Late Night Poker

Revision as of 18:46, 7 January 2015

Synopsis

Shockingly, not a late-night low-budget Channel 5 erotic drama inevitably starring Shannon Tweed, this literally is cards.

And that's it, really. Get eight people round a table who have bought £1500 of their own cash in, get them to play Texas Hold 'Em for a bit until one person is left, add some nifty camerawork in a modern lounge set, mix in some commentary from some experts, regular close-ups of poker faces, leave it in the oven for an hour and serve.

And that's really all there is. So why is it so bloody watchable?

One reason is that we get to see the cards by virtue of a very gimmicky and very lovely glass-topped table underneath which is a camera. So, after the director leaves us for a minute or two to decide what we're going to do, they give us a shot of what cards each player is holding. At this point we're leaping off the sofa because we know Dave 'The Devilfish' Ulliot has just drawn a seemingly impossible flush, and Liam Flood's three of a kind isn't looking so good any more.

Another reason is that the game in fact lasts about three or four hours, but we only get to see about an hour of the juicy bits. And, as regular fans will know, some of the juicy bits are very juicy indeed. Just when you think someone's up against it, it can all turn around just like that.

The second series had the advantage of many of the participants having "previous form" from the first, and this made the whole thing even more enjoyable.

This is one of those shows that, even though it's frequently shown well past our bedtime, people have been talking about it. A rare thing indeed.

Key moments

Sir Clive Sinclair (he of Spectum, C5 and calculator fame) storming out after blowing £1500 on the first show.

Catchphrases

"Until next time, cash me in"

Web links

Presentable's poker productions page, via archive.org in 2006

Channel 4 site

Wikipedia entry

Off the Telly review (1999)

See also

Late Night Poker Ace

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