blonde poker forum

http://uk.pokernews.com/news/2013/07/full-tilt-poker-reveals-four-new-red-pros-ukipt-ambassadors-11243.htm (http://uk.pokernews.com/news/2013/07/full-tilt-poker-reveals-four-new-red-pros-ukipt-ambassadors-11243.htm)

1 guess for who has the weakest herbiemob? Gratz to Benkins, nice bloke. I don't really see the pull these people have to FTP but then again its going to be Full Tilt Gaming soon. If stars manage to pull FTP back from the grave I'll be impressed.

What do you mean "its going to be Full Tilt Gaming soon"?

http://pokerfuse.com/news/poker-room-news/full-tilt-gaming-ftp-reportedly-expanding-beyond-poker-16-07/


I suppose they wanted some return on their investment as I really doubt the poker side has lived up to expectation :/

This is pretty disappointing (to me anyway)

Always admired the fact Stars had resisted the lure of adding a casino to their site.

I'm obviously out of the loop. I've only heard of one of those.

Good luck to them all, of course.

The only way to revive Full Tilt is to exclusively offer real money Chinese poker.

Is Full Tilt not doing very well then?

I saw some posts on 2+2 that said that Stars really don't care if anyone plays on Full Tilt, buying it as a way of "settling" with the DOJ in the US was worth the money, and any rake they get from it was a bonus. If the US ever legalizes online poker and then lets Stars back in, I can see their thinking.

I used to love playing full tilt - then shortly after relaunch they completely revamped their daily schedule and the games I liked at suitable times disappeared, so don't bother with it much now

A lot of padding out needed on most of their bios haha

Wow that interview video was so uncomfortable.

All seem really nice though, best of luck and congrats.

Dermot blain is very good. Hope Ben Jenkins tilt name is JenBenkins

If Martins Adeniya is really really good.  Have had him on my left three times and it wasn't pleasant.

Is the person that picked most of the Genting pros in charge of this too?

Me too, I played it virtually every day for three or four years.

I was so happy when they relaunched, but after they revamped the schedule and axed my favourite tourneys I gradually stopped playing there completely.

All of this. That 6 minutes watching the video wasn't all wasted tho, the handshake between the Irish fella and Martins was an undoubted highlight

Anyone have an idea of what sort of deal these guys will get for this? Cash, buyins paid?

Equally how much are they worth to the site?

They certainly won't be any good as the old deal red pros got.

Whilst it is probably morally quite a nice thing the fact that adding a casino to your site can add millions of risk free profit must be pretty hard to pass up.  Not sure it is a temptation I would be able to avoid.

Stars are making zillions per day already.

How did FullTilt choose their pros ? Wtf . This is a joke or what ? Lots better players out there to be sponsor ! As I always say
IT'S NOT WHAT YOU KNOW , IT'S WHO YOU KNOW !!  Good luck to all chosen pro . Hopefully next year RASTAFISH WADEE RAGGY get the sponsorship deal . #JOKE

True but if every multimillionaire that was already "making zillions" had the approach that they didn't need to make more then the economy would be in a preetty poor state.

Its not necessarily about being a good player its being an ambassador for the site.

Jenkins, looks great and smart and has a lot fo connections with hs players and also very well liked - based in north of england

Dermot, great scores, respresenting the irish guys which is a big market and helps for ukipt galway that thery want to publicize

Martins, got pushed a lot from stars with EPT and stuff too. Guess they like his image, he is supposedly a very good player, they mention he is very good online at wins at 2knl which is hard. He has a good image and imo spoke the best out of all of them in the interview and seemed confident. Theres very few black sponsored pros, I cant think of any really that stand out and think he represents them well


Sinem - From the South so they now covered most of the country. Brings something different, will make guys feel at home in the parties etc and most of the other women in the UK are signed up already or just not suitable.

But it can't be good for the long term good of the site.

Fish play casino games, good players need the fish to have plenty of cash to keep the games going. Stars want the games going as long as possible to maximise the rake.

It's killing the goose which laid the golden egg.

Theres that tiger woods of poker guy but I can never remember his name...

Martins did some stuff with quadjacks over wsop or at least a hand during the main and came off very well imo, knew i recognised him from somewhere.

Plenos cliffs

Northern yet coherent
Irish and ginger
Black
Female

It could also work the other way around though and be that casino games attract the fish and the fact that there isn't a one wallet approach means a lot of the fish stay at 888, party or wherever else with their gambling dollars.  Irrespective it is a bit naive to think that they would never play casino games because they weren't available on the site.  For sure it might take them a little longer because they would have to wthdraw etc but if they want to play casino games they will and it is just a case of who gets that money and Rational have missed out on the chance to get those $$.  Also if the fish lose their money to the casino Rational gets a larger percentage of it because they don't have to feed the pros too so actually their margin on the dollars spent is higher.  I dont play any casino games so really don't care but I have always thought it somewhat inevitable that they would launch them sometime soon and if it is a success, and I have no doubt it will be, then I would expect to see it on Stars fairly soon.

Seems like very lazy marketing to me.  Has anyone ever not played an event or on a site because they weren't sure there were many northerners there so maybe they wouldn't be welcome.  They all seemed pretty uncomfortable in the interviews which suggests they aren't going to sway anybody with their personalities.  I just don't see how they bring in a single player and that isn no criticism of them as individuals but from a FT point of view it seems a horrible thing to invest time and money in.

Ha, amazed we got halfway down page 2 before someone said this. Its usually nailed on for within the first 3 posts when these sorts of deals are announced  :D

maybe its more realistic to look up to be a ginger irish guy that wins a few flips than somebody winning 4 majors in a year etc

Probably lining them up when Full Tilt get roulette on their site tbh :)

Nice guy, got results, actually wins, known in market he is going to be targeting/ambassador for. I think it's quite a good "signing" and definitely the most obvious of them

Some pretty unnecessary posts itt, how can people says it's bad without knowing what the four are getting out of it in return ?

Really don't see any need for the cringeworthy comments neither, just seems really harsh and serves no purpose ?

All I said are , how do poker site choose their pros ?

agreed but its alot easier to comprehend to be dermot blain than it is to be gus hansen living in  monte carlo, and they are trying to appeal to the grassroots with these signings.

only one i know little about is sinem, rest all seem fine imo

FTR Jenkins isn't a northerner, biggest southern fairy i know.

Wtf is a red pro anyway?

yeh he just hides up north.

he cant be a pro anyway, he's so often in a suit  ;whistle;

Who decides some players are more deserving of being sponsored than others.

As long as they haven't done shady stuff or are complete arses at the table, then good luck to anyone who can get a crumb of the table.

As it happens, I think all 4 of these are very good players and conduct themselves great while playing.

Hats off to all of them.

(Although I have to agree the video is cringeworthy! although the Pokernews girls are as much to blame as the FTP players)

The judge and jury on poker forums  :D

Themselves and their mates are usually more deserving  ;)

What camel said. Gl to them

Played against one of them at The Western. Could work on her attitude at the table a bit if she is going to be an ambassador imo.

Which one?

Does it worry you I was gunna make the same joke ?  ;)

Yeah - I struggle with some of the stuff in this thread, wish everyone could be like Tal and Pleno and wish them luck.  Good luck to them, only Tilt know what they were looking for and are obviously satisfied with there four signings - to be honest its all subjective and in situations like this I think the only right thing to do is wish them luck.  I think anyone could list 5 or 6 people they may well think are more worthy of a deal, me included and Id start with Sam G, Moorman, Trigg and Pez  - that's just the subjective nature of it - reality is we'd all love one and only a few will get one.

Good luck to them all - only one i know reasonably well is Ben Jenkins and I agree with plenos comments, a really nice guy, solid values, will be a good ambassador for the site - mix well, good conversationalist etc.

Why would you choose those 4 btw?

Genuinely interested in what people think makes a good ambassador.

Martins seems very marketable, I have no idea what the Irish guy said & I have already forgotten who the other two are.

Actually that is a very fair point. In my job the amount of practice and coaching we get before going live so to speak is pretty insane, as there is large amounts of money involved if we do our jobs properly. No reason to think these companies shouldn't spent a couple of days prepping them to maximise their investment as well as making the players look better.

I thinks that's my point Pleno - the opinions are subjective and the real question is about what full tilt want, and I'm sure they think they've got it even of we don't.  The reason I named those is to make a point - we'd all name four different people and that's ok. Unless we're the marketing director of tilt and understand their objectives it's pretty hard to comment
In a valid way.

To answer your question,, Triggs a grinder who works tirelessly and grinds hard, arguably a better record than all of them and has a big personality - and he's a mate. Chris is just actually a proper legend in terms of evolution of on line poker and I think with the right marketing a site could get tons from him.  Pez is pretty hot at mo, great player, has presence, good with people and again has a personality and is pretty down to earth.  Sammy is just different - as well as the massive charisma and presence, very articulate - an intellect a bit like Vicky, would interview great, has strong values ad would be good with a different audience IMO. However, it's irrelevant - you come up with four different names ad that's cool.

My main point was that life's to short and coming on like Frankie and say "It's bollocks they're are loads more deserving" - IMO is pretty crass and pointless. They're human beings at the end of the day - we've all had lucky breaks at times and bad luck at other times.  Perhaps I'm just being soft :)

Yes I think that's fair as well Lee; I wouldn't put people in that spot without media coaching - it's getting the basics right and any good business would do that. I had it early in my career and tbh my exposure was a fraction of what therea would be.

Wonder if Chris being a renowned staker is the reason he's been overlooked by the big sites?

In answer what makes a good Ambassador - I really, really do not have a clue :)

Guess it depends on your objectives as a business and your existing and potential customer base.

I don't think sponsored pros impact new player acquisition at all unless we're asking Ronaldo, Messi, Nadal? (Is love to see some numbers on the last one) or from a poker perspective probably just Ivey.  I'm not an expert on the sector like you; however if I was holding purse strings and acquisition / brand awareness was my objective I would only go for highly aspirational, recognisable players who new players who know a bit about the game look up to; and I'd make them work hard (so in UK probably only Chris makes that from my list, maybe Pez with and EPT) or I'd go celebrity / sports for mainstream acquisition - prob is the only ones that may make a difference would cost a fortune.  To be honest is probably spend money elsewhere.

If objective is to spend less and have someone at events to welcome live players and make them have a good experience; I'd go good capability, likeability, good communication skills, big personality and not to full of themselves. Then it's just a small spend to have some people on the ground who are respected and listen to players - and feedback and continue to make experience better.

I agree. If I was organising pros on a site I'd go for the ex-sportstar and celebrities line. I think comedians are a good fit and someone like the guy who presents the Apprentice: You're Fired would be a good fit as you are gettign someone who's recognisable to the general public and can present poker as a sort of fun weekend.

I don't think these guys bring much to the table at all, though of course no one would decline the sponsorship deal even if it is only getting free entry, travel and accomodation to each ukipt. Adeniya is the most marketable of the lot but he's still pretty unknown out of certain poker circles. Sinem is friendly and fun but an absolute sicko gambler who you wouldn't be disappointed to have on your table. The other two I've never heard of.

dont know much about her game as weve never played but shes an absolute diamond, honest, trustworthy, and a fkin great laugh! go Sinem!!

Martins and Ben are great people to represent any company imo.  2 of the most personable people I've met in poker.

yeah remember these are "UKIPT Tour Ambassadors" so the reason for their selection is to represent the company at the UKIPT events amirite?

The UKIPT is hardly a fledgling tour, they don't really need Isildur or Nadal to promote it, seems to me they are looking for a few great guys, who are hard-working and a load of fun to be around and will carry the UKIPT brand well, knowing all 4 of them pretty well I think they make a lot of sense tbh.

WP.

Well done to my mate Sin....good girl and great fun...going to have to mind her language now   :)

Also Congrats to be Ben too , a nice /fun guy to speak to and always looks dapper in his suit .

nailed it.

congrats to the 4 of them

OMG . All I say was , how  FullTilt poker picked their pros ! I know Ben & Sin but not Martin & the Irish guy . Off course what I say may be wrong but good luck to them . Ben is a proper gentleman and Sin , she's so funny . As from today when she wear that badges , she got to watch her mouth ! Lol

He may well have been signed to Lock when the process was started.  He only left just before the WSOP.  Sam Grafton would be good but he has a role at runitonce. 

It is possible that there are exclusivity agreements that rule out the others, or they may not actually pay that much?  Who knows?  I have only really played for a few hours with Martins, and he is very good.  Could introduce a thin brag on one of the others. 

Good luck to them all. 

Video is alright I thought. Congrats guys and good luck.

To take the example of Ben and Martins who I know best out of the four. They're handsome, articulate, sharply dressed and extremely good at tournament poker. I'm certain that any recreational player that comes into contact with them will have a much better impression of the average poker pro and poker more widely for having come in to contact with them. Seems like that alone pretty much justifies there roles as ambassadors.

L'il Dave should be an ambassador imo.  Probably for the UN.

best of luck to them and congrats to the four new ambassadors. I think it's good that some real people who you see at more or less every stop on the tour have been picked. Considering that the UKIPT tries to position itself as more of a grass roots/baby EPT tour it's gotta be sensible to go for tour regs rather than sports stars or players who might be a bit big time.

Cheers Jeff for highlighting this.... the handshake/chestpump was amazing!

Thought the video was super cheesey, really not my thing tbh, but I think the tour ambassadors will probably do a really good job, the handshake was class, really think Martins has a bit of something about him. How did Benkins have his nickname as Jenks? And his fun fact was always wears a suit to play poker, that could get awkward when he final tables something!

What do I know but he seems to know the score. Long posts to help some of us Donks out with superb advice, so would be a good shout I feel.

People like Lil D work more effectively outside the system

Yes, I see Lildave more as an ambassador for life itself.

If anyone would like to know the initial reasoning behind Ben and his suits I will share!  (prolly already been said but w/e I've been drinking)

3 (I think 3) years ago a prop bet was designed between Jamie Sykes, Stu Rutter and Ben Jenkins, the prop was that they all had to attend every poker tournament wearing a suit until one of them had come in the top 3 (had to b a herbie-mod recognized tournament) the first tournament was Walsall GUKPT in 2010 (maybe 2011 actually, IDK) and Ben and Stu both turned up in their suits (Ben had actually been playing all the sides as well) Jamie being the monster flake he is turned up for the main NOT in his suit, Ben who'd been grinding the side in his suit all week was raging because it was insanely hot this week and not comfortable suit weather, anyways he came 4th or 5th in the tournament, decided that the suits were run-good and let both Jamie and Stu off the bet!

He is pure class Ben in every sense of the word.


These are very nice comments, filled the last 3 years break in my CV nicely :)

HOWEVER, I don't think LIFE can afford me.

YOU DON'T TO SEE THE LIGHT TO KNOW IT IS THERE.

Congrats to these 4,
Gl!

So happy for Sin, she is a great girl, insanely loves her poker, plays alot of the UKIPT's and ran very deep in a couple of them. She will make a perfect ambassador for the tour.  Really happy for Martins too, great talent and don't know much about Ben other than his general pleasantness. WP all

Dermis blain's handshake/half american bro hug with Martins was kinda AWKWARD lol

Jamie actually flaked even harder than this, as having created the whole bet himself, he was unfortunately unable to make the Main Event, as he was sweating a bet on the colour of the queen's hat at the royal wedding.

Oh Yeaaaaaah I remember that, haha