The Hard-Boiled Poker Radio Show, Episode 1: Dead Man’s Deal

Okay, here it is. The debut episode now is available for download. This first one starts with a bit of an explanation, which I’ll summarize here.

First off, the main idea for the HBPRS was to share some old time radio shows which prominently involve poker and/or gambling. I’ve collected a number of them, many of which are quite good. There are mysteries, adventure stories, westerns, and some comedies, too. Each episode will present one of those shows in its entirety, along with some background and context presented by yr humble gumshoe. The show featured in this first episode is from a series called Inner Sanctum Mysteries that was very popular during the 40s and early 50s. The show is called “Dead Man’s Deal” and first aired August 28, 1945.

Each episode will also include some short subjects that lead up to the old radio show. For this first episode, Tim Peters (CardPlayer, “The Literature of Poker”) leads things off with a reflection on Al Alvarez’s The Biggest Game in Town. Then comes a song, “The Darktown Poker Club” by Bert Williams (from 1914). Then Rakewell, the Poker Grump (a.k.a. Bob Woolley) shares one of his “Tales from the Tables.” Finally, taking up the last half of the show, comes “Dead Man’s Deal.”

A complete rundown of show notes appears over on the show’s blog. With each episode, I’ll be putting up a post over there with summaries and links. You can listen to the first episode by clicking here. You can also right-click the link, then choose “Save As” and download the file.

I’ve also set up an RSS feed for the show which you can enter into yr podcast-receiver type programs and start getting the shows directly. That address is http://feeds.feedburner.com/hardboiledpokerradioshow. I don’t use iTunes myself, so I’m not completely up on how things work over there. I know that if you use other programs the feed works and the shows will start appearing as they should.

As I mention on the podcast, I’m not gonna attempt a weekly show. More likely I’ll aim to produce one episode per month. If you do check out the show, please send along any feedback either by commenting over on the radio show blog or sending me an email at shamus at hardboiledpoker dot com. Would love to hear yr thoughts & suggestions.