The One With All The Poker

"The One With All The Poker"
Season	1x18
Episode no.	18
Written by	Jeff Astrof Mike Sikowitz
Directed by	James Burrows
Guest stars	Beverly Garland as Aunt Iris James Michael Tyler as Gunther (uncredited)
Original airdate	March 2, 1995
Episode List
← Previous	"The One With Two Parts, Part 2"
Next →	"The One Where The Monkey Gets Away"

"The One With All The Poker" is the eighteenth episode of the first season of Friends, which aired on March 2, 1995.

Plot

The guys teach poker (Five-card draw) to the girls, who lose spectacularly. They ask Monica's aunt, Iris, a professional poker player, for help, which makes them improve, albeit slightly, their poker skills. The girls keep playing the guys in the hope of winning one over them.

Tired of serving coffee at Central Perk and being called "excuse me" by people, Rachel sends out résumés for job opportunities. She gets an interview at Saks, Fifth Avenue, about a vacancy as personal shopper.

Ross picks up an old subject with Chandler and Joey - his love for Rachel. Ross tries to deny his feelings for Rachel, but the guys are skeptical about this. Determined to prove them wrong, he gets unusually hard on Rachel during the poker games. The two keep on bickering during a poker game, where things start to go well for Rachel when she wins a hand on Ross. In the middle of a dealt hand, she receives a call from Saks informing her that she hasn't been picked out for the job.

Instead of abandoning the game, she decides to take it out on Ross, raising the bets over the limit and making everyone fold. Ross decides to fold too, but she reminds him of his comments about not being a nice guy during poker, so he sits out the rest of the hand. The bets keep rising through the roof, and Rachel wins with a full house. Ross accepts the defeat, realizing that it made Rachel happy during a difficult moment. Unluckily for him, Joey and Chandler now definitely confirm that he's in love with Rachel.

Cast and Crew

Main Cast

Jennifer Aniston - Rachel Green
Courteney Cox - Monica Geller
Lisa Kudrow - Phoebe Buffay
Matt LeBlanc - Joey Tribbiani
Matthew Perry - Chandler Bing
David Schwimmer - Ross Geller

Supporting Cast

Beverly Garland - Aunt Iris

James Michael Tyler - Gunther (uncredited)

Crew

Directed By:
James Burrows

Written By:
Jeff Astrof & Mike Sikowitz

Trivia

General

• During the final poker game, the camera looks down from the ceiling onto Monica's kitchen table, a shot which is never used again in the series.
• The gang later sing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" to Marcel in "The One After The Superbowl, Part 1" (S2E12).
• The song the gang whistle at the beginning of the episode is a march called "Colonel Bogey".
• Jennifer Aniston described this episode as one of her favorite moments on the show in "The One With All The Other Ones".
• Ross's hand was either a Four of a Kind, a Straight Flush, or a Royal Flush to have beaten a Full House (or a higher rated Full House).
• It is revealed that Monica once threw a plate during a game of Pictionary. In "The One In Barbados, Part 2" (S9E24), Chandler refers to a scar that he claims he got during a game of Pictionary.
• This is the first time Rachel tries to get a job in the fashion industry. Until "The One Where Rachel Quits" (S3E10), this would also be the last time.

Goofs

• When the gang are sat around the table in Monica's apartment playing poker, Monica is making something to eat. When she puts it on the table and sits back, we can see a pile of plates on the table on her right side. But in the next shot, the plates are gone.

Episode Navigation

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Preceded by "The One With Two Parts, Part 2"

"The One With All The Poker"

Followed by "The One Where The Monkey Gets Away"

1. "The Pilot"
2. "The One With The Sonogram At The End"
3. "The One With The Thumb"
4. "The One With George Stephanopoulos"
5. "The One With The East German Laundry Detergent"
6. "The One With The Butt"
7. "The One With The Blackout"
8. "The One Where Nana Dies Twice"
9. "The One Where Underdog Gets Away"
10. "The One With The Monkey"
11. "The One With Mrs. Bing"
12. "The One With The Dozen Lasagnas"
13. "The One With The Boobies"
14. "The One With The Candy Hearts"
15. "The One With The Stoned Guy"
16. "The One With Two Parts, Part 1"
17. "The One With Two Parts, Part 2"
18. "The One With All The Poker"
19. "The One Where The Monkey Gets Away"
20. "The One With The Evil Orthodontist"
21. "The One With The Fake Monica"
22. "The One With The Ick Factor"
23. "The One With The Birth"
24. "The One Where Rachel Finds Out"