What to put on TV while hosting (2 Viewers)

MoT519

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I'm hosting a cash game in a couple of days and could use some suggestions on what to play on TV during the game.

Some background:

Every seat at my table can see the TV because of the way I positioned a mirror next to the table.

Music is not an option. I've tried in the past, there are just too many different tastes of music in my group. What one likes, another might cringe at.

Sports would be ideal, but there is no college football, college basketball, NBA, NFL, Olympics on right now. MLB is not my thing. I've played Rounders in the past, which worked well...but hoping for something different.

The game is not super serious, it's low stakes (50c big blind), lots of drinking and food involved. So having something lively on in the background works well for us.

Any ideas?
 
I’m perfectly content with poker and nice conversation
I’m 100% this, but I have to admit that a room feels a bit empty without some background noise. And if they can’t agree on music, it has to be TV. Unless somebody has a soundtrack that’s just hours of background casino noise? Low level murmurs with chip shuffling and slot machine noise, with the occasional joyous screams?
I’ve put poker on. If you have a smart tv, you can often find a live stream
On YouTube. Classic old movies that everybody’s seen 100 times work well too - rounders, goodfellas, etc
 
Music is not an option. I've tried in the past, there are just too many different tastes of music in my group. What one likes, another might cringe at
As long as it’s not country, speed metal, or show tunes - I’d have to believe there’s a middle ground - lol.

Just put on the local FM rock/classic rock station if all else fails.
 
I personally don’t like having something actually on the TV, because I feel that can distract folks, delay the game, slow the action, etc. - I really do think music is the answer. Sure, you’re not going to play everyone’s hits, but there’s got to be something inoffensive enough to the whole group to be fine. And those are much nicer terms than what we subject people to when we’re hosting!
 
As long as it’s not country, speed metal, or show tunes - I’d have to believe there’s a middle ground - lol.

Just put on the local FM rock/classic rock station if all else fails.
Music is not an option. I don't want to listen to rock even if every body else does :)
 
Music is not an option. I don't want to listen to rock even if every body else does :)
Oh - so it’s you - lol.

Sooo, is it country or show tunes then:ROFL: :ROFLMAO:

Personally, I’d request old re-runs of Law and Order just to be ornery :LOL: :laugh: Although, they do have a way of sucking you in and might be too much of a distraction.
 
Rounders.

End of thread.
When I played in a regular game after college, we would watch Rounders, Wall Street, and Boiler Room nearly every game. Sometimes we would mix in Glengarry Glen Ross. Other similar type movies that are dialogue heavy work too. I would avoid action or loud movies that can be distracting.
 
I usually just have background music on, but my players will sometimes request whatever game happens to be on that night.

I'm happy to accommodate if I can, though I don't have cable or broadcast TV in the poker room. I have a Roku, and I've installed a few extra apps that I don't use (like ESPN and YouTube TV) specifically so players can cast to it or log in with their account if they choose.

I've put poker on a few times, but it always seems to be a distraction for some people.
 
Music is not an option. I've tried in the past, there are just too many different tastes of music in my group. What one likes, another might cringe at.

I'd suggest reconsidering music. Pick an inoffensive music genre and play it at a low volume, like lounge music.

If there's live sports, I have that on with the sport audio. If there isn't anything live, I play a movie on the screen (almost always Rounders, The Sting, or California Split), but the audio is Spotify.
 
Sports is always a safe option. Luckily enough people in my group like my country music which I always have playing in the background. I put together an 8 hour playlist which consists mostly of country (Kenny Chesney, Luke Combs, George Strait, Blanco Brown, Jimmie Allen) and some oldies, rock, reggae, pop mixed in. For music its going to be hard to play music that everyone is going to love. If you play a type of music (heavy metal for me), its going to be like nails on a chalk board but that genre might be country to someone else.

Another good option is some show like Ridiculousness which is always on.

For movies, you'd definitely want something that you and your friends have seen and quote a lot. Wedding Crashers, Step Brothers, Happy Gilmore etc.
 
Golf is a good one, it doesnt steal the attention from the game very often if ever. Thursday night football once it starts is mandatory though, everyone in our game is also in the same Fantasy football league so yeah, that gets us going.
 
Any sport. Any thing that's close to a sport. Fishing, bowling, you name it. The more obscure the sport, the better in my opinion.

The two most popular things I ever put on were.
1) The Westminster Dog Show
2) College track and field. Everyone complained until they showed a bunch of hot high jumpers or something and the whole room went dead silent.

But overall, poker should be the focus, just want something that holds enough attention for 2-3 minutes for people who fold out of a hand that takes a while.
 
I have three TVs in my poker area and it’s rare there isn’t some type of sport to put on all of them. As for music, I play a pandora channel that’s a mix of 90’s 2000s and classic rock. I usually have the TVs on mute with music playing at a moderate volume. Just like most casino card rooms.

No one complains. No one has ever complained about music in almost 20 years of hosting. I have never complained about anything at someone else’s house. You are the host, do what you like. Unless you have some obscure taste in music I don’t think it’s a problem.
 
this is an excellent question, OP! shamelessly following this thread :cool

I usually try to keep it sports-focused on the background, in hopes of someone getting offended about their player/team. Good times.
 
I host a regular game up to about 30 people. I host at my office and I have 3 conference rooms that each have a TV. I've found that when I have the TV on, the game naturally moves slower. People just get distracted. I've stopped doing that and I put the blind schedules on the TV connected through my ipad app. I now put on a very diverse mix of music. It has pretty much every range possible, rock, rap, new music, older music, etc. There is a song for everyone. And if someone doesn't like the music, too bad... I'm the host! But I've never heard anyone complain. In fact, the opposite. If they haven't heard a song the love for a while and then all of a sudden one comes on, they get excited. Kind of like listening to a jukebox!
 
Thanks for the suggestions so far. PokerGo, HustlerLive on youtube, movies like Casino, Goodfellas are sounding like good options.
 
Agreed. We always have sports on -- any kind when it's this time of year without football. Unless it's a game everyone is interested in, we turn turn the sound off and play background music. Host picks. No one complains.
 

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