The battle of the television poker shows has been waging for a couple of years now. Many poker formats have been attempted, but with the exception of the pro tour tournament coverage few poker shows have stood the test of time. The one that continues to provide the most exciting action has been GSN’s “High Stakes Poker.”

The cash game format with nosebleed blind levels has captured the poker viewing public like no other show. The most charismatic players on the planet have taken turns displaying their skills playing for pots that have reached nearly a million dollars.

The other show that has managed to maintain good viewer ratings over the years is NBC’s “Poker After Dark.” The single table sit-and-go-format is another setting that the average player identifies with because it closely resembles the normal home game setting that most amateur players enjoy with friends and family. The winner-takes-all format also adds an extra element to the action because players know they have to win to get paid.

The evolution of the televised poker show has slowly bent towards more cash game formats. Poker fans want to see the big games played by the biggest players and the biggest amateur fish. Now most new poker shows are in the cash game format, and even “Poker After Dark” has decided to get in on the action. This season there have been cash games on the schedule, and many of the top cash game players are making appearances.

The latest lineup of “Poker After Dark” action was a minimum $50K buy-in cash game that included the likes of Phil Hellmuth Jr, Todd Brunson, Mike Matusow, Chris Ferguson, Antonio Esfandiari, and Brandon Adams. The show began airing last week, and the action will continue this week with players like David Peat and Dennis Phillips making appearances.

Changing up the action in the “Poker After Dark” format keeps the show fresh and will open it up to cash game players that might normally shy away from the traditional sit-and-go format that is usually played on the show. Now poker fans can watch more of their favorite players on “Poker After Dark” than they could in the past. Just about any big cash game player is a potential guest on the show now.

For those of you who like to see Phil Hellmuth getting beat on the tables, these “Poker After Dark” cash games seem to almost always provide lots of Hellmuth felting and verbal abuse finally directed back at him from his opponents. And you can bet that anytime Matusow and Hellmuth are seated at the same poker table there’s going be some very entertaining talk.

From Bodog Poker

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