When Late Night Poker first appeared on Channel 4 in 1999, it revolutionised people's perception of poker. Finally, the world’s favourite card game was in the hearts, minds and lounges of the average Brit.

Thanks largely to the programme's revolutionary glass-topped table technology, poker became a massive small-screen success. Under the table, cameras revealed the players' hands to the viewers but not to their opponents. As the masters of bluff and deceit put their cards on the table, you were always ahead of the game, gripped by the psychological power play.

Late Night Poker attracted some of the biggest names in poker. World Champions Phil Hellmuth, Jr. and Noel Furlong, Cardplayer of the Year Daniel Negreanu, World Series bracelet winners Devilfish, John Morgan, Ivo Donev, Donnachea O'Dea, World Poker Tour winner Surinder Sunar, Poker Million winner John Duthie and some of the game's favourite characters, including The Hendon Mob, Padraig Parkinson, and Simon 'Aces' Trumper, all took part in the action.

In 2005, 42 online qualifiers were selected from a field of thousands to compete for the title of 'Britain's Best Amateur Poker Player' in Late Night Poker Ace. John Shaw of Dunfermline (46) snatched the title and a large slice of the $100,000 prize pool.

This year, Late Night Poker is back in earnest with 2 back-to-back tournaments: Late Night Poker Ace 2006 and Later Night Poker Masters 2006. Kicking off with Late Night Poker Ace 2006 where 32 international online qualifiers compete for a first prize of $100,000 and the title "Best Amateur Player in the World". The countries represented include GB, USA, Sweden, France, Spain and Brazil.

The 8 finalists from this tournament join 24 top professionals to play in Late Night Poker Masters. Amongst the field are some old familiar faces from the original Late Night Poker series such as Irishman Donnacha O'Dea, Swede Ken Lennaard, the mercurial Dutchman Marcel Luske and Hendon mobsters Ram Vaswani, Joe Beevers and Barny Boatman. 2 former Late Night Poker champions Simon 'Aces' Trumper and Peter 'The Poet' Costa are also in action. And don't forget to watch out for some new faces including American Kenna 'Cowboy' James, Australian Tony G and Danish star Theo Jorgensen. $250,000 is up for grabs, with the winner taking home a cool $100,000.

Journalist, poker player and BBC2 Balderdash and Piffle presenter Victoria Coren hosts the series. The commentary is provided by Jesse May and poker professionals Simon Trumper and Barny Boatman.

Catch all the action on Channel 4 starting at Midnight, 26th September.