Exploring Sport’s Connection with Poker
The links between sport and poker are hard to deny, whatever sport you follow.
Think about the terminology used in the commentary for a start; how often has your team gone all-in on victory or used a tactical bluff? A coach is bound to have gambled on a player or approach, and even in tennis, a player can raise the stakes on another with a certain shot. We've even used the term wild card in a recent article, another popular poker term. Even if you’re not a poker player, you understand those terms.
That is part of the reason why so many athletes are endorsing poker products. Poker is a lucrative business for online providers and casinos, and not just in terms of the buy-in. Think about a charity poker night at your local casino; often, you’ll find an athlete involved, and people will go along to buy drinks and snacks, watch the game and put revenue through the location without even having many players. There’s always a clamor to get celebrities to these events, and the most recent example of that is Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett. He’s the hottest property in the UFC right now after one fight, and his social media is already laden with adverts for a poker night, where he’ll play in the main event.
Why do poker companies turn to athletes to promote their products? Soccer players, such as Ronaldo and Neymar, have endorsed poker providers, as has Formula 1 driver, Lewis Hamilton. These are role models, be it for the skill and prowess in their chosen field or their ethics and approach away from it. They typify a lifestyle the average Joe cannot hope to achieve with glitzy parties and fast cars adorning their social media. The inference is that they know how to win in their sport and how to win at poker. Customers see them sitting at a table and are being offered a slice of the same lifestyle; they too can play poker and be like those athletes. They might not be able to go toe-to-toe with Luigi Vendramini in the UFC, but they can bluff a pair of pocket jacks for a pot of money. It’s an aspirational move by the poker providers to draw players in and be like their heroes.
Of course, there’s the reach these athletes have as well. Nobody had heard of Paddy “The Baddy” a year ago; half his family probably didn’t follow his Instagram page. Now, he has 660,000 followers, a reach that your typical newspaper or magazine couldn’t hope to have. By endorsing a poker product, he enables the provider to reach a huge number of people quickly. He’s relevant, he’s in the news, and that means their product is, too.
Not all poker/athlete hook-ups are seemingly as cynical, though. Poker is a game that blends skill and chance, exciting and producing amazing highs and challenging lows. Each time a hand is won or lost, attention quickly turns to the next hand. That’s just like NBA, NHL, NFL and any other sport; for every lost game, another is coming up to win. There’s risk and reward, excitement and disappointment and a constant challenge. That attracts athletes, particularly those who are coming to the end of their careers. Paul Pierce and Richard Seymour are fine examples of athletes turning to poker, looking for the high they have lost after retiring. It’s not uncommon for injured athletes to take up poker either; soccer player Nicklas Bendtner admitted he played for big sums of money in London casinos whilst injured. He couldn’t get the rush of scoring a goal with his leg in plaster, but he could replicate the feeling when an ace dropped on the flop to accompany the two he’d been dealt from the off.
Sport and poker, poker and sport. They are not immediately linked, but there’s so, so much to tie them together. Athletes become involved for all manner of reasons, which opens the gate for their fans to take advantage of the benefits. As long as a hungry fanbase wishes to emulate their heroes, there will always be poker endorsements and celebrities willing to supplement their income and lead others to the felt.
Article Written by Abbie Williams