On Monday night, the second season of Ultimate Bet’s “Best Damn Poker Show” debuted on Fox Sports Net with the first of seven new one-hour episodes. Season 2 began with 24 poker hopefuls vying for a spot on one of two teams and 60 minutes later, only 22 remained. The show airs on Monday nights at 9:00pm in all time zones and replays at 11:00pm and 12:30am.
Monday’s show consisted of two pre-draft evaluation matches. These were six-handed sit and gos, with each player starting with 10,000 chips. One person is eliminated from each table and play is stopped whenever Ultimate Bet pros Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke are ready to cut someone. While play transpires at the table, Hellmuth, Duke, Shawn “westtexasman” Rice, and Mark “P0ker H0” Kroon provide commentary and analysis. Therefore, the “Best Damn Poker Show” features a unique avenue into the minds of four of the world’s top pros.
The first match featured 26 year-old actress Christina Lindley against Jon Nau in a hand where Lindley held A-Q. Nau called her raise pre-flop with K-J offsuit and hit the nut straight, as the board came 9-10-Q. Consequently, Lindley held top pair, top kicker. On the flop, Lindley led out and Nau called, telling Ultimate Bet officials, “I just called because I wanted to bleed her out a bit.” Lindley eventually got away from A-Q in the hand, prompting praise from Hellmuth. Duke, however, wondered if it was a trend of bowing down to aggression rather than a genius play.
In a separate hand, Lindley held 9-5 on a board of 9-4-7-6-4. After the four hit the river, Lindley checked, her opponent bet, and she folded. This was all Duke needed to see, as Lindley was the first person eliminated from Season 2 of the “Best Damn Poker Show.” The chip leader at the end of the sit and go (Nau) captured immunity by virtue of his performance.
In the second elimination match held at the San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino in Highland, California, 43 year-old Scott Clark flashed multiple cards to his opponents, prompting Hellmuth and Duke to question his actions. Duke, in fact, claimed, “I think he’s a show off.” Clark’s negative attention would eventually be out-done by John Blowers, a 42 year-old from New York City. Blowers limped with 5-7 offsuit in early position, prompting scorn from Duke, a Guest Columnist for Poker News Daily. On a later hand, Blowers held A-K and checked behind his opponent twice on a non-threatening board. On the river of that hand, he called what he correctly identified as a value bet with ace high in order to “get information.” However, by that point, blinds were 500/1,000, meaning that 10 big blinds was the average stack. Blowers was the second player eliminated from the show.
Now, 22 players remain, each competing for one of 18 spots on either Duke’s or Hellmuth’s team. The show is sponsored by UltimateBet.net and features an “Ultimate Hand” that includes additional commentary from the two faces of the online poker site. Logos for the Tokwiro-owned room appear several times throughout the show and each of the four pros dons UB gear. Ultimate Bet Star Player “Hollywood” Dave Stann handles the in studio interviews. Last season’s “Best Damn Poker Show” was won by Tracy Scala.
The seventh season of the World Poker Tour (WPT) also airs on Fox Sports Net. The popular tournament series broadcasts on Sunday nights. Recurring shows on the network are often preempted by local sporting events, so interested viewers are encouraged to check their local listings for details. In addition, the WPT had planned to incorporate a “Channel Finder” into its website to assist poker fans in finding the seventh season. However, it has not yet been launched. Season VII includes 26 new episodes.
Look for the second episode of the “Best Damn Poker Show” on Monday, January 19th. Two more pre-draft evaluation tables will air, sending two more contestants home.
