World Poker Tour
The World Poker Tour has put the "real" back into "reality TV". This innovative show has been credited with the astronomical rise in interest in the game of poker in the last few years.
Beginning in 2002, the first season of the World Poker Tour built itself up to the first WPT Championship Tournament set in the Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The show's producer, Steven Lipscomb, has been presenting some of the world's greatest poker players going head to head every week for the last five years. While the World Poker Tour has had its home on the Travel Channel since its beginnings, there have been special events hosted elsewhere. In 2004, a special NBC presentation of the "Battle of Champions " tournament challenged CBS for the ratings against football's Super Bowl 38.
The 2008 season for the World Poker Tour will see it being moved to GSN (Game Show Network) where their presentation of Texas Holdem and other game tournaments will find a global audience. One of the most popular features about the World Poker Tour is that the game is potentially open to all comers. With the tournaments being played all over the world (though mostly in the United States), and through games and links on their website; anyone with the money to "buy-in" to the game or win a seat from one of the local tournaments can eventually work their way up to sitting across the table from the world's professionals on international TV.
A feature of the World Poker Tournament that adds excitement and a key to the show's popularity is the use of the "hole card" cam which allows viewers to see the players' full hands and follow the excitement of betting. Students of the game get an insight into the strategies of the big name players. The World Poker Tour has two commentators for the games to add color and extra information to increase your enjoyment of the show.
As with any extremely popular television show, there is a multitude of ways to interact with it. There is an online website where you can study the games or play in their online contests for cash and a chance to win a seat for yourself on the show. There is, of course, merchandise to obtain that sports the World Poker Tour logo, whether you want a T-shirt or World Poker Tour official poker chips. So put the Tour on your schedule for fast paced poker action.