The Biggest "Poker After Dark" Personality

Over the next few weeks, as the reboot of “Poker After Dark” gets closer and closer, Poker Central will prepare poker after fans for the return of PAD in a variety of ways. From episode recaps from past seasons, which are currently streaming on PokerGO, to exclusive interviews with some of poker’s biggest names, Poker Central is here to get you ready for brand new episodes of “Poker After Dark” before the series returns on August 14.

As one of the biggest names and personalities in poker, it was no surprise that Phil Hellmuth was a regular on “Poker After Dark.” The Poker Brat headlined multiple episodes of the high stakes game, including the debut of “Poker After Dark” in 2007, with those opening episodes aptly named Poker Brat Attack.

“I thought it was an amazing show,” Hellmuth said when looking back on PAD. “We actually captured the personality. That’s what sold the show, not poker.”  

While poker may not have been the reason “Poker After Dark” was so successful for Hellmuth, the level of competition could never be ignored. Games regularly included some of the world’s best players, from Hellmuth, to Phil Ivey, Gus Hansen, Daniel Negreanu and more legends of the game.

“They were all really fun players,” Hellmuth said about the PAD lineups of yesteryear. “We’d sit down and play five hours, they showed every hand, even the boring ones but it worked. There were conversations, people teasing each other, people talking about politics, about life, that’s why it worked.”

The way “Poker After Dark” seamlessly combined the social and competitive aspects of poker revolutionized the game and, maybe more importantly, the way fans watched poker on television. Later this summer, “Poker After Dark” returns to PokerGO and with the same big names and personalities that turned the show into must-watch television, “Poker After Dark” will continue to revolutionize the game.