Although it’s return was announced a while ago now, dates for the Season 2 of Game of Gold remain unknown. There is also very little information out there as to what to expect from the next season in terms of featured players, show format, and prize pool.
Despite genuine curiosity within the poker community (and the fact that even Squid Game, a TV show that partially inspired Game of Gold, got its second season), GGPoker remains tight-lipped.
Since those in charge aren’t giving us any information, we went ahead and came up with three things we’d like to see for the next season. Truth be told, the filming is probably done by this point, so these are unlikely to have any real influence, but it doesn’t hurt to put them out there.
Add More Personalities
The original Game of Gold had a rather impressive lineup of pro players, but it felt a bit lacking in the “personalities” department. This is not to say that professional poker players don’t have a personality, but we all know that adding a few drama-prone people into the mix would significantly change the dynamics.
The whole idea of the show was to create something different, mixing poker play with a reality show vibe, and this goal was largely achieved. However, the reality aspect of it could certainly do with some improvements, and adding a few select personalities would help a lot.
We’re talking about people like Tony G (probably unlikely), Doug Polk (combined with some drinking challenge), and Phil Laak (who would certainly have a lot to say about everything and anything). Adding a few players like these into the mix would make the already great show even better.
More Team-Based Challenges
The first season of Game of Gold featured a number of challenges that involved team play to some degree, but, at the end of the day, a bulk of it was fairly individual. Of course, with poker being an individual game, this came as no surprise, but there is room for improvement.
It would be nice to see a few challenges where players really have to work as a team to get ahead. So, maybe have a competition where they rotate after each hand in a series of heads-up duels. Or, get teams to compete in something other than poker to determine how many chips they get to start with when they move to the poker segment.
For example, you have a team of three people facing three challenges like building a house of cards, blowing up ten balloons, and jumping rope. So, they have to pick who does what, and their starting stack is determined based on how well they do compared to other teams.
Yes, we saw something similar in the new season of Squid Game, but in this case, the consequences for failing a challenge would be much less dire.
Give Viewers a Chance to Get Involved
Most reality shows provide opportunities for the audience to get involved and influence the outcome to some extent. With Game of Gold being pre-filmed, this is not an option, but there are still ways to make things more interactive.
For example, at the end of an episode, we could get the information about the upcoming challenge and the teams. Then, viewers can vote who they think will do best/worse and maybe even pick a particular person who they think will outperform everyone else.
After the votes are in and the episode airs, those who had right picks can be entered into a draw of some sort to receive prizes like GGPoker tickets, Game of Gold merchandise, and maybe even an invitation to be on the next season.
This would certainly increase levels of interaction with the show, leading to people talking about it more, sharing their thoughts, and just enjoying the opportunity to be a part of the whole experience instead of just watching from the sidelines.
Whether we’ll see some of these things implemented in one way or another is anyone’s guess, but one thing is certain: poker fans have been waiting for long enough, and we’re all ready for Game of Gold Season 2 (pretty please?)!
