Tilt

After 2 episodes, I have to say I'm already a fan of this show.

A couple of haters here, who probably don't know anything about poker and were too slow to understand what was going on, are talking badly about the show.

Don't listen to them. This show has a very nice cast, is well written, and it has all the elements you'd want from an action series. Michael Madsen kicks ass as The Matador - but right away, the intrigue of seeing him fall to Eddie, Miami and Clark is too much, and you just wanna see how it will all develop.

Add to this a lot of danger surrounding a cop who is after the Matador himself, trying to avenge his late brother, who was killed by the Matador, and you got a big hit! I never watched Playmakers. I heard it was good, but it turned out to be a good thing I didn't watch since ESPN's affiliation with the NFL forced that show to get cancelled.

That won't happen to Tilt - this show will be a success!

I would be lying if I didn't say I was disappointed with the TV series, "Tilt". I thought Rounders was a brilliant movie, and expected the TV show to be at least close to as good as the movie. My impression after watching the first few episodes was that a lot of the acting was bad (except for Madsen, of course), the writing was cheesy, and there wasn't that much actual poker playing involved. Tha being said, however, I watched the whole series without missing an episode. Despite its flaws, the show is interesting, and makes sure that you want to watch the next episode to see what happens. If you haven't seen it yet, don't expect "Rounders: The Series", but expect a show that is fun to watch, and will have you quote lines from it with your friends.

I have to say I wasn't originally going to watch the show, but my friend came over the day the series premiered so I was forced into it. I'd have to say though it is definitely a must see.

Its the only show during the week I block out time for. I've seen all 9 episodes the day they aired. Way better than the last ESPN drama Playmakers.

It's like a weekly soap opera. It involves way more than just poker. Can't wait until it comes out on DVD. Before season two starts I'd recommend watching the re-runs of episode one and getting the story down before the 2nd season starts. Watch them in order or you'll get lost.

I've just seen the final episode of Tilt and have to say enjoyed the series. It was by no means perfect, some of it was a shade predictable, some of the acting and dialogue was a little below par. But overall if you're the kind of person that likes watching poker and enjoyed the movie Rounders you're probably going to enjoy this offering from ESPN.

My only complaint was the horrible scheduling of ESPN. If it wasn't for DVR I never would have seen every episode, which sucks as the storyline is sequential from one episode to the next. Even with DVR you'd have run into problems since three weeks running ESPN were over 30 minutes late showing an episode because of some ball game. Then they decided to move the finale to an entirely different day. It was almost like they were trying to kill the ratings. If ESPN want to make another season or indeed another series like this they need to schedule it properly or sell it to another network.

If you can actually see all the episodes in order, and you're a poker fan, I think you'll enjoy. If you are a 'poker is not a sport' kind of person who doesn't think mental games of skill are interesting, stay clear. Oh and it has some adult themes, if you dislike such things don't watch.

I was going to wait until this series ended to review it, but why bother? This is simply a killer series. The story is pretty complicated, with subplots galore surrounding each character, but that's not why I watch it. Michael Madsen is perfect as poker baddie Don Everest- ruthless, conniving, and dressed to kill in those 80s collars and vests. And best of all is the assortment of characters, dialog, and voice-over narration that you get during the poker sequences. As if that weren't enough, they added one of my favorite actors, Robert Forster, in the last episode. The only unfortunate part is that it's hard to get up to speed if you missed the first few episodes, due to all the different plot aspects. At this point it's better to wait for a catch-up night, or buy the full DVD set when it comes out.

To sum up, the story is contrived, but who cares? The cast is great and the poker sequences alone are worth watching it for. Kudos to ESPN for their best series yet!!! Like MM says before the deal, "Let's rock and roll, baby".