Live poker streaming has become a hugely popular part of poker games and tournaments, with streams available to watch on television and now through internet/TV programs such as Twitch. However, with the development of new technology, live poker streaming is becoming even more immersive by allowing viewers to feel like they are actually in the game. Through the likes of Twitch, new technological developments such as 360-degree streaming, which was debuted in a poker room at an 888 event, and the newest, most advanced form of viewing and gaming technology, virtual reality, poker live streaming has begun to and will continue to boom.

One of the biggest demands for live streaming came as an aftermath of Chris Moneymaker’s impressive win at the main event of the 2003 World Series of Poker, which was shown live on ESPN. The 28-year old accountant turned $39 into $2.5 million, and his win was watched by thousands of Americans who were then inspired to begin to play poker, resulting in the poker boom. This showed just how influential poker streaming was in 2003, and since then, it has become even more of an importance to the industry, as more and more followers look to the likes of Twitch in order to watch their favorite poker stars, pick up tips and join in with the excitement of the game.

Twitch was launched in 2011, but in the past year, it has become a popularly used platform that resulted in it becoming the backbone of both live and on-demand distribution in live poker streaming, with a hundred million users visiting the site every month. Some have tipped live streaming to be the catalyst of live poker, and it will save the poker industry with the likes of Twitch adding a degree of relatability to the sport through an immersive experience.

With an increase of investment in research and development in new technology, 360 degree streaming has been one of the first features to be used when it comes to live poker streaming. It was debuted in an 888 local event at Aspers Casino earlier this year and features a unique filming technique using multiple cameras that overlap their fields of vision to create an immersive poker experience.

Through 360 degree panoramic viewing, viewers can not only see the poker table but can also view the entire room and decide which angle they would like to view the room at, making them feel like they are actually there. 360 degree filming uses either a number of small, compact cameras such as Go-Pros that are positioned in order to reduce the effects of parallax and are all recorded at the same time or, alternatively, an omnidirectional camera. The recordings that are taken by the camera(s) are then stitched together seamlessly, through a series of editing programs, to create an immersive live stream environment. Although this technology is only in its infancy, there’s a huge demand for an increase in live poker streams and this type of technology is almost certain to be used to cover poker games, tournaments and more in the near future.

The newest, most innovative technology when it comes to streaming and introducing an immersive experience for the viewer is stereoscopic virtual reality. Although this has only just come out of production as a gaming option through headsets such as Facebook’s Oculus Rift, it should be available to watch poker events in the near future. Virtual reality allows viewers to feel like they are actually in the room by being able to change the angle of what they are viewing through a movement of the head, creating a totally immersive experience.

Technology is beginning to vastly improve a viewer’s experience of a poker game or tournament, from watching it on television, like Moneymaker’s win in 2003 on ESPN, to a fully immersive experience through virtual reality headsets. Live streaming has long created an exciting experience, and it’s only going to get better, which could result in more people getting involved in the poker industry in the future.