The Pro-Am Poker Equalizer is a televised poker tournament in which professional poker players play Texas hold 'em against celebrities which began airing on ESPN in January 2007. In order to "equalize" the playing field, the celebrities start the tournament with 50% more chips than the professionals. The Pro-Am Poker Equalizer is commentated by Phil Gordon and Ali Nejad. The winners of each of the six regular episodes will face off in the final episode for a $500,000 grand prize.

The National Heads-Up Poker Championship is an annual poker tournament held in the United States and produced by the NBC television network. It is a $25,000 "buy-in" invitation-only tournament organized as a series of one-on-one games of no limit Texas hold 'em matches. The participants include many of the world's most successful poker players, as well as celebrities. The championship was the first poker event to be televised on and produced by a major U.S. television network. In October 2011, NBC announced that the National Heads-Up Poker Championship would not return in 2012, ending the championship's seven-year run. After a one-year hiatus, the tournament returned in 2013. The $25,000 buy-in event ran from Jan. 24 through 26 at Caesars Palace, the same venue where the event was held from 2006 through 2011. The Heads-Up Championship had been sponsored by online poker companies before Black Friday. The World Series of Poker is the new presenting sponsor.