The buzz and the excitement that surrounds high stakes online poker are wide and far-reaching. You are probably curious as to how high stakes online poker started, which is why we are giving you a bit of history about its origin.

High stakes online poker was inspired by a very popular television program which was shown on a cable TV network called GSN. The show was produced and broadcasted in the United States of America.

The show featured a type of poker variant similar to the no limit Texas Hold’ em poker game. It is in its sixth season and the first show of the that season was done on February 2010. The season lasted until May 9 of the same year.

The land-based and television version of the high stakes online poker game was hosted by Golden Nugget Las Vegas back in 2006. The game was shot in 13 episodes and was hosted by pro poker player and comedian Gabriel Kaplan and AJ Benza.

Every year, the High Stakes Poker game changes venue but remains in Vegas all through the years. The show also enjoys having big time poker players who are experts in the game.

The games are truly high stakes and the minimum buy-in would rake as much as half a million! It has been said that the tables in these shows would see millions and millions in cash exchanged at some point in the game.

Who are the poker personalities that have graced the High Stakes Poker tournaments?

You may know a few names including Jamie Gold, Paul Wasicka, David Benyamine, Brian Townsend, Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negreanu, Sammy Farha, Patrik Antonius, Brad Booth, Chris Ferguson, Phil Lassk, Mike Matusow, Phil Ivey, Barry Greenstien and Erick Lindgren to name a few.

High Stakes Poker

In 2006, when High Stakes Poker was launched, it was different from other poker events because it was in a tourney setting. The show looked more like a WWE game and the players were in a ring.

The minimum amount of buy-in was (of course as the name implies) a high stake sum of US $100,000. Some players would buy in for US $ 1,000,000, which is what Daniel Negreanu did. In later seasons, the minimum buy-in would take a meteoric rise of up to US$500,000!

The players in these land-based high stakes online poker games are a mix of hardcore poker players, hotshot celebrity gamers and beginners. These players were paid $1,250 an hour for taking and participating in the event. The games took 24 hours to play and the shots are then edited down to 13 episodes. So when you think of playing high stakes online poker, perhaps it would be a great idea to watch the series where the online game was derived from!

The players include poker professionals along with amateurs such as Jerry Buss and Fred Chamanara. The show was created by executive producer Henry Orenstein. In season one, Daniel Negreanu confirmed in a post on his website's forums that all players were paid $1,250 per hour for taking part and that 13 episodes were edited down from 24 hours of actual play. The 2006 WSOP Main Event Champion Jamie Gold commented that players were paid for participating, though they had to put much more money at risk to get to play the game. Gold also spoke about his interactions with other players, particularly Mike Matusow. The theme song for the show is titled "I'm All In", written and performed by John Pratt, Los Angeles.