Is this the way?

[Thunder]

I have been watching seasons 1 & 2 of Poker After Dark and am surprised not only at the loose play but also the passiviness and non adherence to short stack play.

Quick examples, Rousso being ground down to almost nothing on Laides Night and Hachem HU with Chan, open raises 2.5x to 5500 when he only had between 18k - 25k. Plus countless other examples that contrast sharply with online play - especially the high number of family pots.

In other shows you can argue that the select only the best hands to air but PAD is every hand so that argument is thrown out.

Is this the way poker is played at the higher levels? Or are they old school pros who don't play the same as teh internet generation?

[Im_new]

It has a lot to do with the payout structure. I think it is winner takes all, so that means you'll have to open your game QUITE a bit more...it means a lot more gambooooling.

That's only one argument. I'd like to hear other reasons from everyone else though.

[Monty3038]

I think there are other factors as well. The first being, if they all played tight on the shows, which they probably do play tight a bit more than you realize, it would be boring tv to show every hand. I don't know the series you are discussing but in the WSOP televised events they are edited heavily down to the final table.

Another view is that they play an almost purely mental game at that level where the cards hardly matter.

[Im_new]

I agree with Monty. Its probably a very mental game at those stakes.

I think they show every hand on this show.... google it. I did just to find the prize structure.

[drmcboy]

A) I won't say Johnny Chan wasn't one of the greats a while ago, but lately age or the new aggressiveness or something is getting to him, he misplayed pretty much every hand on the most recent show and I can't remember the last time I saw him play well. He's continually setting up a trap for next game I think.

B) PAD has a much deeper structure in the early rounds than you see in online tourneys so it allows for a lot of different styles.

C) Especially in season 1 they had some pros on who were clearly intimidated by either the 20k BI or the winner take all structure or both.

[taipan168]

I think the others explained it well - payout structure, blind structure, metagame and BR considerations all have a role to play. The fact that it's on TV and most players don't want to look like idiots also may have an impact.

I know that I've said this before and you weren't necessarily implying it, but I would completely forget about any plays you see on a TV show when thinking about your own online low-mid stakes game.