The format of NBC's Poker After Dark
By Dan Gati
We're two weeks into the first season of Poker After Dark, and there are a lot of opinions on the format of the show.
Since the show airs at 2:00 a.m. in most markets, Poker After Dark is not meant to be an intense poker show. The analysis is kept to a minimum in order to allow viewers to enjoy the play. Announcer Oliver "Ali" Nejad brings viewers up to date on the action. He's not there to give insight as to what players might be thinking on a given hand. And, from time to time, Ali will chime in with some humor to keep the mood light on Poker After Dark.
Ali's role on the show has been debated within the poker community, and there are a variety of opinions. Some people think Ali is funny and his limited commentary allows viewers to really get an inside look at the players at the table. Others think Ali doesn't give enough true poker analysis and interferes with the table talk.
As someone who is involved in the production and who knows Ali well, I'm one of the people who think his commentary adds a lot to the show, but I can see the other point of view. Ali fully recognizes the need to allow the players to be the stars of the show. He's just there to remind viewers of what happened in a given hand. Occasionally, it's necessary to talk over the conversation to make sure the action in a hand is clear. 95% of the time, the table talk that gets talked over is irrelevant and/or inappropriate.
I think you'll find that as the show progresses, people will begin to better appreciate the format of the show. Gone are the days of over-analysis. And, perhaps more importantly, gone are the days of just seeing "coin flips" like queens v. ace-king. People want to see and hear the players, and they want to see all kinds of hands, not just the ones where a player is eliminated. Poker After Dark is definitely a jolt to the system, but I have a feeling it will grow to be liked by the poker community.
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NBC Sports breaks down the biggest news, bluffs, table talk and more during Poker After Dark and the Heads-Up Championship.
When is this show going to end? I don't like it.. I want the repeats of Jay Leno to start at 2:05 and the repeat of Late NIght with Conan O'Brien at 3:05. Please go back to the regular programming and take this stupid show off the air. I hate it.
This is excellent. Plus, it put Shana back on TV. Kudos.
Now, when you get tired of Jay Leno, you have a program to put in place of "The Tonight Show".
What is the big secret about how this show is set up financially? I agree with those who think Mr. Nejad is a waste. But more importantly, why doesn't NBC divulge the financial deal with the players? Do they put up any of their own cash? I don't think so. It appears they are paid in TV exposure time plus a shot at $120,000 of NBC's money.
Well here i go wasting my time again...but oh well...First of all who cares if they put up there own money, 20 grand is to them is like $20 bucks to rest of us. It's pocket change for those guys. Also it took a couple shows to get used the no announcer thing....but I like Ali ....he cracks me up with his little comments every now and then.
But we need more Shana Hiatt ....dont see enough of her on there.
I don't mind Ali, although I don't particularly enjoy his commentary either. But I do love the show, especially the fact that these are all world class players, and we get to watch them in every situation, the orphan pots as well as the all-in confrontations. Its the run-of-the-mill hands that win tournaments, so it's nice to see how these pros handle them. And by all means, please keep this show on for as long as possible, one can only handle so much Leno.
Do the players buy in each week? Do they give each weeks winner 120K? I'm confused and can't find the rules anywhere.
Thanx
Why is the show on so late? I'm losing a lot of sleep trying to stay up to watch it. I enjoy listening to the players' conversations and especially enjoyed watching Daniel Negreanu. He is great!
The show is great I watch it every day. The thing I like most is that it shows way more hands being played not just the big pots like ESPN's coverage of the WSOP or the Travel Channel's coverage of the WPT. You can learn a lot more from these great pros and that's what i'm in it for!
I like the show but it still has the problems of all televised poker shows: we don't see enough hands to know the context the plays are being made in. However, that could get really boring since they all play very few hands.I like the chatter and the style differences but these are games most of us will never play in. The format is fine for the our it's on. I tape it or watch it on nbc.com.
this show is the best poker show there is... i love watching all the play and the lack of editing... Ali doesn't bother me at all... and Shana should be in lingere and always in the background of the shot looking hot... that is all
Get rid of the announcer and get Gabe Kaplan in...nuff said.
I love the show. We see almost all of the hands from what I can tell, and Ali's commentary is OK, most of the time it is unnecessary but neither is it offensive.
The best part of this is learning from all of these top-notch players.
My guess from the banter that I've heard at the table is that they are paid for their appearence, and put in money.. of course their appearence fee covers their buy-in (and in some cases more than covers the buy-in).
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