Revision as of 06:09, 22 December 2004 edit2005 (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers25,389 edits delete peculiar editorializing← Previous edit | Revision as of 13:08, 22 December 2004 edit undo218.1.122.142 (talk) Not at all peculiar, if you read Negreanu's bio--he's a shoe-in for player of the year and the new all-time money leaderNext edit → | ||
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Fans of the show find it interesting due to technical innovations such as the ability to see the players hole cards through a small camera in front of them on the ] table (an innovation first seen on the UK programme ]). Due to the success of the show, special programs, such as the "Hollywood Home Game", featuring celebrities playing for charity, and "Ladies Night", where six of the top women played against each other, were developed. | Fans of the show find it interesting due to technical innovations such as the ability to see the players hole cards through a small camera in front of them on the ] table (an innovation first seen on the UK programme ]). Due to the success of the show, special programs, such as the "Hollywood Home Game", featuring celebrities playing for charity, and "Ladies Night", where six of the top women played against each other, were developed. | ||
In ] the World Poker Tour created a ], inducting poker legends Doyle Brunson and ] as well as actor ]. | In ] the World Poker Tour created a ], inducting poker legends Doyle Brunson and ] as well as actor ]. Although not yet inducted to the Walk of Fame, the newest WPT star is Daniel Negreanu. | ||
==External links== | ==External links== |
Revision as of 13:08, 22 December 2004
The World Poker Tour (WPT) is a collection of poker tournaments featuring most of the world's professional players.
The tour had its debut season in the latter part of 2002 and early part of 2003, climaxing with the WPT Championship in April 2003 at the Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The first season aired on the American cable station Travel Channel in the spring of 2003. The show made its network debut on February 1, 2004 on NBC with a special "Battle Of Champions" tournament, which aired against CBS coverage of Super Bowl XXXVIII.
The World Poker Tour is a collection of international Texas hold 'em poker tournaments held internationally and on board cruise ships, but mainly in the United States. The television show has led to a boom in the table game across American homes, local casinos and poker rooms, and online. It is perhaps not surprising, therefore, that the key sponsors of the tour are casinos and online poker sites. The show, hosted by Mike Sexton, is also syndicated internationally.
First exemplified by the long-running World Series of Poker main event, a poker tournament gives each player an equal amount of chips to start, with colors representing different values. Play continues, typically over several days until one player has accquired all of the chips. When that occurs, that player has won the game and captures the grand prize, approximately 30-35% of the total prize pool. The resulting winner's check can exceed one million dollars. All other competitors finish with no chips, but win a portion of the prize pool according to the order in which they left the tournament. The last player to lose all of his chip-stack finishes in 2nd position, typically worth approximately 20% of the prize pool.
The drawing power of the WPT, like any poker tournament, is that anyone who can pay the "buy-in" (an entry fee usually worth a few thousand dollars) or win a "satellite" tournament is able to compete against the top professional players, such as Phil Hellmuth or Doyle Brunson.
Fans of the show find it interesting due to technical innovations such as the ability to see the players hole cards through a small camera in front of them on the poker table (an innovation first seen on the UK programme Late Night Poker). Due to the success of the show, special programs, such as the "Hollywood Home Game", featuring celebrities playing for charity, and "Ladies Night", where six of the top women played against each other, were developed.
In 2004 the World Poker Tour created a Walk of Fame, inducting poker legends Doyle Brunson and Gus Hansen as well as actor James Garner. Although not yet inducted to the Walk of Fame, the newest WPT star is Daniel Negreanu.