‘Poker After Dark’ returns … wait, who’s that?

The third season of NBC’s “Poker After Dark” starts Tuesday with a new host, some new players and an interesting twist to the opening week.That’s right, Shana Hiatt fans, she’s been replaced. I don’t see much poker among the new host’s credentials, so I’ll just assume Marianela Pereyra is just another pretty face.

As a player, Ken Light makes his “PAD” debut during the first week. It’s understandable if his name is unfamiliar. Light won his seat online at Full Tilt for the $20,000 buy-in, winner-take-all event and got to hand pick his other five competitors.

Light chose Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, Jennifer Harman, Mike Matusow, Scotty Nguyen — who’s also making his first appearance on the show — to join him.

It’s going to be interesting to see how he stacks up against the pros. Light, a graduate student at Rutgers University, made his first trip to Las Vegas for the taping of the show and, by his own admission, has played in an actual card room only a handful of times.