Jesse May
Encyclopedia
Jesse May is an American
poker
commentator
and player.
Jesse May was raised in Madison, New Jersey, where he first became hooked on poker playing with friends. In 1988 he started attending The University of Chicago, but he found that classes were clashing with his poker games, and so dropped out. For six years Jesse travelled the world playing poker.
May found fame presenting the Late Night Poker
television series. He also appeared in a season 1 episode under the pseudonym
Mickey Dane. This pseudonym is in fact the main character in his poker novel, Shut Up and Deal (ISBN 1-901982-56-4).
May has continued to be involved in poker commentary on other shows, including the William Hill Poker Grand Prix, PartyPoker.com Football & Poker Legends Cup
, The Irish Poker Open, Poker Nations Cup
, Poker Million
, Victor Chandler Poker Cup
, Celebrity Poker Club
, and The Poker Show. He also co-presented the PartyGammon Million, a pro backgammon
tournament, on early-morning five TV.
He often commentates alongside Padraig Parkinson
, who has said that it surprises him that May plays so little poker when he is such a good player.
In 2006, May signed an exclusive contract for presenting televised poker with Matchroom Sport
.
May is married and currently lives in Denmark
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
commentator
Sportscaster
In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...
and player.
Jesse May was raised in Madison, New Jersey, where he first became hooked on poker playing with friends. In 1988 he started attending The University of Chicago, but he found that classes were clashing with his poker games, and so dropped out. For six years Jesse travelled the world playing poker.
May found fame presenting the Late Night Poker
Late Night Poker
Late Night Poker is the pioneering television show that helped pave the way for the explosion of interest in poker in the 2000's. With it's ground breaking use of "under the table" cameras that enabled the viewer to see each player's cards, the show became a cult hit on Channel 4 UK when it first...
television series. He also appeared in a season 1 episode under the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Mickey Dane. This pseudonym is in fact the main character in his poker novel, Shut Up and Deal (ISBN 1-901982-56-4).
May has continued to be involved in poker commentary on other shows, including the William Hill Poker Grand Prix, PartyPoker.com Football & Poker Legends Cup
PartyPoker.com Football & Poker Legends Cup
The PartyPoker.com Football & Poker Legends Cup is a televised poker tournament, airing in the United Kingdom on Five from April 2006 onwards, in the lead-up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup.- Format :...
, The Irish Poker Open, Poker Nations Cup
Poker Nations Cup
The Poker Nations Cup is an international poker tournament, televised on Channel 4 from March 2006 onwards.The series is commentated by Jesse May and Barny Boatman. Padraig Parkinson covered for Boatman in preliminary match 2....
, Poker Million
Poker Million
The Poker Million has been a televised European poker tournament since its inception in November 2000. The final debuted to 30 million viewers and has since remained popular. It was created by UK gaming outfit Ladbrokes with the help of sports promotion firm Matchroom Sport...
, Victor Chandler Poker Cup
Victor Chandler Poker Cup
The Victor Chandler Poker Cup was a poker tournament held in 2004 and 2005 in England for broadcast on Sky Sports....
, Celebrity Poker Club
Celebrity Poker Club
Celebrity Poker Club was a British television series featuring celebrities playing poker. It aired on Challenge from 2003 to 2005 as a spin-off to Channel 4's popular Late Night Poker series...
, and The Poker Show. He also co-presented the PartyGammon Million, a pro backgammon
Backgammon
Backgammon is one of the oldest board games for two players. The playing pieces are moved according to the roll of dice, and players win by removing all of their pieces from the board. There are many variants of backgammon, most of which share common traits...
tournament, on early-morning five TV.
He often commentates alongside Padraig Parkinson
Padraig Parkinson
Padraig Parkinson is an Irish professional poker player. He is chiefly recognised as the grand final winner of Late Night Poker series 5 and as the third-place finisher of the 1999 World Series of Poker, where he lost to fellow countryman Noel Furlong.Originally, Padraig refused to play in Late...
, who has said that it surprises him that May plays so little poker when he is such a good player.
In 2006, May signed an exclusive contract for presenting televised poker with Matchroom Sport
Matchroom Sport
Matchroom Sport is a sport event promotions company founded by the English entrepreneur Barry Hearn. It first came to attention in the sports of snooker and boxing and is also involved in pool, bowling, golf , fishing, darts and poker...
.
May is married and currently lives in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
.