Poker television programs have been extremely popular in the last several years, especially in North America and Europe. This has especially become the case since the invention of the "pocket cam" in 1997 (and its first use in the United States in 2002), wherein viewers at home can see what each player has.

History

Poker has been appearing on television somewhat regularly since the late-1970s. In the United States, ESPN started airing the World Series of Poker (WSOP) as an annual one hour event around this time. For many years, the coverage was less than robust because viewers at home could not see what cards the players had. Instead, the coverage essentially involved the commentators guessing what cards the players had.

This all changed in 1997 with the introduction of the hole cam in Europe and later introduction into the United States in 2002. The hole cam was patented by WSOP bracelet winner Henry Orenstein and first used in the Late Night Poker television series. It was used again in the inaugural Poker Million tournament in 2000 which boasted the attraction of the first