User reviews

National Geographic's 'Inside Underground Poker' is a good time, but not for the reasons you might be thinking. The faces were real, but NG had a penchant for creating a fake sort of reality tv drama for their cameras. Combine that with a cheesy atmosphere, hints that something is always about to jump off in this seedy underground world (but never does) and you have an item that is so packed with cheese it should be on the menu at Taco Bell.

From Staten Island to Brooklyn and Manhattan complete with guys that all have nicknames like it's a prerequisite for being born. "Rock", "Mush", "Breezy" and organizer Mikey "Tats" among others. A lot of talk gets spent on game locations, cops, heat, being busted or robbed, etc. The kind of the stuff that feels right at home with the word illegal. Issues of debt, excuses make an appearance because what is a doc about gambling if there's not at least one degen onscreen moaning about how life is unfair and they're just "unlucky".

'Inside Underground Poker' is meant to be a serious piece of work. This secret look into something you never experienced or heard about before, but anyone I know who've seen it only laugh. The topic and issues it's highlighting is very real. Illegal gambling is a big thing in certain locales, circles but this isn't a real representation.