Ultimate Poker Challenge

The Ultimate Poker Challenge is a televised weekly tournament series, hosted by Las Vegas' Plaza Casino. The climax of this poker tournament is the $10,000 buy-in event.

In the Ultimate Poker Challenge, aspiring poker players compete against renowned poker professionals through 23 Texas Hold'em tournaments. They play for points instead of money, in order to earn entry into the semi-finals, which only 8 finalists will reach and play the championship round.

Hence, these weekly tournaments actually function as super-satellites into the semi-finals of the series. Since the entrance into the semi-finals is transferable, each player has the ability to enter several super-satellite tournaments.

An alternative way for players to enter the semi-finals is based on their points leaderboard for their final placement in each event.

The third season is filmed live at downtown Las Vegas' Binion's Casino. Every week, 3 live Ultimate Poker events are taped. These events are televised on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and weekends.

The Ultimate Poker Challenge III will not be aired on cable-only channels like the Travel Channel or Bravo, but rather on local channels in order to allow for those without access to cable channels to watch the show, targeting a larger audience.

This year, the Ultimate Women's Poker Challenge will be held in February, 2007 and seen on TV in March.

Chad Brown and Brandi Williams host most of the episodes of the Ultimate Poker Challenge. In each episode, the final table is filmed and Chad Brown, the host and pro poker player, is accompanied by a different professional poker player. These pros comment on the players actions and help viewers comprehend the strategic logic behind their moves. Meanwhile, Brandi Williams, the Ultimate Poker Challenge field correspondent, brings viewers nearer to the players and showcases Las Vegas.

John Tucker - Editorial Manager