In poker, a hole cam (or pocket cam) is a

camera A camera is an optical instrument that can capture an image. Most cameras can capture 2D images, with some more advanced models being able to capture 3D images. At a basic level, most cameras consist of sealed boxes (the camera body), with a ...

that displays a player's face-down cards (known as "hole cards") to television viewers. The hole cam became popular in 1999 when the ''

Late Night Poker ''Late Night Poker'' is a British television series that helped popularize poker in the 2000s. It used "under the table" cameras that enabled the viewer to see each player's cards. The show originally ran for six series between 1999 and 2002 ...

'' program began using it in televised tournaments shown on British Channel 4. Cameras were also used in the ''

Poker Million The Poker Million has been a televised European poker tournament since its inception in November 2000. The final debuted to 30 million viewers and has since remained popular. It was created by UK gaming outfit Ladbrokes with the help of sports pro ...

'' prior to gaining further popularity after the

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

broadcasts of the ''

2002 World Series of Poker The 2002 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was held at Binion's Horseshoe. The 2002 WSOP was historically notable for two reasons. The series was the first WSOP in which pocket cams were installed to allow broadcasters (on tape delay) to show the pla ...

'' and the ''

World Poker Tour The World Poker Tour (WPT) is an internationally televised gaming and entertainment brand. Since 2002, the World Poker Tour has operated a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting playdown and the f ...

'' began airing on the

Travel Channel Travel Channel (stylized as Trvl Channel since 2018) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, which had previously owned the channel from 1997 to 2007. The channel is headquartered in New York, New York, United S ...

in 2003. In some cases, the camera is placed under a glass panel in the table and players are instructed to place their cards over the glass (as in the case of ''

High Stakes Poker ''High Stakes Poker'' is an American cash game poker television program. The poker variant played on the show is no limit Texas hold 'em. The first four seasons ran from January 16, 2006 to December 17, 2007 on GSN. The next three seasons ran f ...

''). In other cases, the rail of the table is elevated and a small camera placed within the rail, and players are instructed to examine their cards in the usual manner, but while they're in front of the camera (as is the case on the ''

World Series of Poker The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Paradise, Nevada and, since 2004, sponsored by Caesars Entertainment. It dates its origins to 1970, when Benny Binion invited seven of the best-known poker p ...

'' and the ''

''). The goal in both cases is to allow for the filming and broadcast of the player's hole cards to the spectators without exposing them to the other players. This has led to the audience garnering a greater understanding of what is going on at the table and an increased interest in the thought processes of the players. If the tournament is broadcast live when hole-card cameras are in use, the players and/or live audience must be sequestered from the commentators, for fear of information being relayed to the players at the table. Also, the broadcast is delayed a few minutes for additional security. Most tournaments are not shown live, and for security purposes only a few members of the TV crew have access to the hole card images during the taping. Although during the broadcast commentators may appear to be present at the venue, their commentary is most often added after play is complete when they have the opportunity to view the hole-cam video. Prior to the invention of the hole-card camera, the audience had no way of knowing what the players were holding during any given hand of a poker broadcast unless players chose to show their cards or were all in. Some televised tournaments also have a camera in the dealer's position to record the turn and river cards when a player wins the pot on the flop or turn. The viewers get to see what would have happened had there been a call, adding an extra element of drama. The players commonly call this the ''rabbit cam,'' although different poker shows use their own names for marketing purposes. The name derives from the poker term ''

rabbit hunting Rabbiting (also rabbit hunting and cottontail hunting) is the sport of hunting rabbits. It often involves using ferrets or dogs to track or chase the prey. There are various methods used in capturing the rabbit, including trapping and shooting. ...

,'' which means to look at the next few cards after a hand is over. Rabbit hunting is generally against tournament rules, partially because it gives away information. Consequently, this extra camera is used so the dealer can show the camera only and not the players at the table.

Henry Orenstein Henry Orenstein (born Henryk Orenstein; October 13, 1923 – December 14, 2021) was a Polish-born Jewish-American toymaker, professional poker player, entrepreneur and Holocaust survivor who resided in Verona, New Jersey. A survivor of five Na ...

was granted a patent by the

United States Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alex ...

for the under-the-table hole-card camera on September 19, 1995.

References

*{{US patent, 5451054 Poker gameplay and terminology Film and video technology