The Player

A mysterious stranger known only as "The Player"

The Player is the avatar for interacting with the rest of the characters in Poker Night at the Inventory and Poker Night 2 (as well as the spiritual predecessor Telltale Texas Hold'em).

Background

The Player first appeared in Telltale Texas Hold'em as one of the five poker players in the Telltale Texas Hold'em Tournament, held in Las Vegas, Nevada.

At some point after playing the Telltale tournament, the Player discovered the Inventory. In Poker Night at the Inventory, as a newcomer, they are shown around the Inventory and to the poker table by Reginald Van Winslow.

After much speculation from fans, Telltale confirmed that the Player is meant to be you. According to official canon, you did very well in the first game.

The Player also played poker at The Inventory in Poker Night 2.

The Player's Relationships With Other Characters

Unfortunately, because the Player never speaks, any relationships with other characters are impossible to determine. The rest of the players and GLaDOS, however, regularly insult and berate the Player, especially when they take too long to make a move only occasionally giving them a compliment. When The Player goes all-in, everyone else at the table will respond in complete shock.

Trivia

• The Player is the only poker player that appears in all three of Telltale's poker games.
• The Player neither shows their face, has visible arms, nor does anything else but look and play with the other characters.
• Judging from Tycho's comment about Gabe flashing "his balls" then nervously asking if the Player is going to do just that, the Player may be a male. However, most of the time, when characters refer to them, they tend to use gender-neutral terms. For example, when the Player wins a tournament in the Sam and Max 25th Anniversary Set, when Max kisses them, Sam will say Max doesn't even like "whatever gender that is."
• Also, one time, GLaDOS says, in order to mock Claptrap, 'Gentlemen.....and Claptrap'. As she doesn't point out that the Player may be a female, this could be another nod towards the Player being male.
• The characters seem to make very non-specific insults towards the Player, such as Strong Bad's calling them "Somethingface."
• Many fans joke that the Player has the role of various silent protagonists in gaming history, such as Gordon Freeman, the silent protagonist of Valve's Half-Life series, because the Player never says anything or makes noise. However, the latter has been officially debunked.
• The Player is the only character in Poker Night at the Inventory that never offers up a personal item as collateral in lieu of a cash buy-in, due to having no defined appearance.
• The Player is the only poker player from the first game to continue in Poker Night 2 as a poker player, rather than merely appearing as a cameo or as a supporting character.
• Once when Brock offers the Player to come play Russian Roulette with him after the match, GLaDOS states the Player cannot because they will be escorted home by the Inventory's security after the poker game is over. The reason because of this is unknown, but possibly inferred through the Owner's interest in the Player.