Dantepoker

Over the past eight years we all have seen tremendous growth in the game of poker. We have seen the game go from the back room to the living room in what seems to be the blink of an eye. We have also witnessed players like Phil Hellmuth, Doyle Brunson and Chris “Jesus” Ferguson go from relative obscurity outside of the poker world to household names around the globe. The growth and popularity of the game continues to bring new players and viewers to poker tournaments around the world.
So what about endorsement deals?
Recently I sat down with a few of my poker friends and solicited their opinions about what players have endorsement deals and whether they truly deserved them or not. The opinions of these players are from regular every day guys that both play and watch the game on a regular basis. Each of these guys also plays online poker and each of us has had varying levels of success in both arenas. So I value their opinions although none of us would consider ourselves to be professional poker players.
As we thumbed through the various magazines and pointed out players we liked, disliked or were completely indifferent about that had endorsement deals. I asked each person what they thought about that particular professional and whether they deserved an endorsement deal or not. Here are some excerpts from those conversations.
Phil Ivey
I started with Phil Ivey for a number of reasons least of which is that I believed we were all in agreement that he deserves pretty much all the accolades he gets.
Opinion#1: “This guy is way over exposed in my opinion! I get tired of seeing him. He seems to be the only player anyone thinks can play the game.” I then asked him if he should be a sponsored player. “Yes, regardless to whether I believe he is on TV too much I can’t argue that he is one of the best in the game”
Opinion#2: “Best poker player in the game! Write it down!”
Opinion#3: “Best player in the game to me. Not very entertaining but he deserves everything he’s got”
Phil Hellmuth
Opinion#1: “Great tournament player and it’s hard to argue with eleven WSOP bracelets. Get’s on my nerves though. I would still sign him if I had the final word.”
Opinion#2: “Complete ass but good for the game. The guy is a marketing genius! I would sign him in a heartbeat. No problem.”
Opinion#3: “I agree. Hellmuth is an ass but he knows how to sell himself and is a lot of fun to watch on TV. How can anyone take his tantrums seriously? (smiling and shrugging his shoulders)

Scotty Nguyen
Opinion#1: “I know he made an ass out of himself a couple of years ago at the H.O.R.S.E. final table but aside from that Scotty is a feel good story. I like him. No problem with his deal.”
Opinion#2: “Ditto! Scotty probably needs to be more conscious of what he is doing and saying at times but it’s hard to argue with his results and he is one of the reasons I love watching the game. He brings a lot of personality to the table. It’s easy to sign a guy like that.”
Opinion#3: “You gotta respect a guy like Scotty Nguyen and where he has come from man. He basically came from nothing and built himself into one of the best in the world. His personality is a lot of fun at the table. I think he needs to lay off the beers at times but I’d sign him.”
As you can see most of the more popular players on the poker tour are loved just as much for their personalities as their poker games. That doesn’t mean that we don’t have moments when we can’t stand our favorite players either. I suppose that is part of the joy of being a fan of the game and it’s players. Poker allows people to be themselves and we see all of the emotions that people go through in their attempts to grab the golden ring. Sometimes it’s not pretty but they never promised us they are perfect people. Sponsorship and endorsements today are based as much on personality as they are on their game and these guys have a lot of both. I am not suggesting that you need to be the next Phil Hellmuth but if you are as entertaining as you are talented an endorsement could be coming your way – if you’ve got eleven bracelets that is.
Curtis Mayfield III