Late Night Poker
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Late Night Poker is a British television show in which poker players, mostly professionals or strong amateurs, compete in a short series of No-Limit Texas hold 'em tournament games for a prize of approximately £50,000.
History
Six series of the show were created between 1999 and 2002. Produced in Cardiff, Wales, by TV company Presentable, they aired on Channel 4.
A celebrity version of the show was produced on 12 October 2000, featuring (in finishing order from 1st to 7th place) Anthony Holden, Al Alvarez, Martin Amis, Victoria Coren, Patrick Marber, Stephen Fry and Ricky Gervais. This led into the creation of Celebrity Poker Club.
In 2005 an all-amateur tournament by the name of PartyPoker.com Late Night Poker Ace was broadcast, following a qualification round on the aforementioned website. The tournament was won by 46-year-old security van driver John Shaw from Dunfermline, who won the £50,000 first prize. A second tournament is planned for 2006.
Late Night Poker will return to British television during 2006 under the new title Late Night Poker Masters. The format is changed to 4 heats with 8 players in each. (6 players in each heat will be professionals; the other 2 will qualify through the second series of Late Night Poker Ace.) Two players qualify through each heat to the final. [link]. Confirmed players include Simon Trumper, Peter Costa, Tony G and The Hendon Mob. Former winners Dave Ulliott and Padraig Parkinson have publicly stated on the Hendon Mob's forum that they will not be playing in the event due to favourable efforts being made towards foreign players by the show's producers. [link] The series will be broadcast from September 2006 conwards on Channel 4.
Crew
- Jesse May - commentator; also appeared in a season 1 episode under the pseudonym "Mickey Dane."
- Nic Szeremeta - creator (uncredited), commentator (seasons 1-3)
- Lucy Rokach - commentator (season 4)
- Barny Boatman - commentator (seasons 5-6)
- Thomas Kremser - floorman and referee
- Peter Schmid - dealer
- Marinda Rado - dealer
Format
A series of Late Night Poker consists of 9 programmes - 7 heats, one semi-final, and the final. Each heat has 7 players. The 7 winners of the heats progress straight to the final, and the runners-up go to the semi-final, where one additional player progresses, for a final table of 8 players.(NB: The first series featured 5 heats, with the players finishing 1st and 2nd in each progressing to the final. The players who qualified by finishing first in their heat started the final with twice as many chips as the heat runner-ups.)
Although the precise sums of money involved have varied, the typical buy-in has been in the region of £1,500, with a first prize of between £40,000 and £60,000.
The shows lasted 60 minutes when broadcast, with the season finals lasting 90 minutes. When shown in America on FSN, the shows were cut to 30 minutes each.
Under-the-table cameras
Late Night Poker's success is largely attributable to its "under-the-table" cameras (later known as hole cams) which allow the viewers and commentators to see the players' cards through the transparent table. It is doubtful Poker could succeed as a spectator sport otherwise, and American broadcasters have subsequently used a similar technique in programmes such as World Poker Tour.Nevertheless, in contrast to most Poker shows, Late Night Poker tends to use these cameras in a rather minimalist way. For example, in a two-way pot, often only one player's cards are shown, with the commentators trying to infer from the other player's actions what cards he or she holds, and how the first player should act. Because of this, the commentary often mirrors the actual decision-making process of a Poker player. Only late in the hand, at the time of a critical decision, would the other player's cards be shown, possibly revealing a startling bluff or an unexpectedly strong hand.
Series finalists
| Season | Winner | Prize | Runner-Up | 3rd place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Dave Ulliott | £40,000 |
Peter Evans |
Dave Welch |
| 2 |
Simon Trumper | £40,000 |
Ross Boatman |
Ram Vaswani |
| 3 |
Phil Hellmuth Jr | £45,000 |
Adam Heller |
Paul Alterman |
| 4 |
Hemish Shah | £50,000 |
Simon Trumper |
Barny Boatman |
| 5 |
Padraig Parkinson | £50,000 |
Korosh Nejad |
Joe Beevers |
| 6 |
Peter Costa | £60,000 |
Jin Cai Lin |
Lucy Rokach |
| Ace 1 |
John Shaw | £50,000 |
Other notable players
See also
- Late Night Poker season 1 results
- Late Night Poker season 2 results
- Late Night Poker season 3 results
- Late Night Poker season 4 results
- Late Night Poker season 5 results
- Late Night Poker season 6 results
| Poker tournament>Major poker tournaments |
| World Series of Poker (1970 World Series of Poker>'70 - '71 - '72 - '73 - '74 - '75 - '76 - '77 - '78 - '79 - '80 - '81 - '82 - '83 - '84 - '85 - '86 - '87 - '88 - '89 - '90 - '91 - '92 - '93 - '94 - '95 - '96 - '97 - '98 - '99 - '00 - '01 - '02 - '03 - '04 - '05 - '06 – Circuit – TOC) |
| World Poker Tour (World Poker Tour season 1 results>1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5) --- European Poker Tour (1 - 2) --- Late Night Poker (1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6) |
| Professional Poker Tour --- Poker Million --- Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament>Poker Superstars (1 - 2 - 3) --- Poker Nations Cup |
| World Heads-Up --- National Heads-Up --- Ultimate Poker Challenge (1 - 2 - 3) --- VC Cup --- Grand Prix |
| Late Night Poker>Late Night Poker Winners |
| I: Dave Ulliott - II: Simon Trumper - III: Phil Hellmuth - IV: Hemish Shah - V: Padraig Parkinson - VI: Peter Costa |
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