In recent months, the conversation around poker-based content has intensified.
While short-form poker material grows increasingly popular, many community members – Daniel Negreanu included – have expressed a desire to see the game break into mainstream media spheres with a project that presents poker in a style similar to Netflix's Full Swing.
Now, as Negreanu points out, the time for talk is over and it's all about action – and Professors Tracy Halcomb and H. James Gilmore, producers of Cracking Aces: A Woman's Place at the Table, agree.
Cracking Aces strikes distribution deal
In a timely move, Halcomb and Gilmore have secured a distribution deal with Bitmax – a major distribution platform for video-on-demand content. On Thursday, August 21, Cracking Aces will be available for digital purchase and rental on streaming services including Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, and Google Play.
Cracking Aces introduces audiences to a number of pioneering women in poker, including Jan Fisher, Linda Johnson, Maria Ho, Jeanne David, and PokerOrg's own Tiffany Michelle, and conveys the triumphs and tribulations of existing in a predominantly male industry. In interviews, the film's subjects dissect and share their own experiences in poker.
Cracking Aces enjoyed a successful run on the festival circuit following its completion in 2018. While live audiences responded positively to the film, a widespread digital release will hopefully attract even more eyes and capitalize on the existing desire for well-produced, long-form poker storytelling.
PokerOrg reached out to Halcomb to learn more about the Cracking Aces distribution deal and what it means for the film.
'A story that found us'
How did Cracking Aces come to be?
The film Cracking Aces: A Woman’s Place at the Table is a story that found us we like to say. We were having a celebratory dinner at Benihana’s in Las Vegas after a successful panel presentation at the Broadcast Education Association Conference in Las Vegas and were seated with two female professional poker players. These two poker players were the First Lady of Poker, Linda Johnson, and a former poker dealer, Jan Fisher. We exchanged business cards and months later were interviewing over 25 female poker players and dealers from past to present day.
What does the distribution deal with Bitmax mean for the film?
When Cracking Aces: A Woman’s Place at the Table came out in 2018, Jim and I took it on the film festival circuit, but didn’t really have time as full-time college professors to sort through a distribution deal. But we both thought that there are so many thousands of poker players who would find this to be an entertaining snapshot of poker history. So, when Bitmax expressed interest, we finally pulled the trigger and signed with Bitmax to get Cracking Aces out on various streaming platforms like Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV and GooglePlay. We spent four years making this film, so we really wanted to get it out to a large audience who never had a chance to see it at a film festival.
What do you want audiences to take away from the film?
We would really love it if people came away with a new appreciation for these women who were pioneers in professional poker… and helped change the poker industry for the good of all. It would be awesome for the female professional poker players of today to stop and pay homage to a few of the women who paved the way for their opportunities.
More to come?
If you enjoy Cracking Aces, there's another project in the works to look forward to.
In April, PokerOrg spoke with Dustin Iannotti, founder and director of award-winning video production studio Artisans on Fire, for an exclusive interview about his in-the-works documentary centered around the 2024 World Series of Poker Paradise festival. Iannotti and his crew were granted unfiltered access to several of poker's brightest stars – Negreanu, Kristen Foxen, Phil Hellmuth, Alan Keating, and Jesse Lonis to name a few – and compiled more than 600 hours of footage to work with.
Iannotti's project holds great promise and Cracking Aces: A Woman's Place at the Table now stands as a concrete example of widespread distribution with potential to break into mainstream media.
