Ultimate Poker Challenge
Encyclopedia
The Ultimate Poker Challenge (UPC) was a series of weekly poker tournament
s acting as super-satellites into the series semi-finals.
The first and second seasons are available on NTSC
DVD
. In the United States, it was a syndicated program
.
Players can also qualify for the semi-finals based on the points leaderboard for their finishing position in each event. In the first season, "Silent" Steve Simmons placed highest on the points leaderboard and received $40,000. The second place finisher received $20,000.
Beginning with season 4, the show was renamed to Ultimate Poker Challenge Presents Cash Poker: The Ultimate Gamble. The format changed from weekly tournaments to following the action at cash games.
, with Brandi Williams performing interviews along with intros and outros to commercial breaks. Daniel Negreanu
provided cover for Chad Brown in episodes 19 and 20. Each tournament featured a professional poker player as guest commentator, who would offer poker tips for the home viewer along with their commentary.
Beginning with season 4, Brian Mollica took over commentating duties with Williams continuing in her role as interviewer. Brown is frequently featured in the game.
The on-camera Poker Tournament Director starting in Season 2 was Brad Thomte.
Executive producer
Dan Pugliese played in several tournaments throughout the series.
Poker tournament
A poker tournament is a tournament where players compete by playing poker. It can feature as few as two players playing on a single table , and as many as tens of thousands of players playing on thousands of tables...
s acting as super-satellites into the series semi-finals.
The first and second seasons are available on NTSC
NTSC
NTSC, named for the National Television System Committee, is the analog television system that is used in most of North America, most of South America , Burma, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, and some Pacific island nations and territories .Most countries using the NTSC standard, as...
DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
. In the United States, it was a syndicated program
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
.
Format
Players are entitled to enter multiple super-satellite tournaments (entry into the semi-finals is transferable.)Players can also qualify for the semi-finals based on the points leaderboard for their finishing position in each event. In the first season, "Silent" Steve Simmons placed highest on the points leaderboard and received $40,000. The second place finisher received $20,000.
Beginning with season 4, the show was renamed to Ultimate Poker Challenge Presents Cash Poker: The Ultimate Gamble. The format changed from weekly tournaments to following the action at cash games.
Crew
Each tournament was commentated by Chad BrownChad Brown (poker player)
Chad Lewis Brown is an American actor, poker player and color commentator, based in Los Angeles, California.-Early life & acting career:...
, with Brandi Williams performing interviews along with intros and outros to commercial breaks. Daniel Negreanu
Daniel Negreanu
Daniel Negreanu is a Canadian professional poker player. He has won four World Series of Poker bracelets and two World Poker Tour Championship titles. He is currently ranked second in the all-time career earnings list and is the star of poker game show Million Dollar Challenge. He plays a big...
provided cover for Chad Brown in episodes 19 and 20. Each tournament featured a professional poker player as guest commentator, who would offer poker tips for the home viewer along with their commentary.
Beginning with season 4, Brian Mollica took over commentating duties with Williams continuing in her role as interviewer. Brown is frequently featured in the game.
The on-camera Poker Tournament Director starting in Season 2 was Brad Thomte.
Executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
Dan Pugliese played in several tournaments throughout the series.
Season 1
| Week | Guest Presenter | Winner | Prize | Runner-Up | Other Finalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Ferguson Chris Ferguson Christopher Philip Ferguson is an American professional poker player. He has won five World Series of Poker events, including the 2000 WSOP Main Event, and the 2008 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship. On September 20, 2011, the U.S... |
Nick Bouyea | $10,000 | Phillip Matthews |
|
| 2 | Chris Hinchcliffe | Erik Seidel Erik Seidel Erik Seidel is an American professional poker player from Las Vegas, Nevada who has won eight World Series of Poker bracelets and a World Poker Tour title.In 2010, he was inducted as a member of the Poker Hall of Fame.-Early life:... |
$8,000 | "Silent" Steve Simmons |
|
| 3 | Rob Huxley | Andy Bloch Andy Bloch Andrew Elliot Bloch is a professional poker player. He holds two electrical engineering degrees from MIT and a JD from Harvard Law School.-Poker:... |
$13,500 | Cong Tran |
Mel Judah Mel Judah is an Australian professional poker player, also known as "The Silver Fox" . He learned poker at the age of 14 by watching his father play 5-card draw.... |
| 4 | Jennifer Harman Jennifer Harman Jennifer C. Harman-Traniello is an American professional poker player.-Early life:Harman was born and raised in Reno, Nevada. She started playing poker in 1972 at the age of eight... |
James Van Alstyne James Van Alstyne James Gibson Van Alstyne is an American professional poker player based in Las Vegas, Nevada.Van Alstyne grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana and graduated from Ben Franklin High School... |
$12,600 | Todd Brunson Todd Brunson Todd Alan Brunson is an American professional poker player and the son of poker legend Doyle Brunson.Although Brunson's father Doyle is a poker player, Brunson did not learn the game when he was young. It was not until he was studying law at Texas Tech University that he learned on his own how to... |
Max Pescatori Massimiliano Pescatori is an Italian professional poker player.Pescatori is a regular on the poker tournament scene, often placing high in Card Player Magazine's Player of the Year Race.... |
| 5 | Kyle Morris | Ken James | $12,640 | Dan Alspach |
|
| 6 | Mike Matusow Mike Matusow Michael Matusow is an American professional poker player, residing in Henderson, Nevada. Matusow's nickname of "The Mouth" reflects his reputation for trash-talking at the poker table... |
Kathy Liebert Kathy Liebert Kathleen H. Liebert is an American professional poker player.- Poker :Liebert started her professional poker career as a prop player in Colorado... |
$11,500 | Don Barton |
|
| 7 | Robert Williamson III Robert Williamson III Robert Williamson III is an American poker player from Dallas, Texas.Williamson grew up with three sisters and his best friend, Chris Caywood in Granbury, Texas and received B.B.A. degrees in finance and real estate from Angelo State University in San Angelo.He began playing aged 10 or 11, after... |
David Luttbeg | $8,000 | Matt Dean |
|
| 8 | Clonie Gowen Clonie Gowen Cycalona Gowen is an American professional poker player, based in Dallas, Texas.-Early life:Gowen was born in Florida, and grew up in Kiowa, Oklahoma. She won Miss Teen McAlester, Oklahoma, at age 15, and as a teenager moved to Corsicana, Texas... |
Steve Simmons | $13,400 | Kristy Gazes Kristy Gazes Kristy Gazes is a professional poker player originally from California.Gazes has been playing poker since 1986. She made a living for years as a high stakes cash game player in Los Angeles, California.... |
Evelyn Ng Evelyn Ng is a Canadian professional poker player. She currently lives in Las Vegas, Nevada.-Early Life:... |
| 9 | Renee Wexler | Kenna James Kenna James Kenna James is an American professional poker player, television commentator and consultant who currently resides in Costa Mesa, California.... |
$8,400 | Tony Toscano |
Amir Vahedi Amir Vahedi was an Iranian professional poker player born in Tehran, Iran. who won a World Series of Poker bracelet at the 2003 World Series of Poker in the $1,500 No Limit Hold'em event.... |
| 10 | Daniel Negreanu Daniel Negreanu Daniel Negreanu is a Canadian professional poker player. He has won four World Series of Poker bracelets and two World Poker Tour Championship titles. He is currently ranked second in the all-time career earnings list and is the star of poker game show Million Dollar Challenge. He plays a big... |
Joe Toth | $6,800 | Tony Kassab |
|
| 11 | Brandi Williams | Recap Show | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 12 | Mark Tenner | Chris Hinchcliffe | $8,000 | Max Pescatori |
|
| 13 | Antonio Esfandiari Antonio Esfandiari Antonio Esfandiari is a professional poker player, known for his elaborate chip tricks.-Early life:When he was 9 years old his family moved to San Jose, California... |
Vandy Krouch | $8,200 | Dr Andy Robins |
|
| 14 | Phil Laak Phil Laak Philip "Phil" C. Laak is a professional poker player, now residing in Los Angeles, California. Laak holds a World Poker Tour title, a World Series of Poker bracelet and has appeared on numerous nationally-aired television shows.-Early life:... |
Champie Douglas | $8,000 | Ned Shabou |
|
| 15 | Kenna James | Pete Lawson | $8,000 | David Plastik |
|
| 16 | Russ Hamilton Russ Hamilton Russ Hamilton was the 1994 World Series of Poker main event champion. He defeated Hugh Vincent in heads-up play to win $1 million in first-prize money, as well as his body weight in silver. Following his World Series win, Hamilton served as a consultant for Ultimate Bet, an online poker server... |
Robert Keith Young | $4,400 | Nick Bouyea |
|
| 17 | Phil Hellmuth Phil Hellmuth Phil Hellmuth is an American professional poker player. He is best known for holding a record 11 World Series of Poker bracelets, for winning the Main Event of the 1989 World Series of Poker and for his temperamental, "poker brat" personality... |
Kris Crudup | $6,000 | Avi Freedman |
|
| 18 | Amir Vahedi | John Cernuto John Cernuto "Miami" John Cernuto is an American professional poker player based in Las Vegas, Nevada, specialising in Omaha hi-lo events.-Early years:... |
$6,800 | Scott Epstein |
|
| 19 | Matt Savage | Kenna James | $9,000 | Karina Jett Karina Jett Karina Niki Jett is a professional poker player living in Las Vegas, Nevada. She may be best known for her appearances on the GSN series Poker Royale Battle of the Sexes... |
Paul Magriel Paul David Magriel Jr. is an American professional backgammon player, poker player and author based in Las Vegas, Nevada.-Chess:Paul was New York State Junior Chess Champion at the age of 19, while a student at New York University.... |
| 20 | Evelyn Ng | Robert Bright | $7,400 | Shawn Rice |
|
| 21 | Daniel Negreanu | Jeff Shulman Jeff Shulman Jeff Shulman is the editor of Card Player Magazine, and an American poker player with a record of success in tournament play, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is the son of Jan Shulman and Barry Shulman... |
$8,400 | Jim Meehan Jim Meehan "Minneapolis" Jim Meehan is an American professional poker player from Burnsville, Minnesota. Prior to his poker career, Meehan worked as a lawyer for many years.... |
|
| 22 | Paul Phillips Paul Phillips (poker player) Paul Phillips is an American entrepreneur and poker player.-Programming:Phillips wrote the Boa web server while attending the University of California, San Diego, but no longer maintains it... |
Dennis "Mickey" Seagle | $8,000 | Steve Simmons |
Bob Stupak Robert E. "Bob" Stupak was a Las Vegas casino owner and entrepreneur.He was also a poker player, winning titles at the World Series of Poker and the Super Bowl of Poker... Bon Phan Bon "John" Phan is a Vietnamese-American professional poker player based in Stockton, California who is a two time World Series of Poker bracelet winner and is a winner and four time final tablist of World Poker Tour Championships.- World Series of Poker :Phan has made numerous World Series of... |
| 23 | Robert Williamson III | Joe Awada Joe Awada Joe Awada is a professional poker player, based in Las Vegas, Nevada.Awada moved from Lebanon to the United States in his early teenage years, working as a juggler, eventually touring with the Harlem Globetrotters... |
$7,400 | John Phan |
Barry Greenstein Barry Greenstein is a professional poker player. He has won a number of major events, including three at the World Series of Poker and two on the World Poker Tour. Greenstein donates his profit from tournament winnings to charities, primarily Children, Incorporated, earning him the nickname "the... Scotty Nguyen Thuận B. "Scotty" Nguyễn is a Vietnamese American professional poker player who is a five time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, most notably as the winner of the 1998 World Series of Poker Main Event and the 2008 WSOP $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship... |
| Semi-Final Pt. 1 | Daniel Negreanu | (leads to Semi-Final 2) | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Semi-Final Pt. 2 | Daniel Negreanu | (leads to Grand Final) | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Grand Final |
Doyle Brunson Doyle F. Brunson is an American professional poker player who has played professionally for over 50 years. He is the first two-time World Series of Poker main event champion to win consecutively, a Poker Hall of Fame inductee, and the author of several books on poker.Brunson is the first player to... |
James Van Alstyne | $100,000 | Jeff Stoff |
|
Season 2
| Week | Winner | Prize | Number of players |
Buy In | Prize Pool | Runner-Up | Other Finalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vince Burgio Vince Burgio Vincent Burgio is an American professional poker player based in West Hills, California.Burgio is a graduate of the University of Missouri... |
$41,020 | 61 | $2,000 | $118,340 | George Bartlett |
|
| 2 | Rafe Furst Rafe Furst Rafe Furst is an entrepreneur, angel investor, cancer awareness advocate and part time professional poker player. Furst currently works on and advises many projects that involve technology and social entrepreneurship. He regularly blogs about complex systems on EmergentFool... |
$35,650 | 70 | $1,500 | $101,850 | Santiago Terrazas |
|
| 3 | Ronnie Ebanks | $51,410 | 53 | $2,500 | $128,525 | Dan Pugliese |
Joe Bartholdi Jr Joseph N. Bartholdi, Jr. is an American professional poker player, based in Las Vegas, Nevada.-Early years:... Andy Bloch Andrew Elliot Bloch is a professional poker player. He holds two electrical engineering degrees from MIT and a JD from Harvard Law School.-Poker:... |
| 4 | Bill Edler Bill Edler William Edler is a professional poker player from Las Vegas, Nevada. He has a law degree from the University of California, Berkeley.... |
$61,110 | 60 | $3,000 | $174,600 | Todd Brunson Todd Brunson Todd Alan Brunson is an American professional poker player and the son of poker legend Doyle Brunson.Although Brunson's father Doyle is a poker player, Brunson did not learn the game when he was young. It was not until he was studying law at Texas Tech University that he learned on his own how to... |
Al Krux Al Krux is an American professional poker player now based near Syracuse, New York.Before turning to poker, Krux was a diamond merchant... |
| 5 & 6 | Roy Obriecht | $21,140 | 146 | $500 | $70,810 | Ben Hutton |
|
| 7 | Rukhsana Guevarra | $28,235 | 194 | $500 | $94,090 | Ali Lari |
|
| 8 | Tom Cope | $45,740 | 139 | $1,000 | $134,830 | Sandy Blecker |
|
| 9 | Vince Burgio | $24,055 | 31 | $2,000 | $60,140 | V S Senthil Kumar |
Clonie Gowen Cycalona Gowen is an American professional poker player, based in Dallas, Texas.-Early life:Gowen was born in Florida, and grew up in Kiowa, Oklahoma. She won Miss Teen McAlester, Oklahoma, at age 15, and as a teenager moved to Corsicana, Texas... |
| 10 & 11 | Bon Phan Bon Phan Bon "John" Phan is a Vietnamese-American professional poker player based in Stockton, California who is a two time World Series of Poker bracelet winner and is a winner and four time final tablist of World Poker Tour Championships.- World Series of Poker :Phan has made numerous World Series of... |
$21,680 | 149 | $500 | $72,265 | Howard Andrew |
|
| 12 | Gary Do | $24,445 | 42 | $1,500 | $61,110 | Matt Sterling |
|
| 13 & 14 | Ryan Larsen | $32,980 | 100 | $1,000 | $97,000 | Derek Harrington |
Chris Tsiprailidis "Syracuse" Christos Tsiprailidis is a professional poker player, based in Syracuse, New York.Before turning to poker as his career, Tsiprailidis worked as a chef and as a soccer player.... |
| 15 | Bill Edler Bill Edler William Edler is a professional poker player from Las Vegas, Nevada. He has a law degree from the University of California, Berkeley.... |
$32,010 | 33 | $2,500 | $80,025 | Richard Brodie |
|
| 16 | Joe Bartholdi Jr | $27,160 | 35 | $2,000 | $67,900 | Don Mullis |
|
| 17 & 18 | Michael Mizrachi Michael Mizrachi Michael David Mizrachi is an American professional poker player who won the 2010 World Series of Poker $50,000 Players Championship.. Mizrachi also has two World Poker Tour Titles, and finished 5th in the Main Event of the 2010 World Series of Poker.-Personal life:Mizrachi was born in Miami,... |
$41,905 | 36 | $3,000 | $104,765 | Kathy Liebert Kathy Liebert Kathleen H. Liebert is an American professional poker player.- Poker :Liebert started her professional poker career as a prop player in Colorado... |
T. J. Cloutier Thomas James "T.J." Cloutier is a professional poker player from Richardson, Texas. He was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2006.-Early years:... Scott Fischman Scott Fischman is an American professional poker player based in Las Vegas, Nevada.Fischman grew up in South Jersey and moved to Las Vegas at the age of 12. He was introduced to poker by a schoolfriend and went on to become a poker dealer at the Sahara and the Mirage... |
| 19 & 20 | Allen Cunningham Allen Cunningham Allen Cunningham is an American professional poker player.Cunningham studied civil engineering at UCLA before dropping out of school to play poker professionally. At the age of 18, he began playing at in Indian casinos... |
$34,920 | 30 | $3,000 | $87,300 | Gavin Smith |
|
| 21, 22 & 23
Grand Final |
Andy Bloch Andy Bloch Andrew Elliot Bloch is a professional poker player. He holds two electrical engineering degrees from MIT and a JD from Harvard Law School.-Poker:... |
$167,500 | 55 | $10,000 | $541,750 | Blair Rodman Blair Rodman Blair Rodman is an American professional poker player, based in Las Vegas, Nevada.Rodman has been playing poker professionally since 1985, when he quit his job dealing craps.... |
|
| 24 | Bon Phan Bon Phan Bon "John" Phan is a Vietnamese-American professional poker player based in Stockton, California who is a two time World Series of Poker bracelet winner and is a winner and four time final tablist of World Poker Tour Championships.- World Series of Poker :Phan has made numerous World Series of... |
$47,000 | 24 | $5,000 | $117,600 | Herbert Montalbano |
|
Season 3
| Week | Winner | Prize | Runner-Up | Other Finalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John K Robertson | $9,470 | Max Grottschneider |
|
| 2 | Brian Riley | $7,385 | Brian Faires |
|
| 3 | David Brooks | $7,855 | Rami Owera |
|
| 4 | Michael Gambony | $12,050 | Cal Dykes |
|
| 5 | Paul Buntin | $10,365 | Roxci Rhodes |
|
| 6 | Ed Tonai | $6,015 | Rick Troendly |
|
| 7 | Rick Fuller | $10,670 | Ken Wa |
David Levi (poker player) David Levi is an Israeli professional poker player and former professional footballer who in his poker career has won over $2.6 million in live tournaments.... |
| 8 | Stacey Guenther | $6,180 | Mike Giordano |
|
| 9 | Ted McNeely | $12,950 | James Carroll |
Men Nguyen Men "The Master" Nguyễn is a Vietnamese-American professional poker player.-Early years:In 1967, he dropped out of school at age 13 and became a bus driver to help support his family. In early 1978, a staunch anti-Communist, he escaped from the Communist regime of Vietnam by boat and sailed with... |
| 10 | Craig Gray | $29,255 | Kris Crudup |
|
| 11 | Patrick Fee | $21,040 | Matthew Lesage |
Max Pescatori Massimiliano Pescatori is an Italian professional poker player.Pescatori is a regular on the poker tournament scene, often placing high in Card Player Magazine's Player of the Year Race.... |
| 12 | Christy Combs | $5,790 | Ted McNeely |
|
| Grand Final | Amir Vahedi Amir Vahedi Amir Vahedi was an Iranian professional poker player born in Tehran, Iran. who won a World Series of Poker bracelet at the 2003 World Series of Poker in the $1,500 No Limit Hold'em event.... |
$181,390 | Chip Jett Chip Jett Charles McRae "Chip" Jett is an American professional poker player from Las Vegas, Nevada. He is one of the most popular players on the World Poker Tour.... |
Blair Rodman Blair Rodman is an American professional poker player, based in Las Vegas, Nevada.Rodman has been playing poker professionally since 1985, when he quit his job dealing craps.... |
| Additional Event | Dan Pugliese | $5,780 | Becky Makar |
|