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Title: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: Chompy on February 25, 2008, 12:31:03 PM prices on blue square
I'll take the following... Nik Persaud (150-1), two final tables from two this year, class act and deserves a big win Kevin O'Leary (200-1), should be among the 100-1 shots imo Jeff Buffenbarger (200-1), always has the potential to get a huge stack early and utterly fearless Rob Garfield (200-1), has been among the 150-1ers for the first two events and not sure why he's drifted for this one Graham Wheldon (prices on application), different class this fella Apologies for the Luton bias but ho hum Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: ariston on February 25, 2008, 02:54:28 PM I will go for the bubble, nick salad, womble, Mick (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=284) Fletcher (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=284) and myself blackpool raiding party will be there or thereabouts at the end Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: AlexMartin on February 25, 2008, 04:29:12 PM prices on blue square I'll take the following... Nik (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=314) Persaud (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=314) (150-1), two final tables from two this year, class act and deserves a big win Kevin (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=235) O'Leary (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=235) (200-1), should be among the 100-1 shots imo Jeff (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=593) Buffenbarger (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=593) (200-1), always has the potential to get a huge stack early and utterly fearless Rob (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=381) Garfield (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=381) (200-1), has been among the 150-1ers for the first two events and not sure why he's drifted for this one Graham Wheldon (prices on application), different class this fella Apologies for the Luton bias but ho hum you put too much faith in the Luton boys methinks ;) Nik Persaud has the pedigree and CV to warrant being sponsored i reckon. If i was a big cheese id be snapping him up. Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: DaveShoelace on February 25, 2008, 04:42:46 PM Jen Mason
Rob Taylor Neil Channing Roberto Rommanello Me (lol) Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: julian on February 25, 2008, 04:54:49 PM little miss c, chili, pete linton, big desi, nik hicks & me,
oh that's 6...well 5 of them then. slim pickings for the blackpool posse that far south imo /:-| Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: AlrightJack on February 25, 2008, 05:26:48 PM I agree with you that Nik is an excellent player - he's been knocking at the door for quite a while and it surely won't be long before it stays ajar long enough to let him get past the threshold. However, on the issue of sponsorship - and really this is not about Nik, but about the whole sponsorship thing in general. There is far too much expectation amongst players to be sponsored. In a few years time sponsorships will be a thing of the past - not enough value for sponsors, it costs too much, too little return and marketing money can be better spent in other ways.
Pokerstars have their team of players, largely designed to ensure they have a presenece within the poker communities of as many countries as possible. Full Tilt have lots of big names and this strategy was designed in part to give them some cut through in their ad campaigns, given that they were relatively late to market, compared with the other big sites. Betfair, Blue Square, Ladbrokes, William Hill and other companies also have sponsorship programs, to varying degrees. I was largely responsible for getting the Blue Square one off the ground and our current sponsored players are Mickey Wernick, Praz Bansi, Karl Mahrenholz and Kevin O'Leary. However, if the clock were tunred back three years I probably would not set it up again. This is not because the program has been disappointing - far from it - all of our players have enabled Blue Square to have constant exposure in the poker press over the last few years and this has been good for the company, however, the poker press is a tiny market place and sponsoring players has little impact on getting coverage in the wider press. The only sponsorsships that are going to fulfill this goal are sponsorships of celebrity poker players - e.g Shane Warn for 888 and Boris Becker for Poker stars. I can't see many more sposnorships for people other than celebrities or high rakers in the future. Perhaps from new sites, but only for a limited time period until they establish themsleves and start to look at the bigger picture. Some companies will use the ego boost associated with sponsorship to give back to their high rakers, but this is really rakeback in disguise. Every week we get approached by lots and lots of players wishing to be sponsored. They usually point solely to their prowess as players as the reason they should be sponsored. That is simply not enough. There are lots of good players who are not sponsored, because being good at the game is a secondary reason to sponsor someone. Their ability to gain press interest is the number one reason and the publicity they garner has to be considered to be positve. I received an email ast week from a 17-year old who wants to be sponsored to play at the Vic at next week's GUKPT, just a few days after his 18th birthday. He thinks this would be great publicity, but it would not be. I think that players playing in major events as soon as they become old enough to do so is bad for the industry and certainly not something for a sponsor to harp on about. It only goes to highlight that those players MUST have been playing online illegaly when they were underage to be able to step up to that size of game as soon as they come of age. I think Betfair's sponsorship of Annette_15 is ill advised. She may well be the hottest name in poker at the moment, but she had been playing online since she was 15. 15 for gods sake. How can this be anything other than bad for the industry in general - highlighting the illegal use of online poker sites by a minor and the innaction of the sites she played on by not stopping here from doing so. The recent announcement of Sorel Mizzi's sponsorship by Betfair is also rather baffling. Whether you believe what he did was wrong or not, it is strange that Betfair wish to applaud him for his actions by awarding him with a sponsorship deal. Every time I attend a poker festival, someone bangs their chest and says 'when are you gonna sponsor me', usually just after they've won something. I smile grimly and laugh it off. My advice to players is forget about being sponsored. It probably isn't going to happen. Control your egos enough to realise that very few people care if you've made 6 final tables in the last 2 months, least of all potential sponsors. It is even worse when players get moody about not being offered sponsorship deals, expecting that it is their god given right to be sponsored. Petulance is an ugly trait and not one that is going to endear you to a potential sponsor. There are players out there who I think are deserving of their sponsorship deals, but even the best of these realise they were in the right place at the right time. IMO sponsorship of players is on the way out. Those of you who are sponsored, enjoy it while you can. The big cheeses have woken up, they can smell the coffee and their cheque books should be firmly in their pockets. Nobody is chomping at the bit to 'snap' up players. "Do not ask for to be sponsored, as a refusal often offends." Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: tikay on February 25, 2008, 05:32:28 PM WOW! AlrightJack wins the "Most Sensible Post of 2008" - by a mile. I agree with almost every word, Jonathan. Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: Ironside on February 25, 2008, 05:52:03 PM WOW! AlrightJack wins the "Most Sensible Post of 2008" - by a mile. I agree with almost every word, Jonathan. i also agreee but when you going to sponsor me? i'll get my coat Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: LLevan on February 25, 2008, 07:24:13 PM I agree with you that Nik is an excellent player - he's been knocking at the door for quite a while and it surely won't be long before it stays ajar long enough to let him get past the threshold. However, on the issue of sponsorship - and really this is not about Nik, but about the whole sponsorship thing in general. There is far too much expectation amongst players to be sponsored. In a few years time sponsorships will be a thing of the past - not enough value for sponsors, it costs too much, too little return and marketing money can be better spent in other ways. Pokerstars have their team of players, largely designed to ensure they have a presenece within the poker communities of as many countries as possible. Full Tilt have lots of big names and this strategy was designed in part to give them some cut through in their ad campaigns, given that they were relatively late to market, compared with the other big sites. Betfair, Blue Square, Ladbrokes, William (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=960) Hill (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=960) and other companies also have sponsorship programs, to varying degrees. I was largely responsible for getting the Blue Square one off the ground and our current sponsored players are Mickey (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=283) Wernick (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=283), Praz (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=353) Bansi (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=353), Karl (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=227) Mahrenholz (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=227) and Kevin (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=235) O'Leary (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=235). However, if the clock were tunred back three years I probably would not set it up again. This is not because the program has been disappointing - far from it - all of our players have enabled Blue Square to have constant exposure in the poker press over the last few years and this has been good for the company, however, the poker press is a tiny market place and sponsoring players has little impact on getting coverage in the wider press. The only sponsorsships that are going to fulfill this goal are sponsorships of celebrity poker players - e.g Shane Warn for 888 and Boris Becker for Poker stars. I can't see many more sposnorships for people other than celebrities or high rakers in the future. Perhaps from new sites, but only for a limited time period until they establish themsleves and start to look at the bigger picture. Some companies will use the ego boost associated with sponsorship to give back to their high rakers, but this is really rakeback in disguise. Every week we get approached by lots and lots of players wishing to be sponsored. They usually point solely to their prowess as players as the reason they should be sponsored. That is simply not enough. There are lots of good players who are not sponsored, because being good at the game is a secondary reason to sponsor someone. Their ability to gain press interest is the number one reason and the publicity they garner has to be considered to be positve. I received an email ast week from a 17-year old who wants to be sponsored to play at the Vic at next week's GUKPT, just a few days after his 18th birthday. He thinks this would be great publicity, but it would not be. I think that players playing in major events as soon as they become old enough to do so is bad for the industry and certainly not something for a sponsor to harp on about. It only goes to highlight that those players MUST have been playing online illegaly when they were underage to be able to step up to that size of game as soon as they come of age. I think Betfair's sponsorship of Annette_15 is ill advised. She may well be the hottest name in poker at the moment, but she had been playing online since she was 15. 15 for gods sake. How can this be anything other than bad for the industry in general - highlighting the illegal use of online poker sites by a minor and the innaction of the sites she played on by not stopping here from doing so. The recent announcement of Sorel (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=748) Mizzi (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=748)'s sponsorship by Betfair is also rather baffling. Whether you believe what he did was wrong or not, it is strange that Betfair wish to applaud him for his actions by awarding him with a sponsorship deal. Every time I attend a poker festival, someone bangs their chest and says 'when are you gonna sponsor me', usually just after they've won something. I smile grimly and laugh it off. My advice to players is forget about being sponsored. It probably isn't going to happen. Control your egos enough to realise that very few people care if you've made 6 final tables in the last 2 months, least of all potential sponsors. It is even worse when players get moody about not being offered sponsorship deals, expecting that it is their god given right to be sponsored. Petulance is an ugly trait and not one that is going to endear you to a potential sponsor. There are players out there who I think are deserving of their sponsorship deals, but even the best of these realise they were in the right place at the right time. IMO sponsorship of players is on the way out. Those of you who are sponsored, enjoy it while you can. The big cheeses have woken up, they can smell the coffee and their cheque books should be firmly in their pockets. Nobody is chomping at the bit to 'snap' up players. "Do not ask for to be sponsored, as a refusal often offends." Great post and pretty much along the same lines as several of us had written on the Sorel thread. It will also be interesting to see whether the current Blue Square sponsored pros get their sponsorship renewed whenever they reach the end of their current deals. Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: bobby1 on February 25, 2008, 07:45:16 PM A fantastic post.
Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: celtic on February 25, 2008, 07:46:50 PM prices on blue square I'll take the following... Nik (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=314) Persaud (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=314) (150-1), two final tables from two this year, class act and deserves a big win Kevin (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=235) O'Leary (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=235) (200-1), should be among the 100-1 shots imo Jeff (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=593) Buffenbarger (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=593) (200-1), always has the potential to get a huge stack early and utterly fearless Rob (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=381) Garfield (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=381) (200-1), has been among the 150-1ers for the first two events and not sure why he's drifted for this one Graham Wheldon (prices on application), different class this fella Apologies for the Luton bias but ho hum this guy is gonna be the big thing in poker in 2008. Quality player, dont tell him tho. oh and chompy, whoever you are do you want to back me for the gukpt in london??????? Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: DaveShoelace on February 25, 2008, 07:50:56 PM I agree with you that Nik is an excellent player - he's been knocking at the door for quite a while and it surely won't be long before it stays ajar long enough to let him get past the threshold. However, on the issue of sponsorship - and really this is not about Nik, but about the whole sponsorship thing in general. There is far too much expectation amongst players to be sponsored. In a few years time sponsorships will be a thing of the past - not enough value for sponsors, it costs too much, too little return and marketing money can be better spent in other ways. Pokerstars have their team of players, largely designed to ensure they have a presenece within the poker communities of as many countries as possible. Full Tilt have lots of big names and this strategy was designed in part to give them some cut through in their ad campaigns, given that they were relatively late to market, compared with the other big sites. Betfair, Blue Square, Ladbrokes, William (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=960) Hill (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=960) and other companies also have sponsorship programs, to varying degrees. I was largely responsible for getting the Blue Square one off the ground and our current sponsored players are Mickey (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=283) Wernick (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=283), Praz (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=353) Bansi (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=353), Karl (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=227) Mahrenholz (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=227) and Kevin (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=235) O'Leary (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=235). However, if the clock were tunred back three years I probably would not set it up again. This is not because the program has been disappointing - far from it - all of our players have enabled Blue Square to have constant exposure in the poker press over the last few years and this has been good for the company, however, the poker press is a tiny market place and sponsoring players has little impact on getting coverage in the wider press. The only sponsorsships that are going to fulfill this goal are sponsorships of celebrity poker players - e.g Shane Warn for 888 and Boris Becker for Poker stars. I can't see many more sposnorships for people other than celebrities or high rakers in the future. Perhaps from new sites, but only for a limited time period until they establish themsleves and start to look at the bigger picture. Some companies will use the ego boost associated with sponsorship to give back to their high rakers, but this is really rakeback in disguise. Every week we get approached by lots and lots of players wishing to be sponsored. They usually point solely to their prowess as players as the reason they should be sponsored. That is simply not enough. There are lots of good players who are not sponsored, because being good at the game is a secondary reason to sponsor someone. Their ability to gain press interest is the number one reason and the publicity they garner has to be considered to be positve. I received an email ast week from a 17-year old who wants to be sponsored to play at the Vic at next week's GUKPT, just a few days after his 18th birthday. He thinks this would be great publicity, but it would not be. I think that players playing in major events as soon as they become old enough to do so is bad for the industry and certainly not something for a sponsor to harp on about. It only goes to highlight that those players MUST have been playing online illegaly when they were underage to be able to step up to that size of game as soon as they come of age. I think Betfair's sponsorship of Annette_15 is ill advised. She may well be the hottest name in poker at the moment, but she had been playing online since she was 15. 15 for gods sake. How can this be anything other than bad for the industry in general - highlighting the illegal use of online poker sites by a minor and the innaction of the sites she played on by not stopping here from doing so. The recent announcement of Sorel (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=748) Mizzi (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=748)'s sponsorship by Betfair is also rather baffling. Whether you believe what he did was wrong or not, it is strange that Betfair wish to applaud him for his actions by awarding him with a sponsorship deal. Every time I attend a poker festival, someone bangs their chest and says 'when are you gonna sponsor me', usually just after they've won something. I smile grimly and laugh it off. My advice to players is forget about being sponsored. It probably isn't going to happen. Control your egos enough to realise that very few people care if you've made 6 final tables in the last 2 months, least of all potential sponsors. It is even worse when players get moody about not being offered sponsorship deals, expecting that it is their god given right to be sponsored. Petulance is an ugly trait and not one that is going to endear you to a potential sponsor. There are players out there who I think are deserving of their sponsorship deals, but even the best of these realise they were in the right place at the right time. IMO sponsorship of players is on the way out. Those of you who are sponsored, enjoy it while you can. The big cheeses have woken up, they can smell the coffee and their cheque books should be firmly in their pockets. Nobody is chomping at the bit to 'snap' up players. "Do not ask for to be sponsored, as a refusal often offends." John, I think you should use this entire post as your signature on all emails and forum posts, probably would save you a lot of time. Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: celtic on February 25, 2008, 07:57:49 PM nice post Jon,
Nice meeting you by the way last week. I have a mate who GENUINELY thinks that if he can get into the top 10 money earners on facebook he might get sponsored by a big company who notices his prowess as a class poker player!!!!!! Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: Colchester Kev on February 25, 2008, 07:59:24 PM Glad i got my deal with Jon before the big suits woke up ;)
http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?topic=8649.0 Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: GreekStein on February 25, 2008, 08:05:14 PM Fran, Maria, Pete 'balletdancer' Linton, Samurai Hicks, Big Black, Sam Trickett, Woodsey, GreekJack and of course the Yo-yo.
Now what odds do i get on the Nottingham 9 all making the final table? Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: GlasgowBandit on February 25, 2008, 08:22:31 PM Jen Mason
Nick Persaud Matt Tyler Pete Linton Neil Channing Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: Chompy on February 25, 2008, 09:31:26 PM Top two Scottish Lutonians I'd want to stake into the GUKPT (in order):
1.Megadong 2.Celtic an excellent list Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: celtic on February 25, 2008, 09:37:24 PM Top two Scottish Lutonians I'd want to stake into the GUKPT (in order): 1.Megadong 2.Celtic an excellent list dagger to the heart. :'( but quality response. (text on the way cos it involves a word i cant post on the forum) Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: PocketLady on February 25, 2008, 10:19:48 PM 1. Kevin O'Leary
2. Jen Mason 3. Julian Thew 4. Maria Demetriou 5. Roberto Romanello Alas, it's doubtful that I'll play this one, but come on the girls! Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: TightEnd on February 25, 2008, 10:21:13 PM Top two Scottish Lutonians I'd want to stake into the GUKPT (in order): 1.Megadong 2.Celtic an excellent list insult of the month, that Megadonkey is clueless Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: KarmaDope on February 25, 2008, 10:30:49 PM 1. Julian Thew
2. Nik Persaud 3. Jennifer Mason 4. John Kabbaj 5. A.N.Online Qualifier Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: phatomch on February 25, 2008, 10:35:15 PM roberto
flushy yo yo big gay baz and me.........just qualified Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: celtic on February 25, 2008, 10:35:59 PM ok here's my 5 for what its worth.
Neil Channing Nik Persaud Bambos charalmbopopdopulouous Alex 'nice cardy' martin Chili Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: Horneris on February 25, 2008, 10:46:24 PM Chandra Khajuria 250/1
Sunny Chattha 200/1 Charalambous Xanthos 200/1 Abe Khaitan 250/1 Rumit Somaiya 250/1 Pretty sure one of these boys will bring home the bacon. Names might be a bit of a mouthful for the FT commentators tho. Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: sledge13 on February 25, 2008, 10:54:28 PM rotflmfao
Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: Pelham Boy on February 25, 2008, 11:04:07 PM Praz Bansi 100/1
Willie Tann 150/1 Barney Boatman 150/1 Karl Marenholz 150/1 Priyan De Mel 200/1 Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: blonde17 on February 26, 2008, 12:21:46 AM I agree with you that Nik is an excellent player - he's been knocking at the door for quite a while and it surely won't be long before it stays ajar long enough to let him get past the threshold. However, on the issue of sponsorship - and really this is not about Nik, but about the whole sponsorship thing in general. There is far too much expectation amongst players to be sponsored. In a few years time sponsorships will be a thing of the past - not enough value for sponsors, it costs too much, too little return and marketing money can be better spent in other ways. Pokerstars have their team of players, largely designed to ensure they have a presenece within the poker communities of as many countries as possible. Full Tilt have lots of big names and this strategy was designed in part to give them some cut through in their ad campaigns, given that they were relatively late to market, compared with the other big sites. Betfair, Blue Square, Ladbrokes, William (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=960) Hill (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=960) and other companies also have sponsorship programs, to varying degrees. I was largely responsible for getting the Blue Square one off the ground and our current sponsored players are Mickey (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=283) Wernick (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=283), Praz (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=353) Bansi (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=353), Karl (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=227) Mahrenholz (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=227) and Kevin (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=235) O'Leary (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=235). However, if the clock were tunred back three years I probably would not set it up again. This is not because the program has been disappointing - far from it - all of our players have enabled Blue Square to have constant exposure in the poker press over the last few years and this has been good for the company, however, the poker press is a tiny market place and sponsoring players has little impact on getting coverage in the wider press. The only sponsorsships that are going to fulfill this goal are sponsorships of celebrity poker players - e.g Shane Warn for 888 and Boris Becker for Poker stars. I can't see many more sposnorships for people other than celebrities or high rakers in the future. Perhaps from new sites, but only for a limited time period until they establish themsleves and start to look at the bigger picture. Some companies will use the ego boost associated with sponsorship to give back to their high rakers, but this is really rakeback in disguise. Every week we get approached by lots and lots of players wishing to be sponsored. They usually point solely to their prowess as players as the reason they should be sponsored. That is simply not enough. There are lots of good players who are not sponsored, because being good at the game is a secondary reason to sponsor someone. Their ability to gain press interest is the number one reason and the publicity they garner has to be considered to be positve. I received an email ast week from a 17-year old who wants to be sponsored to play at the Vic at next week's GUKPT, just a few days after his 18th birthday. He thinks this would be great publicity, but it would not be. I think that players playing in major events as soon as they become old enough to do so is bad for the industry and certainly not something for a sponsor to harp on about. It only goes to highlight that those players MUST have been playing online illegaly when they were underage to be able to step up to that size of game as soon as they come of age. I think Betfair's sponsorship of Annette_15 is ill advised. She may well be the hottest name in poker at the moment, but she had been playing online since she was 15. 15 for gods sake. How can this be anything other than bad for the industry in general - highlighting the illegal use of online poker sites by a minor and the innaction of the sites she played on by not stopping here from doing so. The recent announcement of Sorel (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=748) Mizzi (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=748)'s sponsorship by Betfair is also rather baffling. Whether you believe what he did was wrong or not, it is strange that Betfair wish to applaud him for his actions by awarding him with a sponsorship deal. Every time I attend a poker festival, someone bangs their chest and says 'when are you gonna sponsor me', usually just after they've won something. I smile grimly and laugh it off. My advice to players is forget about being sponsored. It probably isn't going to happen. Control your egos enough to realise that very few people care if you've made 6 final tables in the last 2 months, least of all potential sponsors. It is even worse when players get moody about not being offered sponsorship deals, expecting that it is their god given right to be sponsored. Petulance is an ugly trait and not one that is going to endear you to a potential sponsor. There are players out there who I think are deserving of their sponsorship deals, but even the best of these realise they were in the right place at the right time. IMO sponsorship of players is on the way out. Those of you who are sponsored, enjoy it while you can. The big cheeses have woken up, they can smell the coffee and their cheque books should be firmly in their pockets. Nobody is chomping at the bit to 'snap' up players. "Do not ask for to be sponsored, as a refusal often offends." Aspades An intresting post Jon and a lot of home truths with which I agree but .... Be careful not to shoot yourself in the foot. Without sponsored players a lot of the festivals and tours such as the GUKPT will lose a large number of entrant`s. A lot of aspiring pro`s use the chance of sponsorship as an extra incentive to enter and, do well in, the above mentioned events hoping to attract attention for their efforts from the major poker sites. Take away that dream and again... numbers will drop. Years ago most aspiring pro`s travelled to play the events in the USA. take away sponsorship for players in this country and you may well find more players willing to take that chance once again and, this too will cause a drop in numbers at UK festivals And whilst your comments are intelligent and well meant, remember one Gerald Ratner?...He too was to honest for his own good. Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: celtic on February 26, 2008, 12:24:45 AM how many sponsored players play these?
not that many i would imagine in relation to the field sizes. Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: phatomch on February 26, 2008, 12:33:47 AM out of a 300 field i think around 20 - 25 truly sponsored players in each, then another 50 monkeys wearing a t shirt they got of some site that they think people will say " oooh look a pro"
then big gay baz sponsered by the tax man and kev by Ginsters Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: Dewi_cool on February 26, 2008, 12:38:32 AM my picks
Alan Armitage ;flushy; Karl Trevor Reardon Julian Micky Mr Vinson the younger Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: turny on February 26, 2008, 01:13:57 AM out of a 300 field i think around 20 - 25 truly sponsored players in each, then another 50 monkeys wearing a t shirt they got of some site that they think people will say " oooh look a pro" then big gay baz sponsered by the tax man and kev by Ginsters so have u decided what shirt your going to wear yet now you have qualified? ;) Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: AlexMartin on February 26, 2008, 03:33:00 AM Praz (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=353) Bansi (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=353) 100/1 Willie (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=450) Tann (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=450) 150/1 Barney Boatman 150/1 Karl Marenholz 150/1 Priyan[/url][url=http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=354] De Mel (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=354) 200/1[/b] Ok that price is phenomenal, £50 lumped on. Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: phatomch on February 26, 2008, 03:49:32 AM out of a 300 field i think around 20 - 25 truly sponsored players in each, then another 50 monkeys wearing a t shirt they got of some site that they think people will say " oooh look a pro" then big gay baz sponsered by the tax man and kev by Ginsters so have u decided what shirt your going to wear yet now you have qualified? ;) my Blonde one of course with my screen name on, or my gbpt one not sure yet. ;whistle; Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: littlemissC on February 26, 2008, 09:41:59 AM little miss c, chili, Pete (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=348) Linton (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=348), big desi, nik hicks & me, ;iagree; :goodpost:oh that's 6...well 5 of them then. slim pickings for the blackpool posse that far south imo /:-| nick hicks will be in canada though so that makes 5.my first GUKPT i cant wait. Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: AlrightJack on February 26, 2008, 10:31:22 AM I agree with you that Nik is an excellent player - he's been knocking at the door for quite a while and it surely won't be long before it stays ajar long enough to let him get past the threshold. However, on the issue of sponsorship - and really this is not about Nik, but about the whole sponsorship thing in general. There is far too much expectation amongst players to be sponsored. In a few years time sponsorships will be a thing of the past - not enough value for sponsors, it costs too much, too little return and marketing money can be better spent in other ways. Pokerstars have their team of players, largely designed to ensure they have a presenece within the poker communities of as many countries as possible. Full Tilt have lots of big names and this strategy was designed in part to give them some cut through in their ad campaigns, given that they were relatively late to market, compared with the other big sites. Betfair, Blue Square, Ladbrokes, William (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=960) Hill (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=960) and other companies also have sponsorship programs, to varying degrees. I was largely responsible for getting the Blue Square one off the ground and our current sponsored players are Mickey (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=283) Wernick (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=283), Praz (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=353) Bansi (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=353), Karl (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=227) Mahrenholz (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=227) and Kevin (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=235) O'Leary (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=235). However, if the clock were tunred back three years I probably would not set it up again. This is not because the program has been disappointing - far from it - all of our players have enabled Blue Square to have constant exposure in the poker press over the last few years and this has been good for the company, however, the poker press is a tiny market place and sponsoring players has little impact on getting coverage in the wider press. The only sponsorsships that are going to fulfill this goal are sponsorships of celebrity poker players - e.g Shane Warn for 888 and Boris Becker for Poker stars. I can't see many more sposnorships for people other than celebrities or high rakers in the future. Perhaps from new sites, but only for a limited time period until they establish themsleves and start to look at the bigger picture. Some companies will use the ego boost associated with sponsorship to give back to their high rakers, but this is really rakeback in disguise. Every week we get approached by lots and lots of players wishing to be sponsored. They usually point solely to their prowess as players as the reason they should be sponsored. That is simply not enough. There are lots of good players who are not sponsored, because being good at the game is a secondary reason to sponsor someone. Their ability to gain press interest is the number one reason and the publicity they garner has to be considered to be positve. I received an email ast week from a 17-year old who wants to be sponsored to play at the Vic at next week's GUKPT, just a few days after his 18th birthday. He thinks this would be great publicity, but it would not be. I think that players playing in major events as soon as they become old enough to do so is bad for the industry and certainly not something for a sponsor to harp on about. It only goes to highlight that those players MUST have been playing online illegaly when they were underage to be able to step up to that size of game as soon as they come of age. I think Betfair's sponsorship of Annette_15 is ill advised. She may well be the hottest name in poker at the moment, but she had been playing online since she was 15. 15 for gods sake. How can this be anything other than bad for the industry in general - highlighting the illegal use of online poker sites by a minor and the innaction of the sites she played on by not stopping here from doing so. The recent announcement of Sorel (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=748) Mizzi (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=748)'s sponsorship by Betfair is also rather baffling. Whether you believe what he did was wrong or not, it is strange that Betfair wish to applaud him for his actions by awarding him with a sponsorship deal. Every time I attend a poker festival, someone bangs their chest and says 'when are you gonna sponsor me', usually just after they've won something. I smile grimly and laugh it off. My advice to players is forget about being sponsored. It probably isn't going to happen. Control your egos enough to realise that very few people care if you've made 6 final tables in the last 2 months, least of all potential sponsors. It is even worse when players get moody about not being offered sponsorship deals, expecting that it is their god given right to be sponsored. Petulance is an ugly trait and not one that is going to endear you to a potential sponsor. There are players out there who I think are deserving of their sponsorship deals, but even the best of these realise they were in the right place at the right time. IMO sponsorship of players is on the way out. Those of you who are sponsored, enjoy it while you can. The big cheeses have woken up, they can smell the coffee and their cheque books should be firmly in their pockets. Nobody is chomping at the bit to 'snap' up players. "Do not ask for to be sponsored, as a refusal often offends." Aspades An intresting post Jon and a lot of home truths with which I agree but .... Be careful not to shoot yourself in the foot. Without sponsored players a lot of the festivals and tours such as the GUKPT will lose a large number of entrant`s. A lot of aspiring pro`s use the chance of sponsorship as an extra incentive to enter and, do well in, the above mentioned events hoping to attract attention for their efforts from the major poker sites. Take away that dream and again... numbers will drop. Years ago most aspiring pro`s travelled to play the events in the USA. take away sponsorship for players in this country and you may well find more players willing to take that chance once again and, this too will cause a drop in numbers at UK festivals And whilst your comments are intelligent and well meant, remember one Gerald Ratner?...He too was to honest for his own good. The difference is that Ratner was selling crap jewellry and by making that admission, nobody wanted to buy his stuff any more. I don't think that applies to the GUKPT or any other festival. There are really not that many sponsored pro around, lots of wannabees yes, but not that many who are actually only there for their sponsors. The majority of these sponsored players would come and play anyway, with or without the backing. If the effect of no more sponsorships is that lots of the wanabees give up, well, it may just reduce the strength of the field and attract more value hunters - as most of those who aspire to be sponsored are better than average players. It will find its equilibrium. Maybe the numbers are too high anyway at these events - the circuit is so much more crowded now these days and its hard for the money to keep turning over without there being some attrition. Sponsorship is not what this game of poker is about. Its a relatively new phenomenon and one that has caused a lot of false hope amongst a lot of people. Here's another story about an approach I had last week - I received a phone call from someone (who I'd never heard of before and who has no live results of any note) saying that I had offered him a sponsorship deal a few months ago and that he had then refused, but had now changed his mind and would like to accept it. It was of course a complete fabrication. He told our receptionist that he is currently sponsored by Ladbrokes. When he spoke to me he admitted that wasn't true and instead said he was sponsored by William Hill (which of course was another lie). This sort of approach is no excpetion, we get lots along this line. Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: AndrewT on February 26, 2008, 10:38:46 AM Here's another story about an approach I had last week - I received a phone call from someone (who I'd never heard of before and who has no live results of any note) saying that I had offered him a sponsorship deal a few months ago and that he had then refused, but had now changed his mind and would like to accept it. It was of course a complete fabrication. He told our receptionist that he is currently sponsored by Ladbrokes. When he spoke to me he admitted that wasn't true and instead said he was sponsored by William (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=960) Hill (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=960) (which of course was another lie). This sort of approach is no excpetion, we get lots along this line. I phoned you in complete confidence Jon - you shouldn't have blabbed it all over the forum. :) Anyway, as way of recompense, I will happily accept an offer of sponsorship. Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: Jim R on February 26, 2008, 10:49:16 AM Wow Jon next time tell it how it is, I hope with all the money you will be saving you will be adding more cash to your already great value comps.
Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: blonde17 on February 26, 2008, 11:47:05 AM Wow Jon next time tell it how it is, I hope with all the money you will be saving you will be adding more cash to your already great value comps. Aspades I agree that the added money is a nice gesture but, Killing peoples dreams and aspirations, I`m not so sure and as to the future....Grosvenor may not be Grosvenor next year and Jon may have a new boss....who knows? Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: julian on February 26, 2008, 12:14:08 PM surely the best ever hijacked thread!
a very insightful post jon & alot of what you write does make sense. i think a poker site having one or two sponsored players does give that site a consistent presence on the live scene, poker press exposure (besides advertisements) & is also a very useful point of contact/representation for players to come up & have a chat to. from my own (slightly bias) experience, when you consider the cost involved, i think it is still a very worthwhile avenue for an online site to have. somehow or other poker does need to infiltrate the mainstream press - when you consider the lolly that is up for grabs these days it's pretty amazing that it still struggles to get that widespread coverage that it now deserves. out of interest, what was the response when the press officers at blue sq/grosvenor/rank tried to get the gukpt some regular exposure in the press? Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: AlrightJack on February 26, 2008, 12:14:23 PM Added money to tournaments and tours is exactly how I believe money should be used - to benefit as many people as possible rather than just a few. It is because I feel this way that the added value this year on the GUKPT is being spread out the way it is - Champion of Champions Tournament (£75,000), rankings (£30,000), live satellites (up to £40,000), online festival added money (£10,000) and Grand Final seats to the main events winners (£36,000).
To use an expression that Tightend is so fond of using - sponsorship of players is a false economy. It may now surprise you to hear that actually, I'm not entirely opposed to sponsorship. - any sponsored player should have a commitment to play/rake a certain amount on the site of the company who sponsors them - this reduces the cost to the company and therefore well structured sponsorship deals can be worthwhile. For example, if a player is sponsored to the tune of £25,000 of buy-ins and expenses, but that player generates £15,000 in rake, the cost to the company is only £10,000. At this sort of price, the publicity that player creates may well be worth it. Blue Square's sponsorship program is now structured in this way and this may well see it survive for a few years yet. Too many players who aspire to be sponsored are only thinking about what the sponsor can do for them, not what they can do for the sponsor. Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: AlrightJack on February 26, 2008, 12:21:50 PM surely the best ever hijacked thread! a very insightful post jon & alot of what you write does make sense. i think a poker site having one or two sponsored players does give that site a consistent presence on the live scene, poker press exposure (besides advertisements) & is also a very useful point of contact/representation for players to come up & have a chat to. from my own (slightly bias) experience, when you consider the cost involved, i think it is still a very worthwhile avenue for an online site to have. somehow or other poker does need to infiltrate the mainstream press - when you consider the lolly that is up for grabs these days it's pretty amazing that it still struggles to get that widespread coverage that it now deserves. out of interest, what was the response when the press officers at blue sq/grosvenor/rank tried to get the gukpt some regular exposure in the press? Its very difficult. Most mainstream press don't give a flying about poker. The only real mainstream press interest we got last year on the tour was when Michael Greco won. Even that was minor interest (a small mention in the Sun and the London free papers). Most mainstream press simply don't care about poker. Either they have editorial stances against anything related to gambling or more likely, they have other things to write about that interest their readers more. Shane Warn's sponsorship by 888 only got mainstream press attention because of the cricket matches he will have to miss due to playing poker. Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: AlrightJack on February 26, 2008, 12:28:10 PM surely the best ever hijacked thread! a very insightful post jon & alot of what you write does make sense. i think a poker site having one or two sponsored players does give that site a consistent presence on the live scene, poker press exposure (besides advertisements) & is also a very useful point of contact/representation for players to come up & have a chat to. from my own (slightly bias) experience, when you consider the cost involved, i think it is still a very worthwhile avenue for an online site to have. somehow or other poker does need to infiltrate the mainstream press - when you consider the lolly that is up for grabs these days it's pretty amazing that it still struggles to get that widespread coverage that it now deserves. out of interest, what was the response when the press officers at blue sq/grosvenor/rank tried to get the gukpt some regular exposure in the press? I do also agree that having one or two sponsored players to maintain a presence on the live circuit is a good thing, especially if those players are good ambassadors and tick the other boxes I have mentioned (gaining publicity and playing on the sponsor's site). It has a value, not neccessarily a huge value, but a value all the same. But having one or two is not going to satisfy all those who aspire to be sponsored, because by that definition, there are not going to be many, if any, new sponsorships up for grabs. My best advice is still for players to forget about being sponsored and concentrate on getting the lot at the poker tables. Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: ripple11 on February 26, 2008, 12:32:54 PM surely the best ever hijacked thread! a very insightful post jon & alot of what you write does make sense. i think a poker site having one or two sponsored players does give that site a consistent presence on the live scene, poker press exposure (besides advertisements) & is also a very useful point of contact/representation for players to come up & have a chat to. from my own (slightly bias) experience, when you consider the cost involved, i think it is still a very worthwhile avenue for an online site to have. somehow or other poker does need to infiltrate the mainstream press - when you consider the lolly that is up for grabs these days it's pretty amazing that it still struggles to get that widespread coverage that it now deserves. out of interest, what was the response when the press officers at blue sq/grosvenor/rank tried to get the gukpt some regular exposure in the press? As Jon says, the best way to get press attention is thro' a Celeb. ie when Grecco won his leg.. National radio and newspapers gave it coverage. Cant wait for Warney to win a hand :D Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: RED-DOG on February 26, 2008, 01:23:11 PM I agree with you that Nik is an excellent player - he's been knocking at the door for quite a while and it surely won't be long before it stays ajar long enough to let him get past the threshold. However, on the issue of sponsorship - and really this is not about Nik, but about the whole sponsorship thing in general. There is far too much expectation amongst players to be sponsored. In a few years time sponsorships will be a thing of the past - not enough value for sponsors, it costs too much, too little return and marketing money can be better spent in other ways. Pokerstars have their team of players, largely designed to ensure they have a presenece within the poker communities of as many countries as possible. Full Tilt have lots of big names and this strategy was designed in part to give them some cut through in their ad campaigns, given that they were relatively late to market, compared with the other big sites. Betfair, Blue Square, Ladbrokes, William (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=960) Hill (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=960) and other companies also have sponsorship programs, to varying degrees. I was largely responsible for getting the Blue Square one off the ground and our current sponsored players are Mickey (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=283) Wernick (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=283), Praz (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=353) Bansi (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=353), Karl (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=227) Mahrenholz (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=227) and Kevin (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=235) O'Leary (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=235). However, if the clock were tunred back three years I probably would not set it up again. This is not because the program has been disappointing - far from it - all of our players have enabled Blue Square to have constant exposure in the poker press over the last few years and this has been good for the company, however, the poker press is a tiny market place and sponsoring players has little impact on getting coverage in the wider press. The only sponsorsships that are going to fulfill this goal are sponsorships of celebrity poker players - e.g Shane Warn for 888 and Boris Becker for Poker stars. I can't see many more sposnorships for people other than celebrities or high rakers in the future. Perhaps from new sites, but only for a limited time period until they establish themsleves and start to look at the bigger picture. Some companies will use the ego boost associated with sponsorship to give back to their high rakers, but this is really rakeback in disguise. Every week we get approached by lots and lots of players wishing to be sponsored. They usually point solely to their prowess as players as the reason they should be sponsored. That is simply not enough. There are lots of good players who are not sponsored, because being good at the game is a secondary reason to sponsor someone. Their ability to gain press interest is the number one reason and the publicity they garner has to be considered to be positve. I received an email ast week from a 17-year old who wants to be sponsored to play at the Vic at next week's GUKPT, just a few days after his 18th birthday. He thinks this would be great publicity, but it would not be. I think that players playing in major events as soon as they become old enough to do so is bad for the industry and certainly not something for a sponsor to harp on about. It only goes to highlight that those players MUST have been playing online illegaly when they were underage to be able to step up to that size of game as soon as they come of age. I think Betfair's sponsorship of Annette_15 is ill advised. She may well be the hottest name in poker at the moment, but she had been playing online since she was 15. 15 for gods sake. How can this be anything other than bad for the industry in general - highlighting the illegal use of online poker sites by a minor and the innaction of the sites she played on by not stopping here from doing so. The recent announcement of Sorel (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=748) Mizzi (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=748)'s sponsorship by Betfair is also rather baffling. Whether you believe what he did was wrong or not, it is strange that Betfair wish to applaud him for his actions by awarding him with a sponsorship deal. Every time I attend a poker festival, someone bangs their chest and says 'when are you gonna sponsor me', usually just after they've won something. I smile grimly and laugh it off. My advice to players is forget about being sponsored. It probably isn't going to happen. Control your egos enough to realise that very few people care if you've made 6 final tables in the last 2 months, least of all potential sponsors. It is even worse when players get moody about not being offered sponsorship deals, expecting that it is their god given right to be sponsored. Petulance is an ugly trait and not one that is going to endear you to a potential sponsor. There are players out there who I think are deserving of their sponsorship deals, but even the best of these realise they were in the right place at the right time. IMO sponsorship of players is on the way out. Those of you who are sponsored, enjoy it while you can. The big cheeses have woken up, they can smell the coffee and their cheque books should be firmly in their pockets. Nobody is chomping at the bit to 'snap' up players. "Do not ask for to be sponsored, as a refusal often offends." What a brutally honest, bucket of cold water, smack round the chops with a wet haddock of a post. Which ever way you cut it, 99.5% of players won't get a deal, and most of those who do won't get it because of their poker ability alone. Even if the sponsorship dream does come true, it will only last for a year or two at best. My advice Play for fun. Don't lose a lot, don't expect to win a lot. Discounting financial gain, poker is one of the most accessable and rewarding pastimes you will ever find. Play for profit. If you decide to take this route, do it off your own back. Don't borrow, and don't rely on backers. Don't get starry eyed, stay within your means. Your most important assets are your integrity and your bankroll, look after both at all costs. If you can make a modest living playing poker, that's a great achievement, if you can make a good living, that's fantastic. Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: LLevan on February 26, 2008, 02:12:28 PM I agree with you that Nik is an excellent player - he's been knocking at the door for quite a while and it surely won't be long before it stays ajar long enough to let him get past the threshold. However, on the issue of sponsorship - and really this is not about Nik, but about the whole sponsorship thing in general. There is far too much expectation amongst players to be sponsored. In a few years time sponsorships will be a thing of the past - not enough value for sponsors, it costs too much, too little return and marketing money can be better spent in other ways. Pokerstars have their team of players, largely designed to ensure they have a presenece within the poker communities of as many countries as possible. Full Tilt have lots of big names and this strategy was designed in part to give them some cut through in their ad campaigns, given that they were relatively late to market, compared with the other big sites. Betfair, Blue Square, Ladbrokes, William (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=960) Hill (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=960) and other companies also have sponsorship programs, to varying degrees. I was largely responsible for getting the Blue Square one off the ground and our current sponsored players are Mickey (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=283) Wernick (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=283), Praz (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=353) Bansi (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=353), Karl (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=227) Mahrenholz (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=227) and Kevin (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=235) O'Leary (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=235). However, if the clock were tunred back three years I probably would not set it up again. This is not because the program has been disappointing - far from it - all of our players have enabled Blue Square to have constant exposure in the poker press over the last few years and this has been good for the company, however, the poker press is a tiny market place and sponsoring players has little impact on getting coverage in the wider press. The only sponsorsships that are going to fulfill this goal are sponsorships of celebrity poker players - e.g Shane Warn for 888 and Boris Becker for Poker stars. I can't see many more sposnorships for people other than celebrities or high rakers in the future. Perhaps from new sites, but only for a limited time period until they establish themsleves and start to look at the bigger picture. Some companies will use the ego boost associated with sponsorship to give back to their high rakers, but this is really rakeback in disguise. Every week we get approached by lots and lots of players wishing to be sponsored. They usually point solely to their prowess as players as the reason they should be sponsored. That is simply not enough. There are lots of good players who are not sponsored, because being good at the game is a secondary reason to sponsor someone. Their ability to gain press interest is the number one reason and the publicity they garner has to be considered to be positve. I received an email ast week from a 17-year old who wants to be sponsored to play at the Vic at next week's GUKPT, just a few days after his 18th birthday. He thinks this would be great publicity, but it would not be. I think that players playing in major events as soon as they become old enough to do so is bad for the industry and certainly not something for a sponsor to harp on about. It only goes to highlight that those players MUST have been playing online illegaly when they were underage to be able to step up to that size of game as soon as they come of age. I think Betfair's sponsorship of Annette_15 is ill advised. She may well be the hottest name in poker at the moment, but she had been playing online since she was 15. 15 for gods sake. How can this be anything other than bad for the industry in general - highlighting the illegal use of online poker sites by a minor and the innaction of the sites she played on by not stopping here from doing so. The recent announcement of Sorel (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=748) Mizzi (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=748)'s sponsorship by Betfair is also rather baffling. Whether you believe what he did was wrong or not, it is strange that Betfair wish to applaud him for his actions by awarding him with a sponsorship deal. Every time I attend a poker festival, someone bangs their chest and says 'when are you gonna sponsor me', usually just after they've won something. I smile grimly and laugh it off. My advice to players is forget about being sponsored. It probably isn't going to happen. Control your egos enough to realise that very few people care if you've made 6 final tables in the last 2 months, least of all potential sponsors. It is even worse when players get moody about not being offered sponsorship deals, expecting that it is their god given right to be sponsored. Petulance is an ugly trait and not one that is going to endear you to a potential sponsor. There are players out there who I think are deserving of their sponsorship deals, but even the best of these realise they were in the right place at the right time. IMO sponsorship of players is on the way out. Those of you who are sponsored, enjoy it while you can. The big cheeses have woken up, they can smell the coffee and their cheque books should be firmly in their pockets. Nobody is chomping at the bit to 'snap' up players. "Do not ask for to be sponsored, as a refusal often offends." What a brutally honest, bucket of cold water, smack round the chops with a wet haddock of a post. Which ever way you cut it, 99.5% of players won't get a deal, and most of those who do won't get it because of their poker ability alone. Even if the sponsorship dream does come true, it will only last for a year or two at best. My advice Play for fun. Don't lose a lot, don't expect to win a lot. Discounting financial gain, poker is one of the most accessable and rewarding pastimes you will ever find. Play for profit. If you decide to take this route, do it off your own back. Don't borrow, and don't rely on backers. Don't get starry eyed, stay within your means. Your most important assets are your integrity and your bankroll, look after both at all costs. If you can make a modest living playing poker, that's a great achievement, if you can make a good living, that's fantastic. Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: DaveShoelace on February 26, 2008, 02:50:49 PM Great little thread this.
The future of sponsorship for those of us that are not famous for whacking a ball with a bat ultimatley comes down to one thing - rake. Anyone who can bring to the table an argument for bringing more rake to the poker room one way or another puts themselves in good shape to get sponsored. If I remember rightly, didnt the Blue Square pros have a rake race amongst themselves for a seat at the one seater thing Alex Martin won? This is a fantastic idea and I think sums up exactly what John says, about the only way standard sponsorship will survive. Especially when you seem to get loads of sponsored players who can be found regularly at Full Tilt and not at their own poker room, which is pretty shameful. A lot of poker rooms have very good VIP programmes which allow you to get sponsorship in return for X amount of player points. This to me makes perfect sense, why should Daniel Negreanu go to a WPT event on revenue that someone else playing 16 tables at a time, 7 days a week generated? Much better to send the 16 table sicko and send a message to potential customers that their loyalty can be rewarded too. Green Joker Poker signed up their first sponsored player in Rob Taylor this year. Prior to this, Taylor had been grinding away at their tables, wearing the GJP logo at events and promote the room at any given opportunity for free - he gave something back without asking for anything in return and was rewarded with a sponsorship deal. Likewise, if you look at the sponsorship of Dario Minieiri and Elky by Pokerstars, its as much because they were hugely loyal customers (First two to supernova?) as they are 'poker superstars'. I know of a poker room (I wont give out the name as Im not sure this is publicily known) that give out sponsorship deals to people who can bring new sign ups to their room, affiliate managers essentially. I personally have a sponsorship deal riight now with VC Poker, I'm not sure if they would want me to divulge the specific details, but rest assured I play plenty of hands in their card room, do lots of extra work with them and generally wax lyrical about all the fanastic player benefits they have to offer. I know I've rambled a bit and essentially just copied what John has said and reworded it, but the future of sponsorship is all around customer loyalty and retention, and quite rightly so. Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: byronkincaid on February 26, 2008, 03:10:10 PM Quote but rest assured I play plenty of hands in their card room, do lots of extra work with them does that mean that you have to pay tax on the tournament buy ins? Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: DaveShoelace on February 26, 2008, 03:18:21 PM Quote but rest assured I play plenty of hands in their card room, do lots of extra work with them does that mean that you have to pay tax on the tournament buy ins? lol, didnt mean it like that, i meant 'voluntary' work of course Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: quantify on February 26, 2008, 05:57:52 PM although the post was honest it was somewhat ill advised, i hope the bsq pros dont read their fate on here. It is a very interesting subject, in most cases sites dont get value for money from their "sponsored players", poker players by nature are only interested in poker , not running up and down the country doing PR work like sponsor deals in other sports.
now where does the blame lie,,,,,,,,, well if we arebeing honest i think it lies with the group companies that own the sites, they recruit young people with little or no marketing experience , let alone sales experience. so, the uk/euro internet poker world has evolved to what it is today, an industry that did well early on,then had an hiccup with the american legislation, now sits there wondering how they can report to group how their business plan is showing little growth. the business plan comes back from group saying we need more (profit and turnover).....the very young and inexperienced poker manager then has to cut his clothh accordingly.. he goes about thus; advertising ......welll we need to keep that budget ......... we dont get players elsewhere because we dont think outside the box, we need the adverts so we can attract the same amount of players in through the front door as we lose through the back. a rakeback ... we can reduce that a little but we can pay 45% to jonny boy who plays a lot sponsorship deal .........we can cut it back a little ..........does anybody know what he does for us, hmmmm we can cut it out if we need ...... that is a basic as it comes and i had first hand experience of a similar situation. now the fault is 100% self caused............in the usa the sponsored guys are used to work in poker forums, write articles in magazines, create clothing brands, talk at seminars just like the sponsored sports man......... it is no secret the finalists in the wsop all got some sort of deal EXCEPT ONE and ill leave you to guess who that was......... the usa , canadian and skandi sites all used the short term exploitation of the finalist to create more interest in the sites , the players were rewarded for it , a magnificent achievement lets exploit it to full potential; the uk sitessssssssss ,well they wouldnt have the skill sets or the foresight to exploit that opportunity, then they have the gaul to complain when something they are guilty of creating, without using to 10% of its potential , starts to bite them in the rump l will give you an example of a marketing opportunity they seem to have missed , they sponsor a player all year round , for very little return (so they say) they THEN PAY TENS IF NOT HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF POUNDS IN ABVERTISING IN POKER MAGAZINES THAT ARE IN THE MAIN READ BY POKER PLAYERS WHO ARE ALREADY FIXED ON A SITE. they cant afford the budgets to advetise on tv to build the sites profile........................Now how basic would it be for a poker manager to hanG around an ept final or a matchroom tv event to find out who is on the final table .......... lets say i had wore a shirt for the party poker european open on the bases of the following 1, wear our logo for free in the heat 1 hour tv coverage in 30 plus countries that is repeated on a 3 month loop 2 if you reach the semi final 2 hours tv coverage on channel five then we will put you into an gkupt event 3,if you reach the final we will give you an 2 gkupt event s 4 IF YOU WIN IT AN EPT THEY WOULD GET HUNDREDS OF HOURS OF COVERAGE , FOR LITTLE MONEY,,,,,,,,,THE COST OF ADVETISING TO THAT EXTENT ON TV WOULD BE HUGE just a basic example, when i was in the european masters final in vienna i was offered the following by absolute poke 5k euro for wearing th shirt 15k for second 25 k for first...........they didnt know me from adam but their was other austrian german sites on the final table so they wanted their logo promoted. in the ept final in ireland pokerstars offered me 3 epts, but i had a hills shirt on and they offered one seat in copenahagen ,so i stayed with them (stupid but true) IT IS A MARKETING OPPORTUNIY THEY ALL SEEM TO MISS..... it baffles me why they dont have someone stalking the final tables of all tv events..........they do in the states......... so to conclude, it is easy to criticise something that hasnt worked , but it is all down to the inabilty of the people (the groups employ)_ to create revenue streams out of their players they sponsor.............. it is all you own doing , it is a perfect multi marketing opportunity , but the sites will never deliver it. I WOULD HAVE SPONSORED PLAYERS IN MOST CARDROOMS AROUND THE COUNTRY ALL WEARING MY SITES SHIRT , ALL PAID FOR BY THE RAKEBACK CREATED BY THEIR PORTFOLIO OF LOCAL PLAYERS, THESE GUYS WOULD BE MANAGED BY REGIONAL MANAGERS WHO PLAY SLIGHTLY HIGHER , WHO ULTIMATLEY REPORT TO THE "SPONSORED PRO" FOR THE NORTH OF ENGLAND, HE WOULD HAVE A BUDGET TO REACH IF HE WNTED THE DEAL NEXT YEAR , WITH BELLS AND WHISTLES IF HE EXEEDED IT Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: DaveShoelace on February 26, 2008, 06:28:13 PM Not sure if agree with all of it or know why some bits were in CAPITALS, but some very interesting points here.
I certainly agree with the thing about poker magazine advertising, 99% of the people that buy them already have an account with Stars, FT, Party etc The idea of hanging round a TV table with shirts ready for anyone willing to wear one certainly is a good opportunity, however it doesnt relate quite so much to this discussion on getting sponsorship into the event in the first place. I had a funny conversation with an online blackjack company recently who asked me if I could suggest a player who was probably going to win or make a TV table at the WSOP next year, so they could give them a shirt to wear. They were pretty shocked when I told them I wasnt able to pick out a winner or tv table maker from the 8000 odd projected entrants (Or course I suggested I was a likely candidate, you have to try dont you). At the WSOPE last year the two guys that qualified on Betfair that made the final were offered entry into the same event for the next two years, on condition that they wore the betfair shirts on TV (Side note, is that ever going to be televised?) - thats £40,000 on offer just for two guys to wear a shirt on presumably a fringe slot on the TV schedule. It would be interesting to see if poker rooms or anyone could estimate a £ value on their poker shirt appearing on say, channel 5 midweek at midnight or sky sports on a wednesday night. The shows do have between 200-500000 viewers on average and are syndicated worldwide. Ultimatley though, wearing a poker shirt on TV or signing Boris Becker is there to put an image of that poker brand in the mind of a current non poker player, and the stuff Jon was talking about was the importance of customer retention of those people who dont need to see poker adverts in their poker magazines. Equally important methinks. Good thread this Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: quantify on February 26, 2008, 10:56:23 PM of course retention is important , but there are very few sites that could survive by concentrating on retention........they have all been fishing in the same pond for some time now .
you only have to look at the way dtd have formulated their maketing strategy, 2 pronged attack at players who multi table in skandi land to sponsoring some faces in uk poker, and when they had been used to their full potential they released them.... harsh for the guys that thought they were ona good deal but perfect timing for the site , they have built a good turnover online in a short period of time , i would hazard a guess they are prob number 2 raker on crypto, you match that with the way littlewoods(another crypto site) have gone about their marketing and its a little embarrising for such a large company . bsq are guilty as anyone , they seem to be moving their strategy on in a different direction now but it is TOTALLY REACTIVE TO THEIR MARKET POSITION. they areobviously taking the view they arent getting value for money from their pros but if they had more foresite in their initial approach to the market by creating more revenue streams then the cost of the sponsored pro would be diluted .......... they arent gettin value for money cos they arent getting a return , the legend works hard but look at the ricketts that they made signing young jp, he wouldnt even wear a shirt with the name on ........... so they have to look in the mirror and say we created this monster , i would like to look at the positive sponsor ship deals and say well done to those sites, if hills are still backiing thewy it is because he is succcesful on and off the table and long may it continue............. there is a marketing tale about a crisp firm , who decided they no longer needed a prescence in the media they lost their shelf space countrywide in 6 months, poker sites need salesmen who are good at poker they just dont know it yet Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: quantify on February 26, 2008, 11:05:53 PM i must explain about the caps and the awful grammar,
i cant be bothered presenting it correctly and whenever i go near the A BUTTON I CATCH THE CAPS LOCK and only realise when i look up. oh and by the wy my 5 picks are tiny tyler he is to good not to win one soon funny feelin about the javelin with love handles in pete linton thewy , you cant leave him out mick fletcher is due i fancy ben from stoke to take one down soon......... Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: ariston on February 26, 2008, 11:19:36 PM Interesting debate this one.
My views on sposorship. I think the days of the sponsored pro are over. There are now too many big winners to get sponsorship. A few years ago if you won a bracelet or late night poker you were guaranteed a deal. Now there are so many tournaments which means there are many more winners- you look how many EPTs,WPts GUKTPs, Irish opens etc etc etc there are. To get a deal now you have to be very lucky, a world superstar type or a big raker. More and more sites will be working towards sponsoring their big rakers shortly as its not giving anything away, it is just a glorified loyalty scheme. Player retention is key to any site as the market is becoming flooded and the sooner sites start making sure a player stays loyal to their site by giving them live seats as rewards the better. I dont think bluesquare are announcing an end to their sponsorship team I think it will probably be expanded but it will be as a reward to their loyal players and is the correct way forward. Praz, Karl and Kev play online a lot and Mickey has been very good for them and is always willing to do the PR side of things (he is a good salesman/spokesman for the site imo). Thewy is a different case and by his own admittance he was in the right place at the right time to pick up the deal. His results and personality will make sure he is always a sponsored player as he is one of the only guys on the circuit I have never heard a bad word said against. He is an absolute credit to his sponsor. Pokerstars and Fulltilt set the mark with their aggresive marketing and sponsorship and they have been rewarded with by far the busiest sites on the net and pay very little or no rakeback. They are now reaping the rewards of their massive marketing spend and have so much money they can sponsor anyone they fancy very easily. Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: AndrewT on February 26, 2008, 11:21:54 PM I know at the WSOP a couple of years ago a couple of poker rooms would have a representative circling around the final stages of the televised events carrying two holdalls. One would be full of branded shirts and caps and the other would be full of cash...
Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: ariston on February 26, 2008, 11:28:01 PM couple of years ago? it was still going on this year. Fullt tilt were paying hundreds of thousands to get their logo on that final table for anyone not associated to a site already (ie almost anyone at the final table). This is dealt with by poker agents who simply approach you before the biggest final table of your life to say - heres $200k to wear our shirt/cap/logo. If you win it we will give you a million and a sponsorship deal. Who in their right mind woudl say no thanks I much prefer my Hugo Boss shirt and you can keep your 200 large.
Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: Ironside on February 26, 2008, 11:34:02 PM couple of years ago? it was still going on this year. Fullt tilt were paying hundreds of thousands to get their logo on that final table for anyone not associated to a site already (ie almost anyone at the final table). This is dealt with by poker agents who simply approach you before the biggest final table of your life to say - heres $200k to wear our shirt/cap/logo. If you win it we will give you a million and a sponsorship deal. Who in their right mind woudl say no thanks I much prefer my Hugo Boss shirt and you can keep your 200 large. whose hugo boss and will he sponsor me? Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: Karabiner on February 26, 2008, 11:36:58 PM Interesting debate this one. My views on sposorship. I think the days of the sponsored pro are over. There are now too many big winners to get sponsorship. A few years ago if you won a bracelet or late night poker you were guaranteed a deal. Now there are so many tournaments which means there are many more winners- you look how many EPTs,WPts GUKTPs, Irish opens etc etc etc there are. To get a deal now you have to be very lucky, a world superstar type or a big raker. More and more sites will be working towards sponsoring their big rakers shortly as its not giving anything away, it is just a glorified loyalty scheme. Player retention is key to any site as the market is becoming flooded and the sooner sites start making sure a player stays loyal to their site by giving them live seats as rewards the better. I dont think bluesquare are announcing an end to their sponsorship team I think it will probably be expanded but it will be as a reward to their loyal players and is the correct way forward. Praz, Karl and Kev play online a lot and Mickey has been very good for them and is always willing to do the PR side of things (he is a good salesman/spokesman for the site imo). Thewy is a different case and by his own admittance he was in the right place at the right time to pick up the deal. His results and personality will make sure he is always a sponsored player as he is one of the only guys on the circuit I have never heard a bad word said against. He is an absolute credit to his sponsor. Pokerstars and Fulltilt set the mark with their aggresive marketing and sponsorship and they have been rewarded with by far the busiest sites on the net and pay very little or no rakeback. They are now reaping the rewards of their massive marketing spend and have so much money they can sponsor anyone they fancy very easily. Errr Full Tilt have one of the best and easiest to get rakeback deals out there.... Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: AndrewT on February 26, 2008, 11:40:01 PM couple of years ago? it was still going on this year. Fullt tilt were paying hundreds of thousands to get their logo on that final table for anyone not associated to a site already (ie almost anyone at the final table). This is dealt with by poker agents who simply approach you before the biggest final table of your life to say - heres $200k to wear our shirt/cap/logo. If you win it we will give you a million and a sponsorship deal. Who in their right mind woudl say no thanks I much prefer my Hugo Boss shirt and you can keep your 200 large. Yeah, I did assume they were still doing it, but I was out there in 2006 and saw it, but wasn't out there last year. When you consider they spent a nine figure dollar sum on promotion and marketing in their first couple of years it's quite small fry. Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: quantify on February 26, 2008, 11:45:27 PM i know that they are defining their strategy in that way russ, but,andit is a big BUT, why are they now being reactive to ending up, in which ,was an obvious cul-de-sac .
i cant beleive they didnt work the sponsored pro on a target driven process until now.........i agree with all the comments that jon made but how many good intenet players are good live or vica versa, totally different animal and field of battle ...................should a loyalty scheme for multi tablers be the right move for the future, i guarantee that it will be cut back in 2 years time and they will end up with sales/poker affiliat that are selling the site. how are they going to grow without a european distribution network.........they are thinking retention when they should be thinking growth , they will be one trick ponies forever . blue square are using the affiliate network in eastern europe with a guy i know , i hope it works cos he is a nice fella but ..... pay as you go poker is the only way forward........... recruitment creating commision translate that into buy ins andthey all win.......... e question for you............. when was the last time you were approached by a site rep (player or otherwise) to encourage you to play on their site.?. chubbs nowab was proffesional anddetermind to get players on dtd and it has worked, and the only other time i have been approached was by t j clotier in copenhagen who was working the floor for some obscure yank site.................... god forbid if the sites thought about a sales strategy Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: Royal Flush on February 27, 2008, 12:55:39 AM they arent gettin value for money cos they arent getting a return , the legend works hard but look at the ricketts that they made signing young jp, he wouldnt even wear a shirt with the name on ........... I agree with a lot of what you say but this is wrong, JP wore BSQ logo's at every event i played and every picture i saw of him at other events he was wearing a logo. It's true he wasn't a fan of the plain white shirt so he got BSQ to put the logo on some of his own shirts. Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: AlrightJack on February 27, 2008, 02:34:49 AM Nick, calm down, calm down. At no point have I said that BSQ is stopping their sponsorship program, in fact if you read my further posts later in the thread, I said that due to the way it is structured, it may survive for a few years yet. I have probably understated this, as I think it will carry on for several years. I have spoken to some of our players about it already and will speak to them all in time to explain what I have said on this thread. I am very happy with all of them - they are loyal and play a lot on Blue Square, they all generate publicity off their own backs, participate willingly in anything we arrange for them to do and they are all top class players as well.
I work as a freelancer for Blue Square and my responsibility lies almost solely with the running of the GUKPT these days and not with the running of the sponsorship program, although I do still help out in this area. My posts were not a Blue Square press release, they were my personal thoughts about the entire phenomenon of player sponsorship and how I think it will change in the industry as a whole, not just at Blue Square. It was not an admission of failure, nor a statement of discontent on the way the BSQ program has panned out. I'm quite happy with the way we've structured our program to date and the goals it has achieved. I'm not forewarning of an imminent u-turn in sponsorship strategy. We've made a commitment to it for the past 2-3 years and we're not going to give up on it just yet. Some aspects of it may change, but it is more likely to grow rather than get smaller in the short to middle term. We have built the program into our VIP scheme, so whether you call it sponsorship, rakeback, loyalty rewards or whatever, it will be continuing for the forseeable future. However, people who think that getting in the top ten of the European/GUKPT/facebook/Kev's favourite pies rankings = imminent approach from big cheese with a bag of cash, do need a reality check. I'l try to comment more fully on this again tomorrow. Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: bobby1 on February 27, 2008, 05:44:39 AM couple of years ago? it was still going on this year. Fullt tilt were paying hundreds of thousands to get their logo on that final table for anyone not associated to a site already (ie almost anyone at the final table). This is dealt with by poker agents who simply approach you before the biggest final table of your life to say - heres $200k to wear our shirt/cap/logo. If you win it we will give you a million and a sponsorship deal. Who in their right mind woudl say no thanks I much prefer my Hugo Boss shirt and you can keep your 200 large. Yeah, I did assume they were still doing it, but I was out there in 2006 and saw it, but wasn't out there last year. When you consider they spent a nine figure dollar sum on promotion and marketing in their first couple of years it's quite small fry. I was at a conference there in 2006 and was talking to some of the bigger suits at Full Tilt, their marketing strategy and advertising campaign in general was designed to bring them into profit in 2008. Not many firms have this kind of finance for them to use a similar business plan. As for sponsorship in general well I think Jon has it pretty much spot on. Some players seem to think that a good result here and there means they are worthy of sponsorship but as someone wanting to hire a player I would be looking for one that can represent the company correctly. Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: DaveShoelace on February 27, 2008, 08:43:28 AM Whatever your views on marketing vs customer retention, dont forget that blue square are currently runnning the biggest and most exciting poker tour on the UK circuit. The GUKPT in itself is a massive marketing tool, with a TV show (last year, not sure if they are doing one this year?), hundreds of satelittes, loads of live updates and plenty of media coverage. From a sheer exposure point of view, surely the GUKPT is achieving something that a well thought out sponsorship strategy does too? Existing players will stay with blue square because of the many many routes to the GUKPT and new players will flock to them to get in on this fantastic afforadble poker tour.
The point you made about online card room managers not being proactive enough is a really good one, a card room coming across as a concierge to some of their high rollers would be very effective. I know this because my own deal with VC Poker came about because of a good relationship with the card room manager. I was a big raker but played across all the networks and after a few proactive and friendly chats from the VC Poker manager and I decided to spend most of my playing time on VC. I like the fact that I am on speaking terms with the guy that would sort out any problems I had with my loyalty bonuses/reload bonuses etc etc Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: Colchester Kev on February 27, 2008, 10:13:50 AM I like the fact that I am on speaking terms with the guy that would sort out any problems I had with my loyalty bonuses/reload bonuses etc etc :hello: Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: DaveShoelace on February 27, 2008, 10:22:01 AM I like the fact that I am on speaking terms with the guy that would sort out any problems I had with my loyalty bonuses/reload bonuses etc etc :hello: :hello: Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: byronkincaid on February 27, 2008, 01:05:31 PM I like the fact that I am on speaking terms with the guy that would sort out any problems I had with my loyalty bonuses/reload bonuses etc etc :hello: Quote Hey, byronkincaid, you have 293 messages, 0 are new. ;carlocitrone; Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: Colchester Kev on February 27, 2008, 03:59:35 PM I like the fact that I am on speaking terms with the guy that would sort out any problems I had with my loyalty bonuses/reload bonuses etc etc :hello: Quote Hey, byronkincaid, you have 293 messages, 0 are new. ;carlocitrone; You need to check your PM's a bit closer chap ;) Title: Re: Pick your five against the field for next week's GUKPT Post by: bigalhx1 on February 27, 2008, 08:24:28 PM my five picks are http://www.bluesq.com/bluesquare/bspoker/playerprofiles.shtml
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