Poker Central Continues Steady Flow of Content With Transition to Online Events POKER PROductions developed a virtual studio that mirrors the real-life version By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor
Tuesday, June 16, 2020 - 10:04 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Poker Central has been the prime destination of 24/7 poker action for a number of years, but, when the coronavirus shut down all physical competitions, the linear and digital network shifted to an online format. POKER PROductions, the company responsible for getting these broadcasts on-air, has aided this transition with an authentic, virtual studio and remote workflows that bring all the participants to the table.
Having poker on digital platforms is not a new thing because a lot of players made videos as a teaching tool or [allowed] viewers to watch them play and see their hands, says Mori Eskandani, founder/executive producer, POKER PROductions. Once COVID-19 hit the entire poker world and a huge surge of players went from live games into digital games, we decided to create this kind of studio.
Full Virtual House: Team Reconstructs PokerGO Studio for Authentic Environment
To give fans a central hub during the broadcast, the production team decided to create a replica of its PokerGO studio, which is located in the Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. To differentiate this virtual area from the typical online platform, the team wanted as much validity and authenticity as possible.
Poker Central developed a virtual studio that is a replica of its physical PokerGO location in Las Vegas.
When a streamer is playing a game or broadcasting on Twitch, you can see only one person's hole cards, says Dan Gati, executive producer, POKER PROductions. Our software is able to take all of the information and data from their hand and show everybody's hole cards in a very short turnaround.
In addition to providing the familiarity of a traditional event, the digital representation of the match incorporates the same camera angles used on linear television.
Inside this environment, Gati adds, it looks like the players are sitting in the studio, and we have camera moves that can show a leaderboard, an iso of one of the competitors, or a flop shot that you might see in a televised poker event. There are endless possibilities within this platform to make [productions] better and to cater to the needs of our viewers.
Around the Table: Commentators, Players Rely on Remote Comms
With brick-and-mortar locations closed or operating at limited capacity, Poker Central is deploying remote capabilities. With a full schedule of global events, the company's partners could be located outside the U.S. For conversations amongst the eight to 10 staffers that take part in any individual event, there is a plan in place for internal use.
Unlike with traditional poker platforms, viewers are able to simultaneously see the hands of each competitor.
The hub of our operation is in Las Vegas, but we have producers who are situated in New York and Los Angeles, Gati notes. For nonessential operations before and after the production, everything is done either in Slack or WhatsApp. During the production, we're able to use Skype and have direct communication with the announcers and/or guests as needed. The same is true for people who are creating the virtual studio hands as well.
Adapting to Challenges: Online Competitions Come With Delayed Feeds
In addition to potential communication problems, another challenge is to adapt to an ever-changing rulebook outlined by different partners. This aspect of the production team's efforts can be accomplished only by adjusting on the fly.
Instead of our inviting players to come [to our physical studio], we are being invited to go over [to their online platform], says Eskandani. For example, in the studio, we have the hand information, but now it's challenging because different companies have different ways of transmitting this data. Sometimes, it's really easy for us to interface everything with our system; other times, we need extra operators to manage this.
Poker Central wanted as much authenticity to matches as possible by adding elements like live commentary and statistics.
In the current format, online tournaments require a delayed feed for the viewer. As with information on players' hands, each partner has its own standards on when fans can view this content.
It may be 24 hours before we can put [matches] on for people to see, or it could be delayed 30 minutes to an hour, says Eskandani. There are a lot of challenges to make adjustments for broadcasts between the studio and the operators.
Building Toward Something Bigger: Poker Central Aims for a 100%-Live Show
Up next for the team is the Poker Masters Online (PMO) Pot Limit Omaha Series June 21-29. With a total of 29 events, the top performer in the overall series will win the PMO Pot Limit Omaha Championship and will be awarded with the Purple Jacket and a $50,000 bonus on top of the cash they have already won. In the final two days, players will compete to become the first PMO Pot Limit Omaha Series Main Event champion, with a $1.5 million prize pool guaranteed. A further $500,000 will be paid out in the Mini Main Event.
With an unforeseeable end to the pandemic, more events will be produced in this manner, allowing the entire staff to tinker and find further improvements. Some refinements include limiting a game to six players to prevent clutter and congestion at the table. The ultimate objective is still in sight; enhancing the virtual product will take the team another step closer to it.
This is just the tip of the iceberg, says Eskandani. The goal is to re-create the real thing with six players sitting at the table. We have our eyes set on having a live video of all the players
Most recent headlines
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
28/10/2025
ESPN Announces Monsters Funday Football', Its Latest Real-Time Animated Bro...
28/10/2025
SVG All-Stars: Catherine Chalfant, Manager, Remote Operations, ESPNThe Ole Miss alum is an operational force behind ESPN's extensive college-football catalo...
28/10/2025
Elevating the experience: AI and data take Ryder Cup to the next level By Joe OHalloran
Tuesday, October 28, 2025 - 10:25
Print This Story
NBC produced th...
28/10/2025
Conquering the Air (waves): Taking a close up look at the IBC Accelerator Priva...
28/10/2025
World Series 2025: Spectrum SportsNet LA Brings Dodgers Fans Closer to the Actio...
28/10/2025
Dylan Southern and Benedict Cumberbatch at the premiere of The Thing with Feathers (photo by George Pimentel / Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)...
28/10/2025
For three weeks in Lagos, Spotify's Greasy Tunes Caf pop-up brought the cit...
28/10/2025
Once a niche subculture, German rap has evolved into an influential cultural movement. Now, Spotify is giving the genre a new home with OFFCULT, a playlist dedi...
28/10/2025
Shane Delia's Malta serves up the Mediterranean this summer
28 October, 2025
Media releases
Feast on 9,000 years of culinary history Mondays from 24 No...
28/10/2025
SBS's global sporting festival continues with the FIVB Beach Volleyball Worl...
28/10/2025
Bilbao, October 28, 2025 - AgileTV, a leading technology solutions company for t...
28/10/2025
Disney, NBCUniversal, FOX, Paramount Each Achieve Double-Digit Monthly Growth
...
28/10/2025
CINCINNATI The E.W. Scripps Company has announced an agreement to sell WRTV, its local ABC-affiliated station in Indianapolis, to Circle City Broadcasting for $...
28/10/2025
Berklee College of Music and Berklee Valencia Named to Billboards 2025 Top Music...
28/10/2025
NEW YORK As AI usage continues to spike, a new study from IAB delves into an important aspect of how AI is transforming the advertising business with new data s...
28/10/2025
Charlie Jablonski, a broadcast tech pioneer who helped shape the modern era of Olympics television coverage, died Oct. 25 at his home in Lake George N.Y., the N...
28/10/2025
VIENNA, Austria Bitmovin has launched Bitmovin Observability, a new stand-alone video data solution that delivers real-time insights into video playback. The so...
28/10/2025
LOS ANGELES LucidLink, the file streaming platform, has announced a Frame.io integration and expanded mobile capabilities at Adobe Max....
28/10/2025
Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitably connect the right content to the right audience, today announced that it has joined the Ama...
28/10/2025
Lightware, an industry leader in connectivity and signal management solutions, has announced a major update to its Taurus
platform, which now delivers flawless...
28/10/2025
Following a successful mid-September International Broadcasting Convention in Amsterdam, Hiltron Communications will promote its full range of satellite communi...
28/10/2025
Open Broadcast Systems has chosen MC&S (Media Consulting & Services) as a reseller to help strengthen its presence in France.
With over twenty years of experi...
28/10/2025
Bitmovin, leading provider of video streaming solutions, has launched Bitmovin Observability, a new stand-alone video data solution that delivers real-time insi...
28/10/2025
Ease Live, the leader in interactive TV technology, today announced the successful launch of interactive graphical overlays for UEFA Champions League matches fo...
28/10/2025
LucidLink, the file streaming platform, today at Adobe MAX announced a Frame.io integration and expanded mobile capabilities, streamlining collaboration and hel...
28/10/2025
ATLANTA Gray Media has promoted Nick Hasenecz to general manager of WNDU, its NBC affiliate in the South Bend-Elkhart, Ind., market....
28/10/2025
Applications Open for Berklee Fenway Neighborhood Improvement Grant Boston nonprofits can apply by December 12 for funding to support community projects that ...
28/10/2025
28 Oct 2025
VEON's JazzCash Wins Silver Award for Innovation in Lending at ...
28/10/2025
Guests include Wayne Rooney, Maya Jama, Dame Laura Kenny, Chloe Kelly, Chris McC...
28/10/2025
The two-hour special, recorded live from the iconic Dolby Theatre in LA, will ai...
28/10/2025
Eutelsat upgrades teleports with Rohde & Schwarz satellite uplink amplifiers High efficiency and resilient Ku-band amplifiers for excellent RF performance
...
28/10/2025
These appointments come at a pivotal time for ABC, as the organisation continues to evolve to meet the changing needs of a digital-first media ecosystem. The ne...
28/10/2025
Scripps Research awarded $4 million to advance platform for neurodevelopmental disorders The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) grant support...
27/10/2025
You can touch this: Haptics becoming central to the virtual live experience By Adrian Pennington
Friday, October 24, 2025 - 09:12
Print This Story
The vid...
27/10/2025
A tale of two trailers: France's Stop & Go doubles up with its new hybrid tr...
27/10/2025
Pro Padel League Stages City's Cup Finals Inside NYC's Hammerstein Ballr...
27/10/2025
World Series 2025: Sportsnet Delivers Made-in-Canada' Moment for a Nation U...
27/10/2025
ESPN Extends Partnership With Sony's Beyond Sports To Expand Animated Altern...
27/10/2025
Reid Davenport attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Life After at The Ray Theatre on January 27, 2025, in Park City, UT. (Photo by Robin Marsha...
27/10/2025
As the days grow shorter and the nights get darker, there's nothing like getting swept up in a story that sends shivers down your spine. In honor of spooky ...
27/10/2025
UPDATE: Both parties have reached a new carriage agreement....
27/10/2025
LONDON As Hollywood jumps into the production of mini-dramas, a new study from Ampere Analysis finds that more than one in 10 internet users have watched drama ...
27/10/2025
LONDON Yealink, a provider of unified communication and collaboration solutions, has joined the NDI ecosystem with the availability of its SmartVision 80 premiu...
27/10/2025
ATLANTA Gray Media has named Chris Conroy as general manager of its stations in Cleveland, leading WOIO, a CBS affiliate, The CW station WUAB and Telemundo outl...
27/10/2025
ESPOO, Finland European connectivity leaders Nokia and Ericsson, have partnered with Berlin's Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute (HHI), to shape and drive ...
27/10/2025
PHILADELPHIA Comcast has expanded NOW TV Latino, its Spanish-language live TV and streaming offering, adding five more channels from Univision, ViX Premium with...
27/10/2025
Test & measurement innovator, Leader Electronics, will present its latest products and solutions at InterBEE 2025 (Hall 5, Booth 5218) Makuhari Messe in Chiba, ...
27/10/2025
Back to All News
City of Shadows, the New Netflix Thriller Arrives on December 12
Entertainment
27 October 2025
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Downl...
Poker Central Continues Steady Flow of Content With Transition to Online Events POKER PROductions developed a virtual studio that mirrors the real-life version By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor 
