Tilt (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Tilt is a U.S.
TV series set against the backdrop of the (fictional) World Championship of Poker
tournament in Las Vegas
, and with the tagline "You're playing poker. They're playing you." The series first aired on January 13, 2005, and is the second original drama series from ESPN
, following Playmakers
. It was created by Brian Koppelman
and David Levien
, who co-wrote the poker-themed feature film Rounders.
The series title refers to being "on tilt
", which is poker jargon for letting frustration or other emotional stress interfere with one's poker-playing judgment. While that term is applicable to any form of poker, only one form of the game—no-limit Texas hold'em—is featured in the series. This was presumably meant to capitalize on the growing popularity of no-limit hold'em in the mid-2000s, which was due in part to ESPN
's own coverage of the annual World Series of Poker
(WSOP), the event upon which the "World Championship of Poker" depicted in Tilt is presumably based.
Tilt is a nine-episode mini-series and was not renewed beyond that. A DVD
set of the entire nine-episode run of the series was released on June 14, 2005, about three months after "The Last Hand" ran on ESPN.
) in a cash game. Each player has his own reason for wanting to hurt Everest, including a cop, Lee Nickel (Chris Bauer
), who wants to see him in jail for killing Nickel's brother.
Everest, as it turns out, is a sophisticated poker cheat
. His preferred cheating method is collusion
with hired partners (Everest calls them his "horses") at the same table, who signal their hole cards to Everest by flashing subtle hand signs. Toward the end of the series, during the WSOP tournament, Everest's horses also help him advance in the tournament by accumulating chips during their own play, then "dumping" them to Everest by intentionally losing to him and passing them during breaks. Everest runs his cheating racket in much the same manner as a Mafia
boss, treating his loyal partners lavishly but also coming down brutally on those who violate his trust (up to and including murder, thus giving his "Matador" nickname a whole new literal meaning), and bribing Colorado Casino officials and even local law enforcement to turn a blind eye toward his illegal activities.
One member of the group arrayed against Everest, Eddie Towne (Eddie Cibrian
), manages to gain the Matador's trust and is offered a role as one of his horses. This enables Towne to learn firsthand how Everest operates, and eventually to set up a high-stakes game involving himself, his partners and Everest, in which he and his partners plan to use the Matador's own signaling system against him. Unfortunately for them, they learn the hard way that Everest was onto them from the beginning. Towne is brutally cast out of Everest's stable, and his partners are forced to abandon their stake money to Everest (as the price for not having charges pressed against them for their own attempt at cheating).
No longer able to break Everest at the poker table, Towne's group decides to take a different approach: Join forces with Nickel to try and turn Everest's associates against him. Nickel has also gained another ally: erstwhile Colorado Casino executive Bart "Lowball" Rogers, recently ousted for crossing Everest one too many times. Lowball stakes Towne and his partners the $10,000 buy-in for the WCP tournament, so that they can keep Everest preoccupied while he and Nickel put the heat on his henchmen.
Meanwhile one of Towne's partners, Clark Marcellin (Todd Williams
), brings Everest's cheating racket and attendant murders to the attention of an undercover FBI agent. In between WCP playing sessions, Towne and his partners help the agent build a federal case against Everest. Ultimately Everest and Towne become the last two players left in the WCP tournament. Towne wins the heads-up battle, only to learn later that Everest had deliberately thrown the hand - and had his daughter bet enough money on Towne to more than cover the prize difference between first and second place. Everest is then arrested by the FBI, but in the closing moments of the final episode a key witness against Everest is found hanged in a shower stall, as an apparent suicide.
s by a few real-life poker personalities, all portraying themselves:
Mike Golic
and Mike Greenberg (ESPN morning talk show hosts on Mike and Mike in the Morning
) appeared. Golic played one of the poker players in the tournament. He can be seen at the buffet table eating a donut during one of the tournament breaks. Greenberg played as a bartender when Clark Marcellin (Todd Williams) went to a bar after the loss of his job.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
TV series set against the backdrop of the (fictional) World Championship of 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...
tournament in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, and with the tagline "You're playing poker. They're playing you." The series first aired on January 13, 2005, and is the second original drama series from ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
, following Playmakers
Playmakers
Playmakers is an American television series that aired on ESPN from August 26, 2003 to November 11, 2003. It depicted the lives of the Cougars, a fictional professional football team in an unidentified city. The show starred Omar Gooding, Marcello Thedford, Christopher Wiehl, Jason Matthew Smith,...
. It was created by Brian Koppelman
Brian Koppelman
Brian Koppelman is an American screenwriter, novelist, director, and producer. Best known as the co-writer of Ocean's Thirteen, and Rounders, Koppelman has also produced films such as The Illusionist and The Lucky Ones as well as directed films such as Solitary Man.His writing partner is David Levien...
and David Levien
David Levien
David Levien is an American screenwriter, novelist, director, and producer. Best known as the co-writer of Ocean's Thirteen, and Rounders Levien has also produced films such as The Illusionist and The Lucky Ones....
, who co-wrote the poker-themed feature film Rounders.
The series title refers to being "on tilt
Tilt (poker)
Tilt is a poker term for a state of mental or emotional confusion or frustration in which a player adopts a less than optimal strategy, usually resulting in the player becoming over-aggressive...
", which is poker jargon for letting frustration or other emotional stress interfere with one's poker-playing judgment. While that term is applicable to any form of poker, only one form of the game—no-limit Texas hold'em—is featured in the series. This was presumably meant to capitalize on the growing popularity of no-limit hold'em in the mid-2000s, which was due in part to ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
's own coverage of the annual World Series of Poker
World Series of Poker
The World Series of Poker is a world-renowned series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2005, sponsored by Harrah's Entertainment...
(WSOP), the event upon which the "World Championship of Poker" depicted in Tilt is presumably based.
Tilt is a nine-episode mini-series and was not renewed beyond that. A 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....
set of the entire nine-episode run of the series was released on June 14, 2005, about three months after "The Last Hand" ran on ESPN.
Plot
Most of the series takes place within the confines of the fictitious Colorado Casino in Las Vegas. There, a group of professional poker players has banded together to take down legendary gambler Don "The Matador" Everest (Michael MadsenMichael Madsen
Michael Søren Madsen is an American actor, poet, and photographer. He has appeared in more than 150 films, most of them small independent films, though he has starred in central roles in such films as Reservoir Dogs, Free Willy, Donnie Brasco, and Kill Bill, in addition to a supporting role in Sin...
) in a cash game. Each player has his own reason for wanting to hurt Everest, including a cop, Lee Nickel (Chris Bauer
Chris Bauer
Mark Christopher "Chris" Bauer is an American film and television actor.-Early life:Bauer was born in Los Angeles, California and attended high school at Miramonte High School in Orinda, California. He played on Miramonte Championship football team his senior year, 1984...
), who wants to see him in jail for killing Nickel's brother.
Everest, as it turns out, is a sophisticated poker cheat
Cheating in poker
Cheating in poker is any behavior outside the rules that is intended to give an unfair advantage to one or more players.-Types of cheating:Cheating can be done many ways, including collusion, sleight-of-hand , or the use of physical objects such as marked cards or holdout devices.Cheating occurs in...
. His preferred cheating method is collusion
Collusion
Collusion is an agreement between two or more persons, sometimes illegal and therefore secretive, to limit open competition by deceiving, misleading, or defrauding others of their legal rights, or to obtain an objective forbidden by law typically by defrauding or gaining an unfair advantage...
with hired partners (Everest calls them his "horses") at the same table, who signal their hole cards to Everest by flashing subtle hand signs. Toward the end of the series, during the WSOP tournament, Everest's horses also help him advance in the tournament by accumulating chips during their own play, then "dumping" them to Everest by intentionally losing to him and passing them during breaks. Everest runs his cheating racket in much the same manner as a Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
boss, treating his loyal partners lavishly but also coming down brutally on those who violate his trust (up to and including murder, thus giving his "Matador" nickname a whole new literal meaning), and bribing Colorado Casino officials and even local law enforcement to turn a blind eye toward his illegal activities.
One member of the group arrayed against Everest, Eddie Towne (Eddie Cibrian
Eddie Cibrian
Edward Carl "Eddie" Cibrian is an American actor. He is known for his television roles as Cole Deschanel on Sunset Beach, Jesse Cardoza in CSI: Miami, Jimmy Doherty on Third Watch and Russell Varon in Invasion.-Early life and career:...
), manages to gain the Matador's trust and is offered a role as one of his horses. This enables Towne to learn firsthand how Everest operates, and eventually to set up a high-stakes game involving himself, his partners and Everest, in which he and his partners plan to use the Matador's own signaling system against him. Unfortunately for them, they learn the hard way that Everest was onto them from the beginning. Towne is brutally cast out of Everest's stable, and his partners are forced to abandon their stake money to Everest (as the price for not having charges pressed against them for their own attempt at cheating).
No longer able to break Everest at the poker table, Towne's group decides to take a different approach: Join forces with Nickel to try and turn Everest's associates against him. Nickel has also gained another ally: erstwhile Colorado Casino executive Bart "Lowball" Rogers, recently ousted for crossing Everest one too many times. Lowball stakes Towne and his partners the $10,000 buy-in for the WCP tournament, so that they can keep Everest preoccupied while he and Nickel put the heat on his henchmen.
Meanwhile one of Towne's partners, Clark Marcellin (Todd Williams
Todd Williams (actor)
Todd Williams is an American actor best known for his role as Isaac Joiner on The Chicago Code.-Early Life:Born in Queens, NY, Williams began the pursuit of his acting career while attending Talent Unlimited High School in Manhattan...
), brings Everest's cheating racket and attendant murders to the attention of an undercover FBI agent. In between WCP playing sessions, Towne and his partners help the agent build a federal case against Everest. Ultimately Everest and Towne become the last two players left in the WCP tournament. Towne wins the heads-up battle, only to learn later that Everest had deliberately thrown the hand - and had his daughter bet enough money on Towne to more than cover the prize difference between first and second place. Everest is then arrested by the FBI, but in the closing moments of the final episode a key witness against Everest is found hanged in a shower stall, as an apparent suicide.
Cast
- Chris BauerChris BauerMark Christopher "Chris" Bauer is an American film and television actor.-Early life:Bauer was born in Los Angeles, California and attended high school at Miramonte High School in Orinda, California. He played on Miramonte Championship football team his senior year, 1984...
as Lee Nickel - Eddie CibrianEddie CibrianEdward Carl "Eddie" Cibrian is an American actor. He is known for his television roles as Cole Deschanel on Sunset Beach, Jesse Cardoza in CSI: Miami, Jimmy Doherty on Third Watch and Russell Varon in Invasion.-Early life and career:...
as Eddie Towne - Kristin LehmanKristin LehmanKristin Lehman is a Canadian actress and dancer.Lehman was born in Toronto, Ontario, and grew up in Vancouver and trained in classical ballet at Canada's Royal Academy of Dance for eight years...
as Miami - Don McManus as Bart Rogers
- Todd WilliamsTodd Williams (actor)Todd Williams is an American actor best known for his role as Isaac Joiner on The Chicago Code.-Early Life:Born in Queens, NY, Williams began the pursuit of his acting career while attending Talent Unlimited High School in Manhattan...
as Clark Marcellin - Michael MadsenMichael MadsenMichael Søren Madsen is an American actor, poet, and photographer. He has appeared in more than 150 films, most of them small independent films, though he has starred in central roles in such films as Reservoir Dogs, Free Willy, Donnie Brasco, and Kill Bill, in addition to a supporting role in Sin...
as Don "The Matador" Everest - Michael MurphyMichael Murphy (actor)Michael George Murphy is an American film and television actor.-Career:Murphy played Woody Allen's duplicitous friend Yale in the film Manhattan...
as Jimmy Molloy
Cameos
The series featured cameo appearanceCameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
s by a few real-life poker personalities, all portraying themselves:
- Phil HellmuthPhil HellmuthPhil 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...
(professional poker player and 1989 WSOPWorld Series of PokerThe World Series of Poker is a world-renowned series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2005, sponsored by Harrah's Entertainment...
main event champion) - David WilliamsDavid Williams (card player)David Anthony Williams is a professional poker player and popular Magic: The Gathering player.-Personal life:Williams was born in Arlington, Texas. He briefly attended Princeton University before switching to study economics at Southern Methodist University...
(another pro poker player, and runner-up to Greg RaymerGreg RaymerGregory Raymer nicknamed "Fossilman," is a professional poker player. He is best known for winning the 2004 World Series of Poker Main Event.-Early life:...
in the 2004 WSOPWorld Series of PokerThe World Series of Poker is a world-renowned series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2005, sponsored by Harrah's Entertainment...
championship) - Lon McEachernLon McEachernLon McEachern is an American sports broadcaster, who is most known for his hand-by-hand commentary on The World Series of Poker. McEachern, who graduated from the University of California Santa Barbara with a bachelor’s degree in communications, is also the host of Fox network's On the Pole. He has...
and Norman ChadNorman ChadNorman Chad is an American sportswriter and syndicated columnist who is seen on the sports channel ESPN. He also was an occasional guest host on the ESPN show Pardon the Interruption and has appeared as both host and movie critic on the ESPN Classic series Reel Classics.He writes a weekly...
(commentators who cover the WSOPWorld Series of PokerThe World Series of Poker is a world-renowned series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2005, sponsored by Harrah's Entertainment...
in real life and its fictional counterpart, the "World Championship of Poker", in the Tilt series) - Daniel NegreanuDaniel NegreanuDaniel 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...
(professional poker player and 2004 Card Player Magazine Player of the Year. Also a multiple WSOPWorld Series of PokerThe World Series of Poker is a world-renowned series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2005, sponsored by Harrah's Entertainment...
bracelet winner) - T. J. CloutierT. J. CloutierThomas 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:...
(professional poker player and author, multiple WSOPWorld Series of PokerThe World Series of Poker is a world-renowned series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2005, sponsored by Harrah's Entertainment...
bracelet winner) - Erik SeidelErik SeidelErik 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:...
(professional poker player and multiple WSOPWorld Series of PokerThe World Series of Poker is a world-renowned series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2005, sponsored by Harrah's Entertainment...
bracelet winner)
Mike Golic
Mike Golic
Michael Louis "Mike" Golic is a co-host of ESPN Radio's Mike and Mike in the Morning and a former defensive lineman at Notre Dame and in the NFL. The NFL website lists him as and ....
and Mike Greenberg (ESPN morning talk show hosts on Mike and Mike in the Morning
Mike and Mike in the Morning
Mike and Mike in the Morning is an American sports-talk radio show hosted by Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg on ESPN Radio and simulcast on television, normally on ESPN2. If ESPN is broadcasting a live sporting event during the show's timeslot, Sportscenter will air on ESPN2, and the show's...
) appeared. Golic played one of the poker players in the tournament. He can be seen at the buffet table eating a donut during one of the tournament breaks. Greenberg played as a bartender when Clark Marcellin (Todd Williams) went to a bar after the loss of his job.
Episode list
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