Making a documentary about online poker pros

[PartyGirlUK]

Hi,

Diablo said we could make our own thread for this. Krantz and I are seriously considering making a documentary about online poker pros. It might be somewhat similar to 'Spellbound', following them in the months leading up to the WSOP, followed by a 15 minute '1 year later' piece. The exact format we are shooting for is unknown, we might just try and get some great footage then see what to do with it. We're making this post for 2 reasons.

i) We would like this documentary to be a great piece of work, and would welcome suggestions on how you think this could be best achieved. Potential pitfalls, avenues to explore, structure of the piece etc. all comments welcome, even if they consist of 'This idea sucks, it will never work'. Please try to be constructive.

ii) We are looking for subjects of the film. We want to create something representative of our community, and to not open it up to as diverse a group as we could get would definitely be a disservice to the film and online poker players. If you are think you would be a good subject, or know someone who would be, please let us know. It doesn't matter if you are high or low stakes, limit or no limit, old or young etc. etc. We want a representative group, and mainly people who are interesting. I even think we could incorporate a live pro, that might actually add something.

If you want to email us: jfr426@gmail.com

Thanks,

Dean and Jay

[The DaveR]

Limit to 3 people, and follow them for more than two years. The interesting thing about online pros today is what they will do in a couple of years, not the WSOP.

It is very unlikely to be nearly as good as Spellbound. Those kids were at the age and of the type where they couldn't hide in front of the camera, and I doubt you'll find people nearly as unselfconscious.

[KJS]

Read the David Sedaris bit about the suckiness of watching someone on film sitting at a computer. I can't remember what book it is in but it is spot on. Something to keep in mind.

KJS

[Aloysius]

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Limit to 3 people

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Hm - maybe 4-6? Using Spellbound as a model (wrt to number of people followed, how much camera time each got, etc.) is not a bad idea.

Also, and this is prolly fairly obvious, vary the ages, goals, place in life etc. of each pro you follow. Studies in contrast are always nice to see with good execution.

-Al

[mbillie1]

I like this idea. It would be interesting to show how poker skills / playing poker constantly helps and hurts in real life. I'm not sure I'm good enough at poker (or high stakes enough, as I'm pretty much 50c/1 and 1/2 and not a huge game theoretician at this point) to be in this but I'm definitely interesting enough, although definitely not in a "good for a documentary" way.

You also probably want to get a good deal of "good life" (or at least some) in there. Show that poker can be done responsibly to produce positive financial changes in a smart and determined individual's life.

Finally, I'd recommend getting a mix of people who make their entire living playing poker and people who have very good jobs and are very successful otherwise who still make extra income from poker.

I'd definitely watch it, good luck.

[wet work]

I definitely think it's a good idea, but as a previous poster mentioned you're going to have to find a way to avoid too much footage of people sitting in front of a computer. Unless you find someone like tuff_fish, then it could be pure gold.

[Anacardo]

I just wanted to point out that I am in all respects fascinating.

[WhoIam]

I'm also seriously considering making a documentary about high-stakes online pros. Your post scared the hell out of me, but it looks like your idea is very different than mine, which comes as a big relief. I need to think about this for a while longer and decide if it would be worth the massive expenditure of time and money. If it looks like I'm going ahead, I'll make a similar post here asking for ideas, advice and feedback.

My advice would be not to over-plan it and let the footage dictate the direction you take. What running length are you targeting? This idea seems like it would be great in a 30, 50, or 90-minute format. Good luck to you guys.

[KRANTZ]

Interested in what people think --- as well as thoughts on the relevance of getting something like this out over the next 1-2 years, rather than 3 years+

[El Diablo]

Dean,

If you can get someone like KKF or Degen(I think he quals) or anyone else who is doing something like living abroad while doing this, that would be huge.

I imagine Bruiser would be a great character study on film.

A "ship it holla balla" type would be good. Maybe two w/ that attitude. One who's really nerdy, and one who's a good-looking fratboy type.

OK, there ya go, there are 4 of your main characters. I'd say follow 8, then pick 3-6 to actually make it in the film.