High Stakes Poker was a popular show featuring the game of poker that originally aired from 2006 to 2011 on the Game Show Network. Fans of the show enjoyed watched the high stakes cash game action as the best of the best competed at the felt. Earlier this year, Poker Central announced that a new season would air this year and it would stream via PokerGO, the subscription streaming service of the provider. Fans will be able to check out all the action on December 16.
New and Old Players
Mori Eskandani, the original producer of the show, is back along with players who took part in the earlier seasons. Such players include Phil Ivey, Phil Hellmuth, Brandon Adams and Tom Dwan. Other players have been revealed via Twitter posts and include Jean-Robert Bellande, Rick Solomon, Jason Koon, John Andress and others.
Episodes of the show have already been filmed at the ARIA Resort & Casino via the PokerGO Studio. This show is the same spot where other poker shows are filed including Poker After Dark. During this upcoming season of High Stakes Poker, players will be playing no-limit hold’em. The stakes are set at $200/$400 and $400/$800.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, players have to take precautions as well as the other individuals involved in filming. Players are taking rapid coronavirus tests the day before participating in an event. Because of the testing process, it looks like players will not be required to wear a mask or be divided by a barrier.
Some of the original High Stakes Poker players decided not to take part in the series due to the virus. Despite this setback, there are enough players willing to be involved to provide quality shows for fans.
Will It Be Successful?
With High Stakes Poker coming back, will the show be as successful as it once was? Years ago, in the early 2000s, the game of poker was booming. After Chris Moneymaker won the WSOP in 2003 after earning a seat from an online poker qualifier, the world went nuts for poker.
The High Stakes Poker show came at a good time, when everyone was interested in watched pros play the game. But are the fans the same? Will old viewers tune in again to watch the action? Is there a desire to watch poker pros compete at high stakes?
It really is unclear. Online poker is booming at the present, but this is due partially to the coronavirus. When the virus caused state lockdowns in the US, players took to online poker again for entertainment. In states like Pennsylvania and New Jersey, online poker sites saw a huge increase in traffic. Revenues were up considerably, and they have continued at a steady pace.
Because players are enjoying poker more readily now online, it could be that there will be enough interest to cause the show to do well once again. Fans of poker are still sticking close to home due to the virus. It could be that High Stakes Poker is relaunching at a time when poker is viable, and players still want to see pros go head to head for massive amounts of cash. We will certainly be tuning in to catch the action!
