Funnyman Kevin Hart Shows His Poker Face in New Training Series

February 2nd, 2018 | by Kaycee James

Comedian Kevin Hart is teaching the world how to play poker in a three-part video series filmed by PokerStars School.

Kevin Hart has been showing newbies how to play poker in a new video series for PokerStars. (Image: pokerstarsschool.com)

As part of Hart’s ongoing association with PokerStars, the videos are designed to tap into his network of followers and introduce newbies to the basic concepts of poker.

For the first video, Hart can be seen running through some table etiquette fundamentals, while the second and third instalments focus on how to perfect your poker face and bluffing.

Hart Putting the Fun Back into Poker

Unlike the usual material produced for PokerStars School, the comedy actor’s videos take a more casual approach to strategy and tactics. When Hart first partnered with PokerStars back in 2017, he vowed to make the game “fun” again.

“I have bullied myself into a partnership with PokerStars. Why? Because I love the game. I’m deeply in love with the game. I’ve seen what the game is missing, and it’s missing me,” Hart tweeted in April 2017.

Having played in high stakes home games and professional tournaments over the last few years, the funnyman wanted to make things more entertaining. For Hart, poker is game that anyone can play and, because of that, it shouldn’t always be serious.

This concept is one that PokerStars has been trying to push over the last three years. With the poker market changing, online operators have been angling their products towards casual and new players in a bid to remain buoyant.

Contrasting Approaches to Poker

What also makes Hart’s recent promotional material so striking is that it sits in contrast to recent developments outside of PokerStars. At the close of January, long-time representative and high stakes pro Isaac Haxton joined partypoker.

Known as a serious and methodical player, Haxton is almost the antithesis of Hart. Although the former ended his relationship with PokerStars in 2016, his move over to partypoker signals a contrast in tone between the two operators.

As PokerStars has moved more towards casual players with the use of celebrities, partypoker appears to be shifting its focus towards established players. In fact, the reason Haxton left PokerStars was because he felt the site was starting to penalize regular players.

“I have vehemently opposed certain changes that were made or lobbied strongly in favor of changes which were not implemented. I believe PokerStars is behaving unethically,” Haxton wrote on 2+2.

At partypoker, Haxton hopes to act as a mediator between the community and the site’s management team to ensure everyone gets a fair deal. For PokerStars, the new video series from Hollywood A-lister Hart is clearly part of a push to bring more inexperienced players into the game.