Poker After Dark Hosted by Shana Hiatt

Viewers can watch big name poker every night on NBC these days. NBC started showing Poker After Dark back in the winter. It now airs six nights a week at 2am Eastern Time.

This show is really entertaining. NBC made a point to collect the biggest "characters" in the sport. The cast includes Sam Farha, Tony G, Mike Matusow, Phil Hellmuth, Phil Ivey and Andy Bloch.

I thought I would give a recap of the show the other night, simply to give readers an idea of what they might expect. Note that there is an edited version of Poker After Dark which airs every Saturday. This show is five shows edited into one.

THE PRODUCTION

The show is hosted by Shana Hiatt, who previously hosted the first three seasons of The World Poker Tour. According to Cardplayer poker_news, Shana had to sue The World Poker Tour to take this gig with NBC. Her job consists of interviewing players when they bust out, and once or twice a show talking to some player on an aside.

There is a narrator out of the commercials, as well as the play-by-play on cards and bet sizes and very occasional commentary. Otherwise, the dialogue is carried by the players.

I prefer this style to the highly edited narration of the World Series of Poker. The color commentary works on the WSOP, because they are covering mostly a bunch of no-name players without a whole lot of personality. But the "Poker After Dark" guys don't need someone talking over them.

PREVIOUSLY ON POKER AFTER DARK

Sam Farha busted out when he went sensed weakness against Phil Ivey and went all-in. He was caught and lost his sizable stack. Phil Ivey has over half the chips in the game. Phil Hellmuth is the short stack.

Hellmuth A-K versus Bloch at A-10. Phil is still the short stack.

Meanwhile, Hellmuth and Matusow had a bet that Hellmuth won't come back to win the table. It's a stacked bet, Hellmuth stands to lose $3,000, while Matusow is in for over $40,000.

TONY G

Interestingly, I expected Tony G to be one of the major talkers at the table. Matusow and Farha dominated the talk, with Hellmuth chiming in occasionally. Tony apparently isn't getting any cards, because (as Matusow mentioned and Tony agreed) Tony G hasn't played a hand all day.

Hellmuth and the Mouth are starting to get chippy, though it is taking the form of recollections of former mouth-offs the two have had.

IVEY DOMINATES PLAY

PHil Ivey just pushed Phil Hellmuth out of a hand which Hellmuth was ahead of. Hellmuth mentions this is how he plays Ivey, to let him steal a few hands and then trap him.

Mike Matusow and Tony G explode with indignation when Hellmuth showed them his cards, because they were both (rightly) convinced that Hellmuth was dominating the hand. Both had jacks, but Hellmuth had an Ace against a 9. When a King came on the flop, Hellmuth thought Ivey had a pair of Kings.

Hellmuth tells the guys they need to listen to his lessons, though they don't have the intelligence to do so. He mentions that Ivey is probably listening. Ivey pipes in "You have to listen" as if Hellmuth is wise. He might be joking.

WHAT'S JUST HAPPENED?

Tony G doesn't seem to be paying attention. After the flop, Bloch pushed Ivey out of the hand with a $4,000 bet. Tony G looked up from his coffee cup and said, "You didn't flop it?" He appears to have not noticed the flop.

Tony G is screwing with Hellmuth because he reportedly wanted a private jet to bring him to the set. Phil replies that "some people have a family life". Matusow explains to Tony G that Phil is an icon, then in the next breath says that Phil is a nutcase and asks if Phil still has the same therapist.

Four players got in one hand. When Phil Hellmuth flopped top pair, he bet all-in with $6,500. When everyone folded, then Hellmuth complained that he didn't play the hand right, that he should have bet $2,000 instead.

HELLMUTH IS FINISHED

Eventually, Phil Hellmuth is busted out. Hellmuth tells Ivey he will play him sometime for real stakes. Ivey replies that Hellmuth should come down to the Bellagio sometime, as if Hellmuth is ducking the big games.

Shana: "So who is playing the worst at the table?"
Phil (paraphrased): Everyone is playing well, though Tony G is playing tight. It's a good strategy with low blinds.
Shana: "Rate your own play?"
Phil (paraphrased): Not that bad. I played two hands badly.
Shana: "Can you afford to play two hands badly at this table?"
Phil (paraphrased): Maybe, I don't know. (changing the subject somewhat), I was trying to trap Ivey and it never worked.

AFTERMATH

The table goes quiet after Hellmuth leaves, as Tony G and Mike Matusow have no one to pick on anymore. The two of them really do seem like a pair of teenage school kids. They appear to have made buddies at the table. Several times, the two seem more interested in whispering among themselves than paying attention to the rest of the table.

Matusow is explaining to Tony G how he didn't play well early in the tournament. Tony G consoles Mike for his poor play.

Both are going to need consoling, if they continue to lay down hands. Phil Ivey is starting to use the power of the big stack, pushing both of them out of hands over and over.

A COUPLE OF SHOWDOWNS

Finally, Mike and Tony get in the same hand. Mike flops a pair of 10's, but Tony pair a Jack on the turn. He bets Mike out of the hand.

Bloch is able to push Phil Ivey out of a hand with a $5,000 bet. Shana Hiatt comes in to tell us it turned into the Phil Ivey Show. Meanwhile, Tony G makes snarky comments as she's signing out.

Tomorrow: Matusow winks at Phil Ivey and Phil rolls his eyes.

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Poker After Dark Hosted by Shana Hiatt