Poker games started off as recreational activities and as per a modern school of thought, this game was started amongst crew members in boats which sailed the Mississippi river. From there on, since the 18th century, this game spread to other parts of the country. From 1970 this game became a tournament sport and its popularity increased. From being played in PokerStars casinos, clubs and homes, this game became a spectator sport drawing huge audiences around the world. With the spread of poker as televised sport, the popularity of the sport increased manifold. Poker on television became most watched shows which turned poker pros to celebrities with fan following around the world. The television shows usually involve staggering sums of money due to which the game attracts professional players the world over.
GSN launched a show on poker called the high stakes poker in which the audiences get to sit down and watch the celebrated professional poker players play with staggering amounts of their own money.
The World Series of Poker is the most celebrated television show amongst all. This show is hosted on ESPN and has a multi million dollar prize for whoever wins the tournament. This tournament has become an iconic status which has not only raised many players to the hall of fame in the world of poker but has become the highest recognized standard of the game.
The World Poker Tour is another popular program which is aired on several channels such as the Travel Channel, GSN and ESPN. The program follows tournaments in casinos around the country where the intense action is brought to your sitting room so that you can feel the intense action that ensues each game.
Celebrity Poker Showdown is s show which has gained much popularity due to the inclusion of celebrities in the program. This program has done much to spread the popularity of the game since the lure of celebrities taking part in the game has brought in a much wider audience to this sport. The game playing is not that advanced but the comments, jokes and humor makes this show great fun to watch.
Poker Royale is yet another program on GSN devoted to poker. In this program two camps are pitted against each other – Boys VS Girls or Celebs VS Pros which makes these shows hugely popular.
Poker Superstars in Fox Sports channel pits the world’s celebrated pros against each other. The games are fast paced and the blinds go up rapidly. The games are thus a thrill to watch on this program. Thus, the poker shows on television have done much to increase the popularity of the game as well as hiked the ratings of television shows considerably, thus allowing the media companies to rake in huge money through commercial listings during these program showings. Television has brought the game to the comfort of our own home where you can sit aloe and still be a part of a game which is thrilling, intellectually stimulating without the risk of actually losing any money.