Bellande: "Poker After Dark is Raw Poker"

Going by the moniker “Broke Living Millionaire,” Jean-Robert Bellande generated quite the social media following over the last couple of years, but real poker fans know that ‘JRB’ has been around for well over a decade in the high stakes scene. The former Survivor contestant appeared three times on the first run of Poker After Dark, has been a high-stakes cash game regular around the world, and this year he’ll be back on Poker After Dark as PokerGO relaunches one of poker’s biggest televised shows.

Poker After Dark returns to PokerGO with three consecutive days of live shows, starting on Monday, August 14th with a $100,000 minimum buy-in, $200/$400 blinds and a $400 ante on the button No Limit Hold’em cash game.

We spoke to Bellande about the return to Poker After Dark, and the ARIA Resort & Casino ambassador shared his excitement about competing, and what makes it so different from other poker shows out there.
 
“When I was starting out in poker, watching the World Series of Poker on TV with the hole card cameras was so exciting. Poker shows have been cool here and there, and at the beginning, I was into the World Poker Tour as well, but the World Series has always been my favorite.”

“Then there was a High Stakes Poker and Poker After Dark, and I absolutely love those shows. I liked them because it wasn’t as much about the announcers telling you, or giving you the evaluation of the hand.”

Bellande lauded Nick Schulman and Antonio Esfandiari for their expert commentary during the WSOP Main Event, a show he watched intensely as the tournament unfolded in July for the first time since 2007. However, it’s the removal of deep strategic analysis that made Poker After Dark special.

Jean-Robert Bellande gained international attention appearing on the WPT Bad Boys of Poker shows

Poker After Dark is the Real Deal

“Poker After Dark is more about just players. It’s the real deal; how these players interact with each other and seeing how they’re thinking.”

“It’s like a real live poker session, and you get to be a fly on the wall. I’m really-really looking forward to it. It’s raw poker. With what PokerGO has done during the World Series of Poker, and bringing Poker After Dark back, I’m just so excited to watch poker again. It’s amazing realizing now how much I’ve missed it.”

Bellande will get a chance to battle with all the spotlights on him in this short-handed cash game format in less than two weeks, and it appears he’ll be perfectly rested for this high stakes action. While on holiday in Europe, Bellande reflected on his summer of high stakes action so far, and a juicy game with Kings Casino owner Leon Tsoukernik.

“During the WSOP, I played $300/$600 almost every day. I had a great beginning to the summer, but we played an enormous game with that guy Leon , and he beat me in every hand when he was drunk, and I lost about $1,500,000. For the whole summer, I ended up breaking dead even because of that really bad loss, two nights against Leon.”

As JRB was about to continue his vacation he made sure to get his final thoughts on Poker After Dark added.

“Sorry, but the point I really want to reiterate is that with Poker After Dark you’re almost a part of the action as a spectator. You’re in the game, and you get time to think about what decisions you would make as a fan. There’s something beautiful about that. Poker can be a bit slow sometimes, but when you get to see every hand, it’s like a soccer game that lasts 90 minutes. There might be just four minutes of very enthusiastic scoring, but it’s about the flow of the game. That’s what Poker After Dark is, and I can’t wait to play.”

We can confirm that Doyle Brunson will be one of JRB’s opponents on Poker After Dark, as the legend of the game Tweeted about his participation earlier this week. Stay tuned to Poker Central for the full lineup announcement, and in the meantime, you can binge watch some classic episodes of the show that’s returning in just 12 days.