Dead Man's Hand

"Dead Man's Hand" is the series premiere of the American murder mystery comedy-drama television series Poker Face. The episode was written and directed by series creator Rian Johnson. It was released on Peacock on January 26, 2023, alongside the three follow-up episodes. The series follows Charlie Cale, a woman with the ability to detect if people are lying. After using her ability to win poker tournaments, she is caught by a powerful casino owner in Laughlin. Rather than banning her from his casino, he gives her a job as a waitress. The episode follows Charlie as she finds that her friend Natalie has been killed, deducing that her death was staged to cover a bigger crime. The series premiere received positive reviews from critics, who praised Johnson's directing, writing, editing, cinematography, Lyonne's performances and pacing as strong points. Plot In Laughlin, Nevada, while cleaning a hotel room at the Frost Casino, housekeeper Natalie Hill (Dascha Polanco) discovers disturbing content on the laptop computer of Kazimir Caine, a very wealthy patron of the casino. She takes a picture with her phone and shows it to the head of security, Cliff LeGrand (Benjamin Bratt), and the casino's manager, Sterling Frost Jr. (Adrien Brody). Sterling claims he will take care of the matter, discreetly deleting the photos from Natalie's phone and telling her to go home. Acting on Sterling's orders, Cliff kills Natalie and her husband, staging the crime scene to look like a murder–suicide.