Poker Night at the Inventory

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A different kind of poker night.
STRONG BAD: There's no quicker way to turn the hotties off than by being a terrible poker player, man.

Poker Night at the Inventory is a Texas hold 'em poker computer game developed by Telltale Games. A spiritual successor to Telltale Texas Hold'em, the game pits the player against four disparate video game characters — Strong Bad (as portrayed in Telltale's Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People), Max (from Sam & Max), Tycho (from Penny Arcade), and Heavy Weapons Guy (from Team Fortress 2). Reginald Van Winslow from Tales of Monkey Island features as the host of titular speakeasy The Inventory, and other characters (such as Pom Pom) make cameo appearances.

Poker Night presents the characters as they appeared in their respective games, so Strong Bad retains a cel-shaded look that makes him stand out from many other elements of the game. As the central conceit of the game is that the video game characters are spending their off hours playing poker, the game has an extensive dialogue system, allowing characters to comment on how the game is progressing, react to cards, address the player, and hold conversations amongst themselves. Characters each buy in with $10,000 — there is a chance a character will bet a prized item instead of putting up the money, for instance, Strong Bad may wager Dangeresque Too's sunglasses. If the character who wagered the item is knocked out of the tournament by the player, these items will then be unlocked for use in Team Fortress 2.

The game was initially released for Windows and Mac on November 22, 2010; after Telltale Games' closure, Poker Night was delisted from Steam on May 23rd, 2019. A revised and remastered version of the game was released for modern platforms on March 5, 2026.

Cast: Strong Bad, Max, Heavy Weapons Guy, Tycho Brahe, Reginald Van Winslow, Pom Pom, Trixie Trotter, Sam, Flint Paper, Girl Stinky, Momma Bosco, Bluster Blaster, Monty Muzzle, General Skunkape (2026 remaster), Homestar Runner (2026 remaster), G-Man (2026 remaster), T.H.E.M. (2026 remaster)

Places: The Inventory

Date: Monday, November 22, 2010

Contents

[edit] Game Elements

[edit] The Inventory

Outside the Inventory

The Inventory is a secret club where video game characters relax and play games when they aren't working. Strong Sad and Marzipan were part of a murder play here in Make a Scene with Telltale at PAX 2010. Later, Strong Bad and Pom Pom played Texas Hold 'Em poker here in Poker Night at the Inventory. The building appears to be a warehouse with a metal door and a lit sign displaying the words "The Inventory". This metal door isn't used, as a hidden elevator in the floor goes down into the real club below. The club is shown to have secret rooms, as a bookcase is opened and closed to allow passage to an unknown area. The club was founded in 1919, in response to an early draft of the prohibition amendment, which would also have outlawed games. The club has remained secret ever since, just in case a similar law is ever created in the future.

In the introduction, while going down the elevator, Pom Pom can be seen at the table. Later, when the player is being shown to the table, Pom Pom can be seen getting up and bouncing away, possibly in disgust. At one of the tables at the bar, a Maps and Minions game board from Strong Badia the Free can be briefly seen.

[edit] Introduction Scene Transcript

The Inventory's Poker Table

WINSLOW: Oh hello there! Another enthusiast, I presume?

How good it is to see a fresh face here at The Inventory! I imagine you are here for the cardgame with fellows downstairs? Let me lead you down there.

A first timer hmm? I'm a bit more familiar with the...benefactions of the club. The club was founded in 1919 in response to an early draft of the 18th Amendment. Through...back channels it was learned that this vile piece of legislation would not only outlaw libations, but games and amusements that could also "threaten the world-renowned determination and productivity of the American work-force". Ha! Can you IMAGINE? Games OUTLAWED?

Nevertheless, this club has been here in secret ever since, just in case those "in charge", get another bee in their bonnet. So, welcome and enjoy yourself.

Ah, your table! {Turns to the poker table, with Max, Strong Bad, Heavy, and Tycho sitting around it} Ahem, gentlemen. I hope there is room at the table for a fifth.

MAX: Aha! Fresh meat!

(At this point, one of the following scripts is chosen at random.)

WINSLOW: Tonight's stakes will be ten thousand dollars.
STRONG BAD: Oh, just because you're the manager, you get to make the rules?
WINSLOW: Manager? Ha ha, no, I am not under the employ of the Inventory. I just see to it that everybody has a good time. That will be ten thousand. I hope each of you brought your billfolds.
WINSLOW: Perhaps our newcomer would like to set the stakes for tonight's game? ("The Player" tosses a bound stack of money onto the table.) That sounded like ten thousand dollars landing on the table to the note.
WINSLOW: Very well. In concordance with the house rules of the Inventory, set forth by Mr. Kent upon the club's founding, any congregation of five players around a no-limit hold'em table must play for the house stakes of seventy-five dollars.
THE HEAVY: This is not too much.
WINSLOW: Of course, these stakes were set in 1910 and with inflation... hm, let's see... eh, tonight's buy-in will be ten thousand dollars.

{Each of the characters place money on the table}

WINSLOW: The game will be No-Limit Texas Hold'Em. I will periodically raise the blinds. May the best player win! {Winslow leaves the table}

[edit] Strong Bad

See also Strong Bad's Responses in Poker Night at the Inventory
Strong Bad dons "his" sunglasses in the 2026 remaster.

Strong Bad's play style is unpredictable and reckless, often aggressively bluffing with a high wager (even going all in) on a subpar hand in an attempt to get others to fold. He may often be the first out, but his bluff-heavy style makes him hard to read and he can catch others off guard with a genuinely good hand.

Strong Bad engages in his typical humorously-threatening behavior during table cross-talk:

  • He often teases the player about the poor value of their cards or their lack of skill compared to him.
  • Strong Bad and Max get along reasonably well, though it is unclear how much they understand each other.
  • The Heavy thinks Strong Bad is a "tiny Heavy", and is generally kinder to him. Strong Bad admires him but isn't above making fun of his game's sillier aspects.
  • Tycho and Strong Bad have an antagonistic relationship, with Strong Bad belittling Tycho's website compared to his own.

Strong Bad additionally breaks the fourth wall and is well aware that he's a licensed character being exploited by Telltale Games, similar to how he was treated in Behind The Bad.

Though the script for Poker Night at the Inventory was written in-house at Telltale, there was extensive collaboration with the creator-owners of its cast members; Matt and Mike Chapman are credited for "additional writing". Voice actor Matt Chapman also improvised new and alternate takes on Strong Bad's scripted lines during the recording process (as he had during the production of Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People).[1]

[edit] Dangeresque, Too?

STRONG BAD: Oh... uh... I couldn't fit my briefcase full of cash in these pants on account of my ample hind-bosom. But I do have these cool-cool fadey-fadey shadey Dangeresque glasses. They're worth like five ten thousand dollars-es. So, we're good. Right? {quietly} You guys bought that?
VAN WINSLOW: If nobody else has a problem with it, Strong Bad will be buying in with collateral. Whoever knocks him out will receive his buy-in.

As the game begins, there is a chance that Strong Bad may make a different wager than the $10,000 ante — Dangeresque Too's sunglasses. He will then wear the shades during the game, with them serving as collateral for the cash buy-in. If the player knocks Strong Bad out of the tournament (that is, if they win and Strong Bad goes bankrupt in the same hand), they win the sunglasses and are awarded the corresponding "Special Item: Strong Bad" achievement. If another computer-controlled character knocks Strong Bad out of the tournament, the item is no longer available to earn that round but Strong Bad may bet it again in the future; he will never wager the glasses again after the player has already won them, however.

Winning the sunglasses also makes them available as a cosmetic item in the game Team Fortress 2, dubbed Dangeresque, Too? therein. The 2026 version provides an item that is physically identical, but differentiated with the name "Reissued Dangeresque, Too?"; players who own both versions of the game can unlock both the original and Reissued versions.

[edit] Unlockables

"These cards are like the ladies: they WISH they were getting played by me."

The player is rewarded with an unlockable after each win, a playing table every first and second win and a card deck every third win. The 2026 Remaster adds an additional set of tables that can be won past the original unlocks. The Homestar Runner-related items are:

  • After two wins: Trogdor table. A green design with an intricate Trogdor pattern at the center and singed edges.
  • After six wins: Homestar Runner deck. A deck of cards with pixelated designs. The picture cards are:
    • Ace: Spade has Videlectrix Logo
    • King: Strong Bad with a crown
    • Queen: The Cheat holding a flower
    • Jack: Homestar Runner
    • Back of Cards: Blue with white star in center.
  • After 10 wins: Videlectrix table. A red, orange, and yellow table with the Videlectrix logo in the center and their slogan below. Using this table turns Strong Bad's model into a low-polygon variation.
  • After 13 wins: Strong Badia table. A table with the Strong Badia flag design overlaid on the surface.
  • After 15 wins: Poker Night deck. The hearts are all Homestar Runner-related, with the King, Queen, and Jack being Strong Sad, Strong Bad, and Homestar Runner respectively.
  • After 20 wins: Telltale Shield table. Black table with symbols all the players and Telltale logo in the center. Also causes Strong Bad to turn into his polygon version.
  • After 21 wins: Poker Night alternate deck. The deck has the same royals as the first Poker Night deck, but has a different back (black and white circles with the Inventory logo in the center) and an inverted color scheme (instead of the suits having the color, the entire card is the color and the suits are white).
  • After 22 wins (2026 remake): Inventory Security. The table is made of glass and shows security monitors underneath that rotate between different feeds. One features Homestar Runner sitting on the couch in the basement of the House of the Brothers Strong.
  • After 24 wins (2026 remake): Control Point. The table becomes a Control Point from Team Fortress 2 and changes color and projected hologram when a player takes the lead. When Strong Bad is leading, it turns green and projects a hologram of the Strong Badian Flag.
  • After 25 wins (2026 remake): Snake Boxer 5. The table turns into a 4 player tabletop arcade cabinet of Snake Boxer 5. The table plays an attract screen showing gameplay footage and the high score table.
  • After 26 wins (2026 remake): UFO. The table turns into the floor of the UFO of The Headquarters of Elightened Mariachi aka T.H.E.M. from Sam and Max: Beyond space and Time Episode 4: Chariot of the Dogs. Winning on this table triggers a special animation where T.H.E.M. perform for the player, annoying the other patrons including Strong Bad in the process.

[edit] 2026 Version

Fast, slick, and shiny — like Flo Jo in a tuxedo!

On February 4, 2026, Telltale successor Skunkape Games announced a rerelease of the game; Skunkape Games is a small team of ex-Telltale employees (unaffiliated with LCG Entertainment's modern incarnation of Telltale) that obtained the rights to the studio's Sam & Max games after its 2018 closure.[2]

The revised Poker Night at the Inventory (sharing the same name as the original game), was released for Steam, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4 on March 5, 2026. In addition to compatibility with modern platforms, this rerelease includes graphical adjustments and enhancements, expanded options, new unlockables, and revised poker-playing AI.

STUB'D! This section of the page is incomplete. You can help the Homestar Runner Wiki by expanding it.


[edit] Gallery

Promotional Artwork
Strong Bad throwing his chips
Strong Bad character poster
Strong Bad and Max at the table
Strong Bad and Heavy
Strong Bad playing Bluster Blaster after busting out
Low-poly Strong Bad
Homestar Runner's cameo in the 2026 remaster

[edit] "Dangeresque, Too?" item

Strong Bad's TF2 Unlocks promo
Betting Cool Shades
Dangeresque's shades
The Demoman class wearing the "Dangeresque, Too?" item in TF2
Item Acquired: Dangeresque shades
"Reissued" item (2026)

[edit] Fun Facts

[edit] Trivia

  • This was the first official crossover involving the Homestar Runner body of work.
  • Swears are in the game, with the option to bleep them out. This option does not affect Strong Bad's swears, however, which are always bleeped out.
    • The 2026 remaster does not censor Strong Bad's dialogue, revealing that he is simply saying "bleep" instead of an expletive.
  • Strong Bad's character bio reads:
    Heralding from the oft-overlooked municipality of Strong Badia, Strong Bad enjoys heavy metal music, video games, cold ones, computers, jetpacks, chainsaw arms, fireworks, jumps, babes, and guitar-axes (both guitars with a sharp edge and axes that go "squiddelydoo" when they chop wood). His poker strategy consists of belittling his opponents and hoping they fall prey to his "natural musk fog." Watch the critically acclaimed drama "Strong Bad emails," where Strong Bad checks his email on Homestarrunner.com or be sure to catch his made for TV movie "The Loneliest Rainbow". Check your local listings for showtimes.
  • Strong Bad uses The Poopsmith's shovel to scoop up chips.
  • Pom Pom makes a cameo in the introduction wearing the pre-order bonus Dealer's Visor for Team Fortress 2, attempting to join the game. He leaves when they choose Tycho to play instead.
  • The Poker Night soundtrack is composed of downtempo instrumental jazz covers, including versions of the theme from Dangeresque II and "Trogdor".
  • Strong Bad bets the Dangeresque Too shutter shades, even though they belong to Homestar and not him.
    • Max, similarly, bets Sam's Freelance Police badge (alongside his own gun).
    • The Pac-Man watch has switched hands between Tycho and Gabe so many times it's unclear who it "really" belongs to.
  • $75 in 1910 would only be roughly $1,700 in 2010 money ($2,500 in 2026).

[edit] Inside References

  • Strong Bad mentions The Cheat, Homestar Runner, Strong Sad, Bubs, Homsar, The King of Town, and Marzipan.
  • One taunt Strong Bad will use is "Looks like you're gonna have to fold!" This is a reference to Dangeresque's catchphrase, "Looks like I'm gonna have to jump!" Additionally, among the weapons Strong Bad claims to have, one is a "custom nunchuck gun", the weapon of Dangeresque.
  • Strong Bad refers to the Heavy as "Heavym'n".
  • The Heavy misunderstands Strong Bad when he asks if he can take care of the King of Town for him, thinking Strong Bad wants to assassinate him. When Strong Bad learns that The Heavy wants to assassinate the King, he shrugs it off with a simple "oh well".
  • Strong Bad suggests that the Heavy should come live in the House of Strong, implying that the Heavy would displace Strong Sad.
  • Strong Bad says, "Flops are stupid, but floppy disks are analog-awesome."
  • Strong Bad says, "Flop, flop crap. Crop. Trying to make it rhyme. See what I was doing there?"
  • Strong Bad tells Tycho he will kick him in his groin-face.
  • Strong Bad is upset when Tycho asks him what he'll do if he ever gets a lady, and Strong Bad says he had to cancel five dates with nine supermodels just to be there. When asked how he manages to unhook a bra with his boxing glove hands, Strong Bad says bras fly right off when they enter his "natural musk fog".
  • When The Heavy asks if Strong Bad wrestles, Strong Bad says he's a wrestleman, not a "wrestle...ER".
  • Strong Bad says he can "buy a new Compy with that pot. One with a half-core processor".
  • Sometimes, when Strong Bad has to make a decision to call a large bet, he will state that this decision is harder "than the time both Strong Sad and Homestar asked me for dessert, and I only had one laxative-laced brownie left."
  • If Strong Bad wins two hands in a row, he'll say, "You know, I'll just keep winning. Same type deal. Twice times, twice times".
  • Strong Bad mentions "jibblie nightmares".
  • Periodically, Strong Bad will state that he's "totally in this hand. Total, man." The second sentence is derived from the email intro of trevor the vampire.
  • Tycho and Strong Bad have a very antagonistic relationship with one another. Examples include Tycho claiming that Strong Badia is nothing but a deflated tire and a piece of dog whatsit. Strong Bad also shows envy toward Tycho's popularity and says that his Penny Arcade Expo is nothing without him.
  • Strong Bad shows gender confusion when he offers to be Team Mother of The Heavy's RED Team.
  • After Tycho's short but disturbing monologue about the wonders of the hedgehog spines, Strong Bad responds, "Oh, nothing. Just puking in my pants." This may be a reference to the email secret recipes.
  • Sometimes when the player wins a hand, Strong Bad will claim that it's not as impressive as "the time [he] had a full house and a flush in one hand. A flush house."
  • When Strong Bad mentions how the cold ones at the Inventory are supposedly good, Tycho questions Strong Bad's age: "Aren't you like, ten?". Strong Bad retorts with "You shut face."
  • The Heavy reveals that his favorite video game is Where's an Egg?.
  • Tycho asks Strong Bad how he can do anything with "hands like those".
  • When Max questions if Strong Bad has a criminal record, Strong Bad references the events of the Behind the Bad videos and stated that the game Videlectrix made with the stolen source codes helped create one of the most successful video games... in Guam.
  • Strong Bad will occasionally advertise homestarrunner.com to the player and immediately pressure Max to do a joint promotion for the Telltale Games store. This is a possible reference to the fact that these two characters are the primary representatives of Telltale Games in Poker Night (as Heavy is owned by Valve and Tycho's only prior video game appearance was developed by Hothead Games).
  • Strong Bad describes the Inverse Property of Luck-Have.
  • Strong Bad directly quotes Blue Laser Commander's line from the original Cheat Commandos toon by saying, "I just hate you so much!" when losing a large bet.

[edit] Real-World References

  • Several cameo appearances are made by characters from other Telltale titles and/or the series that the four characters hail from. These cameos are mostly seen briefly in the introductory video.
    • The host, Reginald Van Winslow, hails from Telltale's revival of the LucasArts Monkey Island series.
    • Sam, Girl Stinky, and Momma Bosco from Sam & Max can be seen in the introductory video.
      • Flint Paper is seated at the bar and remains visible through regular gameplay.
      • The Bluster Blaster arcade machine sits in the back of the room. When Strong Bad busts out, he can be seen in the background playing the game.
      • General Skunkape appears in the 2026 remaster.
      • Winning on the new UFO table has T.H.E.M. consisting of Young Pedro, Middle Age Pedro and Old Pedro, performs for the player.
    • Monty Muzzle from the Telltale series Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures can be seen perusing The Inventory's library.
    • Trixie Trotter from Telltale's Back to the Future: The Game can be seen going into a room hidden behind a bookcase.
    • In the 2026 remaster, the G-Man can be seen on a screen in the "Inventory Security" table. He hails from the Half-Life series by Valve Software, which also makes the Heavy's Team Fortress 2.
  • Strong Bad compares Max to a Pokémon and the Disney character Stitch.
  • Strong Bad compares Tycho's hair to "a greasy hedgehog... unassociated with any video game license", referring to the Sonic the Hedgehog series from Sega.
  • One of the lines Strong Bad can say when raising is "raisin' in the sun", a reference to the play A Raisin in the Sun.
  • Strong Bad says playing poker at The Inventory was "better than poker night at Homestar's. Marzipan is always walking around au-natural trying to get us to play no-loser Candy Land," referring to the board game Candy Land.
  • The Heavy wants Strong Bad to join the RED Team. Team Fortress 2 features the adversarial color-coded RED and BLU teams; RED is typically featured in promotional media, exemplified by the RED Heavy appearing in this game.
  • Multiple references are made to Artie Flopshark, the fictional writer of the tutorial of Telltale's first poker game Telltale Texas Hold'em —
    • Max tells Strong Bad about a story where Flint Paper beat up a poker instructor named Artie Flopshark for allegedly stealing money.
    • "Artie Flopshark, deceased" is the lowest possible rank in the game, used when the player has a negative winning total.
  • Strong Bad claims that playing for a large pot is like a fictional secret level in Super Punch-Out against an ocelot and Buster Douglas, heavyweight boxing champion who famously beat Mike Tyson, the frontman for the previous game in the series Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!.

[edit] Fast Forward

  • Despite the fact that Strong Bad (or any other Homestar Runner character) does not physically appear in the game's sequel Poker Night 2, the theme song remains the same, including the pieces of the Dangeresque theme.
  • A picture of Strong Bad, The Heavy, Tycho, and Max playing poker can be seen on the wall at the entrance of The Inventory in Poker Night 2.

[edit] See Also

[edit] External Links

[edit] References

  1. ^  "PAX 2010: Poker Night at the Inventory", GamePro, September 6, 2010 (archived)
  2. ^  "Sam & Max Remasters - FAQ", Skunkape Games
Poker Night at the Inventory
Produced by Telltale Games
Responses | Teaser | Trailer | Make a Scene with Telltale at PAX 2010
Retrieved from "http://hrwiki.org/wiki/Poker_Night_at_the_Inventory"
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