Each qualifying freeroll tournament has $5,000 added and the top 50 players from each of the six qualifiers also gets the chance to submit an audition to join The Shark Cage. If you finish in the top 50 you need to record a video audition in English, upload it to YouTube and then email the link to sharkcage@pokerstars.com no later than 23.59 ET. If you love poker, then you will love PokerTube. The world's largest Poker Media website has everything you need to follow the games that matter to you. With over 20,000 videos available covering a wide variety of live and online games, Pokertube is a priceless resource for enthusiasts and professionals alike.

So PokerStars have been rolling out this new weird TV show called Shark Cage. The premise of this, if you somehow haven’t seen it past midnight on Channel 4, is that there are a series of sit ‘n’ go’s with the winner of each progressing to a grand final where there is a winner take all prize of a cool $1,000,000.

Then there’s the added weird bonus of an actual shark cage. Unfortunately no sharks in the case of Bill Perkins, but a hovering rotating cage where players get sent if they mess up. The shark cage comes into play on the river when if a player folds to a bluff, or if a bluffer gets their bluff called, they get sent to the cage for an orbit.

Players who make a river bet are forced to signal their action, either ‘bluff’ or ‘value’. In the early episodes this was done with a button underneath the table, later it was done by sliding a card forward with the players’ bet.

It makes for great television and some really painful needles. Some, like Shannon Elizabeth, take it terribly. Others better.

For those who are yet to see it, all the episodes are available on Youtube.

Without spoilers, here is what you can expect from the TV show:

Rugby World Cup winner Mike Tindall drinking beer

Team PokerStars Pro Theo Jorgensen in the shark cage.

Poker Shark Cage Wiki One Piece

But is it good for poker? A local poker club I attend has already suggested that they want to have a game one night where they try something like this, but all the players are already regulars and it won’t be attracting anyone new. It makes for great television of course, and is amateur friendly with the the addition of an online qualifier.

But lets not forget some of these online qualifiers are damn good players. One has a SCOOP (Spring Championship of Online Poker) watch, and another is a former chess grand master. These players sitting down are not representative of your Average Joe tuning in to Channel 4 in the early hours with their pack of Wotsits.

There is a fine line between this show being a great success or just another average poker show. Newbies to the game may see it on TV or on the internet and think: “oh wow Shannon Elizabeth, Jason Alexander, Mike Tindall, get me into this poker game.” Or they might think “oh so it’s just rich people and celebrities battling for a million dollars, I am never going to be able to get involved in that.”

Poker Shark Cage Wiki

Poker Shark Cage Wiki Fandom

Poker Shark Cage Wiki Games

Time will tell what it does for the poker world, but one thing is for certain is that it is a quirky concept and Pokerstars should be applauded for their ingenuity.