Ali Nejad
Encyclopedia
Ali "Oliver" Nejad is an Iranian-American
television
poker
commentator
, who is best known as the off-screen announcer on NBC
's Poker After Dark
and the National Heads-Up Poker Championship
. He is also a commentator on ESPN
's Pro-Am Poker Equalizer
series, and has also been a co-commentator with Chad Brown
on an episode of the Ultimate Poker Challenge
and with Daniel Negreanu
on the PCA 2009 episodes. He played on Poker After Dark and was the first player knocked out when Gabe Kaplan flopped a set of 10's while Nejad flopped a set of 4's. He finished 2nd in a week of poker analysts at the end of season 3 of the program. He is also a member of Full Tilt Poker
. He is also the host of Poker Road Radio which is part of pokerroad.com
In 2003, at the PartyPoker Million Tournament, he met Mori Eskandani
, then the Tournament Director of Poker Superstars and future producer for the National Heads-Up Poker Championship and Poker After Dark. Eskandani hired Nejad as the Master of Ceremonies for the Poker Superstars event in 2004. In the February 7, 2008 episode of Poker Road Radio, Joe Sebok
announced that Ali was the host of Poker Road Radio. His tenure began at the WPT Commerce event starting on February 26, 2008. His tenure ended right before the start of the 2009 WSOP.
Nejad is one of the poker players who believes he was a victim of the Ultimate Bet cheating scandal.
Iranian-American
Iranian-Americans are Americans of Iranian ancestry or people possessing Iranian and American dual citizenship.Iranian-Americans are amongst the most highly educated groups in the United States...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
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
Sports commentator
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...
, who is best known as the off-screen announcer on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Poker After Dark
Poker After Dark
Poker After Dark was an hour-long poker television program on NBC. The show made its debut on January 1, 2007, and was cancelled as another victim of the "Black Friday" criminal case due to the show's sponsorship by Full Tilt Poker, one of that case's defendants. on September 23, 2011 For its first...
and the National Heads-Up Poker Championship
National Heads-Up Poker Championship
-2006:- 2007 :-2008:In additional to the poker professionals, several poker-playing celebrities from other fields were invited: Gabe Kaplan, Don Cheadle, Jennifer Tilly, Shannon Elizabeth, Jason Alexander and Orel Hershiser. Also invited was Alisha Kunze of Greensburg, Indiana, who won her seat...
. He is also a commentator on 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 Pro-Am Poker Equalizer
Pro-Am Poker Equalizer
The Pro-Am Poker Equalizer is a televised poker tournament in which professional poker players play Texas hold 'em against celebrities which began airing on ESPN in January 2007. In order to "equalize" the playing field, the celebrities start the tournament with 50% more chips than the...
series, and has also been a co-commentator with Chad Brown
Chad Brown (poker player)
Chad Lewis Brown is an American actor, poker player and color commentator, based in Los Angeles, California.-Early life & acting career:...
on an episode of the Ultimate Poker Challenge
Ultimate Poker Challenge
The Ultimate Poker Challenge was a series of weekly poker tournaments acting as super-satellites into the series semi-finals.The first and second seasons are available on NTSC DVD...
and with 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...
on the PCA 2009 episodes. He played on Poker After Dark and was the first player knocked out when Gabe Kaplan flopped a set of 10's while Nejad flopped a set of 4's. He finished 2nd in a week of poker analysts at the end of season 3 of the program. He is also a member of Full Tilt Poker
Full Tilt Poker
Full Tilt Poker is an online poker card room that opened in June 2004 with the involvement of poker professionals Howard Lederer, Phil Ivey, Andy Bloch, Mike Matusow, Jennifer Harman and Chris Ferguson...
. He is also the host of Poker Road Radio which is part of pokerroad.com
Biography
Nejad hosted a show and reported for a local NBC affiliate while still in high school. Nejad dropped out of Berkeley to pursue playing poker full-time. He worked as a dealer and prop player before becoming a successful high limit player. But despite his success in the poker world, Nejad still had the broadcasting itch. In 2002 he hosted an MTV pilot that was not picked up.In 2003, at the PartyPoker Million Tournament, he met Mori Eskandani
Mori Eskandani
Mori Eskandani is a producer of many American television poker programs such as Poker After Dark, High Stakes Poker, and the National Heads-Up Poker Championship....
, then the Tournament Director of Poker Superstars and future producer for the National Heads-Up Poker Championship and Poker After Dark. Eskandani hired Nejad as the Master of Ceremonies for the Poker Superstars event in 2004. In the February 7, 2008 episode of Poker Road Radio, Joe Sebok
Joe Sebok
Joe Sebok is a professional poker player from San Francisco, California. His stepfather, Barry Greenstein, is also a professional poker player. He is known as "The Cub" because he calls Greenstein "Bear." Beginning professional play in 2005, as of 2009, his total live tournament winnings exceed...
announced that Ali was the host of Poker Road Radio. His tenure began at the WPT Commerce event starting on February 26, 2008. His tenure ended right before the start of the 2009 WSOP.
Nejad is one of the poker players who believes he was a victim of the Ultimate Bet cheating scandal.