The World Poker Tour has been first thought of by television producer Stephen Libscomb who currently serves as the CEO of WPT Enterprises, a publicly traded company which controls the WPT. The actual tour consists of a series of Texas Hold 'em poker tournaments participated by the gaming industry's most prominent poker wizards. The tour's first season was aired in the end of 2002 and the beginning of 2003, culminating with the World Poker Championship in April 2003 held at Sin City's Bellagio Casino. This first season was broadcast on the American Travel Channel.

The WPT show made its first network appearance back in 2004 on NBC, featuring a unique "Battle Of Champions" tournament. The main sponsors behind the show were, and still are, online poker rooms enjoying incredible publicity. Although some of the tournaments were held outside the U.S., the vast majority of them took place in different glamorous locations within U.S. borders. Syndicated internationally, the WPT is now co-hosted by WSOP bracelet winner Mike Sexton and popular Hollywood celebrity Vince Van Patten. The beautiful former model Shana Hiatt served as the show's host for the first three seasons, but was later replaced by ex-newscaster Courtney Friel.

Although the show's hosts, Sexton and Patten, create the impression that their commentary on the participants' play is recorded live during the course of the tournament, their comments on pocket cards are actually recorded when the tournament is already over, a method which complies with the U.S. gaming regulations. According to the American law, observing a live feed of the "pocket card cameras" is illegal. Therefore, all commentary is recorded in post-production.

The World Poker Tour's biggest attraction lies in the fact that any player, whether a mere beginner or a seasoned pro, who can afford the "buy-in" or win a "satellite" tournament, is offered a chance to compete against poker world powerhouses, such as Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negreanu and Phill Hellmuth. WPT fans also find it exciting because of the technical innovations it features. For example, the ability to see the participants' pocket cards through a miniature camera placed in front of each player on the poker table.

In 2004, the people behind the World Poker Tour started filming a series of spin-off poker tournaments, going by the name Professional Poker Tour. Nevertheless, broadcast of this show was postponed due to a conflict with the Travel Channel over rights. Fortunately, in the beginning of 2006, the Travel Channel and WPTE publicized the fact that they no longer disagreed over the issue. The PPT has been broadcast on a regular basis since July 5th, 2006.

The World Poker Tour show is currently in its fourth season and still enjoys amazing popularity. Many gaming industry insiders consider it a worthy rival of the WSOP. It goes on air every Wednesday on the Travel Channel.