Betfair.net

There is a lot of intense competition amongst the best poker players in the world. But, for the most part, it's friendly competition, and all is forgotten and forgiven once the final card has fallen.

There is also a lot of intense competition amongst poker companies. And THAT competition is far less friendly, and often full time. But, for once, a poker event has come along that has eclipsed the party lines, and looks to be lining up to be an absolute classic. Meet...The Caesar's Cup.

The Caesar's Cup is an invitational poker event that will be part of the 2009 World Series of Poker Europe. It's a Ryder Cup type format where a team representing the Americas will play against a team representing Europe in several events, competing for the Caesar's Cup on September 25th.

The team captains have been chosen. Representing the Americas Team is Daniel Negreanu. KidPoker is a perfect choice, being born Canadian but residing in the United States. Europe's captain is Annette Obrestad, European born and with an axe to grind since the US still believes Annette is too young to play in the WSOP, at age 20.

The captains made their first picks during the WSOP in Las Vegas. And this is where it gets interesting: the lines of online sponsorships have been completely blurred in order to put together the best possible teams. Negreanu, sponsored by PokerStars, made his first pick in Phil Ivey, a Team FullTilt Pro. Annette, sponsored by Betfair, selected as her first pick Peter Eastgate, a PokerStars player. Obviously, these picks weren't made with any online allegiances, but rather with the idea of selecting the best team possible.

Too often, these company lines are a defining factor of who poker players are. Watching poker agents rush to sign players assigned to the TV table during the WSOP was testament to just how competitive these companies are.

But the Caesar's Cup will be all about the best. Regardless of whose patch the players wear, they will be playing for their flags, not their patches. And that should make this tournament an awfully fun competition to watch.