High-stakes Poker

The latest addition to all the poker tv shows is one that is truly different -- instead of a tournament, the Game Show Network is set to air "High Stakes Poker" in which top pros buy-in with $100,000 of their own money and can re-buy -- or not -- if they run out of cash. The show is set to premiere Monday, January 16 at 9 PM and will feature poker pros such as Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, Barry Greenstein, Phil Hellmuth, Antonio Esfandiari, Jennifer Harmanand Daniel Negreanu, as well as the just plain rich such as Dr. Jerry Buss (who owns the LA Lakers) and entrepeneur Bob Stupak. Henry Orenstein is the mastermind behind the show which sounds to me like a great one, especially with Gabe Kaplan and AJ Benza narrating the action.

Meanwhile, I just read on Fox Sports about a $60 Million Winner-Takes-All Tournament. Wowzer. 6 players, including Phil Ivey, are going to compete in July at the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia, perhaps as a nod to the latest World Series Champ, Aussie Joseph Hachem?

It can't be long until they make a movie out of the great poker book, "The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King" which chronicles the biggest poker game of all time and features many of the aforementioned poker pros. In the meantime, it's a great read and a great book to give to a poker player this holiday season.