How to Approach Live Reporting in Poker in a Nutshell
To many poker enthusiasts, the job of a live event reporter, blogger, or poker journalist may sound very intriguing. It is a very niche market and there is no course in school or college that will teach you how it all works. The basic theory can be learned rather quickly but the most valuable lessons are usually gained by jumping into the wide ocean.
I dare say that the mentality with which you approach the work in the poker industry and especially in live reporting is the most important trait. Throughout nearly a dozen years I have been involved, this industry has given me a lot of opportunities, cost me countless nights on no or very little sleep, left me dazzled in confusion, and granted me the luxury to explore different countries. For someone that was born and raised in a small town in the middle of nowhere, that means a lot.
From the get-go, I may have considered my involvement in poker as just a job to earn a living but that quickly changed when the tasks became more demanding. By now, it has become a passion and it is in my nature to always try the utmost no matter what the circumstances might be. I don’t really expect anyone else to be as crazy but the one thing I would love to see is the passion for the game.
For all the new reporters that imagine the world of poker as a glorious fairytale, the jump into the ice-cold water can be somewhat of a surprise. Prior training can only give as much of an idea as the circumstances allow but the own work is certainly defined by the own setup and how one handles pressure. Personally, it has become a necessity to think multiple steps ahead of what may happen in order to adapt as quickly as possible.
Especially the first few events can be quite frustrating because the automated routines can only be developed over time and practice. Style guides are different from outlet to outlet and provide a good base of knowledge. Many aspects can be learned by studying the output of others but everyone has to find their own way of obtaining, judging, processing, and publishing information.
This procedure can be somewhat different between live and online poker since the latter proceeds at a much faster pace. A multi-way multi-street hand in live poker may well last several minutes, for the virtual arena that seems like an eternity. But the core principles remain the same and require a sense for a unified approach.
Obtaining Information
During a major live poker event, you may walk into the tournament area and get lost in a sea of tables. High Roller events may only start with a handful of runners, which makes it far easier to follow the action. In this case, it is vital to figure out how to be close to the action as that is the only way to obtain the information.
The dedicated press area may not always be right next to the poker tables. It comes in handy to talk with tournament staff in order to find a suitable solution, which may include moving to different tables every half an hour. There may not always be a power outlet nearby and if the computer is an older model, this may become a problem very quickly.
For online poker, it is a lot easier because the main lobby provides the most crucial information — the chip counts. Pick your table, open the hand history replayer and grab all the bet sizes, cards, and outcome of the hand. There is obviously a major advantage if you can connect additional screens as part of your work setup in order to follow more tables by default. The pace at which complex hands unfold may very well be a slap in the face in the beginning.
Some of the current operators have a near-perfect solution for online reporting as all relevant information is readily available through the hand history or replayer, especially PokerStars and the GGPoker Network. Other sites such as partypoker and 888 make it more difficult for observers, as the action cannot be rewinded. Combined with the incredible pace of play, that certainly poses a significant challenge.
Judging Information
By no means is it the job of the poker reporter/blogger to judge how a hand is played out.
“He got it in like a fish.”
“Oh my god, what a donk move that was!”
Things like that don’t belong in any live update. In this case, judging refers to the selection of which hands and general information makes the cut. Poker players refer to their own individual hand selection and habits, and the same applies to the respective updates.
Does the hand contain significant action, is one of the sponsored ambassadors or well-known poker pros directly involved, is there an all-in showdown or is a new chip leader being crowned? In online poker, this may all change within a second but as long as it contributes to the event story, there is a good chance that it should be in the coverage. This selection process can be tricky but will get a lot easier over time.
Also, and this applies, in particular, to live poker, do not assume any of the previous actions. If you haven’t seen what happened, just report everything that you personally witnessed. Once a player fills in the blanks, make sure to include that details as “according to”.
Processing Information
There are a ton of ways to process all the relevant information but what exactly do you need in order to describe a poker hand or what has happened at the tables? The table positions, bet sizes, player and community cards, and stack sizes are all vital details that should be included, if possible. Sometimes, it certainly helps to summarize the action instead of writing every single player action, e.g. when all the chips go in the middle preflop regardless.
Player quotes can be very useful and should be included whenever possible. When making notes about them, make sure that these are accurate because otherwise, a description may be more suitable.
Many live reporters have their own abbreviations for certain actions such as all-in, check-raise, and positions. It may very well happen that some numbers or suits can be wrong when written hastily. Find your own way of writing the logical order of a hand and ensure that the action at the table is portrayed in the way and order of how it happened.
Publishing Information
When publishing the information, time is a certain constraint. At some point, you may fall behind and have to be selective as to which hands are vital to the coverage whereas other ones may be scrapped. Especially close to and right after the money bubble has burst, everything unfolds at a lightning speed.
In large events with thousands of runners, it will be impossible to gather all the eliminations for quite some time and the own expectations should be set accordingly. These are not Pokemon, you cannot catch them all. This probably won’t stop me from trying to grab as many as humanly possible but at some point, this will end in sensorial overload.
While long posts with as many details as possible certainly represent highlights that the reader will appreciate, it often helps to cut the content short with the most vital information only. Especially if you are on your own, it can be tricky to find a balance between those two approaches. Being time-effective is the ultimate goal, because only then can you obtain and deliver as many relevant details as possible.
With regards to the live poker environment, there are a few things a live reporter shouldn’t do:
- Don’t stand directly behind a player that is actively involved in a hand.
- Don’t get in the way of tournament staff while they are doing their job.
- Don’t get involved in the action and don’t slow down the proceedings.
- Keep an eye on nearby tables, there is always something interesting happening.
It may not always be possible to be a fly on the wall but the players shouldn’t be disturbed by your presence in the tournament area. Find a spot in which you can follow as much of the action as possible. If participants ask you a direct question, by any means answer it while they are not involved in the hand. Tournament staff should be notified in case you notice something that is out of line, it is their job to take care of it because the reporter is not part of the environment.
Things that come in handy:
- Always hand a second pen, because it always breaks when you need it.
- Have a backup solution to take a picture of the cards/board (phone, tablet).
- Make sure you have a spare notebook or boogie (drawing) board.
Phones with mobile data also come in handy when the internet connection at the venue breaks down. The spare pen and notebook have saved me many a time for crucial hands. I also often carry at least one power bank with me, which can fuel the laptop for quite some time.
General advice for the late stages
For both online and live poker, knowing the players is a necessity in order to follow them from start to finish. The tracking is far easier for online poker, though, most live poker events also provide a solution as well such as media ID’s, a copy of the entry ticket, or the player’s casino card.
Once it gets down to the business end of things with just a couple of tables left, I always try to prepare a table draw in an excel file. It helps to identify the players and once the table breaks, they get moved to their new assignments. Many website backends for poker-related stuff allow the copy-pasting of excel content, table redraws for example can be published in a matter of moments if you keep track of the movements.
For online poker, it comes in handy to have the list of known players and the chip count tab open in separate tabs. Only a few clicks are needed to select the required name and paste it into the live updates post. In general, the full name should always be included in the first mention and the family name only from there on out.
Everything else really depends on how fast you can process the information and how accurate it is portrayed. The repetitive nature of the procedure can certainly raise the stress levels quite a bit and the short breaks barely provide enough time to grab some fresh air and relax. In general, it can be quite overwhelming at times even for seasoned reporters, and keeping a cool head will always be the best solution.
Mistakes can and will happen to everyone, I have been there plenty of times myself. They can be incredibly annoying but don’t let them throw you off the track. Fix the issues once you become aware of them and carry on with the work.
Be prepared that one shift can take a very long time. I personally have a fitness routine that I try to uphold every day and that helps to stay focused until the early morning hours. Healthy snacks will go a long way, too, if coffee or sugary energy drinks are your things so be it.
There are a few more secrets to a successful live coverage in poker but those I gotta keep to myself in order to preserve my edge for a little bit longer.