests but still boring] the shows improved greatly and gotten quite entertaining

The show is easily the best ongoing poker show on TV. The WPT has become a joke because of their final table blind structure, and WSOP is only once a year. It's also just refreshing to have a ring game show, as opposed to a tourney lottery. Pretty pure poker.I could also use less Gabe Kaplan though. For those of you who don't know his poker history, he's played in the WSOP championship almost since its inception, back when they had fields of 60 players - he almost made the final table in 1991, and he's gotten 3rd in a couple of ancillary WSOP events over the years - he also was the host of the WSOP coverage on two occasions - 1997 (Stu Unger) and 2002 (Robert Varkonyi), and he made it to WPT final table, as most of you will probably have seen. The dude knows his poker. But there's so much entertaining banter around the table between the players, I just wish the hosts would be quiet so we could hear a lot more of it. Nothing Kaplan could possibly say is anywhere near as interesting to me as hearing Daniel joke with Eli Elezra, or to hear Farha jibe Sheiky, etc. -- that stuff is golden, and I find we miss a lot of it because the hosts are talking over it. Other than maybe keeping us up to date on how much each player has won/lost, I find the hosts' comments unhelpful, only rudimentarily insightful, and just background noise covering up the treasure trove of off-the-cuff comments from the players.

[Dr_Shakes 0]

I think Gabe's analysis is overall pretty good, not the best but good.I do agree he totally made some idiotic comments about value betting when the two people were bluffing!! He has the occasional funny comment but doesn't try to overdo it. I also agree with the poster who wants them to be quiet more so we can hear the table talk, which would be much more entertaining. Overall I give him a B.

[koolromeo 0]

i don't think you'll see a high profile player commentating on a cash game. a player the caliber of Howard Lederer may be afraid his image would be damaged for commentating and not playing. lederer and helmuth usually do commentary after they bust out of a tournamnent.

[Hatchet 0]

lots of people here seem to love him. I think he sounds like the 100lb 5'3 guy that didnt make the football team, but proceeds to tell stories like he did.The one hand that really chaffed my balls was (i dont remember the hand, but I remember his commentary) where he said:And so and so makes a value bet (he was bluffing), someone raised "and so-and-so makes a value raise" (a value raise? really?) And then finally farha had a OESD and re-raised and Kaplan goes 'And farha is making a value reraise'. Okay, dude, what, was value bet the secret word for the night? I think you've butchered it enough for a life time.

I think he was being sarcastic

[Actuary 3]

I think he was being sarcastic

he was.nothing is funnier than people missing sarcasm.Gabe's 50x better than Mike Sexton.

[Kaedin 0]

he was.nothing is funnier than people missing sarcasm.Gabe's 50x better than Mike Sexton.

Im a pretty sarcastic person myself, and it sure sounded like every one of his other 'Im a serious poker player with serious poker knowledge' comments. But then again, who am I to say what he was thinking, when I have you two, who obviously know him personally, to tell me.(As a matter of fact, Im pretty sure he explained why he thought it was a value bet, I dont think it was sarcasm, I think it was idiocy. But those that think Kaplan is the greatest thing since sliced Norman Chad will probably defend him no matter what)

[CobaltBlue 662]

The value re-raise comment was definitely sarcastic.

[Kaedin 0]

The value re-raise comment was definitely sarcastic.

By the time he got to the value re-raise, he might have been joking, but I dont think he was joking the first or second time, and his comments were clearly misplaced.

[etip 0]

By the time he got to the value re-raise, he might have been joking, but I dont think he was joking the first or second time, and his comments were clearly misplaced.

.........Go back and read about Kaplan's poker history. I'm *pretty sure* he knows what a value bet is.If that doesn't convince you, watch that show again.He was *clearly* being sarcastic. Humor is usually a subjective thing, but it's almost black and white in this case. Stop trying to defend your point just because you can't take losing an argument.

[Balloon guy 158]

I've said it before and I'll say it again;"Gabe Kaplan MADE John Travolta"He rules.Only better commentator is Norman Chad..the best there is.You people that want Howard to explain why things are going on need to recognize that the shows are dumbed down for a reason, most viewers aren't hip enough to know how to play hold em, let alone whats the difference between a check and a call.AJ is eye candy for the female arab viewers from New Jersey.I'd like to see more drink girls covered though

[suicideking 0]

I've said it before and I'll say it again;"Gabe Kaplan MADE John Travolta"He rules.Only better commentator is Norman Chad..the best there is.You people that want Howard to explain why things are going on need to recognize that the shows are dumbed down for a reason, most viewers aren't hip enough to know how to play hold em, let alone whats the difference between a check and a call.AJ is eye candy for the female arab viewers from New Jersey.I'd like to see more drink girls covered though

Yeah, they seem to have some of the hugest....uh....drink trays that I have ever seen. (Yeah, drink trays...I wonder if they know I meant boobs?)