Did anyone else watch Annie Duke's new show last night? Annie Duke Takes on the World premiered on GSN and I have to say that is an hour of my life I will never get back. Now to be fair, the show wasn't entirely horrible, but there are many aspects of it that need serious work. As it stands, it would be more aptly named 'Five Guys Kiss Annie Duke's Ass'.

The number one change I'd make would be Annie's co-host Regan Burns. Maybe he is a funny guy in real life or in other shows, but he just comes across as annoying and clueless in this environment. Here is a hint GSN - hire a professional dealer and don't make us watch Mr. Burns stumble through the process. Aside from dealing, I couldn't quite determine what his role was exactly, other than to ogle at Annie as she leaned over the table, call her a MILF, or proclaim how wonderful she was over and over. And over.

As far as the players go, it is nothing more than home game gone bad. They have created hokey nicknames for the competitors which simply translates into a poor attempt to mask them as real players. This episode featured Author Dave, Rocker Max, Dr. K, and Slacker Somebody...I can't even remember his name. He was first out anyways, so I suppose it doesn't really matter. Rocker Max was the only player with half a clue, so it was no surprise that he survived the longest, winning $1,000 and the chance to go against Annie heads-up for $10,000.As for Annie herself, she has certainly never looked better. I also give her credit for energy and enthusiasm, though she really needs to learn a phrase other than 'Oh My God' to explain how she feels. Seriously, you could center a drinking game around how many times she says that during the hour-long episode. The advice she dispensed may have actually been helpful if it wasn't so completely lost on the competitors. Even she had to leave the table to go bang her head against the wall at one point. It was seriously painful to watch these players. This is exactly what Phil Gordon was talking about when he said that one reason he was leaving Celebrity Poker Showdown was because he was tired of horrible play, watching people play out of turn, not know when they had the nuts, etc. Once the novelty of having her own show wears off, I can't see Annie choosing to do this long-term without completely losing her mind.

I have to say that the second half of the show was much more entertaining than the first. At least we had the opportunity to see some 'real poker' - or a reasonable facsimile. In truth, Max and Annie just kept sucking out on each other over and over until Annie finally took down the win - an eventuality that I'm sure didn't surprise anyone in the least.

Even if the show was fantastic, which it's not, it would be barely worth watching simply due to the horrible commercials they play throughout the hour. Golden Palace dot net and Titan Poker really need to get a clue - seriously, who do they think they are appealing to with these horrible attempts at poker/gambling commercials?

In summary, if you play poker at all there isn't much (if anything) you can gain by watching or even learn from this show. If they work out some of the kinks it may be somewhat entertaining, but they will have to get players of a little higher caliber to compete against Annie/each other to make it at all interesting. I realize they are supposed to be amateurs, but come on - there has to be a happy medium in there somewhere.  Otherwise, the show will simply continue to be what it is now - Annie Duke tromping on a herd of donkeys week after week. We get it - she is good at poker and they all suck miserably. If they don't change the format to make it at least somewhat challenging, interesting, or informative to anyone who is beyond complete novice status, I just can't see a reason to watch it again.