William Kassouf will be familiar to you if you’ve been watching the World Series of Poker on ESPN. His constant chatter attracted plenty of attention and controversy during the final days of the Main Event. In this interview, we discuss … Read more…
With WCOOP still going on (at the time of recording), Nate and Andrew get together to answer some strategy questions from the mailbag. 0:30 – hello 11:06 – strategy Strategy Blinds 300/600/75. Hero opens to 1500 UTG+1 with AA. Folds around … Read more…
Andrew’s busy with WCOOP, so he and Nate get straight to strategy, with a discussion of several hands from the No-Limit Omaha Eight-or-Better event. Timestamps 0:30 Hello & Welcome 10:42 NLO8 Strategy Hand 1 PokerStars – $300+$20|400/800 Ante 100 NL … Read more…
Alan Boston has long been known as a sports better, but now he’s back on the east coast, making a living in the Foxwoods Poker Room. Alan tells his stories with characteristic bluntness and candor, from Stu Ungar and 1980s Las … Read more…
Billy Sharkey’s poker career has been a roller coaster that led him to mindfulness meditation, and that helps… except when it doesn’t. In this revealing interview, Billy discusses dealing with losses, the complex politics of high stakes home games, his … Read more…
Chris Moorman, with over $10 million in cashes, is widely regarded as the winningest player in online tournament poker. This wide-ranging interview covers his beginnings as a competitive bridge and pool player, his struggles with staking, his role as 888Poker … Read more…
Aaron Brown is a professional-poker-player-turned-Wall-Street-trader. You may know him as the author of The Poker Face of Wall Street, but he’s got a lot to say about gambling, economics, and our favorite, the “old days” of poker in private games … Read more…
Technical difficulties and vacation schedules nearly kept the show off the air for two weeks running, but there’s no keeping Nate and Andrew down! We’ve got a short, strategy-only show to tide you over until we return with an awesome … Read more…
Ian Simpson is a former (and future) teacher in the United Kingdom. His fourth place finish in the 2012 Paddy Power Irish Poker Open proved literally life-changing, not only because of the money but because it presented the opportunity to … Read more…
Andrew, Nate, and THE Carlos Welch gather in a hotel room at the Gold Coast to discuss their first day in the WSOP Main Event. There’s loads of strategy talk, as Nate bet-folds the river, Carlos gets full value from … Read more…
The WSOP is obviously a busy time, so we just recorded a quick conversation this week, covering some general stuff about the World Series of Poker and a few of the first events/hands Andrew played. Please note that this was … Read more…
Ed Miller is back to talk about Daily Fantasy Sports, his writing, and finding edges not just on the felt but in life. All that plus a strategy segment from Nate! This episode is sponsored by Shark Clock and Tournament … Read more…
Alex Sutherland is a professional poker player and software designer, responsible for inflicting Table Ninja and GTO Range Builder on the poker world. We talk to him about transitioning back and forth between these worlds, common misunderstandings about the application … Read more…
Lukasz Grabowski has had a fair bit of success playing Spin-and-Gos as “grasiu”, but he’s very clear that poker is only a means to an end for him. In this interview, we talked about his lapsed Catholicism, his interest in Buddhism … Read more…
Christian Soto is a professional poker player and a video producer at Red Chip Poker. He is the co-author, with Doug Hull and James Sweeney, of Late Position. Learn how, with the help of Matt Berkey, the “Big Papi of … Read more…
I wasn’t around for the recording of this episode and haven’t listened to it yet, so for the time being this is a mystery episode! But with Nate and Carlos Welch hosting, how bad can it be?
Isn’t that what all of our shows about? Kind of, but this time around we’re more explicit than usual. It’s just Nate and Andrew, talking about some specific, concrete, active (not just reading books or watching videos) ways to study … Read more…
Elena Stover has a PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience, and her studies focused on risk and decision-making, so when she decided not to pursue a career in academia, poker was a natural fit for her. We talk to Elena about her … Read more…
Andrew Moreno is a professional poker player who is also married to a professional poker player. His wife, Kristy Arnett, has mentioned him enough times on the show (including Episode 170!) that we figured it was about time he came … Read more…
Kristy Arnett returns to the show, and this time she’s the one dishing out the advice. She talks about her recent trip to Korea, what she’s learned from Choice Center, and the things she’s learned from poker have helped her … Read more…
Matt Berkey shares his remarkable story of growing up in a small steel town with a drug addicted mother, pouring himself first into baseball and then into poker, and ultimately rising through the ranks to play as big as $300/$600/$1200 … Read more…
Benjamin Reason began playing the violin at the age of 4. It wasn’t so long after that that he discovered poker, and although the latter eventually subsumed the former, he remains a music aficionado (“a recovering music snob”, as he … Read more…
Christopher George is a long-time poker professional, but his focus on Stud and other non-hold ’em games sets him apart from your average twenty- or thirty-something online grinder. You wouldn’t think it from his demeanor, but the swings he’s experienced … Read more…
Collin Moshman is a widely respected sit-and-go player and coach and author, but he’s no one-trick pony. We talk to him about his background in Theoretical Mathematics, why he initially focused on sit-and-goes, how and why he branched out into … Read more…
When Max Silver isn’t busy crushing the UKIPT, the EPT, the WSOP, or a Super High-Roller somewhere, you’ll probably find him in the kitchen or on Twitch streaming one of his many online MTT wins. We talk to Max about his … Read more…
In this pure strategy episode, Nate and Andrew talk about home game strategy and meta-strategy (e.g. how to get invited back), as well what you can learn from “silly” games like Baseball and Follow the Queen. Plus a microstakes strategy … Read more…
Gareth Chantler talks about his latest writing/journalism project interviewing Syrian refugees in Turkey. Fair warning: there’s not much poker talk in the interview itself, this one is for all the Gareth fans out there! If you don’t know who Gareth … Read more…
Cate Hall, a former classmate of Vanessa Selbst’s at Yale Law School, walked away from a promising legal career to seek her fortune – and more importantly her happiness – in the poker world. With two final tables and five … Read more…
Carlos Welch reports on his trip to the PCA and ponders moving west. Andrew rants about what it means to give your opponent a decision. You can watch Carlos advise newly-minted professional Mike Sneideman in “Poker Pro: Year 1”. Timestamps … Read more…
Jonathan Gill is a rising star in the online MTT world. Like TJ Jurkiewicz, he found success by tapping reserves of hard work, discipline, and perseverance that he never knew he had, and like TJ, he’s documenting his journey in … Read more…
Love him or hate him, SuperDave is undoubtedly a legend at Foxwoods. With admirable candor, the high-limit stud player talks to us about his background, his code, his prop bets, his unique table presence, the difficulties he’s faced, and the … Read more…
Andrew and Nate discuss a live cash game hand submitted by a listener, and then fundraising contest winner Jason Simon joins them to discuss a hand he played in a live MTT. Timestamps 0:30 Hello & Welcome 4:45 Strategy Part … Read more…
Michael “Gags30” Gagliano is a teacher turned poker pro with a long-standing record of success as both a player and a coach. He even worked with world champion Joe McKeehen years ago! In this interview, he talks about his former … Read more…
T.J. Jurkiewicz may have come from humble buildings, but it took the former security guard less than a year (and the help of Chad Power) to break into some of the biggest no-limit games on the east coast. Find out … Read more…
Nikolai Yakovenko is a highly accomplished poker player and computer scientist. We talk to him about artificial intelligence, his Open Face Chinese Poker app, playing in Bobby’s Room, preparing for the Annual Computer Poker Competition, and the Computer Poker Research … Read more…
Poker journalist and blogger Martin Harris, alternately (better?) known as Short-Stacked Shamus, was one of our very first guests. Now, 150 episodes later, he’s back to discuss poker’s evolving place in American culture. Also, horses. In the strategy segment, we … Read more…
Danny Noseworthy may not be the first Tournament Poker Edge instructor we’ve had on the show, but he is the first Newfoundlander. We discuss his career, his coaching philosophy, and how practicing cash game poker can help you become a … Read more…
Neil Blumenfield, who took 3rd place in the 2015 WSOP Main Event, talked to us about making the final table on Episode 139. Now he’s back to talk about how he prepared, what he learned, the experience of playing for … Read more…
Andrew wins a live MTT and faces a tough decision with the third nuts. You can read trip reports from Day 1 and Day 2 (including the final table). Contribute to the Bay Area Urban Debate League and get entered … Read more…
Brad Willis, the head of blogging for PokerStars and the man behind the brilliant writing at Rapid Eye Reality, is a fitting guest for Episode 150. He’s full of stories about the South, home games, and the early days of … Read more…
Brian Koppelman, co-writer of the legendary poker film Rounders, joins us to talk about his contribution to the poker boom, his continuing love affair with the game and its culture, his creative process, and even David Foster Wallace! Brian is … Read more…
Your hosts talk about Nate’s new book as well as strategy from a limit hold ’em game and a heads up no-limit game. Timestamps 0:30 – hello and welcome 15:08 – strategy Strategy Hand 1 30/60 Limit Hold ‘Em. Hero opens … Read more…
Jorge “Baalshin” Limon is a member of Team PokerStars Online, a regular in some of the biggest no-limit games on the site, a rally car driver, and one of the most prominent players on Mexico’s poker scene. In this interview … Read more…
Assani Fisher is a poker pro turned Daily Fantasy Sports player. He talks about his career in poker, his transition to DFS, and some of the recent news and controversies surrounding that industry. He also discusses his unique comedic contributions … Read more…
Clayton Fletcher, who first appeared on Episode 74, is back to discuss his 96th place finish in the 2015 WSOP Main Event. Hear how he celebrated, how he dealt with a sudden reversal of fortune, and how his other career … Read more…
Sam Grafton, who previously joined us on Episode 75, is back to talk about the unique format of Shark Cage, why he skipped the WSOP, why he moved to Prague, and why he has trouble reading literature during WCOOP. We … Read more…
Andrew is in Montreal for the second half of the WCOOP, and he and Nate discuss some hands. Strategy Hand 1 2-4 PLO8 on Bovada. 4-handed. I open to $12 with (AT)J7–I’m using Bill Chen’s notation where suited cards go … Read more…
Gareth Chantler joins us from the Dominican Republic to talk about his new life as a writer (a discussion that began during his last appearance on the show) and his WCOOP so far (as of the time of this recording, that is). … Read more…
Nate and Andrew discuss a question of live card room ethics and procedure, then follow up a discussion of bluffing from Episode 140, then consider another bluff-turned-bluff-catcher! Timestamps 0:30 Hello and welcome 14:24 Strategy
Chad Power just finished 26th in the WSOP Main Event, so if you haven’t seen him on ESPN yet, you probably will soon. His real claim to fame in the poker world, though, is as the manager of a large … Read more…
Neil Blumenfield is third in chips at the final table of the 2015 World Series of Poker Main Event. At 61, he is also the second-oldest player ever to final table this event (the oldest, Pierre Neuville, will be competing … Read more…
Carlos Welch is on the show with his most aggressive cost-cutting idea yet: living in a van! Find out how he’s managing it and how his first few weeks have been, then be sure to watch him on Twitch and read … Read more…
Ron Upshaw hosts the Don and Ron Show on KIRO radio in Seattle, and is one of the people behind The Poker Academy. We talk to him about the radio game, the poker training game, and even the beekeeping game. … Read more…
Jamie Kerstetter is a lawyer-turned-poker-pro with a long and colorful career. She talks about her decision to go pro, her first experiences playing live poker, moving to Mexico after Black Friday, the East Coast poker scene, the New Jersey online … Read more…
Alex Weldon is a game designer and a writer for Part Time Poker. In this interview, we discuss what makes poker unique among games, how to strategize for unfamiliar poker variants, the art and business of game design, and how … Read more…
Before Julie Anna Cornelius became a professional poker player, she was a ballet dancer and a flight attendant working in the fleet of one of the poker world’s most notorious characters. In this interview, she shares her story and reflects … Read more…
Alex “Assassinato” Fitzgerald and “The” Carlos Welch join Nate and Andrew in a room at the Gold Coast to talk about Las Vegas, getting better at poker, creativity, poetry, pre-flop raise sizing, and more. Don’t miss this rare treat, with … Read more…
John “The Lawyer” Larochelle is a consummate live cash game pro. He plays lots of games, he plays them well, and he plays them big. So why hasn’t he set foot in Las Vegas all summer? We talk about game … Read more…
Fresh off a second-place finish in WSOP Event #45 ($1500 NLHE), Dara O’Kearney, who first appeared on Episode 102, returns to the show to talk about the mixed emotions that result from a near-victory at the WSOP and why he … Read more…
Nate and Andrew follow up on the strategy discussion of donk betting from Episode 128.1, then discuss protecting your hand and a dealer who miscalled the action. Timestamps :30 hello & welcome 15:43 strategy Strategy EP open limps. I raise … Read more…
Gareth quits his job. Nate folds an overpair. Andrew agrees to let Gareth come back on the show. Gareth’s last appearance on the show was Episode 123. For those who don’t know who he is, his first appearance was Episode … Read more…
This isn’t a proper podcast episode, but it’s better than nothing! Andrew goes solo, with no co-host, no editor, and no bumper music (or, perhaps, worse than no bumper music). He talks about his World Series of Poker so far … Read more…
Carlos sits down in-person with Nate and Andrew to talk about putting happiness, rather than profit, front and center in his poker career (though of course winning tends to make one happier than losing!). Then the three discuss a hand … Read more…
The SCOOP is underway, and so Andrew and Nate grab time to record when they can, with Andrew playing a $200 PLO8 event during the show! The two discuss the various ways to run bad, some hands that arise as … Read more…
Andrew and Nate talk about Andrew’s recent friction entering Canada to play online poker, then review two hands from early Spring Championship of Online Poker events. Strategy Hand 1 PokerStars – $1000+$50|30/60 Ante 5 NL – Holdem – 9 players … Read more…
Angela Jordison made headlines when she won the first three events of the Spring Poker Round-Up at Oregon’s Wildhorse Casino. Her poker accomplishments run a lot deeper than that, though. Angela is also one of the founders of the modern … Read more…