We’ll be ringing in the New Year in a big way here at Poker News Daily, as bracelet winner Jon Friedberg will be debuting “The Showdown” during the first week of January on our site. Friedberg will interview several of the game’s most prolific names in the weekly video series; in fact, the inaugural episode will feature a no-holds-barred discussion with former “Survivor” castaway Jean-Robert Bellande. The show is sponsored by UB.com.
Poker News Daily: Thanks for joining us. We are looking forward to seeing “The Showdown” come to life next week. Tell us how you became interested in hosting poker talk shows.
Jon Friedberg: It was something I accidentally stumbled across back in 2007. I was invited to be a guest on “The Circuit” and one of the hosts didn’t show up. I came on and it was just Rich Belsky and I. We had good chemistry and he thought I did well, so he asked me if I wanted to be a host of the show, so I accepted and did that for a while.
During the 2007 WSOP, CardPlayer was launching CardPlayer TV. I was asked if I wanted to have a segment on a new show where I would be interviewing players. The first episode I did, my interview lasted eight minutes and they said it was a little long to use as a segment, so asked if I wanted my own show. It sort of happened and I ended up having my own show on CardPlayer TV during the 2007 WSOP.
I enjoyed talking to players and detailing their thoughts and lifestyles to poker fans. The only thing I didn’t like was coordinating schedules with poker players. They’re tough to pin down and not good about scheduling.
After that, I took a hiatus. There was a little bit of a transition in my poker career where I wasn’t having results on the tournament circuit and didn’t feel there was much value in it anymore. I was looking to get into some ventures and continue playing, but not traveling as much. I started to think back to how much fun I was having when I was hosting my own show. I decided to talk to a few sites and sponsors to see if I could pull something together.
I see myself not as a member of the media, but rather a fellow poker player who sees eye-to-eye with players I interview. I don’t have any problems asking questions that other poker media might be scared to address. My passion is to share the lifestyles, strategies, and thought processes of poker players.
PND: What can we expect from your interview with Jean-Robert Bellande?
Jon Friedberg: We all know he loves to play beyond his bankroll. He’s very open and honest about what he Tweets and doesn’t hide losses or winnings that we know of. He mentions certain things that we don’t know much about like the “Rhino tax,” which means he’s going to Spearmint Rhino in Las Vegas and spending money on dances and such. I want to ask what a typical night at the Rhino is like for him, how much he spends, and whether the girls flock to him because he’s a baller.
He also Re-Tweets insults that people send him. I’m going to address a lot of questions about Twitter, what his philosophy is about bankroll management, and what would happen if he does go broke.
PND: You won a WSOP bracelet in 2006 in a $1,000 No Limit Hold’em event. Did your legitimacy in the poker world noticeably increase after the victory?
Jon Friedberg: Back then, Scott Clements and I were the only two ranked online players to come out and win bracelets. At that time, a lot of guys who are now superstars gave me respect like Steve “gboro780” Gross and Kevin “BeL0WaB0Ve” Saul. I definitely got a ton of respect because of the bracelet win back then.
Now, people don’t have the same level of respect for my game because I don’t play as much as before, so I don’t have the same results. They respect my knowledge of the lifestyle of the game and my candidness of putting people on the spot and asking them questions that other members of the poker media don’t have the courage to ask.
PND: Who is the top poker talk show host right now?
Jon Friedberg: Joe Sebok. I enjoyed “Poker2Nite.” I think he’s also done a great job on PokerRoad.
PND: What future guests can we expect to see on “The Showdown” with Jon Friedberg on PND?
Jon Friedberg: Shaun Deeb, Antonio Esfandiari, Dwyte Pilgrim, and Tom Marchese. Dwyte came out of nowhere and a lot of people don’t know anything about him. The #1 question I’d want to ask him is, “Why there aren’t more African-American poker players? Does poker not appeal to them?” I also want to ask about his shit talking.
