New Season/Format for Poker After Dark

Poker After Dark' Season IV Begins July 14

NBC's "Poker After Dark" series returns with
its fourth season of episodes beginning July 14th.

Season IV of "PAD" promises to break the
tradition established by the highly popular
late-night series in its first three seasons,
where it offered a revolving mix of poker's
biggest names in 6-handed freezeouts.

PAD's fourth season expands the show's horizons.
The debut episode of the upcoming season features
high-stakes, no-limit cash game play as opposed to
the series' traditional freezeout format, wherein
most of the weekly challenges offered a $120,000,
winner-take-all prize to a single player.

Instead, the July 14 episode kicks off new
territory for the show. It's a full week of
high-stakes cash-game action featuring a
lineup of diverse but impressive talent.

In seat order, the six chairs will be occupied by:

- 21 year old Tom "durrrr" Dwan

- 11 time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth

- high stakes, part-time cash-gamer Mike Baxter

- 5 time WSOP bracelet winner Allen Cunningham

- Cirque de Soleil CEO Guy Laliberte... and

- cash game veteran David "Viffer" Peat.

Dwan and Hellmuth have a (very brief) bit of
poker history on NBC, since the two squared off
in Round 1 of the 2008 National Heads-Up Poker
Championship. Courtesy of a bad beat, Dwan
defeated Hellmuth in just three hands,
the shortest match in NHUPC history. They and
the other four players – including Cunningham,
who will be making his televised cash-game
debut here – promise to get the new season
off to a lively start.

The debut week's new cash-game format
has the players starting with blinds of $200/400,
with, according to the show's press statements,
plenty of straddles and prop bets.

The minimum buy-in is $100,000,
the maximum $250,000, and the
mimimum for rebuys is $50,000.

Leeann Tweeden also makes her debut
as the series new host in the July 14 premiere.
The first episode airs late night Monday,
at 2:05 a.m. ET on July 14 (technically Tuesday ),
with five episodes airing on consecutive nights
at the same time.

As in previous seasons, a special "Director's Cut"
episode airs late Saturday night (technically
1:00 a.m. ET Sunday morning), following
"Saturday Night Live." Each day's show will
also be available for same-day viewing
at www.nbcsports.com/poker.

A second week of cash-game action is scheduled
for this fall on PAD. That week's episodes,
starting October 13, will feature Patrik Antonius,
Dee Tiller, Howard Lederer, Doyle Brunson,
Gabe Kaplan, and Eli Elezra.