RankingHero – an online social poker operator, is now part of the European poker ranking system, due to its new partnership with BLUFF Europe. The operator will now work to improve the ranking system of BLUFF, which is in a head-to-head competition with GPI – Global Poker Index.
The France-based social poker operator is now taking care of the management of the European magazine and will be in charge of improving its ranking algorithms.
This new deal is the first for RankingHero of this magnitude. The European poker ranking market currently has two major rivals – GPI and BLUFF magazine. With the help of RankingHero, the poker ranking algorithm of BLUFF magazine is now improved, with modern features such as taking into account tournaments’ buy-in fees and rewarding players for both consistency and big scores.
Michael Caselli of BLUFF Europe explains that the company has created its own ranking system years ago and despite its success, he says technologies have improved over the years and the system should do the same in order to stay viable. He is confident in RankingHero’s ability to provide the needed know-how to stand one step ahead of GPI. He described the social poker database of RankingHero as ‘the most comprehensive around’.
The CCO of RankingHero also expressed his excitement for the new partnership. He said that BLUFF Europe has had its rankings for years, and has established a well-known and respected name among the European poker community.
The competitors of BLUFF Europe did not stay idle. For example, the NA counterpart of BLUFF acquired the HPT POY – Heartland Poker Tour Player of the Year leader system, which is to be used again for this and next year’s WSOP tournaments.
BLUFF’s straight competitor – GPI, has signed a deal to use the Player of the Year ranking format and has also acquired a few card rooms from Aria Resort and Casino in the United States.
GPI has announced that it wants to organize a major event in 2015 which is to suit as a forum to share, combine and exchange know-how concerning the poker industry globally. The conference will be called Global Poker Conference (GPI 2015). It will be split in 2 conferences in Malta and Beverly Hills.
The CEO of GPI, Alex Dreyfus commented that ‘the purpose of our twin Global Poker Conferences is to get the Poker Industry to communicate. We’re pushing it to structure itself as a cohesive Industry rather than the set of disparate initiatives it is today.’ Considering the appeal for union of the poker sector globally, a frequently asked question is whether BLUFF and GPI will show up together at the CPO in an attempt to share ideas and their vision about the future of the industry.
