Top Pair Podcast 322: Interview with Floplay’s Tom Moran
In episode 322 of the Top Pair Home Game Poker Podcast, Bruce Briggs and Robbie Strazynski welcome Tom Moran to the show. He’s a full-time firefighter who as a side gig, together with a partner, has developed an innovative hi-tech card protector called Floplay to help speed up live poker, home games in particular.
Plus, our hosts have a horse in the upcoming CSOP “Knights of the Poker Table” charity poker event in Las Vegas. And, of course, they’ll recap their latest home game sessions, as Bruce feels bubble pain once more while Robbie loses everything, including his voice! Finally, this episode’s One Outer is something more akin to a “bedtime story.”
Top Pair thanks their sponsors, J Design Cards and the Poker Notes Live mobile app for their support. Be sure to check ‘em out!
Show Time Stamps
| 00:24 | Synopsis |
| 1:05–18:31 | How Ya Runnin? |
| Robbie: Sustaining the worst-ever loss in 15 years of home game play; recapping the ugly details. Brainstorming a plan of how to stop the bleeding next session. | |
| Bruce: The pain of finishing on the tournament bubble yet again. Describing the “bad beat” hand that ended up without anyone at the table winning. | |
| 11:50 | CSOP “Knights of the Poker Table” charity poker event taking place on December 8 in Las Vegas, at the Planet Hollywood poker room. It will be emceed by Daniel Negreanu, raising money for the Golden Knights Foundation, which supports the needy in Las Vegas. Longtime listener and one-time guest host Gene Hull will proudly be representing the Top Pair Home Game Poker Podcast and giving our co-hosts a potential WSOP Main Event sweat. |
| 19:50–52:12 | Cards in the Air (Interview with Tom Moran) |
| 20:25 | Tom introduces himself and gives us a recap of his personal background in poker, home games in particular. |
| 25:00 | Tom’s a firefighter in Manchester, England, by profession. He tells us a bit about his work, “home games” in the firehouse, and what’s driven him to start a new entrepreneurial venture. |
| 27:27 | Introduction to Tom’s company, Floplay, and its “smart card protector.” The idea is to improve the flow of home poker games. It’s a wirelessly connected set of buttons distributed to each player at the table. |
| 29:35 | What gave Tom the inspiration to develop the product? What was the process like from the idea stage until having an actual product? |
| 32:15 | There’s a product explanation video on YouTube, with more product features still in development. |
| 35:45 | Floplay innovates a “disruptive” type of technology. Why does Tom think home game players would want to “upgrade” the home game? |
| 38:22 | How intuitive is using the product? Would seniors or technologically inept people find it easy to use? |
| 40:30 | Is the product meant to be used to cash games, tournaments, or both? Any poker variants beyond hold’em? |
| 42:00 | Who actually did the technological development of the product? |
| 44:00 | Price range of the product, once it launches. |
| 45:55 | Is this a product we’ll someday see in casinos and poker rooms, rather than just home games? |
| 47:33 | Will Tom be quitting his job as a firefighter to pursue the Floplay product as an entrepreneur, or will this remain a side pursuit? |
| 51:08 | If interested in Floplay’s card protectors, you can pre-order them on Kickstarter. |
| 53:23 | One Outer – A heartwarming story about how participants in a charity poker event helped cover the host’s “overlay.” |
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Follow hosts Bruce Briggs @toppair and Robbie Strazynski @cardplayerlife, also available via email: [email protected]
