Things are changing here at Poker.Org. Regular readers will notice that we’ve refreshed the site with a new look and feel, including a new brand and logo. These changes represent the beginning of an exciting new journey for improving Poker.Org and advancing a new mission to represent the independent voice and passion of poker players.
Poker.Org is now owned and operated by Triple Barrel Media Limited. I am the founder and CEO of Triple Barrel Media, and I spent a decade on the executive management team of PokerStars during many of its glory days. I created Triple Barrel Media because I believe poker’s best days are coming and that a new, independent modern media company can help shape that future and provide an authentic platform for the voice of the more than 100 million poker players worldwide.
The fact is that in recent years poker has gone corporate…and so has most poker media. Many of the popular sites are owned by the biggest global gambling companies and beholden to their strategic corporate interests. In contrast, other sites are chained to an outdated affiliate marketing model that visually harasses you with pop-up banners for deposit bonuses or free casino spins. Ultimately, their marketing tactics and corporate agendas are more aggressive than their journalism.
Representing your voice
We want poker media to be different. We want to represent your voice, share your excitement for poker’s highs and lows, and help you literally and figuratively find your game. Poker has given us so much, and part of Poker.Org’s mission is to give back to the game and to you, the players that make it so popular.
Most poker players will tell you that the triple barrel bluff is the edgiest, coolest move in the game, and to pull it off takes bravery and brains in equal measure. That’s why I’m bringing together smart and fearless people to help shape our future. Our company, staff and brand personality will embody the spirit of triple barrelling in everything we do. Triple Barrel Media’s new management team includes renowned branding expert Chris Herd, who is Creative Director, and experienced media executive Dave Woods, who is Content & Commercial Director. Herd served as Global Creative Director of PokerStars for 12 years and Woods spent more than a decade at Dennis Publishing, where he launched and edited the popular PokerPlayer magazine.
A new editorial team is taking shape and currently includes veteran poker journalists Haley Hintze and Jon Pill, as well as long-time PokerStars content creators Lee Jones and Simon Young.
Regulatory affairs expert Fredrik Ekdahl is serving as a non-executive director of Triple Barrel, bringing more than a decade of gaming and entertainment legal experience, including leading corporate & regulatory affairs and compliance at PokerStars.
We’ve been conducting a global search for an Editor-in-Chief for Poker.Org, and I expect to announce the new Editor very soon. The new Editor will be adding more editorial staff - writers, video producers and creative content creators to bring high-quality journalism and editorial integrity that will be fiercely independent.
We’ve already begun driving a new editorial vision focused around the topics that players tell us they care most about: News, Views, Strategy and Personalities. We’ll be expanding these topics and adding much more content and services as we execute the vision and reflect the feedback from the player community.
Voice of the Pros
Today we launched a new video segment called “Voice of the Pros,” which will feature brief self-shot videos from poker pros addressing a relevant topic that they are passionate about. We’re really proud that Daniel Negreanu agreed to launch the series with his post on the need for more players to express their individuality and passion and the need for more new personalities to propel poker into the mainstream. You can see Daniel’s video here. He practises what he preaches, as he demonstrated this week at the WSOP in an emotional High Roller bust-out when he slammed his phone onto the table and threw part of his equipment to the floor.
Chris Moneymaker, Lex Veldhuis, Andre Akkari, Jennifer Shahade and Maria Konnikova have all agreed to provide upcoming “Voice of the Pros” segments.
In the coming weeks, Poker.Org will unveil an advisory board of active regular poker players, including some of the biggest and most trusted names in the game, alongside representatives of the variety of regular players. The board will provide governance and guidance to the site’s management, ensuring that the editorial content, integrity and focus always represent the players’ voice over corporate interests.
We aim to be a leading global poker media company and hold a daily audience with the world’s regular poker players. Our content will live up to the triple barrel bluff: Brave, Smart and Headline-Making. We will always be impartial and poker-first. We will help players deepen their passion and make it easier to play when and where they choose by helping them find their game.
We hope you’ll let us know what you think of our content as we strive to improve our coverage and become a vital service to players.
