It's the year 2015 and poker has grown so much since its birth. It's path throughout the years has been on a roller coaster ride, with its own ups and downs. In 2004, the Moneymaker Effect - the idea instilled in the world that anyone can be a champion in poker. You don't have to be a born professional to learn how to play and win, you can be an accountant, a lawyer, a doctor, unemployed, a businessman, a farmer AND still become a champion. 

In 2006, as a result of the ever-growing Moneymaker Effect, the WSOP Main Event had 8,773 players, who generated a prize pool of $82,512,162 with a first-place prize of $12 Million. 

In 2011, the dreaded black friday. The poker world denied the right to do what they love. Now, in 2015, we are seeing progress as the US began to legalize a regulated version of online poker. The number of players globally has grown significantly over the years - live players & online players - people are now even playing poker on their tablets or cellphones. The poker boom keeps happening over and over again. To some, this game is their money-making career, to others it's a hobby, or a business. This game means so much to so many people, in a number of ways. It's safe to say that this game has united people, cities, states, and nations. It has created countless opportunities for so many. I can relate to this personally since the first cash games I played were family games. Our family united more than ever as we began playing twice a week. 

As the game grows, the number of challenges it faces are increasing. Whether it's governments regulating online poker, or tax purposes for poker winnings, the game we love is constantly under threat. Thankfully, poker players unite to defend our rights and fight off any challenge which arises. This is what I love most about poker.. at the felt, anyone can play: regardless of age, gender, height, weight, looks, personality, nationality...ANYONE can play. 

This is where Poker Ambassadors come in. The poker industry needs individuals and entities that are willing to put in the hours and the hard work to ensure that player rights are respected, that the game continues to grow and maintain its accessibility and welcome new players. I have recently been following a number of people involved in the poker industry who I believe are to be considered great poker ambassadors. These are Daniel Negreanu, Jason Somerville, and Alex Dreyfus. I have been following Daniel's success for a number of years, but have only started following the latter two recently.

I have a great deal of respect towards Daniel Negreanu. He is my favorite poker player not just for his playing style, but also because he is very likable and has the best intentions for poker at heart.This can be seen through the number of interviews he is featured in, whether during breaks at poker events, or wherever. He also dedicates time to blog on websites as well as create video blogs on poker and life. This weekend he was on the players' panel at the American Poker Conference and in an interview during the event, he delved into how important it is to allow the poker game to welcome new players, as opposed to scaring them off. Poker rules at casinos should not be feared by beginners. This is why Daniel proposes a warning system where players are warned as opposed to penalized right away. I agree with this completely. I'm a law student, and in class the first thing I learnt was that ignorance of the law is not an excuse. This suggests that players cannot plead they did not know the rule existed, as they are expected to know of the rule before they sit at the table. True...but, why should a newcomer be penalized for answering his phone in the middle of a game, not knowing he cannot do that? How is he cheating or prejudicing the game by doing so? (This is the example Daniel uses, and I decided to use the same one as it is easy to relate to). I'm a huge fan of Daniel's and I look forward to following his continued success in the industry. Rightfully and deservedly so, Daniel Negreanu won the Poker's Best Ambassador Award at the 2015 American Poker Awards. So congratulations Daniel. 

Alex Dreyfus is the CEO of Global Poker Index. I have recently read the article he wrote as a response to one of the editors at All In Magazine regarding his attempt at a "poker world cup" (so to speak) despite this being attempted in the past. It was very enjoyable to read his love towards poker, and to understand that he shares the same opinion on poker as I do. Poker is a sport, in my opinion, and not a gambling game. I have written and advocated in favor of this concept for a number of years. Sure, poker is not American Football, or Soccer, but I do consider it to be a mind-sport.Most importantly, I would like to differentiate between it being a gamble and a mind game. It's definitely a mind game since the skill elements in the game outweigh the luck factor (I will have to write a separate blog post about this topic in the future. If I went into it now, I would spend the next hours deviating from my original plan). Question is then, sure it's a mind game and not a gambling game, but why a sport? Alex Dreyfus' plan is to "Sportify Poker" - I love this idea. The trend has been growing with the increased popularity of the GPI Rankings, Tournaments with Champions, World Cups with Nation Champions, Team Poker, etc. Frankly, I enjoy all of this. Poker players have fans, brands sell merchandise, players have rankings, and events are broadcasted on stations such as ESPN. This will be increasing in the near future with the increased number of live streams. 

This brings me to my third poker ambassador - Jason Somerville. I'm a huge fan of Jason's and this weekend I am super happy for the guy as Poker Stars just announced that he will be joining Team PokerStars Pro. Jason is famous not just as a poker player, but as a Youtube (and now Twitch) sensation. His Youtube Channel has a countless hours of strategy videos, poker streams, and guest videos. Jason is a great ambassador of the game and now that he is a PokerStars Pro, he will have an even bigger outreach in the poker community. This is what I love about poker and what I love most about Ambassadors. Ambassadors have to reach out to the community, to keep the unity and keep the community informed. This generates interest which attracts new players. 

These individuals might (or might not) know this: They are a huge inspiration to people out there in the real world, including myself. I thank them for their hard work, and sacrifices, and encourage them to keep doing a great job as their work is greatly appreciated. 

Jonah 

Team My Poker Academy