Actor Aaron Paul and Portuguese soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo have used their poker skills in a series of heads-up matches.<\/p>\n
Recently, PokerStars has organized heads-up matches with a selection of media darlings against its biggest sponsored pros. This is PokerStars’ way to appeal to a wider audience.<\/p>\n
Poker pro players including Andr\u00e9 Akkari, Felipe Ramos e Vanessa Selbst gave each celebrity a few pointers, but ones the matches got underway, the celebrities had to make their own decisions at the tables.<\/p>\n
The duels were designed to be much more TV-friendly than the traditional ones you\u2019d see on the World Poker Tour (WPT) or European Poker Tour (EPT).<\/p>\n
The videos feature dramatic scenery, movie-like soundtracks and talking heads, focusing more on entertainment and production value.<\/p>\n
The videos are meant to be more than high level strategy, since most of the celebrities featured are, obviously, not at the same level as the pros.<\/p>\n
The aim of the videos is to reach casual fans. The winner of each match donated their $5.000 price to a charity of their choice.<\/p>\n
Such videos, combining dramatic productions elements, poker and well-known celebrities, help paint poker in a less serious light.<\/p>\n
Not only PokerStars, but the whole poker industry has shift and is trying to appeal to novice players.<\/p>\n
The industry is now catering to casuals and examples of that are: combining poker and casino in a single platform, offer games such as Spin & Gos and use the appeal of mainstream celebrities.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, 888poker did a similar move, by enlisting the services of Brazilian ex-soccer star Denilson. This movement toward beginners and away from hardcore grinders has helped sites boost their traffic.<\/p>\n
Recently, PokerStars also announced they designed a new dual system events to offer something for players at both ends of the skill spectrum.<\/p>\n
There has been some criticism regarding this new marketing angle, but the truth is that the industry needs fresh blood.<\/p>\n
Bringing new players into the game is beneficial for players of all persuasions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Actor Aaron Paul and Portuguese soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo have used their poker skills in a series of heads-up matches. Recently, PokerStars has organized heads-up matches with a selection of media darlings against its biggest sponsored pros. This is PokerStars’ way to appeal to a wider audience. Poker pro players including Andr\u00e9 Akkari, Felipe Ramos […]","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":1526,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-headline"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n