Debuting in recent weeks was PokerStatic.com, brought to you by Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond. The site features poker-related video interviews and audio podcasts from Eric “EB” Bickel and Bret Oliverio. The hosting duo originated on Mediocre Poker Radio and can also be heard on 106.7 The Fan in Washington, D.C. Poker News Daily sat down with Galfond to recap the site’s launch.
Poker News Daily: Talk about the need to launch a site in the poker podcast and video segment of the industry.
Phil Galfond: It seemed like an area we thought we could do pretty well in. We have a different approach and have been looking to focus more on the big online guys than the other sites are. We’re in that community already and have all of those contacts. Getting Bret and EB onboard was pretty big for us too.
PND: You have pretty established competition in sites like PokerRoad. What will separate PokerStatic from the pack?
Phil Galfond: We are taking a slightly different approach. We have an edge being in the online community compared to other sites. We have our hand on the pulse of what the online community is into.
PND: Your use of split screen interviews and other visual elements seems to give you a leg up on the competition. Talk about the logic behind creating the look of PokerStatic.
Phil Galfond: First, we got Bret and EB onboard. Then, the four of us started brainstorming what we could do better and what we’d want to see in a media site. We mentioned that it’d be easy to flip the video on and record what’s going on during an interview. So far, the response has been good.
PND: What guests are in the works in the coming weeks? What World Series of Poker (WSOP) plans does PokerStatic have?
Phil Galfond: We just finished recording with Annette Obrestad. For the WSOP, I think that’s where we’ll get a lot of content. We hang out with a lot of the guys we’re interviewing and we can beef up the video content then. We can find people to video blog at the WSOP for us as well. Overall, the WSOP will be huge for us.
PND: Talk about Bret and EB’s love of poker.
Phil Galfond: They’re really into it. They love what they’re doing and they’re really into poker. They view it as an opportunity to reach a wide audience.
PBD: What kinds of shows are you looking to add as the site grows?
Phil Galfond: We’re very open to anybody who is interested in having a show. Bret, EB, and I will always be brainstorming new shows and concepts, but there are only a few of us. There are a lot of people out there.
PND: Talk about Tom Dwan possibly facing off against Brian Townsend in the second incarnation of the Durrrr Challenge, as reported by Bluff Magazine.
Phil Galfond: That would be a fun one. Brian is more of a pure online player and Tom is the same way. They’re both so different, though. Both have risen to the top, but in completely different ways. Brian will spend, during the 50,000 hands, 20 times as much time as Tom will away from the tables thinking about it. He goes over things so extensively and he’ll be studying the tendencies a lot. That’s not what Tom does.
When they start out, I feel like Tom will probably have the edge, but Brian will work harder to adjust. Tom does his learning and adjusting while playing. Probably, some things come easier to Tom than other people.
PND: Are you still actively involved in BluefirePoker.com, your poker training site? Are there any more challenges to President Barack Obama planned?
Phil Galfond: We would like to reissue the challenge at some point, but BluefirePoker.com is going great. We just signed a new pro, Alix Martin, who is a mid-to high-stakes PLO guy. He’s also good at mathematical game theory and is a good fit for our site.
PNDL Talk about returning to the “High Stakes Poker” felts for Season 6.
Phil Galfond: It was fun. I played a lot more than I did the first time and got involved in some more big hands. I ended up losing a decent chunk, but had no regrets.
