Poker After Dark

NBC’s Poker After Dark has saved the best for last. The finale of the fifth season is going to feature two weeks of high-stakes cash-game action, and it all starts tonight at 2:05 a.m.

The theme is aptly named “Railbird Heaven,” as the players seated at the table are among the fan favorites. The lineup includes Patrik Antonius, Daniel Negreanu, Gus Hansen, Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan, and Phil Hellmuth. The buy-in is a minimum of $100,000 and a maximum of $250,000. The blinds will start at $200-$400, but will increase to $300-$600.

The trading of giant sums of money won’t only be relegated to the poker table, as the players will engage in hefty prop bets, adding to the overall sickness of the session. The match will begin airing on NBC late tonight/tomorrow morning at 2:05 a.m., and will continue for four more consecutive nights in the same timeslot. A special “Director’s Cut” episode will air late night Saturday at 1 a.m., right after Saturday Night Live. The players will redraw for seats and continue with another week of cash games.

Find more Poker On TV listings under the Tools section on the Card Player homepage.

The following are interesting facts about the players, courtesy of PAD:

Patrik Antonius (Seat 1)

• Former male model and tennis player. Native of Helsinki, Finland. Now living in Monte Carlo, but also has a home in Las Vegas
• Considered one of the best short-handed high-stakes cash game players in the world, whether live or online, and is a fan favorite in the online community
• Lifetime live tournament winnings in excess of $2.84 million, and ranks No. 1 on Finland’s all-time money list
• Cool, calm, and calculating at the tables, with a propensity never to go on tilt
• In November 2009, won the largest pot in online poker history while playing heads-up pot-limit Omaha against “isildur1” of Sweden, a pot of $1,356,946.50

Daniel Negreanu (Seat 2)

• Dubbed “Kid Poker,” and one of poker’s most likeable and recognizable personalities
• Owns four WSOP bracelets, the latest in a 2008 WSOP $2000 limit hold’em event, and two WPT titles
• With his second-place showing in the 2009 WSOPE main event in October 2009, now has lifetime live tournament winnings in excess of $12.42 million, and ranks No. 1 on the all-time money list
• Had nine cashes, including three final tables, in the 2009 WSOP, more than any other player
• Ranks No. 1 on the World Poker Tour’s all-time money list with winnings of nearly $5.52 million

Gus Hansen (Seat 3)

• Known as “The Great Dane” and “Gambling Gus”
• Is the only player in history to have won three WPT open titles and almost won his fourth in the 2008 WPT Championship at Bellagio, finishing second
• Lifetime live tournament winnings in excess of $7.52 million, and ranks 21st on the all-time money list
• Difficult to read because of his loose-aggressive style of play
• Winner of the 2007 Aussie Millions, and authored a book detailing his play hand-for-hand in that event entitled Every Hand Revealed

Phil Ivey (Seat 4)

• Regarded by many as the best player in the game today
• Winner of seven WSOP bracelets, including two in 2009 in the $2500 no-limit deuce-to-seven lowball event and $2500 Omaha/7-card stud eight-or-better event, and one WPT title
• Career live tournament winnings in excess of $12.23 million, and ranks second on the all-time money list
• Capped off a terrific 2009 WSOP by finishing seventh in the main event, good for $1.4 million
• One of only five players in history to win three WSOP bracelets in one year (2002)

Tom Dwan (Seat 5)

• Nicknamed “durrrr,” and has a huge following in the online community
• Primarily a high-stakes cash game player with remarkable success despite his young age, and is considered one of poker’s premier cash game players
• Live career tournament winnings in excess of $1.12 million
• Made two final tables in the 2008 WSOP, the first he was old enough to play in
• In 2009, issued a $1 million heads-up challenge to anyone except Phil Galfond to put up $500,000 and play 50,000 hands at blinds of $200-$400 while playing four tables of no-limit hold’em or pot-limit Omaha at once online, saying that if his opponent finished up a minimum of $1 after rake once the hands were completed, he would pay them an extra $1.5 million; if Dwan was up $1 or more, the opponent would pay him $500,000

Phil Hellmuth (Seat 6)

• Known as the “Poker Brat,” a name he now embraces, and was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in July 2007
• 1989 World Champion, and won his eleventh WSOP bracelet in 2007, making him the first and only person in history to do so
• Career live tournament winnings in excess of $10.92 million, and ranks fourth on the all-time money list, despite never having a cash for more than $755,000
• With six cashes in the 2009 WSOP, now has more _WSOP_cashes (75) and has made more WSOP final tables (41) than any other player in history
• His fame has given him the opportunity to be involved in many businesses on the side, and he is highly acknowledged as the game’s best self-promoter