Tao of Poker

Poker Finds Its Place... on Cable TV is an article written by Larry Eichel.

Here's a bit: "In your channel surfing, you've probably come across poker. Maybe you've stopped and watched. Or made it a habit. There has been no lack of opportunities. You've got the World Poker Tour every Wednesday night on the Travel Channel; the World Series of Poker, which can pop up at any time on ESPN or ESPN2; and last week's Showdown at the Sands, which Fox Sports Net made into six hour-long programs virtually overnight. Tuesday night, there's the Celebrity Poker Showdown on Bravo. And on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 1, comes the over-the-air breakthrough: NBC will run a two-hour, champions-only World Poker Tour event against the football pregame shows.

Ask poker veterans and they'll tell you that the game couldn't have emerged as a surprise hit on cable television without one technological advance. That would be the lipstick-sized camera; it fits into the edge of the card table and lets viewers at home see all of the players' face-down cards."