High Stakes Poker is a cash game poker television program broadcast by the cable television network GSN in the United States. The poker variant played on the show is no limit Texas hold 'em.

Programming history

The first season of High Stakes Poker, taped at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas, was first broadcast in January 2006 and consisted of 13 episodes. The second season, taped at The Palms and consisting of 16 episodes, premiered on June 5, 2006. The third season, consisting of 13 episodes, was taped at the South Point Casino and premiered on January 15, 2007. New players for the third season included Jamie Gold, Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson, Patrik Antonius, Paul Wasicka, David Benyamine, Brian Townsend and others. Returning players from previous seasons included Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negreanu, Sammy Farha, Phil Laak, Jennifer Harman, Barry Greenstein, Erick Lindgren, Mike Matusow, Brad Booth and others.

On April 2, 2007 GSN announced that High Stakes Poker would return for a fourth season, again taped at South Point. Taping was completed in May 2007, and the season premiered on August 27, 2007. Returning players included Patrik Antonius, David Benyamine, Doyle Brunson, Eli Elezra, Sam Farha, Jamie Gold, Barry Greenstein, Phil Hellmuth Jr., Jennifer Harman and Daniel Negreanu. Newcomers for the fourth season include Brandon Adams, Mike Baxter, Brian Brandon, Phil Galfond, Guy Laliberte, Bob Safai, Antonio Salorio and Haralabos Voulgaris. This season was unique from previous High Stakes Poker seasons because the later episodes featured a $500,000 minimum buy-in (compared to the regular $100,000 minimum) and these game saw more than $5 million in play on the table at one time. Season four finished airing on December 17, 2007 and featured 17 episodes. The network cited the show's strong ratings performance in younger demographics.GSN has announced that High Stakes Poker will be back for a fifth season that will debut February 19, 2009 Notable changes for the fifth season will include the airing of every single hand played. Prior seasons have only showed 60%-70% of hands.

Format

When it first aired, High Stakes Poker was unique among televised poker series because it did not take place in a tournament setting. Instead, the program showed a high stakes ring game. The minimum buy-in to the game is US$100,000, but players have bought in for as much as $1,000,000, such as Daniel Negreanu in Season 1 and Brad Booth in Season 3. For part of the fourth season, the minimum buy-in was $500,000. The first episode with the minimum $500,000 buy-in was broadcast on November 5, 2007.

Unlike tournament poker, the chips involved represent real money. If a player loses his initial buy-in, that player may rebuy a minimum of $50,000. In addition, players may use cash instead of casino chips. Cash plays and stays as cash in the pot; it does not have to be converted into casino chips. Unlike tournament poker, blinds and antes are constant, instead of increasing as time goes on. High Stakes Poker has $300/$600 blinds with a $100 ante. The fourth season features three forced blinds of $300, $600 and $1,200, with a "straddle" or optional fourth blind of $2,400.