Poker Sites With Celebrity Endorsed / Pro Players
Celebrity-Endorsed Poker Sites
Poker sites often employ pro players and celebrities from other areas to be their ambassadors. The extra publicity that these players bring justifies their marketing costs. You will even find promotions based around these pros.
These days, the lists of pros at competing sites are much smaller than they were. At one point in time there were so many pros that sites created different tiers for the real celebrities and online ‘names’. An example was the ‘red pros’ at Full Tilt Poker during the boom years. While names like Phil Ivey and Gus Hansen (the celeb-level pros) are still well known, there are very few people who can recall the names of anyone on that second-tier today!
Sponsoring pro players is very much the remit of the biggest sites. PokerStars, 888 Poker and Party Poker between them have the lion’s share of names. These include celebrities from both poker and sport – and include some names which target individual countries, for example Boris Becker and Germany. Below you will see the main pros of these big sites listed, along with some other reasons you might want to choose these sites.
- Location: Netherlands
- Established: 2004
- Mark. Code: MIK500
- Traffic: 235,929 Players
- Mac Friendly: Yes
As the biggest poker site, it is natural that PokerStars has the budget for the biggest names in the business. Their main ambassador is poker pro Daniel Negreanu. The 9 times WSOP bracelet winner has a big media presence and is outspoken enough to never be far from the headlines. There are other celebs on the roster at PokerStars, including soccer celebs Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo, plus WSOP main event champion Chris Moneymaker.
It is not just the pro players on the roster at PokerStars that you will find at the tables. This is by far the biggest site online (and is now combined with Full Tilt Poker), and has the most high stakes poker action. You can rail games where open-raises are the size of your entire bankroll, and learn from watching the real experts in action.
Small stakes poker fans will also find more choice of real-money poker games, bigger events and richer promotions at PokerStars than at any other site. You can access the tables via a no-download browser based client, download the software or install apps for Android or Apple phones and tablets.
- Location: UK
- Established: 1999
- Bonus Code: n/a - use links
- Traffic: 32,864 Players
- Mac Friendly: Yes
888 has chosen some interesting ambassadors in the past. For a while soccer celebrity Cristiano Ronaldo was even involved with this site – he since signed with rival PokerStars. Cricket celebrity Shane Warne has been the (unlikely!) replacement. The biggest internationally known poker celeb at 888 is JC Tran. You will find many ‘ambassadors’ which are well known in their home country. These include Xuan Liu and Sofia Lövgren.
There are plenty of reasons to check out 888 apart from the big-name players. The single biggest reason to play here is that the games are softer than at most poker sites. 888 has a focus on recreational players, and offer a lot of lower to mid-stakes cash games and tournaments. You can play the unique ‘Blast!’ poker, SNAP Poker (a fast-fold variation) or enjoy the Super XL Series events here.
888 Poker can be played on just about every device imaginable. This site has a dedicated app for Android and for iPhone / iPads. You can play the Flash based no-download version, or you can download their software onto either Windows or Mac computers.
- Location: Gibraltar
- Established: 2001
- Bonus Code: 500BPS
- Traffic: 23,132 Players
- Mac Friendly: Yes
The biggest name on the Party Poker roster is Mike Sexton. As both a pro player and an announcer on televised WPT tournaments, Mike was once one of the best-known names in poker. He is joined at the tables by the lesser known online pro and blogger Tony Dunst – who is a WPT title holder.
Party Poker were one of the original poker sites – and still have a big following today. This was traditionally the home of many first-time players. While other sites encourage multi-tabling ‘pro grinders’, Party has remained a recreational site. Instead of rewarding high volume players, their bonuses involve completing entertaining missions, for which players receive tournament entries. You will find a diverse selection of (mostly lower buy-in) tournaments here. Bigger events can be found during the regular ‘PokerFest’ events.
You can access Party Poker via your browser window, or install the software onto your Mac or PC. If you still think of the original iconic green table design, then check out the latest software, which has been given a complete face-lift!
The three sites listed above are the best poker sites that endorse multiple poker celebrities.
More About Poker Sites with Celebrities
Playing against poker celebrities might not be the most profitable thing in the world but it sure is entertaining. I can remember one time playing against Juan Juanda at Full Tilt at a $25/$50 no limit table. It was a blast while it lasted but I made sure to exit the table before he took me for a trip on down to Broke Town. There’s just something about seeing a famous face on TV and then being able to say you played real money poker against that player. Before the Internet age, that would have been nearly impossible.
The best thing about poker sites with pros is there’s nothing special you have to do to see them in action. All you need is the software and an account and you’ll be free to watch them live any time they are online. Of course, there’s always the option to join a table play against any of them but you better be ready for a tough game.