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 worldwide. 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.
Show Features
The show featured coverage of online pokercash 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. Usually the show was presented by one of the female hosts alongside one of the poker experts. When the show started, the hosts knew little about poker, however, their knowledge improved as the show went on. Hosts on the UK version of Poker Night Live included:
In February 2006, a Canadian version was created for Casino and Gaming Television. 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:
