Online poker room, PKR, are running a Road to Team Pro promotion that allows the recreational grinder the opportunity to slap on a badge and pretend to be famous for a period of time representing Team PKR Pro, and Lee Davy thinks it’s a great idea.
Do you want to represent your favorite online poker room?
Do you dream of slapping on the badge, proud as punch?
Well if you do, why not take a peek at what they are doing over at PKR.com. The poker site with better 3D animation than the movie Avatar, are rolling out their tried and tested Road to Team Pro Promotion and I think it’s a winner.
It’s tough being a micro stakes grinder. I know because I am one. I recently finished fourth in the $8.80 H.O.R.S.E during the PokerStars Micromillions event. I won $1.9k, but had to wade through a field of over 3.4k players. It doesn’t happen often. In fact, you are more likely to be playing for eight hours only to end up with a $11 cash.
So the view of the Team Pro is a little distant for most.
Most team pros are selected because they have something of value for the business they are representing. A marketable mug, a great set of skills, a certain salability, or charisma.
Think Daniel Negreanu, Liv Boeree, Jake Cody and you get the picture.
But the bread and butter of the online poker rooms are the micro stakes grinders. The online rooms recognize this and it’s why we have seen such a strong movement towards recreational player models in the past two years.
This is why the PKR promotion is so good; it should be extended to every poker room in the world.
Why not reward hard work and dedication to a site by giving them the chance to represent the brand.
PKR’s promotion offers a $5,000 live tournament buy-in deal as a member of Team PKR Pro. A tiny little gang that consists of Simon Hemsworth, Eleanor Gudger, and Patty Meaumier (PKR.fr).
I would go a lot deeper than that but PKR are on the right track.
I would extend the contest. Weed out the short-term variance and see who has the skill to last the long term. A point’s means prizes leader board that gives the winner the opportunity to represent the brand for a whole year.
During that time the player has the opportunity to prove to his employers that he is worth a long-term contract. It’s the same formula that saw Terry Fator come from nowhere to win Americas Got Talent. An achievement that came with the opportunity to perform his show at the Mirage in Las Vegas. He has been performing his show for the past seven years.
So I am a big fan of this model and would like to see it extended. Who knows what gems it might unearth, feverishly plugging away at the micro stakes with a dream to follow in the footsteps of the mighty that have trodden before them?
