By Eric Pytel
The greatest infomercial on network TV isn’t really an infomercial at all. It’s Poker after Dark, televised on NBC after the late-night talk shows and the nightly replay of the 10 o’clock NBC 5 news. I recently came upon the show after a bout of insomnia and quickly found myself glued to the tube. It’s shown nightly (Monday-Friday) with a weekly behind-the-scenes director’s cut on Saturday in the wee hours of the morning. A director’s cut!
NBC has partnered with Full-Tilt Poker.net to show weekly themed broadcasts of no-limit Texas Hold ‘Em. In between the action, commercials run that are part noir/part campy theatrics aimed at enticing viewers to try their luck at online poker. Each episode is an hour long. It starts with six seated players on Monday and by Friday the table is narrowed to two who go head-to-head until there is a victor. It’s an imaginative – and winning – formula.
The show is hosted by Shanna Hiatt, who starts each show with player introductions and the catchphrase, “Let’s get the cards in the air!”
Hiatt is also on hand for player comments after they’ve been humiliated, er, eliminated by their poker peers.Then, there’s the voice from above, or maybe it’s just Daniel Stern narrating an episode of The Wonder Years. Nope, it’s Oliver “Ali” Nejad, poker’s version of Dick Vitale, with his clever anecdotes and frequent deployment of all that gritty poker terminology (“chop the pot,” “Fifth Street,” “pocket pair”). Well, maybe not the Dick Vitale, he’s not that over-the-top; maybe the John Madden of poker, without the turkey legs. Ali is the glue who holds the show together and makes it work. When the table trash talk isn’t flowing, he plays the role of color analyst/biographer/and play-by-play announcer all in one.
The contestants are TV-worthy as well. This week, for example, is Ladies Week, featuring some of poker’s deadliest femme fatales. There oughta be enough “blinds, bluffs, and bravado” to keep even the mildest poker fan interested. (Last week Mr. Kotter was onboard; finished fifth. If only they would have had the whole Sweathog gang on; I’d of bet on Freddy “Boom Boom” Washington.)
If Poker After Dark doesn’t fit your schedule, NBC also broadcasts Heads Up Poker in the daytime. Shannon Elizabeth, an actress and upstart poker savant, is looking to parlay her stunning early run through the tournament field into a finals appearance; she’s currently one of four players left.
Or you can watch Poker After Dark online in the light of day. But it’s really not the same. The illicit is part of poker’s appeal, despite the mainstreaming it’s gotten in recent years. Poker By Day just isn’t the same.
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Posted on May 15, 2007