Per is working out of his office in Oslo, while Poker Icons has their office headquarters in Malta. When Per founded Poker Icons in 2006, he did so with a clear strategy; “I thought that the online poker stars would take over the live scene as well, so these were the players I wanted to sign and help to get good deals.” he advised. Per's strategy has proven correct, with examples such as Annette Obrestad, one of the many clients that have signed with Poker Icons.

Per Hagen, CEO of Poker Icons

Like others in the poker industry, Annette Obrestad has great things to say about Poker Icons; and with good reason. Annette has just been signed with online gaming giant Fulltilt Poker in this past week. “Poker Icons has gone above and beyond in their service to me.” said Annette, “I am really happy I decided to put my poker career in their capable hands.”

Poker Icons are a prime player in the poker industry on many levels, not just as a player representation business. They are also a leader in poker tournament organisation for example. If you are wishing to hold a world-class poker tournament and ensure its success; then Poker Icons is one place you should consider.

Poker Icons is known as the premier poker agency for international and world class poker players. They have offices and agents all over the world including Asia, North and South America, and various offices across Europe.

When it comes to Poker Media and Marketing, Poker Icons works closely with all the major players in the poker and mainstream media sectors, including a variety of celebrities. They have developed and optimized their public relations & media strategies to either target specific countries or gobal campaigns.

Poker Icons can turn your poker career into a career. They give players the opportunity to join the ranks of others well-known names such as Annette Obrestad, Layne Flack, Dragan Galic, Kathy Liebert, JJ Liu and many, many more.

The CEO of Poker Icons Per Hagen adds “We have decided to focus on the players who combine live and online playing. The true brick and mortar players are harder to market, while the online legends already have a huge follower base which makes them more interesting for a potential sponsor. If you are serious about your poker, have great results and feel ready to take the next step in your career - look us up! We can't guarantee a sponsorship deal straight away, but through hard work from both the player and our agency, we'll get there eventually.”

You don’t have to be well known to work with Poker Icons, making you well known is what Poker Icons does. Together, the player and agent sets goals towards sponsorship deals with large online poker sites. The agency is great for poker players who feel that they are not capable of marketing themselves, but have a ton of skill. We know there is a lot of women in particular who are in this situation, and could use a stepping stone to help them advance.

“For me it's not about gender” explained Per Hagen. “If the talent is there, it's there! However, I strongly feel that women can have an advantage as some lesser intelligent male players underestimate women at the table, and they can profit from that.”

Last Year’s World Series of Poker saw Poker Icons arrange over 50 poker sponsorship deals for poker players. This year they are offering sponsorships which range from $5,000 up to $1,000,000 depending on the results of the client. The sponsorships are handled directly by Poker Icons who represent more than 100 of the most profiled players in the world. Poker Icons has negotiated the most poker sponsorships world-wide in the last two years.

Per Hagan advises players to read more about it on Facebook group: WSOP 2010 Sponsorship.

I asked Per if he encourages women to join the group and look into sponsorships for the world series, he had a quick answer “Yes, absolutely! In fact, the group consists of 30 percent women”.

Good luck to all women (and men) wishing to pursue their poker dreams.

I am hoping this article has been informative and has make you think about getting on the right path in your poker career. You can find out more about Poker Icons at www.pokericons.com.