History -The Top Pair Home Game Poker Podcast (www.toppair.net) premiered on October 10, 2009. We have been continually producing new episodes, uninterrupted, since that time. We have an archive (as of 8/23/2014) of 217 episodes. Our shows are typically between 30-45 minutes in length and include 4-5 separate segments. The podcast was originated by co hosts, Eric Nelson & Bruce Briggs, both avid poker fans, home game hosts and home game players. In June of 2014 Eric left the show to devote more time to his young family and increasing work demands. He was replaced by Robbie Strazynski, an author of poker articles, home game participant and creator of Card Player Lifestyle (www.cardplayerlifestyle.com) a compilation of articles written about all aspects of poker. We started out producing a new episode every week but have cut back to every other week. The option to resume new shows weekly is available if the market warrants it.
Focus - When we decided to create the Top Pair Home Game Poker Podcast we concluded that the vast majority of poker played every day was not in casinos, cardrooms or online (particularly in the USA) but was enjoyed in private homes or after hours business locations with a group of friends, co-workers, neighbors, relatives or just poker enthusiasts. We saw this as huge audience to target and our research indicated that no poker oriented podcast was focusing on that market. Hosting or playing in a home poker game presents a unique set of circumstances as far as equipment, recruiting & vetting players, stakes and games to play, security, what is expected of a player / guest, what is expected of a host / home owner, rule situations, tools to recruit for and organize the game, how to find a game or find players and countless other topics. When we first began the show we worried that we would run out of things to talk about. So far there are an abundance of new topics to explore and updated or unique slants on topics already covered, to keep each episode fresh, relevant and entertaining.
Structure - Bruce has a background in terrestrial radio and designed the show to have a polished feel and smooth flowing pace. Our opening introduction, segment introductions and wrap up / conclusion is pre-produced with unique musical accompaniment and a professional voice over announcer, Chelsi Stahr (http://ChelsiStahr.com). Our segments give a re-cap of the hosts past week playing / hosting home games, tackle topics that relate to the home game experience, general poker news or subjects that we feel will be of interest, interviews with folks from the poker industry with a slant towards exploring their home game background, experience & perspectives. We end with a humorous "One Outer", usually picked up in home game conversation, to leave our listeners with a smile.
Guests - Top Pair has been very fortunate to have an impressive array of poker luminaries who have agreed to be interviewed for our home game poker podcast. The list includes WSOP Main Event Champions, Bracelet Winners, Hall Of Fame Inductees, and key individuals in the poker industry. A partial list would include: Linda Johnson, Jan Fisher, T J Cloutier ,Tom McEvoy, Mike Sexton, Barry Greenstein, Matt Savage, Greg Raymer, Ken Lind WSOP Champion 2013 Seniors Tournament, Nolan Dalla, Mike Caro, Kathy Liebert and others. Every guest has been a delight to visit with and enjoyed talking about their home game experience and background. Often times, exploring this area brings out insights and stories they have not shared on other programs they have been interviewed on.
Recognition - The Top Pair Home Game Poker Podcast is available to listen or download at our web site or on ITunes, Stitcher, Poker Fuse, Rounder's Radio, Online Poker Tour, Your Poker Radio and other outlets. We have also been favorably featured on, among others, the 2+2 Home Game Poker Forum and the Chip Talk Poker Forum.
From our first episode through the present, we have had a total of over 141,000 downloads and have averaged 600 - 700 downloads per episode. Currently we are trending up, adding an increase of close to a 1,000 downloads a month. The feedback we receive from listeners indicate that when they discover us they are enjoying the show enough to go back and listen to past episodes. We have been very aggressive with Facebook, Twitter, sharing links, posting in forums, gaining a presence on other poker social media outlets and spreading the word. We anticipate the numbers to continue to climb. Our listeners are very loyal and engaged with us, eagerly anticipating each new episode. We run periodic contest & giveaways as an added way to involve and retain our audience.
What We Offer - We are excited to be able to expose our solid base of poker enthusiasts to your product or service. Our audience is typically in the 21 - 49 year old demographic, skewing male (though lots of females also listen & play home game poker), have disposable income, are outgoing, adventurous, consider recreation time important and definitely enjoy competition. Of course they love poker, playing it, talking about it, learning, improving and winning!
Specifics - We can provide an advertisement for your product or service in our Top Pair Home Game Poker podcast. We are glad to produce the content ourselves or, for a small, onetime fee, have our voice talent produce an announcement. We will provide a link to your Internet presence on our home page & Facebook page, produce Tweets about our marketing relationship, possibly do "advertorial" exposure with you on one of our episodes if what you are promoting ties into poker and hopefully home game poker, give additional exposure by crafting your product or service into a prize / reward for a promotion or contest, provide exposure and a link on the Card Player Lifestyle internet site.
Pricing - We can offer exposure to our audience at a very affordable rate. Prices start at a minimum of $50.00 per episode and we are anxious to craft a program, involving exposure in any or all of our venues, at very reasonable, package pricing levels. We want to work for you, and with you, to successfully make our enthusiastic poker players aware of your product or service. Contact us and let's zero in our your marketing plan and budget, marketing@toppair.net.
(Statistics & Numbers obtained from our RSS site / provider: Libsyn.com)