Patrick Karst Wins Best Damn Poker Show Season Two

The finale of the second season of Ultimate Bet’s Best Damn Poker Show wrapped up this week. The series, which airs on Fox Sports Net, was won by Patrick Karst, a 51 year-old married father of three from Markle, Indiana. Karst beat out 16,000 online qualifiers and was the lone satellite winner to advance to the televised seven week event.

The show features poker pros Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth battling it out against each other to see who can groom the next poker sensation. This time around, Duke’s team emerged victorious. Karst considered himself to be a beginner, having only played poker for three years. He had battled it out on the virtual felts online for just one year. At the end of the day, the final six stood as follows:

1st Place: Patrick Karst (Team Duke)
2nd Place: Jason Lee (Team Hellmuth)
3rd Place: Shawn Van Ansdale (Team Duke)
4th Place: Scott Clark (Team Hellmuth)
5th Place: Mike Spinisanta (Team Hellmuth)
6th Place: Shaundle Pruitt (Team Duke)

Poker News Daily sat down with John Faratzis, the Executive Producer of the Best Damn Poker Show, to get his impressions on the season that was. Faratzis is an Emmy Award winning producer that has put on the MansionPoker.net Poker Dome Challenge, Monte Carlo Millions, and Poker Royale, among other popular events.

Poker News Daily: Give us your impressions of the second season of the Best Damn Poker Show. How did it compare, in your eyes, to Season One?

Faratzis: We made changes in the format this year and every match meant something. We started with fewer players, so there was a smaller pool to choose from. We had 24 players make it to the show and held four pre-draft matches. In them, Phil and Annie had to agree on eliminating one person per table, so we were down to 20. Annie and Phil’s teams were going to be comprised of nine players each, so two more were eliminated in a draft.

In the first series, they then played three matches, which were just more opportunities to evaluate players. What we did in Season 2 is that in the three matches, there were points given out for the first four places. The team with the most points at the end of the three matches would have a 10,000 chip per player advantage going into the championship match. Plus, Phil and Annie both had to eliminate one more player from their teams, but table winners received immunity. There was drama and tension throughout the whole middle part of the series that wasn’t there before. That was probably the biggest improvement.

PND: You had some memorable moments during Season 2, including Scott Clark quitting the show after swearing at another player. What moment stood out to you the most?

Faratzis: That certainly played a major role in determining the overall champion. Scott had plenty of chips, but quit. He received a four hand penalty for calling another player an obscene name directly to his face at the table and tried to claim he didn’t know it was a rule. I don’t know any table where that’s allowed. I’ve produced a lot of shows and know that’s not tolerated. The reality is he quit. Scott getting blinded out was the determining factor in the final match.

The most memorable moment for me was when Annie had it out with Phil and called him a cancer. She is far more analytical and Phil never misses an opportunity to needle her and put her on tilt. The show is really a competition between Phil and Annie, who have different styles.

Both of them said they thought Scott was a good player, but was emotional. Phil said that as long as he doesn’t have a “Matusow moment,” he’d be okay. That’s what cost Phil the match. Had he continued to play, the result would have been different.

PND: What does it mean to have an older player win Season 2?

Faratzis: Patrick listed himself as a beginner. He won a satellite, came on the show, and played really well in the pre-draft evaluation matches. He played extremely well in the team match. He got to the championship match and the idea of what was at stake really hit him. Here’s a guy who is 51 years-old, says he was a beginner, and wins the whole thing. It’s cool when so many people identify online poker players with younger guys.

PND: Are there any plans for Season Three?

Faratzis: That’s a business decision Ultimate Bet has to make. However, Annie’s participation with “Celebrity Apprentice” may bring some new ideas to Season 3. I thought we had a good format this season. I would expand the internet component to include more of the play that doesn’t air. We made headway this year by trying to drive viewers to UltimateBet.net to see bonus coverage.

PND: The Best Damn Poker Show does a top-notch job of mixing poker content with reality television. Was that your aim from the start?

Faratzis: The intent of the show was to use the contestants and their play to initiate conversation between Phil and Annie so we could see their differing poker philosophies. It was designed to be an educational tool. Phil and Annie represent two different styles. Watching players and hearing their comments, for the average poker player, is a really educational opportunity.

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Casino poker language:

BLUFF - To make a bet or raise with a poor hand, in hope that the remaining active player(s) will fold.
RAIL - A barrier dividing the card playing area from a public area.
TOP TWO PAIR - In flop games, having hole cards that make the highest possible two pair hand.
ALL-IN - To have all of one's chips in the pot. A player who is all-in cannot be forced out of the pot by more betting, but is only eligible to win that portion of the pot he has contributed to. Generally, a SIDE POT is created each time a player is all-in.
FULL OF - Describes a full house. "Fives full of queens" is 5-5-5-Q-Q.
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