Nick is a cash game player, content creator and part of 888poker’s Stream Team. Each week he shares his thoughts and experiences as a player dedicated to the daily grind. This week he shares some advice and insights on how to create great poker vlogs at live events...
Over the past few years I’ve been lucky enough to play in a variety of poker tournaments around the world, and I’ve vlogged pretty much every one of them. In fact, aside from the odd home game with friends, I can’t remember the last time I was at a poker table and wasn’t recording my hands.
I’ve tried different equipment, different styles and almost every angle you can think of. As I’m heading into a bumper week of live poker action in Coventry for the UKPL, followed immediately by 888LIVE in the same venue, I thought it might be useful to give my advice on how to go about vlogging a poker tournament yourself.
What type of vlog do you want to make?
Before you record anything, you have to decide what kind of vlog you’d like to make. Do you want it to be purely focused on poker and get straight into the action? Or do you want to break it up with sight-seeing and make it more of a full journey with poker interspersed along the way?
Both options have their significant merits, and I’d say it all depends on where you are. 888LIVE in Barcelona is held in Casino Barcelona on the beach, within walking distance of some of the greatest architecture in the world. In that case, I’d recommend at least including it in some way, either with a dedicated section or to break up your poker footage in between tournaments.
On the other hand, some venues really are all about the poker. Everyone knows Coventry as one of the iconic venues of UK poker, as it hosts the enormous Goliath every year, and now both the UKPL and 888LIVE to boot. However, it’s not really the place to pop outside and admire the local area. As a result, my vlog this week will be poker-centric, and I’ll be focusing on playing and getting as much footage as possible.
If you decide to record at the tables, make sure you have permission from the casino before you crack on. You’ll either need to email the venue beforehand, or speak to the floor staff on the day. Not every casino will allow you to record, and it’s important to have a backup plan if that’s the case. Obviously everyone prefers to see the table footage itself, but there’s a lot of great vlogs, like Daniel Negreanu’s WSOP content, that are just as engaging without it.
What gear do you need?
As far as equipment goes, you can get by with just your phone for the whole of a vlog. A stand of some sort to prop your phone up at the table is essential, but you don’t need to record the whole time you’re playing. I only hit record when I enter a hand, and if it turns out to not be very interesting, I’ll delete it straight away to avoid clogging up my storage. If I want to keep it, then I will detail everything about the hand history on my phone immediately after the hand. No matter how much you tell yourself you’ll remember a board, or a bet size, or the stack depth, you won’t. Your life will be made a lot easier if you write it down in as much detail as you can, as soon as possible! At the end of the day, you should be left with just the hands that you want to show in your vlog, and then it’s about how you’d like to present them.
There are two options as far as your own coverage of the hands goes. Firstly, and probably most common, is the post-commentary script. Once you’re back from the event, you can use the hand histories and footage you’ve compiled to write a script of everything that happens at the table, and your thought process at the time. Use your own style to make this personal to you, as it’s the only thing that will differentiate you from other poker vloggers (and there’s some great ones). I choose to go the way of self-deprecation with a few jokes mixed in, but if you’re a tournament crusher then lean into that and break down the hands like others couldn’t. It’s always important to play to your strengths.
The other option is to record your hand recaps during the breaks of the tournament. This one is a lot more stressful, but it will save you a lot of time later. I use a DJI Osmo Pocket 3 to quickly record my thoughts on the break, but you can just as easily use your phone. I’d recommend having a gimbal of some sort to make it easier for you though, as holding your phone up without it wobbling for 5 minutes is much more difficult than it sounds.
This method definitely has its advantages other than the fact you don’t need to write a script when you’re home. If time is of the essence and you want to get your video out as soon as possible, then go with this approach. At the WSOP Main Event, I wanted to have my vlogs released while the tournament was still going in order to increase engagement, and I was never going to have time to do that if I had to write a script. It can also help with capturing your emotions at the time in a way that a post-commentary can’t. Having said that, it will essentially reduce your breaks to a 2-minute dash to the toilet, and that’s not all that helpful when you’re trying to play your best.
Do what works for you
What’s best for you may be different to what is best for me. If you enjoy writing scripts, or you struggle recording in a public environment, then maybe post-commentary is the way to go. I tend to mix it up to keep things fresh, but it can largely depend on the amount of spare time you have. I think scripts provide a more refined result, but if I have a particularly busy week after the event, or having the video out earlier is more important than the polish of the end result, then recording on the day is best.
At the end of the day, any combination of these methods can work as long as you tailor it to your own personality. You don’t want your vlog to be a carbon copy of someone else’s, you want to make sure it’s something that only you can make.
Happy vlogging!
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Images courtesy of 888poker/Gema Cristobal
