But...wait. Because I just saw something that made me want to keep watching.

This morning we learned that the PokerStars Big Game is coming back to the screen, and as part of the launch, we've been given a peek behind the scenes of the show. One of the clips shows the beginnings of a situation that could turn very ugly.

As you know, ol' Phil Hellmuth and Tony G. have had their run-ins over the years. In the clip below, the G. could rightly be accused of shooting an angle in a pretty serious way. Well, just watch and see what you think...

The G. My, oh, my.

We have to wait just a few days before the second season of the PokerStars Big Game kicks off again. Monday June 27 at 12:00 ET, the season kicks off with week 1. The first show show features Daniel Negreanu, Scott Seiver, Tony G, and former NBA star Bobby Sura.

If you don't recall, the Big Game puts top poker pros up against one amateur qualifier that is called, often rightly, the Loose Cannon. In the first week of the show, the Loose Cannon will be...oh, come, on. Really? Alright. In the first week of the show, the Loose Cannon is...Gonzales Cannon. Sounds rigged to me.

Here's a preview of week 1 in which we actually get to hear Tony G.'s last name actually said aloud and pronounced correctly.

After a short hiatus, the Big Game hit the small screen again this week with a brand new Loose Cannon.

For the big money game, PokerStars staked qualifier Troy Howard $100,000. Now, its up to him to turn that into something. He has five very important reasons to do so.

The 29-year-old music producer from Niagara Falls, NY is...wait for it...the father of five children.

Five.

A big score on the BIg Game could end up meaning a lot for those kids.

"It would change their life," Howard said. "They would have something I never had."

For now, Howard says he's taking it in stride and isn't let any feelings of nervousness get in the way.

"It feels like poker," Howard said. It's what I love. It's what I do."

For a look at Howard's first episode, click on the box below.

Play poker for any length of time and you'll come to recognize that perception is a big part of the game. It's a lot easier to make reads when you have nothing on the line. Distorting your image and tweaking your opponent's perceptions of how you play can result in big profits. The top players in the world like Daniel Negreanu are kings of creating false images for later riches.

Several years ago, online players began to use software to help them minimize the effects of false perception. Any any given moment, they could look at their screen, see how their opponents really played, and then make decisions accordingly. Such software, however, was not readily available for live play. That changed with the advent of The Big Game.

If you're just catching up to the newest high stakes cash game sensation on the FOX network, The BIg Game features the world's best players playing a cash game with $100,000 or more in front of them. Each week, PokerStars fronts a "Loose Cannon" qualifier $100,000 to play in the game and lets the Loose Cannon keep everything he or she makes (and, by the way, if you haven't seen this week's qualifier, it's a she in the very best sense of the word).

It's easy to get a sense for who is winning and losing in the game, but it might be harder for some people to know exactly why the player is winning or losing. Aggression? More three-bets? What is it?

Cue The Big Game website.

If you click on that image, you will see just a small portion of the statistics The Big Game's website has on offer. Whether its the infamous VPIP, the number of raises, or the number of three-bets, the statistics page gives you a more in-depth look at a televised game than you'll find anywhere else. Expect to see the concept copied on any successful televised poker program.

For instance, in the first 60 hands of this week's action, Barry Greenstein and Justin Bonomo both three-bet only 3.2% of the time. Meanwhile Joe Cada three-bet 11.5% and Jason Mercier did it 15.6%.

What does all that mean for the outcome of the game? Well, I'm not going to sit here and analyze every number (until PokerStars puts a blogger seat at the table, at which time, we'll talk). However, you can have as much fun crunching the numbers as you like by going to the PokerStars Big Game statistics page.

In the meantime, here's some video from this week's action.

I'm going to give you some cash. You can go play poker. Lose whatever you like. If you win more than I gave you, give me back what I gave you and keep the gravy (gravy rules).

Doesn't sound like a bad deal for you, and frankly, I'm just happy to see you get to play. What's say you find some friends and have at it? Maybe some folks like Daniel Negreanu, Doyle Brunson, and Phil Hellmuth? Sounds great. Here's a hundred grand. Have fun, you crazy kid.

Of course, I barely know you and the biggest you'll see me playing is $2/$5 at the Palms during the World Series. So maybe you should just do what Ernest Wiggins did and get the cash from PokerStars.

If you're just catching up, PokerStars has been running this little promotion that puts some of the biggest names in poker together to play some high stakes poker on television. The twist to the PokerStars Big Game goes like this: the world's biggest online poker site lets its players qualify online for a seat, then stakes the qualifier for $100,000. The qualifier keeps the gravy (again, gravy is fantastic).

So, back to Wiggins, who was the first so-called "Loose Cannon" on the show. If you haven't heard about it by now, he played a hand against Phil Hellmuth that will be talked about for years to come. Just watch the whole episode below. You might actually find yourself feeling sorry for Hellmuth for the first time in your life.

Now that you have made your way through that, you should know that by the time that week was over, Wiggins--a mere homegame player from the Washington D.C. area--had pocketed $50,000 worth of gravy (see above for the positive attributes of gravy).

Week 1 of the show has passed and we're now in the middle of week 2. We're not about to spoil it for you, but Negreanu and Brunson are now looking across the table at David Williams, Jason Calacanis, Abe Mosseri, and Loose Cannon William Davis.

Davis, the 29-year-old aspiring poker pro from Ohio, began the week admitting that his wife is no big fan of Daniel Negreanu. Why? Kid Poker apparently talks too much.

"Gulity," Negreanu confessed.

Meanwhile, wife or not, Davis had some work to do.

"There is a lot of money on that table," Davis said before he sat down. "I could win or lose a pot worth more than my house."

That's not to mention the gravy, of course.

If you're not somewhere you can pick up the FOX network and watch the show every night, have no fear. You can always check out the Big Game website for a full schedule, full episodes, big hands, player profiles, and more.

With that, I'm going to check and see if there is a blogger seat available in next week's episode.

I need something to pour over my biscuits.

The first episode aired across the US on the FOX network yesterday. But if you missed it, panic not. We've got the whole of episode one right here. Just click on the little white triangle below and away you go. Enjoy!

]]> http://www.pokerstarsblog.net/2010/catch-the-pokerstarsnet-big-game-action-070667.html http://www.pokerstarsblog.net/2010/catch-the-pokerstarsnet-big-game-action-070667.html The Big Game The Big Game Tue, 15 Jun 2010 23:04:36 +0000 You've heard about it. You've read about it. You might even have seen some bootlegs pop up on You Tube. Now, the PokerStars.net Big Game is set to air next week, writes Brad Willis.

Beginning Monday, June 14, The Big Game will begin to air all across the United States on the FOX network. And, oh what a line-up the show has in store.

Included among the players in next week's show:

Wait, wait, wait. Ernest Wiggins? Who in the world?

Well, Wiggins, A Washington D.C. native and home game player, qualified to appear on the show in a series of PokerStars.net freerolls. The freeroll winners, dubbed Loose Cannons, get a $100,000 stake from PokerStars. Anything they win above the hundred grand, they get to keep.

We've already seen some bits and pieces from the early episodes, and you are not going to be disappointed by what you'll see.

To find out when the show will be broadcast in your area, check out the PokerStars Big Game episodes page.

Enjoy (especially if you like seeing bad things happen to Phil Hellmuth).

With the first shows already in the bag, there's still time for you to get involved and play as a 'Loose Cannon' in a high-stakes cash game against some of the world's best players. All PokerStars.net players in the US and Canada can play in free Big Game Round 1 qualifiers that continue to run until June 25. Those events grant winners entry into the finals, and winners of the finals have a chance to send in a video of themselves to secure their chance of playing the monster cash game - with PokerStars' money!

To find The PokerStars.net Big Game Round 1 qualifiers, open the PokerStars.net lobby, click 'Tourney' & 'Regional', and then look for tournaments listed as 'Big Game'.

Find out more by visiting The Big Game website.

To get you in the mood, here's a little teaser....

]]> http://www.pokerstarsblog.net/2010/the-pokerstarsnet-big-game-coming-to-a-t-070435.html http://www.pokerstarsblog.net/2010/the-pokerstarsnet-big-game-coming-to-a-t-070435.html The Big Game The Big Game Sun, 06 Jun 2010 22:56:57 +0000 There's just three weeks to go to secure your shot at appearing on television and winning serious cash in The PokerStars.net Big Game.

Already 1,750 players have got through to the 'casting' room and now have the chance to impress judges and get on the show to play a high-stakes cash game against Team PokerStars Pros like Daniel Negreanu. Obviously it's all free for our 'Loose Cannons' - PokerStars will pick up the bill.

The PokerStars.net Big Game is a high-stakes cash game TV show that will appear on the FOX network. The show will feature some of the top names in the poker world playing $200/$400 No Limit Hold'em with a $100,000 minimum buy-in.

For your chance to take part, all PokerStars.net players in the US and Canada can play in free Big Game Round 1 qualifiers that continue to run until June 25. Those events grant winners entry into the finals.

Anyone who finishes in the top 200 spots in the finals will be invited to send PokerStars a casting video. PokerStars will then make its "Loose Cannon" pick and fly him or her out to Las Vegas to play against people like Negreanu.

Winners are welcome to pack their own cash, but PokerStars.net will be staking the qualifiers for The Big Game. Whatever profit they make over the $100,000 buy-in, they get to keep. If the qualifier happens to make a profit in the first session, he or she will be invited back for the next one.

To find The PokerStars.net Big Game Round 1 qualifiers, open the PokerStars.net lobby, click 'Tourney' & 'Regional', and then look for tournaments listed as 'Big Game'.

Find out more by visiting The Big Game website.

That changed today when PokerStars.net announced its newest innovation: The Big Game.

The PokerStars.net Big Game is a brand new, high-stakes cash game TV show that will appear on the FOX network. The show will feature some of the top names in the poker world playing $200/$400 NLHE with a $100,000 minimum buy-in.

Here's where it gets interesting. PokerStars is going to give you a chance to sit with the best.

All PokerStars.net players in the US and Canada can play in free Big Game Round 1 qualifiers that started today and run through June 25. Those events grant winners entry into the finals.

Anyone who finishes in the top 200 spots in the finals will be invited to send PokerStars a casting video. PokerStars will then make its "Loose Cannon" pick and fly him or her out to Las Vegas to play against people like Daniel Negreanu.

Winners are welcome to pack their own cash, but PokerStars.net will be staking the qualifiers for the Big Game. Whatever profit they make over the $100,000 buy-in, they get to keep. That's a pretty good deal where I come from. Oh, and if the qualifier happens to make a profit in the first session, he or she will be invited back for the next one.

To find The PokerStars.net Big Game Round 1 qualifiers, open the PokerStars.net lobby, click 'Tourney' & 'Regional', and then look for tournaments listed as 'Big Game'.

Good luck!