Tournament Poker Edge Heads to the WSOP

We sat down with Tournament Poker Edge co-owner Derek "killingbird" Tenbusch to discuss what presence we'll see from the popular poker training site at the World Series of Poker at the Rio in Las Vegas.

PokerSoftware:  How long are you going to be in Las Vegas for?

Killingbird:  This year is a bit different and chaotic for me. I have a ton of "can't miss" family stuff going on. My wife and I just celebrated our 20-year anniversary and my son graduates from high school in a week. Then we have some college things to attend.  So, I will not be getting to Vegas until June 18th, but I will be there through the Main Event.

PokerSoftware:  Who from Tournament Poker Edge is going to be there?
 
Killingbird:  It seems like a chaotic year for everyone this year! But various TPE pros will be there at various times including Marc Alioto, Ben Reason, Matt Hunt, RonFezBuddy, Andrew Brokos, Chris Moon, and others. It's going to be a fun summer!
 
PokerSoftware:  We understand this is the first year in recent memory without an official Tournament Poker Edge house.  Who is staying with you in the unofficial TPE house?

Killingbird:  Like I mentioned, people are kind of coming and going a lot this year, so we decided for the first time to not get an "official" TPE house. But Marc and I are still living together and RonFezBuddy will be living in that house for the time he is there as well. Other than that, it is a handful of US grinders whom we have met via grinding. It should be an interesting dynamic with a new crew of guys.

PokerSoftware:  What are your goals this summer?
 
Killingbird: My goal, as it is every year, is to try my best to balance playing poker with my efforts to promote Tournament Poker Edge. It can be tough to find time to do well both. With that in mind, I left myself with more days off this year. There are some stretches where I have three straight days off from poker. This will allow me to focus on only poker when I am playing, and only promoting TPE when I am promoting. I'm playing seven bracelet events, including the Main Event, and will sprinkle in some smaller events when I feel up to playing. So of course, the other goal is to win a bracelet!
 
PokerSoftware:  We love the Tournament Poker Edge podcasts. Are there any preplanned?
 
Killingbird:  We will definitely be doing more of the Tournament Poker Edge Live podcasts this year despite the lack of a formal TPE house. In fact, the first couple that I do will be remotely from North Carolina, and the first of those will be released next week!  Matt Hunt, my co-host for the Midstakes Living podcast, will also be in Vegas this summer, so we plan to knock out at least one, if not two, episodes of that this summer as well.
 
PokerSoftware:  Who from Tournament Poker Edge do you expect to have the biggest summer this year and why?
 
Killingbird: I really feel like it could be Marc Alioto's breakout summer. The guy works so hard on his game, plus he just got done taking a nice little break in Tahoe before the series, so he is coming in super rested and in a great place mentally. I look for big things from him!
 
PokerSoftware:  Can you tell us about some of the most memorable things that happened in the TPE house in previous years?
 
Killingbird:  There are so many fun stories from the TPE house over the years. Some of them are just things that seem small but then turn in to stories we tell over and over again. One that comes to mind is the time that Marc, Casey, and I were just hanging at the house on a day off and the Manny Pacquiao versus Tim Bradley fight was coming on. I said, "I have a feeling about Bradley", so we all laid a ton of money on him at something like +800.

He ended up winning even though he got crushed and it was controversial to say the least. But we all just started dancing around the living room like we had just won the lottery.  I think we literally hugged each other.

I also remember two years ago suffering from massive pain in my stomach. I even missed some events as a result. I could not figure out what was wrong with me. I would lay awake in agony many nights. A few months later, after returning home I had a massive gall bladder attack and was rushed to the ER for emergency surgery. We laugh about it now, but it definitely sucked at the time.

We also had one house that was absolutely haunted. We would hear all kinds of noises at night. And there was one door that would constantly open. We would make a point to close it, but it would always end up open. One time we closed the door and said "Okay, everyone look at the door. It's closed." We even tested it in front of each other. Then we all went outside to the pool.  Came in an hour later. Door open.  None of us wanted to stay in the house alone, so we would find excuses to leave if nobody else was home.
 
PokerSoftware:  Are there any new video series planned for this summer?
 
Killingbird:  We will continue to release videos on our normal schedule all the way through the WSOP.  We have new stuff coming from Casey, Andrew Brokos, DannyN13 (who has been on a tear lately), Daryl Jace, and a few others.

PokerSoftware:  What are your thoughts about some of the new tournaments and the new starting chip structure?

Killingbird:  I think it is awesome all around. It's great for better players because it minimizes variance a bit and allows you to assert your skill edge. And it is also great for bringing in more recreational players because, let's face it, everyone loves deeper stacks. I think it is a very positive move on the part of the WSOP and I look forward to playing $1,500 events more than ever this year!

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