Joe Stapleton Interview – Part 2 of 2

Joe Stapleton, commentator for The PokerStars.net Big Game television show, joins us for the second of his two part interview. Stapleton’s rise to fame in the world of poker has inspired many to break into the industry and his work on the televised cash game poker show has drawn rave reviews from television critics and poker players alike.

One of the first topics discussed in this video is Stapleton’s old friend Amanda Leatherman who also works on the show as official hostess. Leatherman’s work has also drawn excellent reviews and her rapport with the top name pros is nearly second to none. Stapleton recalls how she broke into the industry as a green 21-year-old and how he has come to think of her like a younger sister. He stated that her best asset is how comfortable she makes players feel around her and how they open up, which makes for perfect television.

The next topic discussed with host Sean Gibson is about Stapleton’s popularity in the online poker world, thanks to his work with PokerRoad and great work on television. Stapleton says he has no real way of explaining it, but that he’s extremely lucky and very grateful for the love that he gets from the forum communities. Gibson then asked about what makes up the keys to success, which Stapleton went into detail specifically about preparation and how important that has been to his personal success.

Stapleton tells us that every possible way of a hand to be called has been done so by the dozens of poker television programs that have been on the air for the last few years. So, in that light, he tries to make things more interesting and go beyond simply referring to the “lowest common denominator” for the audience which helps him connect on a level that color commentators rarely are able to do.

Stapleton is the commentator of The PokerStars.net Big Game which features a cash game with professional poker players and “loose cannons” who are internet qualifiers. The show has featured name pros such as PokerStars pros such as Daniel Negeanu and Jason Mercier, in addition to players such as UB.com’s own Phil Hellmuth.