Best Poker Ads Ever

By: Eniko

Posted: May 4, 2022

Updated: May 4, 2022

Poker companies have made dozens of ads in the 2000s
Some of them feature films stars and famous poker players
Others concentrate on humor in their ads

Poker is one of the most popular gambling games with lots of different companies offering poker games on their sites. There is a big race for customers between them, motivating their creative people to create memorable TV commercials. But the biggest poker tournaments like World Series of Poker and World Poker Tour have also come up with great ads. Let’s read more about the best poker ads ever. The first online poker sites began at the end of the 1990s, but they started to become popular in the 2000s. Dozens of different sites were launching their own poker sites and used radio, TV and online advertising to grow their popularities. Some of these ads were rubbish but some of them stayed with people. Either due to their funniness, often close to stupidity, or their cool characters. While we can also find some legendary poker stars in these ads, making them more outstanding. We tried to collect the best of these ads from the last two decades, have a look and choose your favorite!

Best Poker Ads Ever

1. High Stakes (Rakuten)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ft2aU_spYRo We choose Rakuten’s latest ad to lead our list of the best poker ads ever as it has everything you can wish for. An Emmy Award-winning actress from Ted Lasso, Hannah Waddingham who plays the high-stake poker player. She raises the bet with her latest shopping items like a pair of glamorous shoes and a robot vacuum. But her opponent, another woman matches her bets as she has the same items. She can even add her Rakuten cashback to her bet which is too much for Waddingham. She looks glamorous in her black dress but the star of the ad is a hairless cat who slides across the table at the end.

2. Pokerface (PokerStars)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYxf-1VcMmk The next ad in our list focuses on one of the most important thing in poker. How to have a good poker face. It is the theme of several other ads but we chose PokerStars' commercial as it’s funny but not stupid like some other versions. The main character of this ad is an ordinarily guy who has already used his poker face in lots of situations during his life. Like when his girlfriend took the last big slice of pizza or when his party photo showed up in his work presentation. PokerStars tried to attract new players with this ad and use the slogan: You are already a great poker player. If you agree with this statement, visit one of the online poker sites in the US like Everygame Poker.

3. Why I Love Poker (World Poker Tour)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3z1XZyJ5X40 Besides online poker sites, big poker tournaments can also make their own ads. One of the most original one was made by World Poker Tour in 2017. They used comic-style graphics and the narration of poker legend Mike Sexton. In the ad, WPT asked players to share their stories about why they love poker. The winner of the contest was Maria Krebs, who managed to connect with her ailing father through poker. Her story was made into an animated whiteboard video while she also took part at the WPT Borgata Poker Open Main Event in Atlantic City. It was a great initiative with lots of poker fans being involved.

4. Become a Legend (WSOP)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsDNAjPKo4I The other main poker organization, the World Series of Poker made a different kind of ad in which they tried to advertise their new app. Laurence Fishburne stars in this entertaining commercial and tells the story of WSOP player StanDaMan. And his quest to win the digital version of a WSOP championship bracelet. In the video, his room turns into a royal dining hall and Stan became the king, a real legend after winning his game. Not much of a story but Fishburne is really great as the narrator.

5. No One To Play With (PartyPoker)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Fs9N8_eJOk PartyPoker, one of the first online poker sites tried to concentrate on humor in its ads. Some of the bests were included in the “No one to play with” series where lonely poker players got different kinds of mates to play with. In one of them a guy received an inflatable girl, while another ad had a security guard playing with his dog. PartyPoker offers a great solution for all these players even now, in spite of the declining popularity of the site. You can join other players in other online casino sites in the US now.

6. Best Poker Face in the World (Full Tilt)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYfFJRHx_q4 One of the best poker players of all time, Phil Ivey couldn’t resist playing in a poker ad. He appeared in a Full Tilt commercial, where he has the famous poker face all along. Even when he got home and saw his wife with another guy. It is a funny ad as well, thanks to Ivey’s great acting, but it was a bit too much for the regulators who banned it. Ivey also appeared in more serious ads made by the same company but this funny one was his best.

7. Banned PokerStars ad

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKMHpiapyUs Probably the most violent poker ad ever was made by PokerStars. In the video we can witness a poker game between rich-looking people who starts to kill each other during playing. It is full of violence so no wonder that this ad was also banned in most countries. It is highly entertaining though especially if you like Quentin Tarantino-style videos. The conclusion of the ad: playing poker at home is safer. Well, we can’t argue with that even though normal poker games usually don’t include guns, knives and lighting ups of each other.