Epsiode #124: Mori Eskandani
Image courtesy of Mori Eskandani (the one in the beard)
MAIN TOPIC
We have a fun chat with Mori Eskandani, CEO of POKER-PROductions, which has brought us Poker After Dark, High Stakes Poker, the National Heads-Up Poker Championship among other poker shows. Tune in to hear some behind-the-scenes stories from the set, laugh at some of the crazy pitches Mori has gotten for shows ideas and learn what the future of televised poker holds. Click here to hear the show.
OTHER TOPICS
AIPS: Congrats to predator06, who lorded over Event #10, likely because none of the bountied players could get past the pregame introductions. Click here for info on the final two events.
Absolute: We weigh in on our opinions about the Absolute Poker scandal. It's another painful reminder of how easy it is to get duped online, so play very carefully. If there's a fresh angle to the story you haven't found somewhere else, let us know and we'll take a stab at it.
Doyle's Room: The Web site returns to the U.S. market. And Chris issues a correction on last week's news about Pam Brunson (Don't you love it when Chris has to admit mistakes? I mean, since he'll never admit he's wrong about RCGs?)
PokerBowl: Scott still thinks this event is laughable, but we're all happy that good friend Kenna James had some success. Tune in next year to watch it.
Survivor: Did these folks really make us root FOR Jean-Robert this week? Really?
Hotline: Our listeners are winning everywhere! Tell your friends.
Tampa Bay Poker Replay: One-Eyed Jack's in Sarasota announces new SNGs and satellites, and it's time again for the Vincent Lecavalier Texas Hold'em Celebrity Poker Tournament.
HAND OF THE WEEK
Dave "djm182" submits a hand that proves why stud8 is one of the greatest poker games.
He begins with a great two-way draw (As-2d-4h), and in capped pot with multiple opponents, he pairs his Ace on 4th Street. Capped again, he hits a powerful 3h on 5th Street when the action slows down. He bricks on 6th Street with a Js, while both of his remaining opponents seemingly improve. He gets caught in a raising war and can't get away, and the river two-pairs him: too little, too late.
Lessons? You can easily get committed in stud8, but at some point, you probably need to find a way to cut your losses against multiple frisky opponents. But even if you do, your reads can be way off since it's a split pot game. We love it!
NEXT WEEK'S SHOW
Scott reports back from Biloxi and the state of its poker post-Katrina.
- SCOTT
Christopher Cosenza is co-host of the longest running poker podcast on the planet, Ante Up! He started playing poker seriously in 2003 and his favorite players are Phil Ivey and Kenna James, though he tends to act like Phil Hellmuth if you make a bad play against him.
Scott Long, Ante Up!'s other co-host, is the author of the monthly Bet on It column in tbt*. He began gambling way too young (don't tell the fuzz!) and in the seventh grade, named his state "Gambleland" for a school project (State Animal? Loan shark, of course).
As a point of clarification, it's the Tacoma News Tribune, not the Tacoma News.............. ;-)
Michael
Posted by: Michael Paul | October 26, 2007 at 07:50 PM
I´m still overcoming a night without sleep in that AIPS tourney. Great show.
I hoped that this would be the tourney where I could take my revenge on Chris and Scott each busting me out last year but they fled the arena before I had a chance to get to them :)
I don´t think I´ll be in the next. It´s a tough time slot, even with the weekend ahead, and only Omaha can get me to consider it (yes, I know, HORSE has the O, so I just might go for it).
I also have to say I love the new music you´ve put in the various parts of the show. I know you had to but it was a great opportunity to refresh those parts of the show. And I´m a big supporter of podsafe and RIAA free music.
Posted by: Erwin Blonk | October 27, 2007 at 05:37 AM
Indeed, thumbs up for the new music and the show!
Just one question... If we move to epsiodes, shouldn't the count start at 1? :P
Posted by: FrodoNL | October 27, 2007 at 09:02 AM
Chris, I think I saw you at Derby(The card room, not the area of Conn.) yesterday. If that was you...get a hair cut!
Posted by: Erik H | October 28, 2007 at 12:58 PM
It was me, and I do need a haircut. You should have said HI! You could have seen me yelling at a player at some point. My frustration go the best of me when I raised 6X BB with QQ UTG and got two callers, including the BB. When the river put a third diamond on the board I cringed (after leading out twice). It got checked arounf and the BB turned over 27d. I lost it. I was actually down $155 with only $25 left but rallied to show a profit for a bit. I ended up being down $16 after 3+ hours of play, so I guess that's a moral victory. Next time introduce yourself since I don't know what you look like. 8-)
Posted by: Chris Cosenza | October 28, 2007 at 02:08 PM
I showed a small profit for the night as well. You were walking outside when I saw you, you had just been at the cage. My buddy went bust after a guy flat called a raise and a re-raise with J,9 and beat my buddies Queens and then said "no one has anything till the flop." My buddy said "I'm pretty sure I had a pair of Queens." I hear you talk about being on AIM, is there anyway to get your screen name?
Posted by: Erik H | October 28, 2007 at 11:24 PM
Best interview since the Barry G. episode.
Posted by: Croker | October 29, 2007 at 09:16 AM
I don't use AIM really, only when I HAVE to communicate with someone I know ONLY uses it. So I don't care to give it out. Just email me here at poker@tampabay.com and we can chat.
Croker: Yeah, Mori was a lot of fun.
Posted by: Chris Cosenza | October 29, 2007 at 01:00 PM
Ok thanks. Yea Mori sounded like a fun interview, that was a good guest to get.
Posted by: Erik | October 29, 2007 at 01:09 PM
Sounded like Chris was desperate to find a new job. Now that he realizes that Chris... er Scott is the funny one.
Posted by: Joe-Unimpressed | October 30, 2007 at 02:25 PM
Another good episode, but I have one comment related to the Absolute Poker scandal, and your reporting in general.
You mentioned not having an interview related to the scandal because there wasn't anything that you could cover that wasn't already covered. I can understand where you are coming from, but here are a couple of points.
1. Not everyone listens to all the other podcasts (I do, but then I'm a Geek), so those interviews may still be appreciated. Of course I think you did do an excellent job of discussing it, so you have that base partially covered.
2. You consistently provide the best interviews of any of the pod-casts. (Maybe due to your Journalism background) I load pod-casts every Saturday, and Ante Up is the Anchor of my weekly poker podcast play list. As I listened to Pocket Fives and Rounders on the Absolute scandal, I kept thinking to myself, "I can't wait to hear what Scott and Chris have to say". So don't sell yourself short. I think you can still add value even if you seem to be covering the same ground. You can be better if not different.
Anyway, I just thought I would throw in my 2 cents. Keep up the great work!
Posted by: Poker Geek | October 31, 2007 at 05:31 PM
I agree with the previous poster - I wanted to hear what Scott and Chris had to say about the scandal, I don't care other shows had ran it because ANTEUPS opinion is the most valuable anyway. ANTEUP needs to realize it's position in the poker world.
Posted by: Dean | October 31, 2007 at 06:33 PM