Thinking Poker

Apparently certain browsers/apps had trouble with the original version of Episode 31, so here’s a new file that I think will work better. Please let me know whether this fixes your issue. Thanks!

As a moderator in 2+2’s News, Views, and Gossip forum, Nicole “SGTRJ” Rejiester probably has one of the hardest jobs in poker. Thankfully her background in law enforcement and the US Army has prepared her to thrive in environments characterized by vulgarity and hyper-masculinity. For an example of the fine work that got Nicole modded, […]

Jussi Palomäki is a cognitive scientist who’s published several studies on the subject of tilt. He discusses his findings, opines on Angelo’s and Tendler’s treatments of the subject, and even proves capable of discoursing on ancient philosophy. He also shares the best example of monkey tilt I’ve ever heard. Timestamps 0:36 Hello and Welcome 23:30 […]

Listener (and host) favorite Tommy Angelo returns to the podcast to discuss Elements of Poker. If you enjoy this one, be sure to check out his previous appearance as well. And if you like the mailbag segment, there’s more discussion about opening (or not) from the small blind on Episode 13. Timestamps 0:30 Hello and […]

Olivier Busquet is back for more (actually he never left, we just chopped up our interview with him). This time around, we talk about televised poker commentary, the quality of political discourse in America, Olivier’s Toronto poker pad, and the possibility of moving on from poker. Just as you could last week, you can follow @OlivierBusquet on […]

Olivier Busquet, AKA high-stakes heads up sit-and-go boss livb112, joins us from his poker refugee pad in Toronto. With remarkable candor, he talks about his frustrations and his strategy for staying on top of his chosen format. You can follow @OlivierBusquet on Twitter and read his website for insightful, if infrequent, blog posts. Strategy We […]

No guest this week, just thorough strategy talk. Andrew brags about a deep run in a free poker tournament, we break down a hand from a 6-handed WSOP prelim event, and we discuss the first third of Tommy Angelo’s Elements of Poker. Tommy also provided the music this week. Strategy This week’s hand has actually been […]

Poker author Ed Miller, the brains behind March book club selection Playing the Player among other great titles, gives generously of his time for both a regular interview and a thorough discussion of his book. We talk about the unconventional beginning to his poker career, co-authoring a book with David Sklansky, and veganism in Las […]

Nicolás “Nico” Amaya is a professional heads up hyper-turbo sit-and-go player. He’s also an industrial engineering student, an entrepeneur, and a former member of the Spanish national ski team, and we talk to him about all of those things. Nico has made a few appearances on this blog, most notably in Three Days in Madrid and […]

Leo Wolpert, whom you may remember from Episode 10, is back as a co-host this week. He shares a hand from a recent WSOP circuit event and a story from his friend Jason Somerville’s blog. Strategy Segment Leo starts the hand with 10K, everyone else covers. Blinds are 100/200/25. Leo raises to 500 with 88 [...]

André Coimbra is a member of PokerStars Team Online and the 2009 Magic: The Gathering World Champion. In 2013, he withdrew all but $100 from his PokerStars account, asked support to reset his VIP status to Bronze Star, and set about trying to raise $100,000 for charity. Coached by yours truly, he’s off to a great start, [...]

Something different today: Andrew interviews his grandmother about her brother, a 400-pound cross-dressing stand-up comedian with a love for all things gambling. The result is a moving, inspiring portrait of a life well-, if strangely, lived. Plus, some exciting announcements! Tubby Boots was a performer with an ecclectic, eccentric career that spanned four decades. At [...]

Steve Day, better known in some circles as “SteveD” and in others as “ackbleh”, is Manager of VIP, Team Online, Ring Games, and Sit-and-Go tournaments at PokerStars. He takes us behind the scenes at PokerStars to talk about how major decisions, from the introduction of new games to the redesign of the lobby, get made. [...]

John Wray, co-creator, director, and co-writer of The Micros, talks about the origins of the show and his early vision for it. We also delve into John’s own origin story, from his studies at film school to his stint at Disney Studios to his plans for introducing Star Wars to his kids. You can follow [...]

“Ike” Haxton, the newest member of PokerStars Team Online joins us for one of our most wide-ranging interviews, covering his lifelong love of games, his first job in a spring factory, his days as a limit hold ‘em grinder, his current life as a poker refugee, The Mathematics of Poker, and even a little poker [...]

Ryan Hall has a full-time job teaching high school in Ontario, but that hasn’t stopped him from staying on top of the MTT world for six years and counting. Ryan has amassed more than $2 million in online winnings and an FTOPS title playing mostly on weekends and school holidays. In this interview he talks [...]

Derek “Killingbird” Tenbusch is a founder and owner of Tournament Poker Edge, the video training site for which I now make videos, and a host of the Tournament Poker Edge Strategy Podcast. Tournament Poker Edge Live and The Chirp Herm Show round out TPE’s podcast offerings. Congratulations to Vanessa Selbst for winning the $25K PCA High Roller. [...]

Edit: Some people reported difficulty playing/downloading this episode, so I’ve re-uploaded and re-published it. If you had trouble before, please try again now and let me know whether it’s working for you. Gareth Chantler fills in for Andrew while your regular host is busy nitting it up at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. Nate and Gareth catch [...]

Zachary Ellwood is a former professional poker player and author of “Reading Poker Tells“. We recorded this episode on the assumption that I would have already published a review of the book, which unfortunately I haven’t gotten around to doing yet. I don’t think it will matter terribly much, but I will say briefly that [...]

Russ Fox is an Enrolled Agent and author of the Taxable Talk blog, which often addresses issues related to poker and gambling. With Scott Harker, Russ is the author of Why You Lose at Poker and Mastering No-Limit Hold ‘Em, and with Nick Christenson, of Winning Strategies for No-Limit Hold ‘Em. His latest book is Tax Strategies for [...]