Recollections from a Decade of the Chip War: Segment Two
Rewritten Article:
Hey there, fellow audio enthusiasts! I'm diving back into the good ol' days of the Chip Race podcast, hosted by yours truly and my chum from our website News, David Lappin. This time I'm gonna share another five anecdotes from our informative yet sometimes chaotic journey in the world of poker.
6. The down stretch
The second season started off swell, but things took a dark turn fast. We had a tough time attracting guests that mattered to our fans, and the numbers were dropping episode after episode. In addition to that, we were grappling with sound quality issues – pretty much burning through sound engineers, and David eventually decided he had no choice but to learn the ropes himself. Our lineup of English guests didn't seem to hit the mark with our audience, but honestly, we were still novices learning our craft.
7. Can Pads carry the baton, Dara?
We finally stopped the bleeding when we secured Jake Cody as a guest. The guy struck a chord with our fans and gave us a clear idea of the type of guests we needed to attract. To keep the momentum going, I asked a guy named Pads, who I'd chatted with online, to join us. David wasn't overly enthusiastic, doubting whether Pads carried enough clout. He had a strong presence on Twitter at the time, but not the kind of following we were hoping for. I insisted and David and I met up with Pads in a hotel room at UKIPT Bristol. Our internet was a mess, and we could barely hear what he was saying, which led to one of our most disjointed interviews yet. We hoped we could fix it in post-production, but back then, we didn't have Zoom or any other central recording system. Instead, we all recorded our ends separately. Henderson stitched the whole thing together afterwards.
Fast forward a few days, and I chased Pads to send his recording, but he never did, leaving us scratching our heads. I asked a mutual friend who worked with him about it, and they suggested Pads either never recorded his end or lost it but wasn't willing to admit it. Armed with that info, I confronted Pads, and he agreed to rerecord the interview entirely – one that ended up impressing our audience and solidifying our listenership numbers.
8. Miss Tilly to the rescue
Getting Europeans was one thing, but Americans turned out to be a different kettle of fish. Why, you ask? America has a lot of millionaires in poker, and they're more likely to say "no" when your guest list is packed with unknown Europeans.
I hit my luck when I DMed Jennifer Tilly, a fellow Bluff Magazine writer with a similar sense of humor. To my surprise, she agreed to come on the show without hesitation, but only if the interview was in person. I had no problems with that, and we arranged to meet at the WSOP (David wasn't attending so the plan was for me to do it solo). Unfortunately, Tilly had to leave Vegas due to a family health emergency. She contacted me a few weeks later and offered to do an interview in a London hotel during her Chucky movie promo day. There was a snag: the film production company refused to add an obscure Irish podcast to their list of interviews. But, the ever-resourceful Tilly suggested she gift us her lunch break instead. The interview was a total delight: Tilly and I connected immediately, and her quick wit made for some hilarious exchanges. Best of all, she gave us the video footage, and it kickstarted our YouTube channel – something that had been struggling before that. Having Tilly on the roster made it much easier for us to attract other American guests, including Phil Laak and Antonio Esfandiari.
9. Mrs. Doke takes the stage
We had no trouble attracting European heavyweights, but the US was another story. Landing big names in America required some finesse, as they often want to see who else you've interviewed before deciding to join the podcast.
My wife was our most valuable asset and harshest critic during the early days. She never held back her criticisms, but she also provided invaluable feedback to help shape the show. By the time it came to record our 50th episode, we were well-established and enjoyed a loyal fanbase. We decided to interview all our partners for one segment. While the other partners were great, Mireille dominated the conversation, so she ended up being the segment's focus. When it came time to record, she insisted I remain downstairs while she worked upstairs. Mireille's interview resonated with listeners so much that she won a landslide victory in a poll to determine which guest they wanted back for our 100th show.
10. Phil's grumpy interview
By the fourth season, our listenership had grown three times over, and we decided to hunt for an all-time great – Phil Hellmuth. I reached out to our sponsor to request an interview, and to our delight, Hellmuth agreed. In the days leading up to the interview, we kept the big name under wraps, creating quite the anticipation among our fans. Hordes of people speculated who it could be, but nobody guessed Hellmuth. On the big day, Hellmuth showed up wearing head-to-toe sponsor gear – not exactly what we had in mind for an audio-only podcast. We politely suggested that he could wear the gear but not worry about our listeners seeing it since we were an audio-only show. I guess we broke Phil's heart, as he started to show signs of discontent and hinted that the interview was pointless. By the grace of God, we managed to talk him into giving us ten minutes. I sent a message to David proposing we spin the interview differently: instead of trying to pack 20-30 minutes into ten minutes, we'd spend the ten minutes praising Phil for his undeniable greatness, his uniqueness, and his influence on poker.
This strategy worked like a charm. For the rest of his ten minutes, Phil was in an amazing mood, and when the time was up, he stayed on for over an hour – enough material for not one but two episodes, both of which saw our listenership double overnight. I've listened to many Phil Hellmuth interviews since, but this one remains my favorite as he opened up about his struggles and triumphs, painting a captivating picture of his evolution into the poker world's resident brat.
That wraps up my stroll down Memory Lane. The success or failure of a podcast relies heavily on its guests, and getting the best out of them is crucial. Our goal has always been to highlight the unique qualities of each guest and offer something interesting to our audience. We're forever grateful to all our guests who've taken the time to talk to us and to every listener who's stuck around on this exciting journey.
- Despite initial struggles with sound quality and attracting relevant guests, David from the Chip Race podcast Eventually taught himself sound editing to improve their podcast.
- In an attempt to boost their listener base, the hosts of the Chip Race podcast approached Poker player Jake Cody for an interview, which turned out to be a success with their audience.
- Leaving a potentially failing interview with Pads, the hosts of the Chip Race podcast Later had to confront him about missing his recording, ultimately leading to a re-recorded interview that impressed their audience.
- After encountering difficulties in securing American guests due to the poker world's many millionaires, the hosts of the Chip Race podcast Successfully interviewed Poker and Bluff Magazine writer Jennifer Tilly, which helped increase their listener numbers and attracted other high-profile American guests like Phil Laak and Antonio Esfandiari.
