Bluefire Poker, which recently made waves by challenging U.S. President Barack Obama or any member of Congress to a charity heads-up poker match, inked an agreement with PKR this week. As part of the terms of the deal, PKR will become Bluefire Poker’s exclusive partner in Europe.

Bluefire Poker, a quickly growing poker training site, is fronted by Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond, a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet holder and fierce high-stakes cash game player. Galfond is known as “Jman” on the training site. Other pros include Niman “Samoleus” Kenkre, Jason “PBJaxx” Senti, Martin “Giggy” Fournier Giguère, Ryan “Fees” Fees, and Don “SoCalQuest” Nguyen. The site is primarily focused on cash games and Galfond is scheduled to release four to six videos per month.

According to traffic ranking site PokerScout.com, PKR ranks as the 14th largest worldwide in terms of cash game volume with a seven day running average of 870 players. Its 24 hour peak is nearly double that figure, 1,405. At the time of writing, which is early evening in London, PKR boasts a total of 1,104 real money ring game players. PKR is one of the few independent online poker sites in the world. Other rooms not part of a larger network include the Net’s largest site, PokerStars, as well as Full Tilt Poker and PartyPoker. PKR’s 3-D graphics have made it a popular destination for poker enthusiasts around the globe.

Galfond and other Bluefire Poker pros will provide strategy content for PKR’s website as well as PKR TV. According to a press release distributed by the online poker site this week, its 2.5 million players will be able to exchange their hard-earned loyalty points in the PKR Shop for subscriptions to Bluefire Poker. Simon Prodger, PKR’s Marketing Director, commented, “We’re delighted that PKR will be Bluefire’s exclusive European partner, as we fully expect them to become the most interesting and important web-based poker training service available.”

Bluefire Poker’s $1 million challenge to Obama or a member of Congress caught the eye of the entire industry, as well as cable station Fox News. Recently, former World Poker Tour Hostess Courtney Friel reported that Bluefire Poker had challenged any lawmaker on Capitol Hill to a game of poker. The President or Congressional member would put up $1 to enter. If they could defeat a Bluefire Poker pro, they would win $1 million for the charity of their choice. However, no details were given as to how many hands would be played or what genre of poker would be utilized. The site has not yet been taken up on its offer. Bluefire Poker was founded in January by Galfond and Bill Murphy.

CardRunners, another popular poker training site, has a standing relationship with Full Tilt Poker. Several CardRunners pros have become sponsored members of Full Tilt, including Taylor “Green Plastic” Caby, Andrew “muddywater” Wiggins, Isaac “westmenloAA” Baron, and 2007 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure winner Ryan “Daut44” Daut. CardRunners recently merged with StoxPoker and launched Truly Free Poker Training. Much like the arrangement between PKR and Bluefire Poker, members of Full Tilt can rack up points to use for free training subscriptions to both CardRunners and StoxPoker. CardRunners regularly runs $27.99 per month and has a $99 sign-up fee. StoxPoker eliminated its sign-up fee when the merge occurred. Other popular training sites include PokerXFactor, which is flanked by Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy and Eric “sheets” Haber, and Real Poker Training.

At the time of writing, Bluefire Poker offers a library of 47 videos. Recent additions include Galfond playing heads-up Pot Limit Omaha against Whitelime and Nguyen four tabling $100 No Limit on Full Tilt. Murphy is looking forward to Bluefire Poker’s pros putting their skills to the test by producing content for PKR: “Our relationship with PKR is exciting in that it enables us to be involved with another company that is dedicated to their customers and looks to exceed their expectations, which is a rare quality in our industry.”

On the last Saturday of every month, PKR hosts The Masters, a $100,000 guaranteed tournament with a $250 buy-in; you’ll find the site’s top tournament pros battling it out at 20:00 GMT. On Sundays, PKR offers a $50,000 guaranteed tournament that comes with a $65 price tag. You can also find daily high-stakes guaranteed events on the popular online poker site, including a $12,500 prize pool contest that runs every day except for Wednesdays.

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