Column: How Much Influence Do Famous Poker Players Have?

After last week's Bluff Power 20 featured only two poker players, Barry Carter asks how much impact famous poker players have on the game?

Dominik Kofert

Last week the Bluff Power 20 was announced, and for the second year in a row PokerStrategy.com founder Dominik 'korn' Kofert was included.

Only two poker players made the list; Daniel Negreanu (6th) and Antonio Esfandiari (20th). Tony G was also included, but mainly for his role as the owner of PokerNews, rather than as a player.

Some people were surprised at the inclusion of two players, others were surprised that more did not make the list. I for one was shocked that Esfandiari made the list over both Phil Ivey and Phil Hellmuth.

Just how influential are high profile poker players in the grand scheme of things?

Impacting playing choices

The Phils were missing this year

It is really difficult to determine the level of influence one person has over another in the Bluff Power 20, because it really is comparing apples to oranges.

For example, Harry Reid can affect policy change in the US, but Daniel Negreanu has over 200,000 twitter followers who all play poker - two very different and equally important forms of influence.

What I think it boils down to is this question; can a well-known poker player impact the playing choices of the poker community?

I was one of the panelists for the Bluff Power 20 and I personally chose five players in my 20. Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, Phil Ivey, Gus Hansen and Tom Dwan.

The reason for picking them was for precisely that question, I do think all five of them have enough clout to influence the day to day actions of poker players.

Negreanu for reasons I will mention shortly, the two Phils because of their sheer star power, and Hansen and Dwan because of both their star power, and the fact they came out of the Full Tilt scandal very favourably with the players.

For me these players have enough marketing presence to bring attention to something, and in most cases enough respect to sway public opinion on a topic.

Empty endorsements?

Michael "The Billboard" Mizrachi

I may have picked five players out of my final 20, but for me these were notable exceptions to the rule. Had it been a Bluff Power 100 you would not have seen that many more players.

Few poker players can claim the star power to actually influence what the poker community will do. Everyone knows Phil Laak and Viktor Blom for example, but how many of us have chosen to play at a particular site or go to a particular event just because they did?

More significantly, not many poker players are actually that active in poker outside of playing, nor are they particularly conscientious enough about their image for their endorsement to mean something. Most sponsored players turn up, wear a patch, play, do a few interviews, and go home.

For example, Michael Mizrachi and Sam Trickett are currently sponsored by the International Stadiums Poker Tour. It seems abundantly clear that their endorsement has done nothing to persuade people to play in the event, given that the numbers have been painfully small and public opinion is still very negative.

I also doubt anyone thinks for one minute either man has sat down and scrutinised the logistics of the event before giving it their seal of approval. There is no doubt both men are sick players, but that fact alone does not bring a great deal of influence.

The Kid Poker effect

Negreanu is the most influential player

The players I picked, and in particular Daniel Negreanu, are some of the exceptions. If we see them wearing a patch, we can be pretty confident they have actually done their homework about that particular enterprise and that their endorsement actually means something.

Negreanu is one of the few poker players who actually leverages his influence to great effect, both to endorse and decry.

Howard Lederer and Annie Duke were never the most popular of players anyway, but it is fair to say that the negative public perception of them was to a large degree influenced by Negreanu.

On the flip side of things, Kid Poker showed the power of his influence when he successfully raised over $277,615 for the St Judes Children's Research Hospital. A powerful example of his ability to persuade people to do positive things completely unrelated to poker.

There are lots of players who have a similar kind of influence, but on a much smaller scale, usually because they have a platform of their own like a blog or podcast, or because they appeal to a particular demographic.

Joe Hachem of Australia or Andre Akkari of Brazil, for example, are legends in their home countries and hold a huge amount of influence with their own demographics. Then you have players like Randy Lew, who has amassed a strong following with his blog and YouTube channel.

So for me poker players can have an influence on the game, but rarely does it come simply from being a good poker player.

Finally I'll leave you with my own Bluff Power 20 picks for this year.

Bluff Power 20
Ranking	Official	Barry's Pick
1	Mark and Isai Scheinberg	Mark Scheinberg
2	Mitch Garber	Harry Reid
3	Norbert Teufelberger	Preet Bharara
4	Harry Reid	Ty Stewart
5	Ty Stewart	Peter Bernhard
6	Daniel Negreanu	Mitch Garber
7	Gary Loveman	Dominik Kofert
8	Mark Pincus	Daniel Negreanu
9	Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta	Tony G
10	A.G. Burnett	Mark Pincus
11	Raymond Lesniak	Phil Hellmuth
12	Chris Christie	Edgar Stuchly
13	Tony G	Matt Savage
14	Brian Balsbaugh	Norbert Teufelberger
15	Dominik Kofert	Phil Ivey
16	Edgar Stuchly	Gus Hansen
17	Guy Laliberte	Tom Dwan
18	Steve Heller	Kevin @Kevmath Mathers
19	Matt Savage	Mason Malmuth
20	Antonio Esfandiari	Brian Balsbaugh

By Barry Carter

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