"We'd like to develop a gambling addiction, starting now." - Sam, on playing poker
Sam is a 6 foot tall anthropomorphic dog (retroactivly classified as an Irish Wolfhound by Steve Purcel) detective who originates from the comic turned point and click series Sam & Max: Freelance Police. He is one of the poker players in Poker Night 2.
Background
One half of the Freelance Police Duo, Sam made his debut in the first Sam & Max comic, Monkeys Violating The Holy Temple. He went on to star in the video games Sam & Max Hit the Road, Sam & Max Save the World, Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space, and Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse.
Sam spends his days shaking down bad guys and beating up ne’er-do-wells in the tri-state area.
Sam's Team Fortress 2 Unlock: The Bloodhound
The Team Fortress 2 unlock for Sam is his hat. Once unlocked, it can be used by the Sniper and the Spy.
Sam's Borderlands 2 Unlock: Hippity Hoppity
The Borderlands 2 unlock for Sam is the Max Mask. Once unlocked, it can be used by Mechromancer.
Sam's table effects
The Inventory is completely redone to look like Sam and Max's office. Colors are washed out to give the place a film noir atmosphere, and Sam wears a tuxedo while Max wears a bowtie. Memorabilia from across the series is scattered around the inventory, including a dresser with the commissioner's phone and an answering machine, the duo's old TV, a file cabinet, a frog mariachi band first seen in one of the comics, and a ritual drum from "Moai Better Blues" in addition to replacing the stage with boarded-up windows that show a partially-obscured city skyline. Most of the models for the memorabilia in this set are ripped straight from the TellTale Sam & Max games. The first character eliminated will be harassed by Max in a unique way. Occasionally, Claptrap, Brock, Ash, and GLaDOS will sing a tribute to Sam and Max, to their confusion; this is actually an unused song originally planned by script writer Mike Stemmle as the theme song to Sam & Max Hit The Road. Winning the tournament will cause the player to receive a kiss from Max.
Poker Strategy
Sam is probably the most honest, consistent poker player in the game; a cautious player and tends to call or fold most hands. If Sam suddenly starts making large bets, you should probably fold unless you are very confident in your hand, because he is very confident in his. It is also in your best interest to take advantage of any mistakes that Sam makes or any tells that he gives so that you can eliminate him early, because he is a pain to eliminate last when he will become very aggressive--consistently making bets and raising the stakes. Consider folding unless you have a good hand. However, he's the character you'll least likely need to worry about as he rarely bluffs, but whenever he does, he'll be confident enough with his hole cards to rebound from another player's bluff.
Tells
Sam will drop down to the table when he has a bad hand.
Sam will furrow his brow when he doesn't like the flop.
Sam will readjust his hat when he thinks he has a good hand or likes the flop. In general terms, if you see him fiddle with his hat at all, consider folding.
Sam will sometimes tug at his collar if he's bluffing.
Sam will growl if he's got a good hand.
Sam's betting is his biggest tell--he begins throwing in large bets if he has a killer hand.
Relationship with Other Characters
Befitting his personality, Sam seems to be amicable towards everyone, easily engaging in friendly conversation. This causes most characters to act fondly toward him.
- Brock Samson: Sam and Brock don't have much in common to talk about, but still manage to get along well. Both seem to be curious about the other's life.
- Claptrap: Sam tolerates Claptrap more than the other characters, never outright displaying annoyance. However, if Sam is knocked out first, Claptrap may insult Sam behind his back, prompting a defense from both Brock and Ash.
- Ash Williams: Sam is similarly curious about Ash as Brock is, but they also seem to share some common ground in their weird experiences. Ash finds Sam to be an odd, but also amusing, creature.
- GLaDOS: The main (and possibly the only) exception to Sam's friendliness and the good cop scheme, GLaDOS can sometimes cause him to act distrustful. Her hostility and mocking, however, tend to bounce right off him, either from ignorance of her passive-aggression or simple lack of caring.
- The Player: Usually directing his attention toward the other participants, Sam still displays some friendliness towards the Player when addressing them directly. He still isn't above cracking jokes about their muteness, though, and he also seems to say things that the Player could be offended by, like commenting that Player's bet is "opposite of interesting" (but it is most likely that Sam is oblivious to that).
- Max: Sam very much loves his little buddy. Max is Sam's long-time partner, best friend, and sidekick, having known each other since childhood.
- Steve: Curiously, Sam is the one player at the table that Steve refuses to attack. The two seem to be friendly towards each other, and Sam even compares him to Max to some degree: he even says to Steve at one point, as his catchphrase when addressing Max, "You crack me up, little buddy!"
Sam Trivia
- Sam has a very quick cameo in the original Poker Night at the Inventory. When you enter The Inventory, as you're going down the elevator, you can see Sam on the top floor. He adjusts his tie and then walks off to the right. This could be a reference to the G-Man from the Half-Life games made by Valve, who also adjusts his tie and walks away.
- Sam's model has been updated since his last appearance in 2010's Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse. His clothing and face shape have been changed to better reflect his appearance in the Sam & Max comics.
- Max's buy in/bounty item from Poker Night 1 (Liscense to Maim) has a number 1 on it. This means that Max was using Sam's badge as collateral.
- After Sam is eliminated in Poker Night 2, he and Max leave their respective seats to sit together at one of the tables.