2013 Tournament Poker Edge Year in Review

We caught up with Tournament Poker Edge co-founder and co-CEO Derek "Killingbird" Tenbusch (pictured) to recap the excitement at the poker training site in 2013. In our follow-up to this article, we'll get a preview on what to expect this year.

PokerSoftware: What were the top Tournament Poker Edge videos of 2013 and what were some of the highlights of the year?

Derek Tenbusch: One of the highlights for me was definitely when, back in January of 2013, Casey "bigdogpckt5s" Jarzabek chopped the PokerStars Sunday Million in back-to-back weekends. He then reviewed both hand histories in videos that we released on the site. One of those videos featured a guest appearance from MTT legend Mark "Dipthrong" Herm, so that made for a really cool moment in terms of videos that we released.

Also, when I first started watching poker training videos, Andrew Brokos was one of the first guys I watched. So, bringing him onboard has been really amazing and his videos were also big highlights for me in 2013.

PokerSoftware: What has Andrew Brokos contributed to TPE so far?

Derek Tenbusch: Andrew takes a bit more of a theoretical approach to his videos. He has done some hand history reviews, but his best stuff is where he breaks down concepts in more of a classroom-style approach. For example, he did an entire series on hand reading that was incredibly popular, as it is a pretty tough skill to master. He essentially teaches a simple step-by-step way to construct ranges for your opponent's hand.

He also did a video called "Getting Paid," which essentially teaches how to get the most chips possible in every hand in every situation. Members have loved his videos and they are some of the highest rated ones on the site.

PokerSoftware: What were some of the new features introduced at TPE in 2013?

Derek Tenbusch: We spent the last four or five months of 2013 developing TPE University and finally launched that feature just before the new year. It is essentially a way to digest all of the material we have to offer more easily. We have over 800 videos now, plus tons of articles, forum posts, and podcasts. For a new member (or even an old member), it can be a daunting task figuring out where to start. TPE U helps provide a structure to your learning. You even get to take quizzes at the end of each "course." That was the biggest change for us going into the new year.

PokerSoftware: TPE University seems like a very useful idea, bringing structure to your entire library. Has anyone completed the entire course? How has the feedback been?

Derek Tenbusch: We've had one person already complete the entire thing. He was an existing member who had already watched most of the videos, so he had a bit of a jumpstart. But, it was still pretty impressive that he dedicated so much time in a short period to complete it.

The feedback so far has been really good. Members have been giving us some ideas to improve it even further and we will continue to build upon the framework this year. The nice thing is that, just like a college, we can add new courses and new electives to the program anytime. We are taking a lot of the feedback our members have provided and starting to build out new courses to launch in the coming months.

PokerSoftware: We love listening to your free podcasts. What was the most listened to podcast of 2013?

Derek Tenbusch: I actually went through and checked these numbers recently and the most listened to podcast of 2013 was the episode with "bigdogpckt5s" right after he chopped the Sunday Million back-to-back. That does not shock me since obviously that is a pretty big accomplishment, but Casey is awesome on the podcast and people love when he is on.

PokerSoftware: Almost three years have gone by since Black Friday. Has it been difficult maintaining a solid customer base with many Americans not playing poker online?

Derek Tenbusch: Black Friday was definitely a challenge for us, as it was for every poker business. We had to make big changes to our business after that. But, the adjustments we made worked and we are now much bigger in terms of membership than we ever were before Black Friday. Hopefully with things seeming to move in the right direction in the US as far as regulation goes, we will see poker back for everyone there very soon.

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