Duke and Pollack Head New Professional Poker

Every major sport has its own pro tour. Football has the NFL. Basketball has the NBA. Hockey has the NHL. Now, poker will have its own poker league.

According to an article released Tuesday by the Associated Press, Annie Duke will be the Commissioner of a new professional poker league that has hopes to become the "PGA of poker."

The new league will consist of only professional players and the league will define a specific set of guidelines that players must meet to keep their player's card.

Players in the league will have two, thre, or five-year membership cards. Duke also stated that fewer than 10 lifetime memberships would be awarded for the tour and that they would be for living players who have had unparalleled success in poker, such as Doyle Brunson.

The new league will be formed by the private company Federated Sports and Gambling, Inc. Jeffrey Pollack, the former WSOP Commissioner, is a co-founder of the company.

Of the new league, Pollack told the Associated Press that "Membership in our league will signify standing as a true professional in poker. We're going to apply a little more rigor to that definition." Pollack will serve as the new league's chairman.

Around 200 players will be invited to participate in the league and those invites will be based on a formula that takes into account finishes in major live events, money earned and recent tournament history. Cash games and online poker will not be factored into the equation for participation.

A name has not been given to this new poker league, but they are planning four televised regular-season events that will lead up to a $1 million freeroll Championship Event at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas this year.

Duke stated that "Fans have shown over and over again that they love the stars of this game. It's the stars of this game that they really want to be watching on television, and I think the stars should get something in return for that."

In addition, Duke's commissionership will mean that she will be playing less poker than in the past.

"This is something that I really wanted to see happen for a very long time," Duke said. "And if my sacrifice is to give up playing full time, then that's my sacrifice and I'm OK with that."