Stephanie Moore / © NBC Universal, Inc.

Note: This is the final presentation of Weeks 52-53

It should come as no surprise that the finale of NBC’s fifth season of Poker After Dark is a very special airing, one that fans of the show have been waiting for months to watch and that will have them talking for months to come. Called “Railbird Heaven”, viewers can look forward to two full weeks of unprecedented action in a high-stakes cash game where absolutely anything goes in terms of wagering.

The combatants for this game are six of the biggest names in the game today, and also six of the players fans love to watch the most whether on television or while railing online high-stakes action. They are Patrik Antonius, Daniel Negreanu, Gus Hansen, Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan, and Phil Hellmuth. If this lineup doesn’t satisfy the needs of fans to be able to see marquee players compete against one another for nosebleed stakes then I’m not sure what lineup could.

The players will draw for seats to begin play as is customary, but midway through the session they will redraw for seats so that viewers see them in different seating positions for one week than for the other. This can create an entirely different dynamic at the table midway into the game depending on who is sitting on a player’s left or right.

Negreanu, Ivey, and Hellmuth are three of the top five money winners of all-time in live tournaments, having cumulatively amassed in excess of $37 million dollars. Antonius, Dwan, and Hansen are three of the most dangerous and prolific online high-stakes cash game players ever to play on the virtual felt. But you have to include Ivey in the second group also….let’s just say he is one of the very few players who excels in both tournaments and cash games, lending credence as to why many consider him the world’s top player. David “Viffer” Peat will also appear on the show during the second week.

As mentioned earlier, the action in this game is extraordinary. The minimum buy-in is $100,000, and the maximum is $250,000, but several players reload at one time or another. Blinds will start at $200/$400, but will escalate to $300/$600 within a relatively short period of time.

Prop bets are also allowed in this game, adding a variant which definitely influences decisions from time to time, and creating additional financial swings for some of the players that can only be described as mind-boggling. Viewers will also be treated to several “flips,” and if you aren’t familiar with the term, be sure to tune in because once you witness them you will positively be blown away. The huge sums most of these players are willing to risk in an effort to put their opponents on tilt by getting them stuck so that they have to alter their playing style is action never before seen on television for this amount of money, and you won’t want to miss it.

Brief profiles of all six players follow. The match will begin airing on NBC late night Monday at 2:05 a.m., October 25, and will continue for five consecutive nights in the same time slot. A special program called the “Director’s Cut” will air late night Saturday, October 30, at 1:00 a.m., right after Saturday Night Live. This show will feature Leeann Tweeden with a behind-the-scenes look at the week with highlights and insightful player interviews and analyses. The game will resume the following week in the same time slots. Check your local listings for the exact times in your area. Viewers can also watch the game at www.nbcsports/msnbc.com/poker.

Antonius, Patrik: (Seat 1)
· Former male model and tennis player and a native of Helsinki, Finland now living in Monte Carlo, but also has a home in Las Vegas
· Considered one of the best short-handed high-stakes cash game players in the world, whether live or online, and is a fan favorite in the online community
· Lifetime live tournament winnings in excess of $2.88 million, and ranks #1 on Finland’s all-time money list
· Cool, calm, and calculating at the tables, with a propensity to never go on tilt
· Has appeared on Seasons 3, 4, 5, and 6 of High Stakes Poker

Negreanu, Daniel: (Seat 2)
· Dubbed “Kid Poker” and one of poker’s most likeable and recognizable personalities
· Owns four WSOP bracelets, the latest in a 2008 WSOP $2000 limit hold’em event, and two WPT titles
· Lifetime live tournament winnings in excess of $12.83 million, and ranks #2 on the all-time money list
· Had 9 cashes, including 3 final tables, in the 2009 WSOP, more than any other player
· Became a vegan about 10 years ago, the result of a life-long prop bet with Ted Forrest that sees Negreanu paying him 20:1 if his weight ever exceeds 170 pounds

Hansen, Gus: (Seat 3)
· Known as “The Great Dane” and “Gambling Gus”
· Won his first WSOP bracelet in the 2010 WSOPE £10,000 NLHE High Roller Heads-Up Event, defeating Jim Collopy in a marathon best of three final which was good for $445,000
· Lifetime live tournament winnings in excess of $8.01 million, and ranks 21st on the all-time money list
· He and Carlos Mortensen are the only players in history to have won 3 WPT open titles
· His success as a player has been instrumental in fueling the tremendous increase of poker’s popularity among European players

Ivey, Phil: (Seat 4)
· Regarded by many as the best overall player in the game today
· Winner of eight WSOP bracelets (strangely none in hold’em), the latest in the 2010 $3000 H.O.R.S.E. event, and one WPT title
· Career live tournament winnings in excess of $13.64 million, and ranks 1st on the all-time money list
· Made a $1 million prop bet with Tom Dwan on the sixth season of High Stakes Poker that he could become a vegetarian for one year, but bought out of the bet after only three weeks for $150,000
· One of only five players in history to win three WSOP bracelets in one year (2002)

Dwan, Tom: (Seat 5)
· Nicknamed “durrrr” and has a huge following in the online community
· Primarily a high-stakes cash game player with remarkable success despite his young age, and is considered one of poker’s premier cash game players
· Live career tournament winnings in excess of $1.58 million
· Made two final tables in the 2008 World Series of Poker, the first he was old enough to play in
· Is wrapping up his $1 million heads-up challenge against Patrik Antonius, where he has a commanding lead with about 10,000 of the 50,000 hands left to play, and is also involved in another challenge with Daniel “Jungleman12” Cates

Hellmuth, Phil: (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 World Series bracelet in 2007, making him the first and only person in history to do so
· Career live tournament winnings in excess of $11.44 million, and ranks 4th on the all-time money list, despite never having a cash for more than $755,000
· Has more World Series cashes (79) 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

Dennis Oehring serves as the Public Relations Coordinator for the firm POKER PROductions.  Statistics courtesy of The Hendon Mob database.  Photo courtesy of Stephanie Moore.