Poker After Dark Week 1 Recap

Posted: Monday, January 8, 2007 5:00 PM

By Dennis Oehring

Well, if the first week of Poker After Dark is any indication of what we can expect to see in the future, here's one guy that's not going to miss an episode! The first week had a little of everything, from personal confrontation and verbal taunting to interesting stories and great poker.

Being fortunate enough to attend the taping of the show, and from attending the taping of several other shows in the past, I knew the producers wouldn't shy away from showing the controversy that evolved during this match. Anyone who remembers the incident on the first season of High Stakes Poker involving Freddy Deeb being accused of "going south" will understand what I'm talking about. The producers are one and the same. Phil Hellmuth and Shawn Sheikhan

Televised poker, in a way, is the ultimate reality show. When a player is under the lights and knows that their every move and decision is going to be scrutinized by perhaps millions of people who are watching, the pressure to do well, regardless of the stakes, is very real. It can often bring out components of a player's personality that develop into questionable behavior that, while some love to watch, others loathe. To me, it's all part of what makes televised poker so interesting and entertaining.

Having Phil Hellmuth and Shawn Sheikhan at the same table was no fluke, but I doubt that anyone, from the producers to the players themselves, anticipated the degree of volatility that would erupt between the two. And while all the players needled Phil to some degree when he demanded to know if anything was going to be done about the table talk when he was faced with a big decision, I sensed a certain amount of remorse from most of the players by the end of the match concerning their behavior. Gus Hansen later said that what they did was wrong. Even Sheiky in his exit interview said he got what he deserved.

By the way, immediately after the incident, the producers put in place a new rule. It simply states that if other players are talking and a player wishes to have silence at the table when faced with a tough decision, the player need only let the dealer know this, at which time the dealer will inform the other players of the request. Failure to comply with the request by continuing to talk will now result in a "time-out" period of one lap of the button for the offending player(s), with blinds forfeited during this time. Phil was happy to see the rule instituted, so expect to see him in future episodes.

Many thanks to NBC Sports Executive VP Jon Miller and NBCsports.com manager Brett Vandermark for asking me to provide the website with an occasional blog. I hope to be able to share more behind-the-scenes information and other interesting little tidbits from matches in the future, along with a few surprises.

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21 Comments

Tom McCaffrey said:

Phil Helmuth, is a real annoying person to watch.
I can't understand how he has 10 bracelets that he brags about. love it when players put him on tilt.
match him up with Mike the mouth,Negranu, and
Sheikan. See how good he really is.

January 27, 2007 11:23 AM

Anonymous said:

Phil may have overreacted, but the actions by the other players were not acceptable by any means. If this was at any other poker tournament in any casino, the dealer, the floorperson, and the tournament director would shut everyone at the table up immediately. Despite the lax atmosphere, there are rules and ettiquetes involved in the game. And everyone should respect that. Having the whole table talking and needling a player while he's trying to make a decision is clearly bad table ettiquete and would be stopped always at any other poker table.

January 28, 2007 7:07 PM

Stephen Yoo said:

I think the producers purposefully let the drama build just to try and make for good t.v. But that makes for terrible poker by any standard. This isn't your average dinner table poker game played with friends. This is supposed to be a serious game.

January 28, 2007 7:10 PM

Jeremy said:

I was dismayed to see that Erik Seidel falsely claimed that Sen. Barack Obama is an atheist on last night's show. This is untrue and, since it was broadcast nationally, should be corrected.

Click on my name below for more information.

January 31, 2007 1:47 PM

Kathie said:

Thanks Jeremy ---- I was wanting to say the same thing. There were at least two of the poker players who suddenly changed their votes due to the comment and who knows how many viewers did the same. Please broadcast the true information nationally to correct the misconception.

February 1, 2007 7:20 PM

Steve said:

This also bothered me. Barak Obama is not an atheist. I was disappointed that the show would let this peice of misinformation stand uncorrected.

February 2, 2007 3:45 PM

Anonymous said:

Barak has as much a chance of winning as this show does of staying on the air. They both SUCK.

February 4, 2007 3:14 AM

Anonymous said:

You're joking about the correction, right? You don't think people's comments representing themselves have to be fact checked?

February 16, 2007 1:26 PM

Tim said:

Phil needs to learn that poker, specifically, and the world, in general, does not revolve around him. He's an excellent poker player when he bothers to play but he puts himself on tilt, so Phil, just keep your stupid yap shut and play some cards!!!

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