Poker has become a sport wherein players are identified by their personalities, trademarks, and success, often resulting in sticky aliases. This week, NBC is premiering brand-new Poker After Dark (PAD) episodes, and it’s featuring players with nicknames. It all starts tonight at 2:05 a.m.

Jun 28, 2008  Annette Obrestad is visiting Vegas to sweat some friends playing in the WSOP. Though Annette is too young to play in the U.S. She is keeping busy shopping, seeing shows,.

The six players putting up the $20,000 to play for the $120,000 winner-take-all first-place prize, Annette “The Huntress” Obrestad, Mike “The Mouth” Matusow, Antonio “The Magician” Esfandiari, Erick “E-Dog” Lindgren, Phil “The Unabomber” Laak, and Phil “The Poker Brat” Hellmuth. Obrestad is making her Poker After Dark premiere having just turned 21 in 2009. Esfandiari and Lindgren will be looking to book their first PAD wins.

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The following are interesting facts about the players, courtesy of PAD:

Annette Obrestad: (Seat 1)

• Nicknamed “The Huntress,” she is a 21-year-old professional poker player who resides in Sandnes, Norway
• Known as Annette_15 online, she began playing poker when she was 15 years old and amassed in excess of $1.75 million in online tournament winnings prior to the 2007 World Series of Poker Europe main event, which she won
• Career live tournament winnings in excess of $2.84 million, ranking No. 1 on Norway’s all-time money list, and also ranks No. 3 on the women’s all-time money list, trailing only Kathy Liebert and Annie Duke
• Is the youngest bracelet holder in WSOP history, and also holds the record for the largest cash by a woman in history, just over $2 million
• In July 2007, defeated 179 players in an online tournament while only looking at her holecards once, and then only because she was faced with an all-in decision. She says she did it to show the importance of playing position and focusing on the other players at the table

Mike Matusow: (Seat 2)

• Known as “The Mouth” for trash talking at the tables, and one of poker’s most recognizable players
• Winner of three WSOP bracelets, his latest in the prestigious 2008 $5,000 no-limit 2-7 draw event with rebuys
• Lifetime live tournament winnings in excess of $7.29 million, and ranks 23rd on the all-time money list
• Won a $100,000 prop bet with Ted Forrest at the beginning of the 2008 WSOP by losing more than 50 pounds since the 2007 WSOP, weighing in at a svelte 179
• Released his autobiography entitled Check-Raising the Devil in May 2009, a candid and revealing look at his life and the battles he’s faced with demons over the years

Antonio Esfandiari: (Seat 3)

• Nicknamed “The Magician” for having been a professional magician before becoming a poker player
• Winner of one WSOP bracelet and one WPT event
• Career live tournament winnings in excess of $3.56 million
• Went deep in the 2009 WSOP main event, finishing 24th, collecting his biggest WSOP payday ever of nearly $353,000
• Hired Mindset Coach Sam Chauhan for a six-month period beginning in 2009 to help him regain his poker focus and his hunger and desire to win

Erick Lindgren: (Seat 4)

• Nicknamed “E-Dog” and a very popular player among fans
• Won his first WSOP bracelet in 2008, and also made two other final tables
• Lifetime live tournament winnings in excess of $7.39 million, and ranks 22nd on the all-time money list
• Started playing poker full-time as a prop player for a California casino at the age of 21, and was hired by then poker room manager Bill Edler
• Author of the book Making the Final Table

Phil Laak: (Seat 5)

• Nicknamed “The Unabomber” for the trademark hooded sweatshirt and sunglasses he usually wears
• Holder of one WPT invitational title, and won the PartyPoker.com World Open V in London in October 2009, good for $250,000
• Career live tournament winnings in excess of $1.68 million
• May be the man mostly responsible for “hoodies” becoming popular apparel among poker players
• Known for his unusual and often humorous antics and mannerisms at the table

Phil Hellmuth: (Seat 6)

• Known as the “Poker Brat,” a name he now embraces, and was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in July 2007
• 1989 World Champion, and won his 11th WSOP bracelet in 2007, making him the first and only person in history to own so many
• Career live tournament winnings in excess of $10.99 million, and ranks fourth on the all-time money list, despite never having a cash for more than $755,000
• With six cashes in the 2009 WSOP, now has more WSOP cashes (75) and has made more WSOP final tables (41) than any other player in history
• His fame has given him the opportunity to be involved in many businesses on the side, and he is highly acknowledged as the game’s best self-promoter

Nicknames week will begin airing on NBC late tonight/tomorrow morning at 2:05 a.m. and will continue for four more consecutive nights in the same timeslot. A special “Director’s Cut” episode will air late night Saturday at 1 a.m., right after Saturday Night Live.

Annette Obrestad Broke

Card Player TV got some behind the footage and interviews at the filming of this week’s Poker After Dark. Find it at CardPlayerTV.com or click the picture below.

Over the past couple of weeks, NBC has aired new episodes of Poker After Dark. The first week was a $50,000 winner-take-all tournament featuring five young guns against a poker legend. The following week proceeded to switch gears and set history by offering the first PAD pot-limit Omaha cash game. Here is a look at some of the highlights from both weeks.

Idol Week on PAD

The first set of new episodes came in the form of “Idol Week”, which saw five young guns of poker take on the godfather of poker, Doyle Brunson. While Brunson was making his 13th appearance on PAD, Eric Baldwin, Andrew Lichtenberger, and Melanie Weisner were making their first. The lineup was rounded out by Tom Dwan, a PAD regular, and Annette Obrestad, making her second appearance.

Idol Elimination: Action folded to Baldwin on the button and he threw in a raise to 2,000. Action reached Brunson in the big blind and he settled upon a reraise to 7,300. Baldwin wasted little time in moving all-in, and Brunson called off for 21,900.

Baldwin:
Brunson:

It was a classic race situation as the flop came down . Needless to say, this was a big flop for both players, but Brunson still needed another ace or queen to take down the pot. Unfortunately for him, the turn and river were neither and Baldwin sent the idol out in sixth place.

Obrestad Eliminated in 5th Place: In a blind versus blind situation, Weisner opened for 3,600 holding and Obrestad three-bet to 8,200 with . Weisner responded by moving all-in for 30,300 and Obrestad called off her remaining stack, creating a pot of 60,600. The flop paired Weisner and put her in the lead. The turn gave Obrestad a slew of flush outs, but the river was no help. She was eliminated from Idol Week in fifth place.

“Lucky Chewy” vs. “durrrr”: Dwan raised to 3,800 from the cutoff with and received a call from the of Lichtenberger. When the flop fell , Dwan led out for 5,600, Lichtenberger called, and the appeared on the turn. At this point, Dwan bet 11,400, Lichtenberger moved all-in for 32,200, and Dwan called off his remaining stack. With 89,600 in the pot, the hit the river and improved Dwan to a full house; on the other hand, Lichtenberger missed his big draw and was left crippled.

Lichtenberger Finished: A short time later, Dwan raised to 3,800 with and Lichtenberger moved all-in for 12,500 with . Dwan made the call and managed to win the hand after the board ran out . Lichtenberger was eliminated in fourth place.

Weisener Hits the Rail in Third Place: With her stack growing short, Weisner looked down at on the button and moved all-in for 25,500. Dwan, who reraised with in the small blind, isolated and forced Baldwin out of the hand. Weisner was in the lead but not after the flop came down . The turn and river changed nothing and Weisner was eliminated in third place, leaving Baldwin and Dwan to battle heads up.

Baldwin Finishes Runner Up; Dwan Pockets $300,000: With a 3-2 chip lead, Baldwin raised to 7,500 on the button holding . Dwan, who held , made the call and watched the flop come down . He bet 9,500, Baldwin made it 24,000, Dwan reraised to 45,500, Baldwin moved all-in, and Dwan made the call. The turn gave Baldwin some more outs, but the river blanked. Dwan won the hand and took a 6-1 chip lead.

Not long after, Dwan limped on the button with and Baldwin checked his option with . Both players checked the flop as well as the turn. When the peeled off on the river, Baldwin bet 5,500 and Dwan called to win the pot. Needless to say, Baldwin continued to slide.

In the final hand, Dwan picked up and moved all-in. Baldwin snap-called with and was in good shape to double, especially after the flop missed Dwan. The turn brought him one step closer, but the spiked on the river and crushed Baldwin’s PAD dreams. Just like that, Dwan took down his first PAD title and the $300,000 winner-take-all prize.

The $100,000 PLO Cash Game — Week I

Last week, PAD introduced PLO to the show with a $100,000 buy-in cash game. With blinds set at $300/$600, the game was expected to be action-packed, especially with an star-filled lineup that included Brandon Adams, Patrik Antonius, Tom Dwan, Phil Ivey, Brian Hastings, and Phil Galfond. Jared Bleznick was slated to join the action later in the show. In addition to this being the first PAD appearance for both Hastings and Bleznick, it was the first time PAD used a four-color deck in the graphics.

Off and Running: After Antonius straddled to $1,200 and Ivey double-straddled to $2,400, Dwan called holding as did Adams, who looked down at . When action got back to Antonius, he raised to $12,300 with and Ivey made the call holding . Dwan quickly got out of the way while Adams came along to see a flop of .

After Adams checked, Antonius bet $14,000, Ivey folded, and Adams called. Both players checked the turn, leading to the river. It was an action card as it gave Adams a flush and Antonius a full house. Adams checked and Antonius decided to bet $57,000. Adams settled on a fold and explained, “I thought there was a reasonable chance that I was ahead, but on balance I felt it was a marginal fold. I think that Patrik has a full house there too often for me to call.”

Adams vs. Hastings: Action folded to Hastings on the button and he threw in a raise to $1,600 holding , which Hastings called from the big blind with . The flop was gin for Hastings, giving him trips, and Adams check-called a bet of $2,300.

When the dealer burned and turned the , Adams check-called a bet of $6,500, leading to the on the river. Once again Adams check-called a bet, this time $16,500, and the $54,100 pot went to Hastings' trips.

Big Laydown by Durrrr: Ivey limped on the button with as did Dwan in the small blind with . After Hastings checked his option in the big blind holding , the flop came down . Dwan had flopped the best hand with kings, but Ivey had a big wrap. Dwan led the flop for $1,300, Hastings folded, and Ivey made it $5,000. After Dwan called, the hit the turn.

This time Dwan checked, Ivey bet $10,000, Dwan called, and the came on the river. Dwan had made a straight but little did he know that Ivey had hit a full house. Dwan checked and Ivey took the opportunity to bet $30,000. Dwan quickly folded and stated, “I was pretty confident in my fold, I guess I’ll need to watch it on TV to see if I was right or not, but hopefully I was.”

Monster Pot: With an Antonius straddle, all six players limped to see a flop of . Action checked to Antonius and he bet $5,000, which only Ivey and Galfond called. When the was put out on the turn, Antonius bet $21,000, and both his opponents made the call, leading to the on the river. This time Galfond led out for $56,000, Antonius called all-in, and Ivey called the bet.

Antonius:
Galfond:
Ivey:

Each player had hit the river, but it was Ivey’s king-high flush that would scoop the $198,600 main pot and $36,400 side pot.

More to Come: The $100,000 PLO Cash Game is a two-week long affair, so PokerNews will be sure to bring you a recap of all the action from Part II, including the first appearance of Bleznick.

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Annette Obrestad Husband

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