The Muck: Should a Commentator Criticize Play on a Poker Live Stream?

June 14, 2018

Chad Holloway PR & Media Manager

“How do we feel about PokerGO announcers on the live stream harshly & relentlessly bashing someone’s play?”

That is the question Jesse Martin posed Thursday night on Twitter under @MazeOrBowie. He received plenty of answers.

“There was a time I used to commentate that way but now I feel like it doesn’t make a good product,” Owais Ahmed replied.

Former November Nine Jeremy Ausmus added his two cents: “I don’t like it at all. There is a tasteful way to say that a certain play is nonstandard or not what I’d do etc. Same goes for the PokerGO cash games. Some may be less likely to play if that’s the case, we don’t want to ever deter anyone from sitting down at the tables.”

Here’s a look at some other responses that poured in:

@MazeOrBowie @PokerGO I think it's terrible and shouldn't happen. Identifying a mistake is one thing, relentlessly… https://t.co/AI4yZIjbDX
— Tom West (@sbrounder)

@MazeOrBowie @PokerGO It's really quite arrogant, lazy, disrespectful. When non-standard/unorthodox lines are taken… https://t.co/FAdKBjO3ec
— Jeff Gunnip (@PuraVida96)

@MazeOrBowie @PokerGO context matters but i wouldnt want the announcers to pull punches. but if they punch, they ha… https://t.co/KpdRA9MRW0
— Clayton Newman (@cnew27)

What're a Commentator’s Responsibilities?

Renowned poker commentator David Tuchman has his thoughts on what those in his line of work should or should not say.

“We have a really fine line to tow,” said Tuchman, who is doing commentary for PokerGO this summer at the 2018 World Series of Poker. “Imagine you’re broadcasting the Little League World Series and the Major League World Series at the same time because that’s kind of what we have. We’ve got the best players in the world playing against pure amateurs. I think when it comes to amateurs you should be careful of criticizing because that’s not our job.”

Tuchman: "For every pro, I can find five people who think that pro sucks.”

There are a number of reasons a commentator should avoid being overly critical. First, you don’t want to offend the player, who is likely to watch the action on replay. If you do, you run the risk of turning them off from playing in the future. Second, you don’t want other players and viewers to think if they someday make a final table they’ll be criticized. Finally, a player making a final table is a big deal, so you want to be aware that their family and friends, who likely think of them as a hero, are watching the stream. Is it right to cut down a player because he didn’t play GTO?

“Our job is to fill the show with color,” Tuchman continued. “We’re making it more enjoyable for the fans. It’s not an educational show, there are training sites for that. A byproduct of this is educational, you can’t help but learn from some guest commentators, but that’s not what this is. It’s not a training site, so I think when it comes to amateurs I always assume somebody’s family is watching.”

On the other hand, the stream is meant to be entertaining and viewers have certain expectations. Sometimes it’s apparent to experienced players when someone is playing less than optimal. In those instances, Tuchman believes a certain tact is required.

“Nick Schulman does a good job of it. When he sees something, he might say ‘I’m not a fan, but maybe I’m missing something and need to look at it another way.’ I think there’s a way to do that. I like to use words like ‘it’s a creative way to play a hand, it’s unconventional.’ We as commentators, it’s a situation where we can be delicate.”

“There’s a creative way to commentate on someone’s play when you disagree with the line they’ve taken without bashing their play.”

He went on to say: “To me, no matter how egregious the play is I steer away from criticizing amateur players. I try to tell anyone who comes in to commentate with me to stay away from words like ‘that’s horrible,’ ‘that’s bad,’ ‘that’s wrong.’ Poker is not black and white. There’s a lot of ways to win this game and be successful. For every pro, I can find five people who think that pro sucks.”

Speaking of poker pros, Tuchman does allow for one exception – big names players can criticize their peers.

“I think if it’s a professional poker player and you have confidence in your ability and you want to criticize another professional poker player, that’s ok because you put yourself out there,” he said. Indeed, it’s not uncommon for poker pros to criticize each other. Daniel Negreanu and Antonio Esfandiari ragging on Phil Hellmuth is one example that jumps to mind.

Tuchman summed it up perfectly when he concluded: “There’s a creative way to commentate on someone’s play when you disagree with the line they’ve taken without bashing their play.”