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Cristiano Ronaldo and PokerStars – The Celebrated Genius /

Cristiano Ronaldo and PokerStars – The Celebrated Genius

Cristiano Rolnaldo and PokerStars formed a partnership back in 2015, and he stayed with the company as a "brand ambassador" for a couple of years. Though he bills himself as a competent player, and PokerStars only naturally puffed up his playing abilities, he was mediocre at best. But it could be argued that he helped raise money for good causes by playing charity matches with other equally mediocre stars of film and media. His job was to bring the brand to public attention and he certain did.

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Introduction: Celebrated Genius Cristiano Ronaldo and PokerStars

Cristiano Ronaldo and PokerStars have always been a bit of a secret. Of course, everyone and their dog knows that Cristiano Ronaldo is one of footballs biggest stars as well as having a massive Instagram audience of 240 million people. One fact that’s not often discussed is the footballer’s love of poker. Though he might be considered to be one of the best footballers in the world, since he teamed up with PokerStars, his recognition in the world of poker has also gained more attention.

Gambler and Footballer

Being dubbed as one of the all-time greatest players the world has ever seen, it’s no surprise that Ronaldo is seen as a football icon. Playing presently as the centre forward for the Series A club, Juventus, he’s also the reigning captain of the Portuguese national team. He has won over 30 major trophies. He also has the world record for the most assist in history and the most goals in UEFA Champions League. As a huge name, we’ve seen him have many endorsements over the years. Going back to 2015, we saw him team up with PokerStars. He was to spend two years as an ambassador for the company, finally parting ways in 2017.

Apart from their TV presence, PokerStars were famous for organising tournaments between their brand ambassadors, as well as for charity events. One factor that made their campaigns so successful as the fact that all of their players could play to a relatively high level. This made their matches much more interesting to the worldwide poker community. We should point out that Ronaldo was already a semi-accomplished poker player who was going to casinos to win the jackpot before he started working with PokerStars.

The footballer says that he was already playing by the age of twenty, along with friends at home. According to the official statement put out by the poker company, he enjoys the game of poker because of the strategies, competition, and the fun. In the same way that he pushes himself with football, its the same way of thinking that’s made him a success in poker. It’s amazing how these fluff pieces put out by promo agencies all sound the same and peddle the same bullshit.

Cristiano Ronaldo Poker VS Football

Some might say that playing professional football might be a help for anyone playing at a certain level in professional poker. As he says himself, “Although football is my world, poker has always been my game. I’m very excited to join the [PokerStars] team.” All situations in football must be read instantly and a decision made as to where the ball is going to go. Ronaldo went on to say that with poker he’s able to experience the same thrill he gets on the pitch. We get that same thrill when playing online with Whamoo Casino.

Ronaldo Playing Poker

Those who already knew that Cristiano Ronaldo enjoyed a game of poker were as surprised as everyone else when he joined PokerStars as a professional player. He explained that for him, being picked for team PokerStars was a huge honour and that he was delighted to sit and play table games, as well as work on his jackpot winning strategies with other stars, while being in front of so many fans. The company of PokerStars launched its first online real money poker games back in 2001. Since then, they still hold the record of the biggest online tournament, which they’d already broken twice before the present one.

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The company uses brand ambassadors (essentially celebrities who can play) to promote the game all over the world. With Ronaldo having such a huge name in football and on social media, it was just a matter of time before we saw Ronaldo and PokerStars together.

Joining the PokerStars Team

The more Ronaldo played poker, the more his prowess with the game spread. Though the general public had very little knowledge about his poker exploits, the company of PokerStars had been quietly following his poker career. When he was finally invited to join the Pokerstars team, he said that he respected that the brand strives to stay ahead of the curve and that it was therefore only natural that he should be joining them.

PokerStars, Ronaldo Plays Against Aaron Paul

In 2016, Ronaldo and the Breaking Bad star, Aaron Paul, who plays Jessie Pinkman, sat down for a Ronaldo and PokerStars charity game. The footballer was playing for Save the Children, and the former methamphetamine manufacturer was representing the Kind Charity. This match-up was part of a web series that PokerStars was running at the time. You can watch the video of this match on YouTube. It was certainly a roller-coaster of a game. Paul is an experienced player and is a member of the L.A. Sunset from the Global Poker League.

Of the whole web series, this was probably the tensest, and the best played game. In the beginning, the deck favoured our crystal meth man from Albuquerque, but after several hands, things turned around for the Portuguese football player. The game ended with Ronaldo receiving a winning hand. He went all in and won the day.

Other PokerStar Duals

In 2014, Ronaldo and PokerStars pitted his poker talents against Bebeto, the politician and former World Cup champion. Of the two former Brazilian players, it was quickly established that the older and more experienced player was far and away better than the young player. The game took an unexpected turn when Bebeto double-bluffed Ronaldo and won. Later in the same year, Ronaldo played with the tennis star Rafael Nadal and that was another loss for him.

Ronaldo and PokerStars played another charity match with the 2015 Miss World, Mireia Lalaguna. The pot was of $20,000. The phrase “beauty AND brains” didn’t spring to anyone’s mind, as the Miss World was an embarrassment to the game of poker. The footballer won three of the four rounds to be victorious.

The Requirements of a Good Poker Player

Though poker is not simply a game of chance, it does require a particular type of individual to get the most out of it. You’ll need to possess unbreakable concentration as well as a fine eye for the tiniest detail. It will also help if you have a head for math, as well as strategic thinking, as this will increase your jackpot winning chances. For the best chance of winning we like to head over to Whamoo Casino. It has a huge selection of games and a very nice welcome bonus.

If you happen to be playing real money poker at an actual casino, then please try and remain civil. Any anti-social behaviour will get you thrown out. The same goes for swearing and being a general dick. As a player sat at one of the casino’s tables, there’s an expectation that you’ll be playing fairly. So no past posting, ratholing or any form of cheating. Other players can tell if you go down that path. Also, learn when to keep your mouth shut. A good example is when a player folds and throws in in his cards. You must never reveal what they were. Or even hint at it. As this can give other players an advantage.

Conclusion: Cristiano Ronaldo and PokerStars

Though we think that the footballer loves playing poker, we don’t see him as any sort of heavyweight player, with a poor repertoire of jackpot winning tips and tricks. He lacks strategic thinking, as well as taking himself too seriously, which actually makes Ronaldo and PokerStars a poor fit from a purely poker angle. But we can certainly see the advantages of making one of the world’s most famous footballers into your brand ambassador.