If the opening episode of No Limit, the new World Series of Poker WSOP documentary series, the focus was on winning at poker. The moments under the spotlights, the inspiration behind the perspiration and the reason elite players play on – what drives them. But how they survive in tough times, who helps them and what emotional impact that has on those around them is at the heart of why poker players do what they do.

Episode 2 – Welcome to Paradise

The Birth of a Dream

Paradise as a concept can refer to a physical location or a state of immense happiness, particularly in regard to a single activity. In the case of the WSOP Paradise festival, it is 15 tournaments, each of which award a gold bracelet and big money to the winner, as well as millions of dollars to hundreds of others who make the money place.

To get to poker heaven, however, players all take different routes. It is what makes poker so fascinating, that a sportsman in another field, a maths whizzkid and a seasoned Vegas gambler can all meet at the same table and play for the same prize, as long as they have the entry fee to put down.

The opening section of the second episode of No Limit centers once again on Daniel Negreanu, a seven-time WSOP bracelet winner and a member of the Poker Hall of Fame. Both Daniel and Amanda Negreanu speak on their attempts to grow their marriage into a family via IVF treatments and the impact that poker travel has on them both. It’s a touching start and shows the human side of life behind The Negreanu’s reality TV-style world of vlogs and podcasts, high stakes tournaments and glamorous poker sets.

There’s also a chance to meet Faraz Jaka in a bit more detail, as the experienced poker pro and coach talks about why he plays and what motivates him as a poker teacher. In one event, Jaka is playing opposite Alan Keating, one of the richest poker players in the world and a cash game crusher.

“You have to be careful not to get stacked in away your pupils won’t appreciate.” teases Keating, famed for his nosebleed cash pots more than his tournament prowess.

“Oh, I do that all the time!” laughs Jaka in response under the heat of the live TV table lights, a cool customer if ever there was one.

In for a Cent, In for a Dollar

Also featured are the GGPoker qualifiers who make up a sizeable percentage of the Super Main Event field. Having amateurs in a $25,000-entry event who have qualified for $15 online such as Eric Bonucci-Bilow is great to see and his experience of the WSOP in all its glory is the stuff of dreams to many. The qualifiers’ excitement, coupled with the thoughts of their partners, is inspiring stuff and acts as a timely reminder that if anyone plays online, then can win big money if things go their way.

Also a big part of the middle section is PokerStake seller and female poker legend Kristen Foxen, who takes on her husband Alex at the felt in a bid to end her year with the “redemption” of a bracelet after falling just short in the WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas, forces the fold from her husband, who jokes that he had six-high before guessing her hand as jack-nine.

“Yeah…” says Kristen, before smiling: “…No.”

Watching how the qualifiers deal with the intensity of a day at the poker felt while doing the normal, regular things a family man does on holiday in the case of Bonucci-Bilow is touching. He’s clearly exhausted, yet enjoying time with his wife and son either side of the action at the poker felt is another example of the human emotions that are hidden at the poker felt but lie at the heart of every players once the last deal has been dealt.

The Highs and Lows

“It’s about being able to take these losses and keep grinding.”

Adam Malfitano is another GG qualifier featured in the episode, and after he busts outside the money, his emotions are laid bare.

“In this game, [if] you’re calling people on the river, you’ve got to have the nuts,” he says ruefully. “It’s about being able to take these losses and just keep grinding away. Man, it’s going to suck sending out the texts like: ‘Hey, I busted’.”

When Day 1a of the Super Main Event ends, so does the episode, set on the cliffhanger of all the different players involved on very different stacks, with Kristen Foxen and Daniel Negreanu – both PokerStake players – on over $1.6m chips, while Scott Seiver, Eric Bonucci-Bilow, Michael Dwyer and his coach Faraz Jaka all on six figures rather than seven.

While the show is glossy and exciting, there is more to No Limit than initially meets the eye, with the concept of poker dreams and the emotional toll they take on those who have them the sub-plot from the latest half-hour window into the world of the WSOP. We can’t wait for the next episode to drop, which it will do on Tuesday.

Watch all the action here from Episode 2, Welcome to Paradise: