Easing some of the difficulties involved in being a full-time poker player is one of the goals of the World Poker Association, a Las Vegas-based group founded by poker pro Jesse Jones.

The association aims to be the "PGA of poker" by becoming a sanctioning body for major poker tournaments worldwide and establishing standardized tournament rules.

Similar to the PGA, players would be ranked under a universally accepted performance system. The ultimate goal would be to obtain enough corporate sponsorships of tournaments to pay for prize pools so that player buy-ins would be covered.

A governing body is "the only way we can establish the integrity of tournament poker," Jones said. "No single business entity can do it alone."

The group, which already claims a few dozen pros as members, also expects to eventually offer benefits for players including health insurance and travel discounts.

Without formal standards and rankings, "the world of tournament poker is in chaos," Jones said. "It's like having a football team traveling from stadium to stadium with new rules every time they suit up."

These ideas aren't new. Over the years a number of similar-sounding groups have tried and failed to advance very far. Critics say some were for-profit groups or nonprofits in name only that hoped to capitalize on the poker boom by roping in as many members as possible.

One of the biggest things going for the association is Jones himself, observers say. A three-time throat cancer survivor, Jones is well-respected, passionate about poker and has a genuine concern for the welfare of his peers.

"He is completely legitimate," said Jeff Shulman, a poker player who publishes Card Player magazine in Las Vegas with his father, Barry. "Jesse has plenty of money. He's doing it to leave his legacy on the industry."

Jones launched the organization this week using only his own money and said he won't be compensated for leading the group.

He said his association is different from previous efforts because it isn't affiliated with any for-profit group and aims to represent a broad array of people involved in tournaments, from casinos to poker dealers. The organization also will have a board of directors elected by members each year and a series of committees to tackle various issues, from sponsorships to marketing and media. Money will be raised through membership dues as well as Web advertising and a poker products store.

The association faces an uphill battle. Signing on the two big tournament giants, Harrah's World Series of Poker and the World Poker Tour, owned by Los Angeles-based WPT Enterprises, will be difficult because both have millions in brand equity to protect and want to maintain a degree of control over their events. Poker players themselves are a notoriously independent lot who are used to paying for their own entry fees and generally getting by on their own.

The group has yet to sign up any businesses or organizations as members and Jones said he has not yet met with the two big tournament operators.

Gary Thompson, Harrah's director of sports and entertainment marketing, said it was premature to comment on the association without hearing more about it.

"We'd be more than happy to sit down and hear what he has to say," Thompson said.

Thompson said Harrah's is already well on its way to creating a major sports enterprise and has hired marketing gurus from the NFL and NASCAR to seek sponsorships and promote the tournament on a big scale. World Series of Poker ratings are higher than many sports broadcasts on ESPN, falling short of only NFL and NASCAR events, he said.

"These guys both have MBAs in sports marketing. They understand what makes great brands successful," he said.

Similarly, the World Poker Tour is reserving judgment on the association for now.

"The World Poker Tour and the WPA share a common interest in improving and growing the world of poker," Chief Operating Officer Peter Hughes said. "We look forward to learning more about what Jesse and the WPA have in mind" and exploring "where our interests intersect."

The few celebrity players at the top have no problems scoring sponsorship deals and doing well for themselves, insurance or no insurance. Without big names on board, some say the association may never get off the ground. But those big names appear least likely to need the benefits the association could provide.

Poker pro Phil Hellmuth may have single-handedly changed that notion by plunking down $1,500 earlier this week to support the WPA.

Hellmuth, known for his confrontational attitude and trash talking, might not seem like the kind of person to jump on anyone's bandwagon.

He's also married to a doctor at Stanford University and "can take care of himself" as far as money and insurance goes.

Hellmuth said the association is "a really good move for poker" and therefore a positive for players of all stripes.

"These guys I've played poker against for the past 20, 30 years, some of them have struggled," he said. "I want to make sure they're taken care of in their later years."

"There's a lot of money coming into the poker world and I'd like to see players get a bigger piece of it," he added.

Standardizing rules for tournaments might not seem like a big deal for folks who are well-versed in the nuances of a game that's been played with little variation for more than a century.

But players say there's a few key areas the association could clarify.

At last year's World Series of Poker, Harrah's Entertainment imposed a rule that players who used the F-word during the televised final would have a time-out. Players given the time-out risked being left out of a few hands as the game progressed.

In addition, World Poker Tour events are known for rapidly raising table blinds—required bets in hold 'em games—at final tables to heighten drama.

"They're worried about shooting television shows and we're playing poker for millions of dollars," Hellmuth said. "It's like 'bang, bang bang' and the game is over. They're creating more luck than is necessary at the WPT final tables."

Jones said the group is intended to be a cooperative organization with members that would include land-based casinos, online poker rooms, tournament directors, poker fans and casual players as well as pros. In other words, the association is steering clear from the concept that it is a "players union," which could make some players as well as casinos antsy.

With all of the money at stake, there will likely be some kind of showdown between tournaments and players, many of whom have become celebrities in their own right.

As a collective voice, poker players have the power to change their profession for the better, Hellmuth said.

"We have to organize and to make ourselves heard. Once it's a legitimate threat then they'll listen," he said.