Shark Cage Poker Wikipedia

The Shark Cage is a made for TV production presented by PokerStars. There are eight heats containing six players apiece. I watched Episode #1 and the make up of the table seems to be 1 x celebrity. The Shark Cage is an interesting show which tried to introduce a novel idea to appeal to broader audience. The concept was relatively successful. The shark cage element is certainly entertaining, but it doesn’t have much to do with poker, really.

So PokerStars have been rolling out this new weird TV show called Shark Cage. The premise of this, if you somehow haven’t seen it past midnight on Channel 4, is that there are a series of sit ‘n’ go’s with the winner of each progressing to a grand final where there is a winner take all prize of a cool $1,000,000.

Then there’s the added weird bonus of an actual shark cage. Unfortunately no sharks in the case of Bill Perkins, but a hovering rotating cage where players get sent if they mess up. The shark cage comes into play on the river when if a player folds to a bluff, or if a bluffer gets their bluff called, they get sent to the cage for an orbit.

Players who make a river bet are forced to signal their action, either ‘bluff’ or ‘value’. In the early episodes this was done with a button underneath the table, later it was done by sliding a card forward with the players’ bet.

It makes for great television and some really painful needles. Some, like Shannon Elizabeth, take it terribly. Others better.

For those who are yet to see it, all the episodes are available on Youtube.

Without spoilers, here is what you can expect from the TV show:

Rugby World Cup winner Mike Tindall drinking beer

Shark Cage Poker Wikipedia Video Game

Team PokerStars Pro Theo Jorgensen in the shark cage.

But is it good for poker? A local poker club I attend has already suggested that they want to have a game one night where they try something like this, but all the players are already regulars and it won’t be attracting anyone new. It makes for great television of course, and is amateur friendly with the the addition of an online qualifier.

But lets not forget some of these online qualifiers are damn good players. One has a SCOOP (Spring Championship of Online Poker) watch, and another is a former chess grand master. These players sitting down are not representative of your Average Joe tuning in to Channel 4 in the early hours with their pack of Wotsits.

Shark Cage Poker Wikipedia Wiki

There is a fine line between this show being a great success or just another average poker show. Newbies to the game may see it on TV or on the internet and think: “oh wow Shannon Elizabeth, Jason Alexander, Mike Tindall, get me into this poker game.” Or they might think “oh so it’s just rich people and celebrities battling for a million dollars, I am never going to be able to get involved in that.”

Shark Cage Poker Wikipedia Game

Time will tell what it does for the poker world, but one thing is for certain is that it is a quirky concept and Pokerstars should be applauded for their ingenuity.