A novel algorithm is presented in this paper for estimating reliable stereo matches in real time. Based on the dynamic programming-based technique we previously proposed, the new algorithm can generate semi-dense disparity maps using as few as two dynamic programming passes. The iterative best path tracing process used in traditional dynamic programming is replaced by a local minimum searching process, making the algorithm suitable for parallel execution. Most computations are implemented on programmable graphics hardware, which improves the processing speed and makes real-time estimation possible. The experiments on the four new Middlebury stereo datasets show that, on an ATI Radeon X800 card, the presented algorithm can produce reliable matches for 60% approximately 80% of pixels at the rate of 10 approximately 20 frames per second. If needed, the algorithm can be configured for generating full density disparity maps.