The past few days have seen some big online poker signings with both Jake Cody and Hans Vogl inking sponsorship deals. Cody was the biggest signing since the UK poker pro is one of only four players to have won poker’s triple crown (WSOP, EPT and WPT title).
What’s truly amazing about this is that Cody’s major titles have come within a two-year span. In 2010, he won the EPT Deauville ($1,213,194) and WPT London ($425,492) tournaments, while 2011 saw him take down the WSOP $25k Heads-up title ($851,192) to complete the triple crown. In all Cody has $2,870,822 in poker tournament winnings.
After signing with PKR, Cody talked about how excited he was over the sponsorship deal by saying, “I’m very excited about joining Team PKR Pro. I’ve been patient with sponsorship, waiting for the right deal to come along.” He also added, “When I spoke to PKR I was really impressed with the whole setup and the ideas that they have going forward, and I knew straight away I wanted to be part of it! It’s a great site to be involved with right now and I think I can help take it to the next level.”
Hans Vogl may not be as decorated as Jake Cody, but Betfair saw enough in the self-taught grinder and poker writer to offer a deal. His best tournament finish is a 5th place effort in the 2007 Aussie Millions ($318,112) event, and his career earnings amount to $412,581.
Vogl started out playing low stakes online poker games, and was fairly average in the beginning. However, in just three short years, he transformed into a pro player through hard work and persistence. The new Team Betfair member spoke about his transformation by saying, “Hard work I would say. Reading books, analyzing hand histories, discussing hands with friends. Then of course playing, playing and playing to get into a routine. It is also important to have self-discipline in order to avoid chasing losses or going on tilt.”
Betfair manager Asko Heiskanen also discussed the signing by saying, “We are always looking for great players who can represent Betfair. Hans has demonstrated time and time again that he is a player of extraordinary skills. We believe there’s much more to come from him and we are delighted he has joined Team Betfair.”
Every year, it seems as if one WSOP player stands out above the rest. Last year, it was Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi because of his previous fame, $50k Player’s Championship title, and 2010 WSOP Main Event final table appearance. This year, the shining star at the 2011 WSOP is no doubt Ben Lamb who is now a lock to win the WSOP Player of the Year award.