Poker Pro Olivier Busquet Calls for Players Union

Poker professional Olivier Busquet, known for his impressive earnings of over $9,000,000 in live events and more than $840,000 in online MTTs, has proposed the creation of a poker players union. This initiative aims to give professional poker players a stronger voice in the industry.

In a Twitter post, Busquet highlighted that tournament organizers and online operators often overlook the needs and desires of the professional poker community. He believes that the lack of organization among players has led to this situation. Busquet suggests that forming a union could provide the collective leverage needed to influence industry decisions, including issues related to player health and fair play.

Busquet clarified that his proposal is not about separating professional players from recreational ones. He emphasized that all players, regardless of their status, would benefit from reducing or standardizing rake. The idea of a poker players union is not new; Patrick Leonard attempted to promote it in 2018, but the effort did not gain traction. Busquet's proposal has garnered support from several prominent poker professionals, including Dan Smith, Faraz Jaka, Rob Yong, and Patrick Leonard himself. Rob Yong suggested Phil Galfond and John Daffy as potential representatives for the union, but Busquet prefers someone less well-known and with fewer poker earnings to avoid conflicts of interest. Patrick Leonard agrees with Yong, stating that attracting professionals as consultants and mediators between sites is the right approach.