Late Night Poker was the world's first made-for-television poker tournament, started on British television in 1999. The game is Texas Hold'em, The Most Popular Poker Variation In The World. Forty nine players buy in for £1,500 (about $2,700.00). The winner walks away with £50,000 (about $91,000). The tournament is spread out over nine programs.
Each show features seven players who play until there are two left, with players being eliminated when they run out of chips. The two remaining players then play 'heads up', until one has all the chips. The winner goes direct to the final, the loser goes into the semi-final. The finals are a similar format but with increased chip allowances.
By using under table cameras, the viewers can see each players hand and watch the action, knowing who is bluffing and who is not, before the players themselves do. Since the first series in 1999, five more seasons and a celebrity special have been made.
The final show of the first series attracted an audience of almost 1.3 million, even though it was aired at 12:30 am, and is considered instrumental in the game's current surge of popularity.
| Late Night Poker Series V |
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| Grand final played on 26th April, 2002 |
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| 1st | Padraig Parkinson |
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| 2nd | Korosh |
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| 3rd | Joe Beevers |
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| 4th | Jac Arama |
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| 5th | Vicky Lincoln |
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| 6th | David Colclough |
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| 7th | Surindar Sunar |
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| 8th | Pascal Perrault |
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| Late Night Poker Series IV |
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| Grand final played on 6th December, 2001 |
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| 1st | Hamish Shah |
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| 2nd | Simon Trumper |
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| 3rd | Barney Boatman |
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| 4th | Robert Cohen |
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| 5th | Mike Magee |
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| 6th | Robert Keston |
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| 7th | Joe Beevers |
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| 8th | Malcolm Harwood |
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| Late Night Poker Series III |
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| Grand final played on 14th December, 2000 |
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| 1st | Phil Helmuth Jr |
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| 2nd | Adam Heller |
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| 3rd | Paul Alterman |
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| 4th | Marty Wilson |
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| 5th | Mike Magee |
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| 6th | Korosh |
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| 7th | Mohammed Veria |
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| 8th | Barney Boatman |
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