Poker Night Live

infobox television
show_name = Poker Night Live


caption Poker Night Live
format = Internet Poker Show
runtime = 240 Minutes
creator = PokerZone
starring = Various (See Presenters Below)
country = UK
network = PokerZone
first_aired = February 2005
last_aired = May 2007
num_episodes =
imdb_id =

Poker Night Live was the United Kingdom's first live Internet poker show, broadcast between 2005 and 2007 on Pokerzone, usually between 9pm and 1am. Versions of it have been broadcast world-wide.

The show, in its live form, finished in May 2007, although repeats of past episodes were still broadcast until the closure of the Pokerzone channel the following year.

how Features

The show featured coverage of online poker cash games, single table "sit and go" tournaments, and multi-table tournaments. The games featured are from the Prima Poker network of sites, and are broadcast with a short delay, with all players' cards visible. The presenters also discuss viewers' emails and text messages on poker issues.

A regular feature from February, 2006 was the "Beat The Presenter" tournament, in which one of the presenters plays a single table tournament while the programme is being broadcast, and then analyses their play along with their co-presenter after it is completed.

In 2006, Poker Night Live offered its regular online players the chance to win places in a special PokerBowl show. The six qualifiers visited the PokerZone studio to play in a "live" tournament. The show was broadcast in September 2006 with Ken "Snappit" Hawkins beating Andrew "Gilberto" Parkhouse heads up.

Presenters & Guests

Presenters

Throughout its run, the show featured a number of different presenters, some of them expert players and others relatively new to the game. Hosts on the UK version of Poker Night Live included:

* Mark Banin
* Caspar Berry
* Matt Broughton
* James Browning
* John Clark
* Malcolm "The Rock" Harwood
* Lynsey Horn
* Alex Hyndman
* Tony "tikay" Kendall
* Barry "The Bully" Martin
* Michelle "The Night Nurse" Orpe
* "Dr Tom" Sambrook
* Kara Scott
* Nick Wealthall
* Greg "Axxeman" Winters

pecial Guests

Guests in the commentary box have included:

* Kevin O'Connell
* Victoria Smirnoff
* Nic Szeremeta
* The Hendon Mob
* Dave Ulliott
* Johnny Chan
* Simon "Aces" Trumper

Celebrity Players

Several celebrities have been known to play on the TV broadcast tables, including:

* Nick Bateman (Former "Big Brother" contestant)
* Roberto Conte (Former "Big Brother" contestant)
* Charles Ingram ("Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" million winner, convicted of deception)
* Ewen Macintosh (Actor)
* Grub Smith (TV presenter)
* Phil Taylor (Darts champion)

Canadian version

In February 2006, a Canadian version was created for Casino and Gaming Television (now called GameTV). The Canadian version ran for two hours, instead of the four hour run-time of the UK show. The format was similar with more focus on Sit and Go tournaments and No Limit Cash tables featuring Canadian players. The show aired live Wednesday to Sunday at 11:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. EST. Repeated episodes were aired Monday and Tuesday at 11:00 p.m. and 7 days a week from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

The show was cancelled in December 2006 when CGTV was rebranded to GameTV.

Presenters on the Canadian version have included:

* Tina Teggart (Host)
* John "Johnny T" Tokatlidis (Host/Expert)
* Devin "Downtown Devo Brown" Armstrong (Expert)
* Lou Gazzola (Expert)
* Audrey Audet (Expert)
* Antonio "The Magician" Esfandiari (Celebrity Expert)
* Gail Ordogh (Host)

External links

* [http://www.pokernightlive.co.uk/ Official site]