This week’s Podcast features interviews with professional poker player Scott "EmptySeat88" Fischman, and Sharkscope.com’s Customer Relations Manager Isabella Jurich.

Scott Fischman (who goes by the online name of "EmptySeat88") began his career as a poker dealer in Las Vegas, but was forced to the other side of the felt by Rheumatoid Arthritis at the age of 22.(1) When Scott came onto the live poker scene as an unknown, the world was taken by storm after he won two World Series Of Poker bracelets while enjoying major market television exposure from ESPN’s coverage of The Crew. A 2nd Place finish in the 2005 WSOP Event #2 helped propel Scott’s reputation as a premier live player.

A talkative person and expert game theorist, Fischman became the focus of negative attention back in March of this year, when rumors about an unsuccessful backing deal with Thomas "Thunder" Keller surfaced in threads all over the online forums. Before anyone could catch their breath, speculation of Scott Fischman being “busto” was rampant… in spite of several posts and a CardPlayer.com article that promoted a different conclusion.(2) A subsequent and well publicized blow up involving chat messages on PokerStars only added fuel to the fire, prompting him to cease almost all involvement in the Online Poker community.

In a revealing interview that displays one of the reasons behind the PocketFives.com Podcast’s explosive growth in ratings, Scott answers questions that other shows have not bothered to ask. Instead of relying on what others may or may not know, the Podcast Team goes directly to the source, and gives our listeners what they ask for. Scott comes off as an honest, intelligent and reasonable poker pro who will likely gain even more respect from PocketFivers who listen to this week’s show.

Our second interview is with Isabella Jurich of www.sharkscope.com, the hottest Sit & Go tournament results tracking site on the Net. With over ½ million visits per month, Sharkscope has made the conversion from a small-time operation to the most-respected Sit & Go database in the world, blowing their competition away in the process. Sharkscope holds a special place in the hearts and minds of our members, many of whom are Sit & Go specialists in their own right. Isabella will talk about Sharkscope.com’s services, new features, and how to maximize use of the site’s paid subscription service.

The new Online Tournament Player Rankings have now been released! 21-year-old Tim "Tmay420" West is our new #1 ranked online tournament player! Congratulations to the Administration, Staff, and all Members of PocketFives.com for all the hard work that has been put in to create such a high quality product.

We welcome your comments and suggestions. Feel free to contact us by calling (206) 600 – 4896, or by sending an email to podcast@pocketfives.com.

(1) Information obtained from www.thefishtank.com

(2) Link to that article: http://www.cardplayer.com/magazine/article/14726