The game of poker has certainly been on the rise for the last couple of years. Although there are numerous contributors to this phenomenon, including the Internet, we believe that traditional as well as online poker owes much of its current popularity to television. TV allowed poker to enter the homes of millions of viewers around the globe. Among them people who had no previous knowledge of the game. In fact, many of today's most ardent poker lovers will gladly admit that their romance with poker started after watching poker tournaments on TV.

Here goes a list of the hottest poker shows:

Celebrity Poker Club

Celebrity Poker Club is a British television show where celebrities from all over the globe compete against each other at the poker tables. The show is a spin off of the prominent Late Night Poker program. Celebrity Poker Club was first aired in 2003 on Challenge TV. Irish bookmaker & poker player Liam Flood has been the casino manager for the show. Thus far, the show has had three seasons. Season III winner was poker player Edward Giddins who nabbed the lucrative first place prize of £25,000. Among other show participants were U.K. hard dance D.J. Anne Savage and British comedian Richard Herring.

Crown Australian Celebrity Poker Challenge

Debuting in 2006, Crown Australian Celebrity Poker Challenge is an Australian poker show featuring local celebrities. The series had a limited run of ten episodes. The celebs were fighting each other for the chance to nab nearly $50,000 in prize money. An additional sum $50,000 was allocated to a charitable organization of the winner's choice. Staged at Melbourne's Crown Casino, the show was hosted by Sophie Falkiner, an Australian television presenter and recorded in front of live audience. The 2007 season of Crown Australian Celebrity Challenge ended in February, 2007.

Get Minted Poker Live

Get Minted Poker Live is a UK television show hosted poker pro and TV presenter Greg "The Axxeman" Winters. The show offers a semi-live graphical presentation of cash and tournament poker games of N/L Texas Hold 'em, the most popular poker variant. Winters provides in-depth analysis of the gaming action. The players' hole cards are exposed to the viewers. Additionally, the poker pro discusses viewers' emails on any poker-related topic as well as takes interviews from occasional guests. All in all, Get Minted Poker Live's format bears great similarity to Poker Night Live.

High Stakes Poker

High Stakes Poker is an American cash poker TV program aired by GSN, a prominent U.S. cable TV network. During playing sessions, show participants play N/L Texas Hold 'em. The show began broadcast in January 2006. Its first season was taped at the Golden Nugget casino facility in Las Vegas. Subsequent seasons of the show were taped at other, not less exclusive, gaming destinations, including The Palms (season II). The program's uniqueness lies in the fact that the chips involved actually represent real money (unlike tournament poker). Among the most prominent show participants were poker industry giants like Doyle Brunson, Phil Laak, Erick Lindgren, Chris Ferguson and Jennifer Harman.

Joker Poker

Wild Turkey Joker Poker is a weekly TV show brought by Network Ten. The program was launched in 2005 and, thus far, has seen only two seasons. The first season was hosted by Australian DJ Adam Spencer and recorded in the VIP room of Sydney's Star City Casino. The second season was hosted by fellow countryman Mike Goldman and recorded at Fox Studios in Sydney. The show featured Australian comedians battling each other in N/L Texas hold 'em wars. Each comedian competed on behalf of their favorite charitable organization. The weekly winner of the show got to donate $5,000 to charity, while the series ultimate winner donated $25,000.

King of Vegas

King of Vegas was an American gambling show that was first aired at the beginning of 2006. The show was hosted by Max Kellerman, a prominent boxing commentator. The tournaments were directed by American poker event director Matt Savage. Unlike other poker programs featuring poker lovers playing Texas Hold 'em, 'King of Vegas' featured competition in eight different casino games, four each week. There were twelve participants in each show with six of them being highly seasoned poker pros and the other six being poker amateurs. Each week, one player got eliminated, leaving the program empty-handed. The fortunate winner of the tournament collected $1,000,000 and was offered the title 'King of Vegas.'

Poker After Dark

Poker After Dark is a poker TV show which made debut on January 2nd, 2007. The first two seasons of 'Poker After Dark' were presented by model Shana Hiatt, who is widely known for hosting the first three seasons of the World Poker tour (WPT). The show is structured as a week-long N/L Texas Hold 'em competition. Blinds kick off at $100/$200 and gradually escalate. Each week, the players compete for a $120,000 winner-takes-all jackpot. By the end of Friday's show, a winner is announced. The show has seen such top players as Phil Hellmuth, Howard Lederer, Johny Chan, Andy Bloch and Barry Greenstein.

Poker Royale

Poker Royale was a TV show featuring N/L Texas Hold 'em tournaments. The show was originally launched in 2004. In it's seventh season, 'Poker Royale: Battle of the Ages,' the show was hosted by sports commentator John Ahlers along with Lisa Dergan, who provided sideline reports. The show featured six poker enthusiasts over the age of 60 battling against six players under the age of 30. The veteran players group included top poker pros, such as Barbara Enright, T.J. Cloutier and Dan Harrington. The young guns team included Erin Ness, Evelyn Ng and Jennifer Leigh, among others. Dan Harrington was the ultimate winner.

Tilt

Tilt is an American TV series featuring a fictional poker competition, dubbed World Championship of Poker. The only form of poker displayed in Tilt is N/L Texas Hold 'em. Almost all the events depicted in the show take place in a fictitious gaming facility in Las Vegas. There, a number of top poker professionals have decided to team up with the sole goal of taking down prominent gambler Don "The Matador" Everest in a cash game. Each game participant has his own motives for seeking to harm Everest. The show boasted cameo appearances by real-life poker pros, including Daniel Negreanu, Erick Seidel and T.J. Cloutier.

Ultimate Poker Challenge

The Ultimate Poker Challenge is a series of weekly poker tournaments. Participants are offered a chance to enter numerous super-satellite tournaments. Additionally, players can qualify for the semi-finals based on leaderboard points for their finishing position in each gaming event. The earlier tournaments were commentated by American poker player and commentator Chad Brown. As of season IV, Brian Mollica took over commentating duties. Brown continued appearing on the show every now and then as a tournament participant. Among the most gifted poker professionals who appeared on the show were the likes of Chris Ferguson, Andy Bloch, Kathy Liebert, Daniel Negreanu, Kenna James and Amir Vahedi.