CPL Poker Podcast

Oh, what coulda been

2012-02-02T18:23:33Z

By Karaoke Phil

I was doing some vanity surfing and came across a site I don't often go to - Poker Pro Labs. It's a poker ranking site that uses a rating of 2 thru Ace to show how good a player is in Scheduled Tourneys, Sit-n-go's and Heads Up play. They further break down the rankings by assigning 1 to 5 "stars" per card. So, the worst possible ranking is a 2 with 1 star and the best is an Ace with 5 stars.

I have/had liked the site due to it's breaking out those three categories (tourneys, SNGs and HU).
However, I didn't go to the site on a regular basis as Official Poker Rankings was my daily source. I think the other reason I rarely visited it was that pride factor - if memory serves I was ranked somewhere around a middlin' 9 to a middlin' J for the three areas. Sure, that's top half (a 3-star 8 would be dead center), but I thought I should be higher. So, as to not hurt my pride I didn't stop by very often.

Anyway, I made a visit after seeing it pop up in my Google search results name and lo-and-behold:

I had vastly improved right before Black Friday to a 1-star Ace in Scheduled Tournaments, and 2-Star Kings in SNGs and HU play. As it turns out, my game appears to have been improving as I thought it was. Oh, what could've been had the whole DOJ Black Friday fiasco not have happened.

Big Bash III is in the Books - Strong Field Present

2012-01-31T00:17:37Z

There were 39 entrants in this year's Big Bash - the third installment of this annual invitational.

Our host, Gene Milne, finished runner-up in this strong field which included friend of the CPL Mike Behr finishing in 4th and CPL Historian Mark Wittig busting out in 5th. Of course Mark and Phil were there as well with Mark busting out around 34th when he pushed on the turn having flush and full house outs (a total of 13). It was his chance to double up and go big or bust and go home. His opponent had turned a straight and made the snap call. Mark failed to hit and was out.

The player of the tourney may well have been Lee Surma. Surma finished 15th in last year's MN Poker Mag Player of the Year race - just a couple spots below Everett Carlton. He won the MSPT event in November for more than $46K, finished 19th in the TCPO (the event won by Erick Wright - listen to our interview with him in Episode 116), and took third in Big Bash III. He followed all that up with a 4th place showing in yesterday's "Great Minnesota Freeze Out" at Canterbury Park for another $10K plus.

It is also Lee Surma that crippled our own Phil Fuehrer and then busted him out in 32nd. In the BB with 3/6 suited Phil called the min raise from the UTG Surma sitting immediately on Phil's left. The flop came down T/3/6. Phil led out and was called heads up against Surma. The turn was an J. Phil led out and was called. The river brought a 8 - there were no flush possibilities. Phil led out and was raised all in by Surma for 4K more. By now the pot had about 13K in it and Phil needed to put in 4k of his remaining 6.4k if he wanted to call. After going in the tank Phil made the call, believing (hoping?) Surma had a hand like A/J. Surma actually had T/8 for a rivered better 2 pair. On the button the very next hand, Phill pushed with 8/7 suited, after it had folded around to him, for his last 2.4K - a 4xBB all in. Surma woke up with A/J in the SB and the big blind folded. Surma flopped an A, Phil turned a 7 and a four flush, but a blank on the river sent Phil to the rail.

We here at the CPL have to wonder what Surma's highlight of the last 60 days has been: winning the MSPT and the Moeller bracelet, finishing third in the Big Bash, fourth in the Freeze Out or busting Karaoke Phil?

It's time for Milne's "Big Bash III"

2012-01-27T16:18:21Z

It's the third annual "Big Bash" and your CPL co-hosts Mark Cardenas and Phil Fuehrer, along with CPL Historian Mark Wittig will be vying for the win in the 40-person invitational.

We'll have an update after the cards are done flying tomorrow.
...

CPL Poker Podcast Episode 120-Part II

2012-01-24T05:08:06Z

Episode 120 Part II
Released 1-23-2012
(0:54:10)
Listen now by clicking the MORE below, the BLUBRRY on the right, or the MEDIA PLAYER on the lower right.

Episode 120 of the CPL Poker Podcast (part II) has the following segments:

--MN Music Featuring Cwn Annwn

--CPL Poker History with Francis Parniticus—Poker Dealers

--CPL Interview with Nels Peterson

Bumper Music by: IKKI, Roster McCabe

Enjoy!

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CPL Poker Podcast Episode 120-Part I

2012-01-24T04:35:52Z

Episode 120 Part I

Released 1-23-2012
(0:56:23)
Listen now by clicking the MORE below, the BLUBRRY on the right, or the MEDIA PLAYER on the lower right.

Episode 120 of the CPL Poker Podcast (part I) has the following segments:

--Intro

--Hand of the Week

Bumper Music by: Stew, Roster McCabe, Barry Manilow

Enjoy!

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Treating Players Right

2012-01-22T23:03:41Z

By Karaoke Phil

I've meant to post something like this for a while now. It's time to finally put it up. There are some great things that bars can do for their poker players. And, Gary Erickson,owner of Erick's Bar in St. Paul, does them. He really treats his poker players right.

I'm talking about more than in-bar specials or a free round for the players during Christmas week - which he routinely does. Gary goes an extra mile. He regularly attends regional playoffs to cheer on his players. He does the same when the State Championship is held locally at Running Aces Harness Park. But, it's more than simply being a booster for the qualifiers from Erick's. He has always laid out some dough and purchased a congratulatory round for his "stable" of players.

I've always thanked him personally when he's done this, of course. I wanted to publicly say "thank you" to Gary Erickson for all you do for us!

FPN's Twin Cities "Vegas or Bust" Regions, CPL does REALLY well!

2012-01-16T20:52:34Z

Saturday saw "Regions" for season 1 take place in Free Poker Network's - Vegas or Bust promotion.

With 156 qualifiers the top 16 would receive an advance to the state tournament. However, no one from White Bear Bar showed up. The FPN lost White Bear Bar to the Straight Flush Poker Tour sometime in early December (the final month of season 1 for this promotion). Big Robb, running the regional tournament at the Blue Fox, was not sure if those players had simply thought they no longer qualified, decided to stay home to watch playoff football or thought they should be attending the Twin Cities North regional tournament next weekend. As such, he guaranteed that the top 12 would be moving on, but spots 13 to 16 would be in limbo until a final decision could be made.

Attendees to FPN's regions qualify with a single, double or triple stack depending on how well you do during that three month season. Karaoke Phil went in with a double stack. Playing fairly well throughout the day but short stacked he moved all-in when he saw tables being collapsed for the top 16. He lost the hand and busted in the gray zone - in 16th. He'll need to wait to hear if he has already qualified for his 8th straight state tournament or if he'll need season 2 to do it.

While Karaoke is "on the bubble" - friends of the CPL Wanda "The Steamroller" Bublitz and "Zero to $10000" bankroll builder Wyn Santo are most definitely "in". Wyn took out Wanda heads up as they finished first and second.

Happy New Year - We're Looking for Great Growth

2012-01-03T02:27:07Z

We here at the CPL Poker Podcast want to wish all of you and yours a great 2012.

We ended 2011 with almost 950,000 page visits. We have some great ideas and energy moving into 2012 and are looking to push those visits past 2 million!!!

Thank you for being a part of our family and we'll see a lot more of each other in the up coming year.

...

CPL Poker Podcast Episode 119-Best of Music 2011

2011-12-27T01:16:47Z

Episode 119 Best of Music 2011
Released 12-26-2011
(1:31:53)
Listen now by clicking the MORE below, the BLUBRRY on the right, or the MEDIA PLAYER on the lower right.

Episode 119 of the CPL Poker Podcast is the Best of Music 2011 Episode:

--Mark and Phil countdown the top 10 songs played on the CPL Poker Podcast during 2011!

Bumper Music by: Stew, IKKI, and Kip Blackshire

Enjoy!

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Merry Christmas from CPL Poker Podcast and The Micros

2011-12-25T18:03:47Z

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all our readers and listeners!

The boys over at "The Micros" have also given us all a present - they finished the third part of their "trilogy" and put it all together.

We've linked to: "The Mega-Trilogy" here. Take a look. You've likely seen the first 5 minutes or so. The "Tommy" act is the new piece.

Enjoy and Merry Christmas!!

Karaoke Phil's 3rd Anniversary in FPN

2011-12-23T22:13:59Z

By Karaoke Phil

Three years ago today I made the journey back into bar poker. I had played for quite some time with Chippy Poker, mostly at George's on Plato - with considerable success. For reasons I don't remember, I quit playing. George's no longer exists. Coincidence? I think not.

After a lengthy period of time I decided to dedicate my Tuesday nights to bar poker again. A co-worker and CPL Home League player, Wanda "Steamroller" Bublitz told me about her escapades with the Free Poker Network (FPN). That opened the door at Erik's Bar for me to return to quaffing a few beers while playing bar poker.

On December 23, 2008 I played against 34 others at Erik's. I don't really remember the night and I didn't point (top 30%). I'm sure I decided to wait a week before showing them what I really had in me. On week 2, December 30, 2008, I gave everyone a preview not only of what 2009 would be - but, all the years thereafter. I won that night and have largely dominated ever since. In the interim I have qualified for 7 MN State Championships in the 7 promotions I have played - and won 4 medallions for winning the bar outright. However, I have failed - repeatedly - to take home any big prize.

FPN keeps the best stats that I've seen from any bar poker league. They also segment them out into groups so you can do some apples to apples comparisons. In my three years in the league I have now played 168 matches garnering more than 15,200 career points. I finish in the points 57% of the time and final table (top 8) better than 43%. I take the night down about 1 out of every 15 matches. Not too bad considering the average size of the field week in and week out over these years has been about 44 players. If poker were all random luck I should only be winning about 1/3 as much as I have.

For the podcast listeners you know that I have complained about running very cold lately - which, in all, is true. Still, I am ranked 12th nationwide out of 2031 players who have competed in 100 to 199 FPN tournaments. My career points rank me around 485th of the more than 75,000 players who have ever played in the FPN. That puts me ahead of many FPN notables including former FPN National Champ Nels Peterson and FPN staple Big Robb Butcher - both of whom have played MANY more times in the FPN than I have.

The next category for that apples to apples comparison is the final one: "Minumum 200 Tournaments Played". I should reach that around July. As it looks now, I should enter that grouping of 900 players ranked 1st or 2nd in the country in Average Points per Tournament. I have sometimes fretted over what I perceive to be a little lackluster "Power Ranking" - but even there I should be in the top 8 nationwide. I'm currently 32nd.

Now I just need to add some "real" finishes in the various Championship tournaments to my weekly results. I'm going to keep trying.

CPL Poker Podcast Episode 118

2011-12-15T01:21:53Z

Episode 118

Released 12-14-2011
(1:04:17)
Listen now by clicking the MORE below, the BLUBRRY on the right, or the MEDIA PLAYER on the lower right.

Episode 118 of the CPL Poker Podcast has the following segments:

--Intro

--Poker History - Riverboats

--Hand of the Week--AK

--CPL MN Music Segment featuring: Life Tragic

--CPL MN Music Segment Part II featuring: Junebug

Bumper Music by: Stew, IKKI, Roster McCabe, Howard Jones

Enjoy!

Follow us on Twitter and Like us on Facebook at CPLPokerPodcast

CPL Poker Podcast Episode 117

2011-12-04T16:57:40Z

Episode 117
Released 12-4-2011
(1:09:54)
Listen now by clicking the MORE below, the BLUBRRY on the right, or the MEDIA PLAYER on the lower right.

Episode 117 of the CPL Poker Podcast has the following segments:

--Intro

--Poker News

--Hand of the Week

--CPL MN Music Segment featuring: Alison Scott

--Casino Review-MGM Las Vegas

--CPL MN Music Segment Part II featuring: Skittish

Bumper Music by: Stew, IKKI, Roster McCabe, Phil Collins

Enjoy!

Follow us on Twitter and Like us on Facebook at CPLPokerPodcast

CPL Poker Podcast Episode 116

2011-11-19T03:22:35Z

Episode 116
Released 11-18-2011
(1:35:01)
Listen now by cliking the MORE below, the BLUBRRY on the right, or the MEDIA PLAYER on the lower right.

Episode 116 of the CPL Poker Podcast has the following segments:

--CPL Intro
--WSOP 2011 Main Event Discussion
--CPL MN Music Segment featuring: Korat Grey Band

--Interview with Erick Wright, 2011 winner of the TCPO

Bumper Music by: Stew, IKKI, Roster McCabe, Gloria Estefan

Enjoy!

Follow us on Twitter and Like us on Facebook at CPLPokerPodcast

Main Event Thoughts

2011-11-08T21:46:24Z

By Karaoke Phil

The WSOP Main Event has played down to the final three - Pius Heinz, Ben Lamb and Martin Staszko - who will return this evening (11/08) to crown the championship. As the Vikings were on bye, I forsook football and spent virtually all of Sunday following the live action. Here are some comments and thoughts.....

I liked the coverage and commentary. Antonio Esfandiari and Phil Hellmuth provided some insightful commentary on hands - especially without seeing the hole cards (until after a flop or preflop folds).

I don't think I liked the 15 minute delay. We had nearly live coverage with that 15-minute delay for "the integrity of the game." I think 30 minutes or an hour would be better. For a standard viewer, a delay of 30 minutes or an hour is still "live", but it does a better job of maintaining play integrity. With 15 minutes you may only have a delay of 4 or 5 hands. That is too close to real time for my comfort. It seemed that each player had supports in the stands receiving info on the televised but time-delayed hands. Czech Martin Staszko seemed to use the dinner break as scout report time and really adjusted his play accordingly - particularly against German Pius Heinz. Who knows what other on-the-fly adjustments players like Ben Lamb made that changed the completion and tenor of the game. A slightly longer delay still maintains the "live" aspect, but puts more hands between "that great bluff he made" and actually knowing about it which I think may well have altered the complexion of the play.

Now, having said the above - it seems like only Staszko adjusted his play - particularly against Heinz who was playing the ultra aggression card. That it continued to work for him is a pity - I personally don't care for him. Speaking of Staszko - there's a guy near and dear to my hear. Esfandiari gave him props several times for his play during the coverage. At one point when 4-handed Phil Hellmuth noted that Staszko's play works very well at 8 or 9 handed, but that he needed to pick up the pace and agresssion. I think I like Martin Staszko's play because it reminds me of my own style. And, his being Czech doesn't hurt at all.

I'm looking forward to tonight's coverage and hope that it's payback time for the Munich Agreement of 1938. Look it up if you don't know your history and you'll find out who I'm looking at in the final two and who should win!!

Live Coverage WITH Commentary at FPN MN State Championships

2011-10-28T23:21:35Z

Your own CPL Poker Podcast team of Mark Cardenas and Phil Fuehrer, with assistance from CPL Historian Mark Wittig will be on hand at Running Aces on Saturday, October 29 for the Free Poker Network's Minnesota State "Poker Pro" Championship.

We'll begin broadcasting at 7:30 pm central interviewing FPN folks and players and covering the action from two tables to the final winners. You'll see the flops with live commentary!!

We'll be broadcasting off of our Ustream.tv Channel or you should be able to watch below as well. Create a free ustream.tv account and interact with us during the show!!

Watch the show below when we go LIVE!

Streaming video by Ustream

CPL Poker Podcast Episode 115 - Fall 2011

2011-10-16T19:29:25Z

Episode 115
Released 10-16-2011
(54:01)
Listen now by cliking the MORE below, the BLUBRRY on the right, or the MEDIA PLAYER on the lower right.

Episode 115 of the CPL Poker Podcast has the following segments:

--CPL News
--CPL Hand of the Week
--CPL MN Music Segment featuring: More Than Lights

Bumper Music by: Stew, IKKI, Phil Collins

Enjoy!

Follow us on Twitter and Like us on Facebook at CPLPokerPodcast.

Tonight is Deadline for 2011 Podcast Award Nominations

2011-09-30T22:39:59Z

It's 11:59 pm tonight - that's the deadline to nominate your CPL Poker Podcast in the Best Produced and Sports categories for the 2011 Podcast Awards.

Read more about it all - two posts down.
...

Staking Series Update

2011-09-20T23:40:04Z

There's still time to buy a piece of Karaoke Phil. He's offering two packages:

A: 2 Midwest Poker Classic and 4 Fall Poker Classic Tournaments

NLHE Ironman Freeroll, Spread Limit OH8, 2 OH8 and 2 Mix Limit NLHE/OH8 tournaments

$15 for each 1% of action purchased

B: 2 Midwest Poker Classic and 3 WSOP Circuit Tournaments

NLHE Ironman Freeroll, Spread Limit OH8, HORSE tournament and (update) 1NLHE, & 1 OH8

tournament.

$20 for each 1% of action purchased (WSOP piece of the action at 1.2%)

Both Package A and B have 11% booked up - with 5% to 10% "considering" on each package. That leaves room in each for those interested.

Click here for the original post - otherwise to buy a piece of Phil - email us at cplpodcast@gmail.com . If you have questions - post a comment!!

Nominations for Podcast Awards Open Sept 15 - Consider the CPL Poker Podcast

2011-09-10T17:57:57Z

The 7th Annual Podcast Awards open their nomination period on Sept. 15th. You'll have until Sept. 30 to cast a nomination vote in a host of categories. You can only post a single vote and we hope you will consider the CPL Poker Podcast for both the "Sports" and "Best Produced" categories!!

We think this is the year we've come into our own and feel great about asking you to throw some love our way with a nomination vote. We hope you feel the same way!

Nominating will be fairly easy - they'll have a submission form on their website with all of the categories. You fill it in with your nominations. Each podcast can only be nominated in a single area - except that a show can be nominated a second time in the Best Produced or People's Choice category (we're going for the Best Produced). You can leave categories blank - so, say you just want to nominate the CPL Poker Podcast in the "Sports" and "Best Produced" categories you can do that and leave the other areas, like the Mature category, blank - but, nominate the shows you'd like to see getting some kudos.

This is what you'll need to nominate us (or anyone else):

Podcast name you are nominating (for us: CPL Poker Podcast )
Podcast URL ( cplpokerpodcast.com)
Your Name
Your Verifiable E-mail Address
Comments are critical so the reviewing team understand why a show is deserving of being nominated to the category.

You can only nominate a single time - so don't worry about needing to log in every day for weeks. They only allow a single submission per person. Note: that they'll be using some email verification techniques AND a small percentage of folks will be randomly asked to "verify" their vote by needing to click the verify link in a separate email. So, if you get one of those don't forgot to click the link.

As for those comments, we trust you have your own reasons for listening to the CPL Poker Podcast but if you want some assistance you could try some of these lines of thoughts:

Funny and entertaining
Offer a wide variety of poker items from news to reviews to analysis
Easy to understand poker analysis
Entertaining and well produced show that's not just talking heads but offers transitions, solid bumper music and a MN music segment

We're going to be "pimping" this over the next couple of weeks so please bear with us for that - and don't forget to vote, once, beginning September 15th!!