Isaac Haxton Signs With partypoker to Continue Fight Against PokerStars
Isaac Haxton has been one of the most vocal opponents to the bevy of changes that have occurred at PokerStars over the last couple of years. His disdain for changes to their player’s rewards program led to him parting ways with the company in early 2016 after several years of serving as a PokerStars Team Pro.
Now Haxton has signed with PokerStars’ biggest rival as partypoker announced on Monday the signing of Haxton as their newest ambassador.
Haxton Believes that partypoker Will Be the “Future of Poker”
In a press release issued on partypoker.com, Issac Haxton was announced on Monday as their newest player ambassador. The New York native has over $15 million in live tournament earnings and has won millions more in online poker games.
Haxton took up poker at 18 after playing Magic the Gathering for several years. While attending Brown University, he started working on his game and eventually turned pro in 2007. Since then, he’s amassed close to $16 million in live tournaments scores. His largest score was a runner-up finish in the 2014 $250k Challenge at Aussie Millions for $2.52 million.
Nowadays, Haxton is a fixture in High Roller tournaments around the world. Last summer, he finished 3rd in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship at the 2017 World Series of Poker and made three final tables in Triton Super High Roller Series in Macau in October.
In 2018, he’s already cashed 3 times in High Roller Tournaments with his best finish a 6th place finish in the $100k Super High Roller at the 2018 PCA.
Haxton is excited to join the team of Ambassadors at partypoker, stating, “I am very excited to be joining the partypoker team. I’ve been very impressed with their growth over the last year or so. From expanding their online cash game and tournament offerings, to improving their software, and most of all rolling out their ambitious and innovative live events program, their commitment to growing the game and providing a great product for their players has been clear. I’m truly proud to represent the company, which I believe is going to be the future of poker, online and live.”
Haxton is a Perfect Ambassador to Represent Player Interest
Haxton was very vocal following the announcement in late 2015 that the company would be making major changes to their player rewards program. These changes had a major impact on many high limit pros like Haxton and made it much less profitable to play on the site.
His disagreements with the site led to his leaving the company as a Team Pro in early 2016. He said that the company was behaving unethically and couldn’t bring himself to support the company. Since that time, he’s continued to speak out against the company and this latest signing is further proof of his support for all players looking to play online poker profitably.
While many players may not be able to identify with Haxton due to the limits he plays at, his desire to work with companies that value online poker players makes him a kindred spirit. Partypoker officials recognize this fact.
Managing Director at partypoker Tom Waters spoke on the signing, stating, “We are delighted that Isaac is joining us at partypoker. Isaac’s profile and experience makes him a perfect ambassador for the company. Over the years he has also demonstrated a real commitment to principles and will play a key role in helping us meet and exceed player expectations. We are in the process of building a poker site for the players and Isaac will be instrumental in helping us to achieve our goals”
Partypoker has made great strides in the last couple of years and is seriously targeting PokerStars. Their focus on players has allowed the site to enjoy tremendous growth and in 2017 they were presented with the Operator of the Year award, dethroning PokerStars after a long run as the industry’s top operator.
Moves like the Haxton signing will help propel the company to the top of the online poker community, and while they may not enjoy the same market share as PokerStars, they as seriously staking their claim as the “people’s choice” for online poker.