The Heart of Poker

It’s hard to keep track of all the ways Lupe Soto has contributed to the poker industry. Not only did she found the Women in Poker Hall of Fame in 2008, she’s been instrumental in launching the Ladies International Poker Series, Senior Poker Tour & Women’s Poker Association to name a few. Soto’s roots in poker run deep. She recalls how when she started playing at her local casino, 5 card stud was the only form of poker on offer. ...

If there’s anyone championing women in poker, it’s Erin Lydon. The Poker Power president has an incredible passion for not only the game, but also the lessons we can learn from it and apply to everyday life. From working on Wall Street to speaking at Tedx events, Lydon has had an incredibly decorated professional career(including being the Vice President of JP Morgan for 6.5 years). However, she’s spent the last 4 years in leadership positions at Poker Power, where they ...

On this month’s episode of The Heart Of Poker Podcast, Kara Scott speaks with poker player, writer and fellow podcast host David Lappin. Not one to mince words, Lappin is known for calling it as he sees it when it comes to his writing. However, as this podcast unfolds, we learn that he’s far from motivated by clickbait titles or attention seeking behaviour. Interestingly, both Kara and David found poker through TV. Lappin reveals that a writing gig, where one ...

If you’ve ever found yourself at a RunGood poker tournament or sporting one of their signature t-shirts, then you have Tana Karn to thank. The mastermind behind the apparel and live event brand sits down with Kara Scott for a candid exchange on his humble beginnings. As a first-generation American born to Thai parents, he talks about his upbringing in his parents' restaurant and how that experience formed the foundation of his hospitality skills. His father’s advice of “build things ...

If you’re familiar with Brazilian poker players, then you will certainly have heard of Felipe Ramos. Playing professionally for 16 years now, Ramos currently sits at 4th in the Brazil all-time money list and has racked up a whopping $3.6 million in live earnings alone. Kara and Felipe actually worked together over 10 years prior, so the two have a level of comfort that lets them get deep right off the bat. Ramos opens up about how he left a ...

Alex O’Brien is a fascinating person - poker player, science writer and author. She first captured the poker industry’s attention when she won a tournament which should have resulted in a high profile heads-up match with Dan Bilzerian. However, when the match fell through, it ignited a conversation around women in poker and the role of ambassadors in our game. Her new book ‘The Truth Detective’ will be published later this year and it uses the game of poker as ...

You may already know quite a bit about Johnnie Moreno AKA ‘Johnnie Vibes’ from his popular vlogs and videos, but in this episode of The Heart of Poker podcast, he dives even deeper into life’s big questions with host Kara Scott. The two walk back through Johnnie's personal history with the game of poker and how his incredibly tight knit family group has been such a huge source of joy and support for him throughout his career. He has a ...

Nemo Qiyu Zhou (also known online as AkaNemsko) is a gamer, esports star and content creator with an impressive following. After learning chess at the age of 3, she found incredible success in the game, earning herself title after title. A women’s Chess grandmaster, Nemo gave up professional chess to focus on her life, and although you can still find her streaming chess, other games including poker, round out her interests now. In an interview recorded in November 2022, Kara ...

With over $60 million in live tournament earnings, Justin Bonomo sits squarely at the top of the all-time money leaderboard for poker. No stranger to controversy or strong opinions, Justin opens up to The Heart of Poker’s Kara Scott about topics ranging from Burning Man, what he wishes people knew about him, his greatest fears and his idea of an absolutely perfect day. Justin reveals to Kara what he’d love his life to look like in the future and the ...

Angela Jordison was named 2022 GPA Breakout Player of the Year after narrowly missing out on two GPI POY awards. Not only a fierce competitor, and a real joy to watch on the felt, she’s a fan favourite and for good reason. During their interview, Angela and Kara discuss how important it is to have a positive impact on the poker community. Not one for empty words, Angela recently put her money where her mouth is. She tells the story ...

With his recorded winnings closing in on the $20 million mark, it would be easy to think Italian high roller Mustapha Kanit’s greatest skills are on the felt. However according to Kanit, it’s his natural willingness to embrace making mistakes and his drive to confront his fears that are his real super powers. In this candid and personal interview, Mustapha tells the story of his early entry into poker and the lessons he learned along the way. In fact, his ...

With 4 WSOP final tables under her belt already, Brazilian poker pro and streamer Vivian Saliba is a force to be reckoned with at the PLO and NLHE tables. The 888poker Ambassador’s drive to succeed in poker was actually born out of necessity. At just 18 years old, while her family was contending with financial difficulties, a young Vivian played poker to put herself through college and pay her bills. Failure was not an option for her. With that kind ...

For this episode of the Heart of Poker podcast, Kara digs into the history of one of the most prolific and recognizable voices in poker commentary, David Tuchman. With extensive credits, going all the way back to the early 2000s for Live at the Bike, David Tuchman is easily recognizable as one of the OG player/broadcasters of the poker industry. Kara and David start off discussing how they became friends, traveling the poker circuit and working on many of the ...

With a wealth of experience in poker, British funnyman and commentator Nick Wealthall has an insight into the industry that rivals anyone. Currently one of the main voices of 888poker’s live and online events, Nick has had a long and storied past in the industry. In fact, it was nearly 20 years ago now that he and The Heart of Poker host Kara Scott were doing commentary on a tiny, middle of the night cable TV show in London. The ...

Well known for his incredible work ethic, both as a poker pro and as the founder of his own training site Learn Pro Poker, Ryan Laplante believes that life and poker reflect the hard work we put into them. Laplante took down his first bracelet in a 2016 PLO event as one of the highlights of a live poker career that started the literal moment he turned 21. When Black Friday shut down online poker, Ryan waited an agonizing 4 ...

If you follow poker vlogs, then you have no doubt come across The Drawing Dead vlog by Jaman Burton. Burton, who is one the most influential poker vloggers in the space, brings something completely unique to the table in the form of a poker vlog with graphic novel style illustrations woven in. And while it may be nice to gain some recognition within the poker community, Burton shares with Kara that it’s not all roses. Between the pressures of being ...

One of the more notable names from the ESPN era of the World Series Of Poker is undoubtably Greg Merson. Merson, who took home $8,531,853 for winning the Main Event in 2012, instantly became a household name within the poker community. Having gotten sober a year prior, his story and accomplishment became an inspiration to many who battled addiction. But where do you go after winning the Main Event? For Merson, his obsession with becoming the best version of himself ...

On this episode of The Heart of Poker, Kara goes deep with poker player, social media maven and tv personality Tiffany Michelle. Michelle, who many would recognize on and off the felt, first made a splash in the poker world at the 2008 World Series of Poker, when she finished 17th out of 6844 players, making her the last woman standing. In fact, it was that huge accomplishment that Michelle credits for opening the doors to many of the opportunities ...

On this episode of the Heart of Poker, Kara is joined by prolific businesswoman and poker powerhouse, Katie Lindsay. Lindsay, who has racked up nearly 2.5 million dollars in live and online cashes combined, has been a been a mainstay in the poker community for many years dating back to pre-Black Friday. After getting hooked on poker by the fascinating story of Chris Moneymaker, she got a foot in the door of the industry by writing for a poker magazine ...

In this episode of the Heart of Poker Podcast, Kara Scott speaks with long-time friend and colleague Lon McEachern. An absolute poker legend, known as the "Voice of Poker", Lon McEachern has been one half of the commentary team that started providing commentary for the World Series of Poker Main Event in 2003. And for many years Kara has been right there with him as part of the WSOP broadcast team. The two developed a strong working relationship and friendship ...