If you’ve watched poker on television or tuned into a live stream, there’s a good chance you’ve heard the voice of David Tuchman. A veteran poker commentator, Tuchman can be heard on episodes of Poker Night in America, and for the past six years has served as the lead commentator for the World Series of Poker live stream.
Now, he’ll be bringing his skills to us at 888poker.
Tuchman Joins 888Live Festival Team
Tuchman, who also hosts a weekly podcast for Pro Football Focus and is the lead pro on the poker training site Crush Live Poker, will serve as commentator at our 888Live Festivals across the world. It’s a gig Tuchman tried out last year in the 2016 888Live Poker Festival London where he commentated the final table alongside Parker “TonkaaaaP” Talbot, who has also joined us as an 888poker Ambassador.
In addition to commentating, Tuchman enjoys playing the game in his free time. He has amassed $143,415 in live tournament earnings since 2003, which includes a career-best $51,435 for finishing fourth in a 2007 L.A. Poker Classic $300 event.
We had the chance to chat with Tuchman about joining forces with us here at 888poker.
Q: At the first 888Live Festival in London you joined in the commentator’s booth with Parker “TonkaaaaP” Talbot. Was it love at first site?
Tuchman: Love at first site? Hmmm, not so much for me. I mean, he’s like a little brother. You know, that annoying little brother that gets into all your stuff. I do think it was probably love at first site for him. I’m that sophisticated, older, wiser man he probably hopes to be one day.
I knew of him. I had watched him on Twitch and thought he was very funny and entertaining. We spoke on the phone a couple of times, but we decided to jump into the deep end and see how it goes. I enjoyed working with him a lot.
Q: How did you first get into poker commentating?
Tuchman: I’ve studied journalism in college, and I’ve always been a writer. I guess you could say I kinda fell into it because I played poker. One day, someone thought I’d be okay at this, and they gave me a chance. That job led to another which led to another. It’s a long boring story, but I’ve been covering Poker, NFL and NASCAR for the past 12 years. I’m very lucky and very aware of it.
Q: What’s been your favourite memory from inside the booth?
Tuchman: So many amazing memories. It’s really hard to choose just one. Covering day 7 of the World Series of Poker Main event for ESPN was certainly a highlight. Broadcasting the Super Bowl and the Daytona 500 was another.
I’m a sensitive man, though, so I’d say my favourite was commentating on Todd Brunson at the WSOP while he was going for a bracelet and Doyle Brunson came in the booth to offer analysis. But when he got in there, he wasn’t the God Father of poker. He was just a Dad, and it was pretty amazing to see him cheer on his son.
Q: How about the biggest challenge you’ve faced inside the booth? Any unexpected technical hiccups you’ve had to deal with on the fly?
Tuchman: Ha! That’s the job. Without technical difficulties, anybody can do this. I can name a few that were challenging. Rain delays during NASCAR races always test you because you have hours to fill and hopefully entertain your audience. Once we lost the audio feed to the NFL game we were covering, so we had to do the play-by-play.
Honestly, issues arise every day in this job. It’s my responsibility to deal with them and make it work.
Q: Can we expect you back at the WSOP commentating the live streams in 2017?
Tuchman: I certainly hope so. If they want me back, I’ll be there with bells on. The WSOP doesn’t finalise their plans until February or sometimes March, so that’s when I’ll hear from my boss.
For more on Tuchman, follow him on Twitter @TuckonSports.
