Poker has been trying for years to solve a problem: how to turn a fascinating game for those who understand it into a show equally attractive to the general public? Deepstack believes it has an answer and aims quite high: to become a kind of Drive to Survive of the tables.
The project, led by Elton Tsang
But perhaps its most interesting bet is in the game itself.
Deepstack will exclusively use the so-called BLUVV Game, a variant of the Squid Game format created by Tsang and which, he explains, is already frequently played in Asia. Its goal is to provoke constant action: wider ranges, more raises, and especially many more bluffs.
Added to that is a depth that a tournament can hardly offer. Tsang precisely questions the spectacle generated by stages where professionals spend long periods playing with stacks of barely 10 to 30 big blinds. In Deepstack, on the other hand, games can reach 1,000 big blinds in depth.
Drive To Survive is a successful series that revolutionized the way Formula 1 is consumed, bringing the championship closer to new audiences through a more cinematic narrative focused on its protagonists.
Read more Kiat Lee went from agonizing in the bubble to winning his fourth Triton title — CodigoPoker
There appears an important difference. With such stacks, decisions are no longer so conditioned by relatively standardized tables and multiple calls, bet sizes, and opportunities to pressure the opponent appear. For the viewer, that can translate into giant pots and much more complex decisions.
However, Deepstack will have to prove that more action also means better television. The success of Drive to Survive was not only in showing fast cars but in transforming drivers, rivalries, and conflicts into stories understandable even to those who had never followed Formula 1.
That will probably be the real challenge.
Moene assures that they are developing technology to add new layers of entertainment and fan participation. Also, Tsang’s network of contacts should guarantee the regular presence of high stakes stars and legends.
Deepstack then has the ingredients: money, characters, action, and technology. Now it must achieve the hardest: that someone who has never played a hand desperately wants to know what will happen next.
Read more Gonzalo «Colo» López: «There is no dictionary for tells» — CodigoPoker
