Orensteins Poker Legacy

"Mr. Orenstein, before you came along I was just a magician hardly making a living," Poker pro Antonio Esfandiari said as he approached the legendary Henry Orenstein to thank him. "Now I'm a millionaire."

Esfandiari has recognized what all poker pros ought to know - that in way or another, they owe a debt of gratitude to Orenstein, as do the masses that enjoy televised Texas Hold 'em.

Orenstein has been dubbed the "father of televised poker" for having introduced the "hole card" camera that allows viewer's to see the poker players' down cards. The first network to make use of this technology was The Travel Channel, and ESPN soon followed suit. Soon, many other major networks such as NBC and CBS have joined in and use it in their televised poker tournaments.

Orenstein has led an exemplary life aside from getting the patent for the "hole-card cam". The 82-year-old Orenstein is a Holocaust survivor who now lives in New Jersey. He holds more than 100 patents, but to poker fans, U.S. Patent 5,451,054 will be his legacy.

The man, who is also an accomplished poker player, got the idea after observing the sleepiness of the play coverage in the 90's.

"They'd show people folding, one after another," he said. "But you didn't know what was going on. It was ridiculous and boring."

He faced skepticism back in the conceptualizing stage with friend and poker pro Mori Eskandani.

"Mori said this will never happen," Orenstein recalled. "He said: 'These top players will never want their secrets, the way they play, to be known. It will destroy their game.'

"I said, 'You don't know how much people want to be on TV.'"

August 16, 2006
John Tucker