PokerStars Big Game

PokerStars Big Game
Directed by	Jason Wald, Brian Lockwood
Presented by	PokerStars.net
Starring	Amanda Leatherman Chris Rose Joe Stapleton Scott Huff
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	115
Production
Executive producer(s)	Mark Mayer, M&M Productions
Release
Original network	Fox
Original release	June 14, 2010 – July 22, 2011

The PokerStars Big Game, also known as the PokerStars.net Big Game or simply the Big Game, was a poker television program sponsored by Pokerstars.net originally airing on Fox Network. The program had a tie-in to the Pokerstars North American Poker Tour (NAPT), which was shut down by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York after the second, 2011, season had been filmed. The PokerStars.net Big Game did not return after the second season.

The Big Game pits an amateur, known as the "loose cannon," who plays 150 hands of no limit Texas hold 'em poker against five other players, each of whom stake their own money. These five players are mostly professionals although well-heeled amateurs have also played occasionally. The game consists of thirty hands per day over the course of five weekdays.

To become a contestant, the would-be loose cannon must be a citizen of the United States or Canada. He or she must first make it through three free qualifying rounds on PokerStars.net, placing in the top 300 in a daily tournament, then in the top 1000 on Saturday, and finally in the top 200 on Sunday. The remaining 200 send in video auditions, from which the producers select the contestant for the week.

Loose cannons are staked $100,000 and keep all winnings in excess of this initial amount. To prevent the loose cannon from simply going "all in" (betting everything) immediately, betting is pot limit (raising restricted to what has already been bet) before the flop and no limit afterwards. The minimum buy-in for the professionals is $100,000 and the maximum is $500,000. Players may rebuy up to a $500,000 limit. The blinds are $200/$400 with a $100 ante which is paid for all players by the player on the designated dealer "button."

The top loose cannon at the end of the season wins an additional prize, a North American Poker Tour (NAPT) "passport" valued at $50,000, consisting of entry fees and expenses for various NAPT tournaments. In season one, a loose cannon, if he or she shows a profit after 150 hands, was given the option of forfeiting the winnings and returning the next week, with an eye toward trying for the grand prize.

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Wikipedia