F is For Family’s Bill Burr Has a Poker Show

On Netflix’s F is For Family, Bill Burr plays Frank Murphy a father of three in the 70s who’s too tired to hide his disappointment in life as the world rapidly changes around him. But outside of Netflix, he is a world-renowned stand-up comedian who likes to get together with some of his friends and record a $60 buy-in poker home game for his YouTube channel. 

All Things Comedy’s The Poker Table is an unusual poker show, there are no hole cards, no commentators, it rarely shows the boards and the players need to be told what beats what. But it recreates and enhances an important but neglected aspect of poker culture - the home game. 

The show is Bill and four of his comedian friends hanging out while playing cards, occasionally making up rules as they go along. They talk about porn, crazy stories, their kid’s belief in Santa Claus, cheating at poker, and many other topics friends talk about during a low stakes home game. 

The show features a rotating list of comedians with varying degrees of poker knowledge. Besides Bill Burr himself, the episodes so far have featured: 

• Al Madrigal
  
• Jay Larson 
• Bobby Lee
• Eddie Pepitone
• Bert Kreischer 
• Theo Von
• Steve Rannazzisi 
• Jon Reep
• Natasha Leggero 
• Brooks Wheelan
• Brendon Walsh
• Nick Thune
• Felipe Esparza 
• Morgan Murphy  
• Nathaniel “Earthquake” Stroman
• Jay Larson

Now with those names, I hopefully convinced you it’s funny, but why is it a good poker show? 

In the words of Bill Burr himself:

“If it was about winning the game, I wouldn’t do this because I’m yet to win. What I like about it is the social aspect, get a sandwich, listen to some stories, throw some chips in, feel like a man.” 

I’m not saying that every poker show should be like this, but a fun reminder that playing poker can be a bonding experience between human beings has its place among all the high-level 7-hour final table streams and the rec vs reg cash game shows. It may not be good poker, but it’s definitely good for poker.