World Poker Tour China Debuts on TVTraktor Poker is the Game of Choice |
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Perhaps you’re sick of all of the poker reruns on TV. Maybe you’ve simply surpassed your quota of cards. Well, probably not, if you’re spending your time reading this poker article.
However, for the 1.3 billion people of China, their TV poker explosion is just getting started.
This month, the World Poker Tour made its debut on China’s Nanjing Entertainment Television channel, marking the first time a government-sanctioned poker competition has been televised nationally in the country. WPT China has 16 stops in the country, but the game of choice is not Texas hold’em — it’s Traktor Poker.
Traktor Poker is a cross between gin and bridge, where teams of either two or four, depending on the tournament, compete against each other. It is dealt with two full decks, including jokers, and it is considered an official sport by the China Leisure Sports Administrative Center (CLSAC).
Card Player reported in August 2007 that the World Poker Tour had made an agreement with CLSAC to promote and brand Traktor Poker. After one full season and four tournaments into their second season, they debuted their first TV episode this month. It was aired in the Jiangsu province, and will be aired in additional provinces in the months to come.
According to a WPT spokesperson, the number of entrants for each tournament varies, but there is a maximum of 512 seats available.
The grand final will be played in Beijing in June.
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