A new poker documentary called “The Ultimate Stack” was released a few days ago, produced by POKER Films and the World Poker Tour. It lasts 90 minutes and was filmed during the 2023 WPT World Championship, which had a $40M guaranteed prize pool and was played at Wynn Las Vegas.
The idea of the poker documentary is simple and original: start with a player in the tournament and follow him with interviews until he is eliminated. Then, start following the person who eliminated him and so on until they reach the person who manages to win the ultimate stack and become champion. The documentary features WPT CEO Adam Pliska and players Tony Dunst, Garrett Adelstein, Chris Moorman, Andrew Lichtenberger, Dan Sepiol, Mike Holtz, Mustapha Kanit and Brad Owen, among others.
To find out more details about the project, we reached out to two people who were part of the production: Alec Rome (camera operator) and Matthew Kiefer (narrator). Just below the interview, you can read a brief review with my opinion of the documentary, but first we invite you to watch it.
Interview with Alec Rome and Matt Kiefer
What was your role in the production of The Ultimate Stack?
Alec: I was a camera operator on the floor during the entire tournament, and would help in production as needed.
Matt: I was a videographer during the WPT World Championship, did the narration, and storyboarded the animation scenes. I also helped review the film and gave some feedback.
What was it like working with (Director) Michael Bailey and the rest of the production team?
Alec: Mike’s passion for the game and the industry as a whole is apparent, and it definitely comes across in the way he produced this documentary. He’s always looking for ways to improve the final product and take in feedback, and I enjoyed being able to contribute in any way to the Ultimate Stack. He specifically looked for player voices and feedback, but didn’t shy away from trying to include new viewers who may not be so familiar with the ebbs and flows of a poker tournament. I’ve been a part of the overall team at WPT for 1.5 years, and the people I work with are really great. They all care about the ecology and health of the game, and making sure that whatever WPT puts out, it’s top notch.
Matt: It was a lot a fun filming during the WPT World Championship with Michael, Alec and Matt Owen. I was proud of Michael coming up with this idea and pitching it to our boss and team.
How long did it take to complete the project? What did you think of the final result?
Alec: It took about 10-ish months from start of recording to the premiere. Mike’s put a lot of work into the editing process and it really came out well, thanks to the collaboration of many different departments in WPT. I enjoyed seeing the premiere the other night and I know a lot of the community has felt the same way.
Matt: Only a week or two after the WPT World Championship, Michael already had a first draft completed. He was so excited about the project it didn’t take him long to get a rough cut. But then it took a few months finalizing the edit and adding graphics and animations and such. I think it came together nicely. Watching it gets me excited to come back to Vegas this December.
Alec Rome
What reasons would you give Cardplayer Lifestyle readers to watch the documentary?
Alec: It’s rare that we get a lot of new long-form content about poker, particularly documentaries, and Mike’s been a leader in that niche for a while now. Any new documentary is worth a view and support as the goal is always to grow people’s interest in poker, reactivate those who’ve been away and expand the player base. You also get some really great insight from many different personalities and from the people who played in the tournament.
The unique part about this documentary is the fact that we were both guaranteed to follow multiple players and to eventually follow the winner, and the path that was taken in this one was really intriguing. We were very close to potentially following players like Kristen Foxen, which would have been super interesting as well considering the absolute tear she’s been on in the last 12 months. We did get accomplished pro Chris Moorman as well as some characters you likely don’t know, and to me, that’s what makes a compelling documentary. Come for who you know; stay for who (and what) you don’t.
Matt: I think if you are interested in seeing the ins and outs of what goes into a long large field poker tournament, this is a great watch. It’s a simple idea to start with one person and follow the player who busts them all the way to the end, but it’s never been done before. It’s fun to not know which person we could be following next. We were lucky; each player along the journey was willing to participate.
On its first day available on YouTube, The Ultimate Stack had 12K views. What were the first responses you received?
Alec: The feedback from those who have watched it so far has been really positive. Mike screened it early to some players, including those who were subjects in the documentary, and they were really pleased with the movie. I hope more people continue to give it a watch and comment on what they thought of it. The World Poker Tour and the team I’ve worked with hope to continue making cutting-edge poker content… it’s what the WPT has done for 20+ years and it’s not going to stop now.
Matt: I read through the comments and was encouraged by the overall positive vibes. Five days post-publication we’re at 85K views (as of press time). I think that is great. I was playing in a tournament over the weekend and a guy came up to me and said he watched the documentary and loved it; he knew I was involved somehow.
Matt Kiefer / Photo: Moneymaker Tour
Are you planning to film something similar during this year’s WPT World Championship festivities?
Alec: TBD! Naturally, this $5 Million ClubWPT Gold freeroll tournament on December 13th has a lot of our attention, but trust me when I say that we have a lot of potential for new stories to come out of this year’s World Championship festival, both in short-form and long-form mediums.
Matt: I think this year we are more focused on everything ClubWPT Gold, and focusing more on short-form content.
There are a lot of good poker poker documentaries out there. Which ones are your favorites?
Alec: I’m a bit partial because I edited “Dreamers: A New-Age Poker Documentary” on behalf of Above The Felt, and we were really happy with the turnout for that film. I came onto the project mid-way through and was happy we could take the vision Tom Wheaton had and turn it into reality. It had the game’s best personalities and some really great behind-the-scenes stuff that Karl, the videographer, captured very well. Mike’s other project, For Love or Money, gives a completely different view on the game and follows a lot of online and live grinders. I’ve seen “Bet, Raise, Fold” too, which I think is another great piece.
Matt: I really haven’t seen many poker documentaries; “Kid Poker”, “To Be Determined”, I remembered both I liked. I’m working on a Doyle documentary. It’s pretty much finished, just need to get everything approved.
Which player or member of the poker industry would you like to see a documentary about?
Alec: For me, I’m going to be interested in some of the finer and maybe grittier details of the game; I would love to see more stories that highlight both the highs and lows of the game. I believe there needs to be a recap or history piece on the vloggers and their contributions to the game, and following the process of content creators now as they have taken over and really made their mark on the industry and how we market the game.
There’s a lot of stories to be told there. I also want to find more ways to explore the lifestyle of these personalities; anyone who’s been in the game knows all of the intriguing human interest stories there are. Overall, we know there’s more stuff out there to capture, and I’m excited to see what our team does next.
Matt: After I finished one on Doyle, Phil Ivey would be my next choice. I heard there is one in the works right now.
Review of The Ultimate Stack Poker Documentary
(Spoiler warnings!) The producers of the documentary decided to choose Patrick Harvey as their first player to follow, who had won his entry into the tournament via a WPT contest. As a viewer, I thought it was a good decision, as we get to see someone who doesn’t usually play these types of tournaments and is fulfilling a dream. It’s very easy to identify with him and you ride the emotional rollercoaster with him as he plays the bubble.
Ryan Wolfson is the one who takes Patrick’s last chips, but he appears on screen for less than 5 minutes. The next protagonist is Lithuanian Paulius Vaitiekunas, who we get to know in detail as he makes a deep run and makes his biggest live cash. It’s very interesting to learn about his career and what he thought about the most important hands he played.
The next protagonist is a poker legend: the Englishman Chris Moorman, who has earned $9M live and $24M online. In 2014 he won a WPT title and 10 years later he is looking to repeat the feat. Being able to listen to him is a real luxury and in my opinion it’s the best thing the documentary offers.
The 90-minute show flies by as it is a very entertaining format that tournament players will enjoy and relate to. I think it provides a great balance between interviews and hand analysis, which lends itself to being watched by amateur and professional players alike. It is ideal to watch as a preview of the 2024 WPT World Championship, which starts in a couple weeks at Wynn Las Vegas.
The Director and Producer is Michael Bailey and it’s obvious that he knows his stuff about poker. In 2019 he made the documentary “For Love or Money?” and in 2023 he made the 6-episode “Bracelet Hunt: A Poker Docuseries“. I recommend watching them after “The Ultimate Stack”, which is one of the best poker documentaries I’ve seen in recent years.
If you want to learn more about some great poker documentaries, check out this article where we compile 2⃣4⃣ of them that you can watch for free.
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