Filmed in 2022, the blend of poker action and reality TV that is Game of Gold has become a worldwide phenomenon. Attracting a quarter of a million views per episode on YouTube alone, the smash hit of 2023 has earned all the plaudits and is sure to scoop up a handful of gongs at the Global Poker Awards which are expected to be held early in 2024.
It would be easy to think that with the first season of Game of Gold being such a success that there’s no way that Season 2 could be as good. We’d agree… but only because we think it’s going to be better. Here’s how.
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Sons of Anarchy Style Recap Voiceovers
Have no fear. We’re not suggesting for a second that the poker action in Game of Gold should be swapped for the gun-smuggling antics of a motorcycle repair shop in Northern California, as ‘charming’ as that series was. One of the great tricks that Sons of Anarchy brought to us was the voiceover at the start of every episode that said: “Previously on Sons of Anarchy” in the same way that everyone’s new favorite poker series says, “Previously on Game of Gold”.
In Sons, the voiceover was performed by the main cast on rotation, so you never knew which of your favorite characters in the show would be announcing this week’s drama. It was a thrill to listen out for Clay, Jax, Gemma or Tig as you prepared to watch the next episode, and this would work brilliantly for Game of Gold. Imagine. Daniel Negreanu saying “Previously on Game of Gold”. You’re watching what happens next with Kid Poker in your mind’s eye.
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The Casting Couch
Casting is the biggest issue facing Game of Gold, and not because there were any problems with the 16 players chosen to feature in Season 1. Quite the reverse; all of the players in Season 1 were so good to watch that replacing anyone in Season 2 looks very tricky. It seems highly unlikely that there won’t be substitutions in Season 2. Poker players schedules are likely to dictate as much. Swap too few players and the line-up could look lazily similar. Swap too many and you could lose the dynamic, though this is less possible, as strong as the structure of the show is.
It comes down to thinking of which players are must-haves for Season 2. It would seem immensely churlish not to bring back Maria Ho, after all, she is the reigning champion and deservedly so. As the standout player from Season 1, Episode 8 called her ‘The Queen’ and she must be allowed to defend her crown. Others on her team Fedor Holz and Josh Arieh should be locks too – both were quick-witted and immediately natural around the cameras. Jungleman, a.k.a. Daniel Cates, and Johan ‘YoH Viral’ Guilbert were pure box office, and it would be hard to imagine a second series not featuring Charlie Carrel.
Who else is absolutely essential for the cast of Season 2? We’re not sure but having not got to see too much of early eliminations Daniel Negreanu and Jason Koon, both GG Ambassadors surely have a chance of making the list, especially given that the series was a co-production between GGPoker and Poker After Dark.
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New Games and Old Tricks
One of the highlights of Squid Game and indeed Squid Game: The Challenge (it’s not as bad as you might assume) are the games. In fact, the games and the structure of how players are eliminated are the key component to the series pushing you along episode by episode until you’ve watched the whole boxset and forgotten to sleep.
The same is true for Game of Gold. While games such as Team Heads-Up Match and Team Sit & Go are highly likely to stay, along with the ‘End Game’ of Six-Max No Limit Hold’em, Indian Poker may well make way in Season 2. What should replace it? Pot Limit Omaha is a thrilling game, but it can be hard for newcomers to access emotionally, and other, less complex games related to poker may be simpler.
Chinese Poker would suit Game of Gold brilliantly. Even if it was a best of three, the game is easy to grasp for viewers and heavily features visuals. It would look great on their Game of Gold embossed tables.
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Keeping it Real
From the breakfast room to the karaoke bar, Game of Gold: No Hole-Cards Barred is the after-hours show we need.
One of the golden nuggets of information that we gleaned from the very end of the first season was in the ‘vox pop’ style interview with Nikita Luther at the tail-end of the footage wrapping up the 12th episode. In talking about the series, she described the tension that existed off-set too, not only in the team ‘war rooms’ that peppered the backstage area, but at the hotel in which all the players were staying.
Yes, that’s right, the hotel where all the players stayed. Let that sink in and you might be where we’re at. Why not let the cameras in the hotel? If there’s beef at breakfast, we want to see it? Teams gathered at separate dining tables plotting their revenge over eggs benedict? We’re down for this. From the breakfast room to the late-night karaoke bar, Game of Gold: No Hole-Cards Barred is the after-hours show we need. Let’s make it happen.
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Tuneful Tension
While the players, the games and the reality television segments were the most crucial elements of Game of Gold’s success, the background music was a sensational part of the poker drama. Ramping up tension during poker hands and lightening the mood after an all-in ended with a player on the rail, the series’ Sound Designer Noah Lee should take a lot of credit.
Whatever changes in Season 2, the music should stay almost exactly the same. The added value of the music in the first season is incalculable and if some more themes are added, then Season 2 could sound even more like a Hollywood movie.
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The Piggy Gets Bigger
When all is said and done, the money behind a show is one thing, but in poker TV shows, the money up for grabs is often a key component of attracting engagement. Season 1 saw a top prize – and only prize – of $456,000 to the winner, a figure that owes its generation to the popular Netflix show Squid Game, which is a clear influence throughout.
With Squid Game: The Challenge offering $4.56 million to the series winner, could Game of Gold follow suit? GGPoker have enjoyed a remarkable rise up the ranks of poker operators and in 2024, perhaps some of their success will go into the ‘piggy bank’ that is awarded to the Season 2 winner. If it does and seven figures are given to the winner instead of six next time around, expect every poker player on Earth to throw their hat into the ring.
