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Poker After Dark

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Poker After Dark
File:PokerAfterDark.jpg
From left: dealer John Waltermeyer, Gus Hansen, Phil Hellmuth, Shawn Sheikhan, Annie Duke.
Presented byShana Hiatt (S1-2)
Marianela Pereyra (S3)
Leeann Tweeden (S4)
Narrated byAli Nejad
Country of origin United States
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes180
Production
ProducersPoker Productions (Eric Drache and Mori Eskandani)[1]
Production locationLas Vegas
Running time1 hour (with commercials; about 42 minutes without)
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseJanuary 1, 2007 –
present

Poker After Dark is an hour-long poker television program airing six nights a week[2]

The show made its debut on January 1, 2007.[1] For its first two seasons, both of which first aired in 2007, the show was presented by Shana Hiatt[3]. The host for season 3 was Marianela Pereyra, and Leeann Tweeden took over starting with season 4[4]. All seasons have contained voice-over commentary by Oliver "Ali" Nejad.

In the United States, Poker After Dark is part of NBC's late night programming lineup. In Canada it airs afternoons and late nights on Rogers Sportsnet. In Germany, it airs weekdays at 5:30 p.m. on DSF. German commentary is provided by Michael Körner.[5]

Summary

The series is structured as a week-long No Limit Texas hold 'em mini-tournament for six top poker professionals. Each week, the players vie for a $120,000 winner-takes-all prize pool, with each paying a $20,000 buy-in.[6] By the end of Friday's show, a winner is determined. Saturday's show is a "director's cut" that includes excerpts from the action from the previous five days, interspersed with talking heads commentary from the participants, and in the first two seasons included bloopers by Hiatt. The Poker After Dark format features an "intimate look at one table as it develops over the week."[1] Blinds start at $100/$200 and slowly escalate. Nejad's commentary is limited, allowing viewers to hear more of the table talk among the players, all of whom are miked.[1]

Beginning with season 4, the producers began to experiment with different formats, including 2 weeks of cash game play, and a week consisting of a double-elimination Heads Up battle between the first 4 winners of the National Heads-Up Poker Championship[7].

Schedule

Although start times vary according to preferences of local affiliates, Poker After Dark usually airs weekdays at 2:05 a.m. ET (1:05 CT) on most stations following Last Call with Carson Daly[8]. The "director's cut" weekly summary airs on Saturdays, typically following Saturday Night Live[8].

Poker After Dark airs on all NBC affiliates, except for preemptions from WNYT-TV Albany, New York, KPRC-TV Houston, WDIV-TV Detroit, KXAN-TV Austin, Texas, KSL-TV Salt Lake City, WMC-TV Memphis, WBBH-TV Fort Myers, KDLT-TV Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and WNWO-TV Toledo, Ohio.[citation needed]

Reception

In the U.S., the show had some early ratings success: during season one's second week, it attracted on average a larger audience among adults 18-34 than The Late Late Show did the same week, even though the latter is broadcast 90 minutes earlier.[9]

Sponsorship

Full Tilt Poker regularly advertises on NBC during Poker After Dark broadcasts.

Full Tilt Poker also helds promotional tournaments that have offered a seat on the show as the grand prize. The first of these winners, Ken Light, appeared on the first week of Season 3, and was said to have picked his own opponents, though Light later said on the show itself that he was only asked to provide a list of his favorite players and that he did not know that players from the list would join him on the show.[3]

Episode guide

Season 1 (2007)

Week Episodes Original Airdates Title Seat 1 Seat 2 Seat 3 Seat 4 Seat 5 Seat 6
1 1-6 Jan 1-6 Poker Brat Attack Gus Hansen Phil Hellmuth Shawn Sheikhan Annie Duke Steve Zolotow Huck Seed
2 7-12 Jan 8-13 Play Anything Mike Matusow Gabe Kaplan David Grey Doyle Brunson Jerry Buss Daniel Negreanu
3 13-18 Jan 15-20 WSOP Champions Chris Moneymaker Jamie Gold Johnny Chan Chris Ferguson Doyle Brunson Carlos Mortensen
4 19-24 Jan 22-27 Earphones Please Sam Farha Tony G Mike Matusow Phil Hellmuth Phil Ivey Andy Bloch
5 25-30 Jan 29-Feb 3 Phil Phil Phil Hellmuth Jennifer Harman Phil Laak Erik Seidel Antonio Esfandiari Doyle Brunson
6 31-36 Feb 12-17 Talking Heads Michael Konik Phil Gordon Howard Lederer Chad Brown Gabe Kaplan Mike Sexton
7 37-42 Feb 19-24 Against All Odds Chris Ferguson Clonie Gowen Sam Farha Gus Hansen Ted Forrest Tony G
8 43-48 Mar 12-17 Killer Table Phil Ivey Erick Lindgren Jennifer Tilly Patrik Antonius Jennifer Harman Phil Gordon
9 49-54 Apr 16-21 Loose Lips Mike Matusow Allen Cunningham David Benyamine Barry Greenstein Shawn Sheikhan John Juanda
10 55-60 May 14-19 Ladies' Week Clonie Gowen Evelyn Ng Dee Luong Vanessa Rousso Jennifer Harman Cyndy Violette

Season 2 (2007)

Season 2 was taped in May 2007 at the South Point Casino in Las Vegas.[8]

Week Episodes Original Airdates[10] Title[8] Seat 1 Seat 2 Seat 3 Seat 4 Seat 5 Seat 6
1 1-6 Jun 11-16 Golden Men Jamie Gold Joe Hachem Greg Raymer Huck Seed Doyle Brunson Johnny Chan
2 7-12 Jun 18-23 International Gus Hansen David Benyamine Patrik Antonius Daniel Negreanu Marco Traniello Brad Booth
3 13-18 Jun 25-30 Queens and Kings Gabe Kaplan Howard Lederer Ali Nejad Vanessa Rousso Annie Duke Kristy Gazes
4 19-24 Sep 10-15 World Series Legends Doyle Brunson Layne Flack Phil Hellmuth Chris Ferguson Erik Seidel T.J. Cloutier
5 25-30 Sep 17-22 WPT All-Stars Erick Lindgren Howard Lederer Daniel Negreanu Michael Mizrachi Gus Hansen Tuan Le
6 31-36 Sep 24-29 Live To Hurt Antonio Esfandiari Shawn Sheikhan Mike Matusow Phil Hellmuth Phil Laak Daniel Negreanu
7 37-42 Oct 1-6 Poker Prowess Phil Laak David Williams Annie Duke Andy Bloch John Juanda Clonie Gowen
8 43-48 Oct 8-13 Mega Match David Benyamine Allen Cunningham Jennifer Harman Phil Ivey Barry Greenstein Eli Elezra
9 49-54 Nov 5-10 Of Mouth and Men Alan "Boston" Dvorkis Antonio Esfandiari Mike Sexton Mike Matusow Jamie Gold Paul Wasicka
10 55-60 Nov 12-17 Signature Week Howard Lederer Phil Ivey Chris Ferguson Phil Hellmuth Jennifer Harman Gus Hansen
  • Week 8 (Mega Match) required a $50,000 buy-in rather than the usual $20,000, resulting in a $300,000 first prize.
  • Week 10 (Signature Week) was so named because the participants were those featured in the show's 2007 opening credits.

Season 3 (2008)

Season 3 was taped in October 2007 at the South Point Hotel in Las Vegas.[8]

Week Episodes Original Airdates Title[11] Seat 1 Seat 2 Seat 3 Seat 4 Seat 5 Seat 6
1 1-6 Dec 31-Jan 5 Dream Table Daniel Negreanu Phil Hellmuth Jennifer Harman Mike Matusow Scotty Nguyen Ken Light
2 7-12 Jan 7-12 19th Hole Gavin Smith David Oppenheim Erick Lindgren Phil Ivey Doyle Brunson Daniel Negreanu
3 13-18 Jan 14-19 Hecklers Gavin Smith Sam Grizzle Jean-Robert Bellande Mike Matusow Shawn Sheikhan Phil Hellmuth
4 19-24 Feb 11-16 World Champions Chris Ferguson Johnny Chan Berry Johnston Jamie Gold Phil Hellmuth Huck Seed
5 25-30 Feb 18-23 Cowboys Doyle Brunson Chris Ferguson Chau Giang Andy Bloch Hoyt Corkins Gabe Kaplan
6 31-36 Feb 25-Mar 1 International Patrik Antonius Johnny Chan Roland De Wolfe Daniel Negreanu Gus Hansen John Juanda
7 37-42 Mar 24-29 Jam Up David Williams Howard Lederer Mike Matusow Barry Greenstein Antonio Esfandiari Eli Elezra
8 43-48 Mar 31-Apr 5 Gus and the Ladies Gus Hansen Vanessa Rousso J. J. Liu Clonie Gowen Beth Shak Erica Schoenberg
9 49-54 May 12-17 Love at First Raise Jennifer Harman David Benyamine Jennifer Tilly Marco Traniello Erica Schoenberg Phil Laak
10 55-60 May 19-24 Commentators Mark Gregorich Chad Brown Ali Nejad Robert Williamson III Phil Gordon Howard Lederer
  • Week 1 (Dream Table) featured the the winner of a Full Tilt Poker sponsored contest (Ken Light) and was billed as the five professionals Light chose to play against, though Light said in an interview during one of the week's episodes that he was only asked to list his favorite players, and did not know that the list would be used to form the table.
  • Week 9 (Love at First Raise) featured 3 pairs of players who were couples at the time of filming: Jennifer Harman & Marco Traniello, David Benyamine & Erica Schoenberg, and Jennifer Tilly & Phil Laak.

Season 4 (2008)

Season 4 was taped in April 2008 at the South Point Hotel in Las Vegas.[7] Season 4 episode titles and presumed seating order were taken from NBC's website.[11]

Week Episodes Original Airdates Title[11] Seat 1 Seat 2 Seat 3 Seat 4 Seat 5 Seat 6
1 1-6 Jul 14-19 Cash Game #1 Tom Dwan Phil Hellmuth Mike Baxter Allen Cunningham Guy Laliberte Dave Peat "Viffer"
2 7-12 Jul 21-26 Nets Vs. Vets Brian Townsend Doyle Brunson Tom Dwan Johnny Chan Huck Seed Andrew Robl
3 13-18 Jul 28-Aug 3 Heads Up Challenge Phil Hellmuth Ted Forrest Paul Wasicka Chris Ferguson
4 19-24 Sep 22-Sep 27 Mission Impossible Mike Matusow Phil Laak Phil Hellmuth David Williams Clonie Gowen Gavin Smith
5 25-30 Sep 28-Oct 4 Dream II Mike Matusow Phil Hellmuth Mike Sexton Jennifer Harman Gavin Smith Paul Featherstone
6 31-36 Oct 6-Oct 11 Mayfair Club Jay Heimowitz Howard Lederer Mickey Appleman Dan Harrington Steve Zolotow Mike Shichtman
7 37-42 Oct 13-Oct 19 Cash Game #2 Patrik Antonius Dee Tiller Howard Lederer Doyle Brunson Gabe Kaplan Eli Elezra
8 43-48 Nov 10-Nov 15 Close but no Cigar Andy Black Lee Watkinson Dewey Tomko David Williams Allen Cunningham Mike Matusow
9 49-54 Nov 17-Nov 22 Speak Your Mind Todd Brunson Phil Hellmuth Phil Gordon Gabe Kaplan Cory Zeidman David Grey
10 55-60 Nov 24-Nov 30 Brilliant Minds Brandon Adams Chris Ferguson Andy Bloch Bill Chen Jimmy Warren David Sklansky
  • Dream II is the second tournament consisting of the winner of a Full Tilt Poker sponsored contest (Paul Featherstone) and the five professionals he chose to play against.
  • Heads Up Battle is a double elimination heads-up format featuring the first 4 winners of the National Heads-Up Poker Championship and required a $50,000 buy-in resulting in a winner-take-all $200,000 prize.[7]
  • The two weeks of cash games will be a $200/400 NL cash game instead of a winner take all tournament.[7]

Results and Notes

Does not include results of episodes that have not yet aired, even if that information is available online.

Season 1 (2007)

Week Title 6th Place 5th Place 4th Place 3rd Place Runner-Up Winner
1 Poker Brat Attack Phil Hellmuth Steve Zolotow Shawn Sheikhan Annie Duke Huck Seed Gus Hansen
2 Play Anything Jerry Buss Doyle Brunson Gabe Kaplan Mike Matusow David Grey Daniel Negreanu
3 WSOP Champions Carlos Mortensen Jamie Gold Doyle Brunson Chris Ferguson Chris Moneymaker Johnny Chan
4 Earphones Please Sam Farha Phil Hellmuth Andy Bloch Tony G Mike Matusow Phil Ivey
5 Phil Phil Doyle Brunson Erik Seidel Phil Hellmuth Jennifer Harman Antonio Esfandiari Phil Laak
6 Talking Heads Chad Brown Michael Konik Mike Sexton Gabe Kaplan Phil Gordon Howard Lederer
7 Against All Odds Sam Farha Ted Forrest Clonie Gowen Gus Hansen Tony G Chris Ferguson
8 Killer Table Erick Lindgren Phil Gordon Jennifer Tilly Phil Ivey Patrik Antonius Jennifer Harman
9 Loose Lips Barry Greenstein Mike Matusow David Benyamine Shawn Sheikhan Allen Cunningham John Juanda
10 Ladies' Week Vanessa Rousso Evelyn Ng Dee Luong Cyndy Violette Jennifer Harman Clonie Gowen
  • In the first episode of Season 1, the players continued to talk and make noise while Phil Hellmuth was trying to decide whether to go all-in against Annie Duke. Hellmuth held A♥ 10♦, while Duke had K♠ K♥. The lack of decorum caused Hellmuth to lash out at Shawn Sheikhan, call over the show's executive producer, and leave the table. Hellmuth also threatened not to participate in future Poker After Dark tournaments unless the show implemented a rule that encouraged people to stop talking when a player is making an important decision. Immediately after the incident, producers put in place a rule which states that if a player wishes to have silence at the table when faced with a tough decision, the player need only inform the dealer, who will then notify the other players of the request. Failure to comply will result in a "time-out" period of one lap of the button for the offending player(s), with blinds forfeited during this time.[12]

Season 2 (2007)

Week Title 6th Place 5th Place 4th Place 3rd Place Runner-Up Winner
1 Golden Men Greg Raymer Jamie Gold Huck Seed Doyle Brunson Johnny Chan Joe Hachem
2 International Gus Hansen Daniel Negreanu Marco Traniello David Benyamine Brad Booth Patrik Antonius
3 Queens and Kings Ali Nejad Annie Duke Vanessa Rousso Howard Lederer Kristy Gazes Gabe Kaplan
4 World Series Legends Chris Ferguson Layne Flack Erik Seidel T.J. Cloutier Phil Hellmuth Doyle Brunson
5 WPT All-Stars Michael Mizrachi Erick Lindgren Daniel Negreanu Gus Hansen Tuan Le Howard Lederer
6 Live To Hurt Mike Matusow Daniel Negreanu Phil Hellmuth Antonio Esfandiari Phil Laak Shawn Sheikhan
7 Poker Prowess Phil Laak Andy Bloch David Williams Annie Duke John Juanda Clonie Gowen
8 Mega Match David Benyamine Jennifer Harman Barry Greenstein Phil Ivey Eli Elezra Allen Cunningham
9 Of Mouth and Men Mike Matusow Alan Dvorkis Antonio Esfandiari Paul Wasicka Jamie Gold Mike Sexton
10 Signature Week Jennifer Harman Gus Hansen Chris Ferguson Phil Hellmuth Howard Lederer Phil Ivey
  • In "International" week, Gus Hansen was knocked out after 6 hands, and heads-up play started after 53 hands, both record lows for the show.[13]

Season 3 (2008)

Week Title[11] 6th Place 5th Place 4th Place 3rd Place Runner-Up Winner
1 Dream Table Mike Matusow Daniel Negreanu Scotty Nguyen Ken Light Jennifer Harman Phil Hellmuth
2 19th Hole David Oppenheim Erick Lindgren Daniel Negreanu Doyle Brunson Phil Ivey Gavin Smith
3 Hecklers Mike Matusow Sam Grizzle Gavin Smith Jean-Robert Bellande Shawn Sheikhan Phil Hellmuth
4 World Champions Huck Seed Chris Ferguson Berry Johnston Jamie Gold Phil Hellmuth Johnny Chan
5 Cowboys Hoyt Corkins Doyle Brunson Chau Giang Chris Ferguson Andy Bloch Gabe Kaplan
6 International Daniel Negreanu John Juanda Gus Hansen Roland de Wolfe Patrik Antonius Johnny Chan
7 Jam Up Barry Greenstein Mike Matusow Eli Elezra Howard Lederer Antonio Esfandiari David Williams
8 Gus & Ladies J.J. Liu Gus Hansen Erica Schoenberg Beth Shak Clonie Gowen Vanessa Rousso
9 Love at First Raise Erica Shoenberg Phil Laak Jennifer Harman Jennifer Tilly Marco Traniello David Benyamine
10 Commentators Howard Lederer Phil Gordon Robert Williamson III Chad Brown Ali Nejad Mark Gregorich
  • "Dream Table" week featured a Poker After Dark first: Phil Hellmuth won by taking an all-in bet from both Ken Light and Jen Harman on the last hand, resulting in the first match to end with no heads-up play.
  • "Hecklers Week" featured a controversial situation which necessitated the producer having to come to the table. Phil Hellmuth attempted to bluff the river with pair of aces on the board in a hand against Jean-Robert Bellande, and Bellande called. Hellmuth then said "you got it" and held onto his cards, waiting for Bellande to show the winner. Bellande felt he did not have to show his hand, while Hellmuth thought "olden day etiquette" indicated that he should. The tournament was stopped for 5 minutes while all players voiced their opinions and eventually the producer came over and then Hellmuth showed his hand, necessitating that Bellande show his to claim the pot.[14]
  • "Jam Up" week featured a rule that allowed any player knocked out over the first six hands (once around the table) to rebuy. On the first hand, Eli Elezra was knocked out when his AK didn't crack Howard Lederer's AA when they both got all their chips in pre-flop. Eli was allowed to rebuy for another $20,000, which brought the total chips in play to $140,000, and the first place prize to $140,000[13].

Season 4 (2008)

Week Title[11] 6th Place 5th Place 4th Place 3rd Place Runner-Up Winner
1 Cash Game #1 --------------------------------------------- ( Not Applicable ) ---------------------------------------------
2 Nets Vs. Vets Andrew Robl Johnny Chan Tom Dwan Huck Seed Doyle Brunson Brian Townsend
3 Heads Up Challenge ---- ( N/A ) ---- ---- ( N/A ) ---- Paul Wasicka Ted Forrest Chris Ferguson Phil Hellmuth
4 Mission Impossible
5 Dream II
6 Mayfair Club
7 Cash Game #2 --------------------------------------------- ( Not Applicable ) ---------------------------------------------
8 Close but no Cigar
9 Speak Your Mind
10 Brilliant Minds

Stats

  • "Most Appearances" is updated through all filmed episodes (through all of Season 4).
  • "Most Wins" and "Never Won" are updated through all aired episodes, and do not include cash game results, as those do not have a declared winner (as a result, numbers in the "Appearances" columns could be different in these tables compared to the "Most Appearances" table).

References and footnotes

  1. ^ a b c d NBC Announces New Poker After Dark series, from the NBC Universal Media Village website
  2. ^ NBC launches poker show from United Press International
  3. ^ a b Poker After Dark kicks off season with Dream Match
  4. ^ Cardplayer article on Season 4
  5. ^ Poker Exklusiv on the DSF website
  6. ^ Although the standard buy-in on Poker After Dark is $20,000, the buy-in for the Mega Match (which first aired the week of October 8, 2007) was $50,000.
  7. ^ a b c d Season 4 preview from Poker News
  8. ^ a b c d e Poker After Dark returns for second season[dead link‍] from the NBC Sports website
  9. ^ Poker After Dark Draws Ratings, a January 2007 Bodog Online poker blog entry
  10. ^ pokerafterdark.com past matches from the NBC Sports website
  11. ^ a b c d e 2008 Poker After Dark schedule from the NBC Sports website
  12. ^ Poker After Dark Week 1 Recap from the NBC Sports website
  13. ^ a b Nejad's commentary
  14. ^ Poker After Dark Hecklers Recap from the PAD website
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