Hole cam
In
poker, a hole cam (or pocket cam) is a
camera that displays a player's face-down cards (known as
"hole cards") to television viewers. It was patented by
Henry Orenstein in 1995.
The hole cam became popular when the Late Night Poker program first began using it in televised tournements. Cameras were also used in the Poker Million prior to gaining further popularity after the World Poker Tour began airing on the Travel Channel in 2003 and the ESPN broadcasts of the 2003 World Series of Poker.