Mickey Wang may be married to a professional poker player, but her personal poker education got a jumpstart when she became general manager of the Barrel Social Club in southern Kentucky. Carlos ...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2024/04/episode-437-mickey-wang/
Jesse Fullen loves poker, and he loves sharing it with new people. That’s made him a great community and social media manager. He’s a great storyteller as well, and he shares some favorities ...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2024/04/episode-436-jesse-fullen/
Carlota Gonzalez is a rock radio personality with a deep background in poker. She believes all serious poker players should experience dealing as well and has dealt herself at the WSOP. We talk t...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2024/03/episode-435-carlota-gonzalez/
Lupe Soto has been a passionate poker player and promoter of women’s events for 25+ years. She shares her deep experience with Carlos and Andrew and also discusses her charitable with Poker Giv...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2024/03/episode-434-lupe-soto/
Boxing lawyer Lamont Jones wrote The Gist of Bid Whist because he believes card games connect people and that the rich story of Bid Whist deserves to be widely known. He shares the game’s fasci...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2024/03/episode-433-lamont-jones-on-bid-whist/
Dim the lights! Jeff Platt is on the show to talk poker and broadcasting with Carlos and Andrew. Why broadcasting? Why poker? What makes for a great poker broadcast? A great interview? Is Jeff Pl...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2024/03/epiosde-432-jeff-platt/
Caitlyn Arnwine and LoriAnn Persinger return to the show to help us brainstorm solutions to the problems of representation and unequal opportunity in the poker world. In the introduction, Andrew ...
From (semi) professional paintball to house part home games to high stakes LA cash, Fausto Valdez’s path to poker has been unique. He’s formed some strong opinions along the way: about pre-fl...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2024/02/episode-430-fausto-valdez/
Isaac “Ike” Haxton returns to the podcast after eleven years, joining Carlos and Andrew for a conversation about studying, staying on top, the limitations of solvers, why he still masks in pu...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2024/02/episode-429-isaac-haxton/
Jorbs AKA Stephen Flavall is a storyteller and strategy games streamer. His current focus is Slay the Spire, but once upon a time he was a professional poker player. He shares that journey with C...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2024/02/episode-428-stephen-flavall/
Pamela Balzano’s older brother got her into poker, but while he was a professional player, her first interest was in content creation. After launching successful Spanish language YouTube, Twitc...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2024/01/episode-427-pamela-pamsi-balzano/
Math professor and poker author Ducan Palamourdas returns for another wide-ranging conversation about game theory, finding edges, local metagames, how strategies evolve, and much more. Duncan fir...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2024/01/episode-426-the-evolution-of-strategy-with-duncan-palamourdas/
Matt Matros is a professional poker player and writer whose works include both fiction and poker books. With Carlos and Andrew, he discusses concepts from his new book, 23 No-Limit Hold ‘Em Han...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2024/01/episode-425-cutting-edge-poker-with-matt-matros/
2023 was a banner year for the Thinking Poker Podcast, and we’re counting down our favorite interviews and best strategy content. Helping us out is Chad McVean, who may well have consumed more ...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2023/12/episode-424-best-of-2023-featuring-chad-mcvean/
K.L. Cleeton returns to the show to discuss the highs and lows of his last few years, including memorable WSOP trips and getting stranded by a hotel that couldn’t accommodate his hospital bed. ...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2023/12/episode-423-k-l-cleeton/
Dad, data engineer, and poker player Chad Gardner talks about (not) making time for poker and how, as an amateur, he prepared to compete in Day 3 of WPT Jacksonville. Support the podcast, get dai...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2023/12/episode-422-chad-gardner/
Former Thinking Poker host Nate Meyvis returns to the show after a hiatus to discuss how poker strategy has changed in the last few years. Support the podcast, get daily strategy discussions, *...
Justin Moyer is a poker player, musician, and Pulitzer-prize winning journalist with the Washington Post. Among other topics, he covers poker, gambling, and casinos for the Post and has interview...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2023/11/episode-420-justin-moyer/
Ed Miller, author of classic poker books like The Course and frequent Thinking Poker guest, has a new book out tomorrow called Interception: The Secrets of Modern Sports Betting. It’s all about...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2023/10/episode-419-interception-with-ed-miller/
Pure strategy this week, as Carlos and Andrew review a bunch of tricky decisions from Andrew’s recent final table finish in the $109 Warm Up on ACR. Support the podcast, get daily strategy disc...
Kimberly Willingham is the Executive Director of the Boston Debate League, a non-profit organization Andrew founded in 2005. She talks to Andrew and Carlos about how the organization has grown an...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2023/09/episode-417-kimberly-willingham/
WSOP/WPT/PokerGo presenter Kara Scott shares the person behind the famous face, from her youth living out of a camper in rural Alberta to her experiences as a Muay Thai competitor to her current ...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2023/09/episode-416-kara-scott/
Bert Stevens AKA girafganger7 is one of the most successful MTT players on the internet. He’s also intimately familiar with some of the biggest cheating scandals of recent years, as a victim of...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2023/08/episode-415-bert-girafganger7-stevens/
The poker world is ripe for parody, and with formal training as an actress and Groundlings comedian, Caitlin Comeskey is the woman for the job. Her costume-changing skits are a hit on Twitter, an...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2023/08/episode-414-caitlin-comeskey/
Shelby Wells is a long-time poker fan who got the chance of a lifetime when she won a Twitter contest for a seat in the 2022 Main Event. She made Day 6, ultimately winning $73K and a lot of clout...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2023/07/episode-413-shelby-wells/
No one on Earth has played more live poker tournaments than Ari Engel. He’s a force to be reckoned with live and online, in every game under the sun. More impressively, he’s funny and humble ...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2023/07/episode-412-ari-engel/
Poker superfan Jay Kelly tried to hook Gloria Jackson up with Carlos more than a year ago, when the two women first met. She joins Andrew, Carlos, and Gloria to help tell the story of her and Glo...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2023/06/episode-411-glo-and-lo/
Carlos and Andrew answer a slew of strategy questions from the Patron: running it twice, folding a full house, playing short stacked in the Big Blind, and much more! Links to Strategy Questions h...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2023/06/episode-410-your-strategy-questions-answered/
Joel Dias-Porter is a true renaissance man, capable of mastering a metaphor, programming a computer, hedging a parlay, spinning a record, and bluffing your face off. In this wide-ranging conversa...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2023/05/episode-409-joel-porter-dias/
High stakes cash pro and prolific content creator Saulo Costa talks big data, population reads, exploits, and more in this wide-ranging, mind-expanding conversation. Plus a little Marvel Snap str...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2023/05/episode-408-saulo-costa/
Dayanna Ciabaton finished second in the recent Women’s Event at the Seminole Hard Rock. The first place winner was a man. Dayanna, Caitlyn Cobb, and Gloria Jackson join Andrew and Carlos to dis...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2023/05/episode-406-womens-events/
Ebony Kenney has been playing serious poker longer than Andrew or Carlos, but she only recently started serious studying. That didn’t keep her from making three final tables at the Triton Poker...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2023/05/episode-406-ebony-kenney/
EPT Paris runner-up Peter Jörgne joins Carlos and Andrew to talk about entrepreneurship, philanthropy, and holding his own against seasoned professionals at the highest stakes. Plus, Carlos and ...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2023/04/episode-405-peter-jorgne/
From PC gaming to pool to competitive skydiving to poker, Lara Eisenberg has always crushed the competition. And she does it all while still working as a radiologist! Carlos and Andrew pry from h...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2023/04/episode-404-lara-eisenberg/
Poker cashier Jesse Segall joins Carlos and Andrew to discuss his experience in the Wynn $10K, why dedicated poker cashiers are valuable, and much more. Plus Andrew explains how to play a big sta...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2023/04/episode-403-jesse-segal/
Matt Glassman discusses his prize-winning poker essay and how he prepared to take on the best players in the world in the PSPC $25K. Plus a bonus interview with Tommy Angelo discussing his new ar...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2023/04/episode-402-matt-glassman-and-tommy-angelo/
Not many people have worked harder than Gloria Jackson to get a poker career off the ground. She left school with only an 8th grade education to take care of her family, but later went back to ge...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2023/03/episode-401-gloria-jackson/
Carlos and Andrew present and reflect on clips from the first four hundred episodes of Thinking Poker, with an emphasis on memorable characters and early predictions. Episode 2: Tommy Angelo Epis...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2023/03/episode-400-clip-show/
In the second half of this epic interview, Justin Arnwine speaks with Carlos and Andrew about merit, representation, and gatekeeping; riding poker’s emotional rollercoaster, recovering from fru...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2023/03/episode-399-just-arnwine-part-2/
In the first installment of this epic, four-hour interview Justin Arnwine discusses his poker career, his Hello Kitty wardrobe, and the influence of his mother, a civil rights activist and attorn...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2023/03/episode-398-justin-arnwine/
Once homeless, Caitlyn Cobb now grinds ApeStyles videos and recently shipped over $170K for her second-place finish in the Potomac Winter Poker Open. She shares her extraordinary poker journey wi...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2023/02/episode-397-caitlyn-cobb/
Sam Grafton joins Carlos and Andrew to discuss moving up to the nosebleeds, staying competitive with the best players in the world, the politics of the super high roller circuit, and of course so...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2023/02/episode-396-sam-grafton/
Jamie Kerstetter joins Carlos and Andrew to talk WPT, WSOP, commentating, and the politics of high stakes cash game streams. Plus Andrew offers an overview of turn strategy. Support the podcast, ...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2023/02/episode-395-jamie-kerstetter/
Poker lover LoriAnn Persinger won a social media contest that earned her an entry into the $10K WPT World Championship, ultimately finishing 30th for $119,000! She speaks to Carlos and Andrew abo...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2023/01/episode-394-loriann-persinger/
Poker theorist Tom “tombos21” Boshoff joins Andrew and Carlos to geek out about everything from how solvers work to when ICM becomes a factor in tournaments (it’s sooner than you think!), b...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2023/01/episode-393-tom-tombos21-boshoff/
Computer scientist and poker player Ben Kushigian talks to Carlos and Andrew about the limitations of poker solvers, what we don’t know we don’t know about them, how they could be improved, t...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2023/01/episode-392-ben-kushigian/
Andrew and Carlos recap their year, starting with poker highlights and then branching out into their favorite music, shows, podcasts, and more. Support the podcast, get daily strategy discussions...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2022/12/episode-391-2022-in-review/
Carlos and Andrew give rapid fire (by Thinking Poker standards) answers to questions from the Thinking Poker Daily patreon. Strategy links -
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2022/12/episode-390-rapid-fire-strategy/
Carlos talks about playing on a livestreamed cash game at Best Bet Jacksonville. He and Andrew follow up on the discussion of big opening sizes from Episode 388 and review a hand where Andrew def...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2022/11/episode-389-big-raises/
In this long lost episode from 2014, Andrew and Nate Meyvis review a hand from a live $1/$2 cash game before talking with semi-professional poker player, entrepreneur, and DeucesCracked coach And...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2022/11/long-lost-episode-93-andrew-balugawhale-seidman/
Andrew and Carlos announce a new sponsorship from GTO Wizard! They also discuss responding to unconventional raise sizes, why tournament players are always downswinging, and more. Now you can sup...
Coach and high stakes heads up pro turned MTT player Kevin Rabichow joins Carlos and Andrew to discuss the evolution of the heads up arena, efficient studying, and his new course The Game Plan. S...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2022/10/episode-387-kevin-rabichow/
Original hosts Andrew Brokos and Nate Meyvis and frequent guest turned current host Carlos Welch look back on ten years of the Thinking Poker Podcast. How has poker changed? How has the podcast c...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2022/09/episode-386-ten-years-of-the-thinking-poker-podcast/
Josh Nixon was a student in the Boston Debate League when Andrew was the director. In the years since then, Josh been a serious Magic: The Gathering player, taken an interest in poker, and becom...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2022/09/episode-385-josh-nixon/
Jeopardy! champion Alex Jacob got his start in poker alongside Thinking Poker host emeritus Nate Meyvis, who also joins Andrew and Carlos for this conversation about poker, trivia, Jeopardy! stra...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2022/08/episode-385-alex-jacob/
Angela Jordison and Jacki Burkhart have one of the sweetest friendships in poker. Fresh off deep runs in the WSOP Main Event, they join Carlos and Andrew to talk about how friendship helps you na...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2022/08/episode-383-angela-jordison-and-jacki-burkhart/
MSPT Player of the Year Kyna England joins Carlos and Andrew to discuss learning poker, cultivating a network of poker friends, having fun at the table, savoring the weirdness, transitioning out ...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2022/08/episode-382-kyna-england/
Musician, poker player, and pizza entrepeneur Sean Lango says goodbye after many years as the show’s audio engineer. We discuss his recent poker exploits, his new business venture, and some tou...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2022/07/episode-381-papa-sean/
Carlos catches Andrew and the audience up on all he’s been up to: living in Vegas, not playing the WSOP, researching how to erect a headstone on your own, and more. In the strategy segment, the...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2022/07/episode-380-set-mining-with-aces/
Matt Matros is a professional poker player and writer whose works include both fiction and poker books. With Carlos and Andrew, he discusses concepts from his new book, The Poker Brain, in the co...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2022/06/episode-379-the-poker-brain-with-matt-matros/
Ben Saxton joins Andrew and Carlos to discuss why poker rooms feel a little too normal, why Andrew will not be at the WSOP, what we’ve all been watching and reading, and more. Ben previously ap...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2022/06/episode-278-pandemic-poker-redux-with-ben-saxton/
Former poker pro Fergal Nealon joins Carlos and Andrew to talk about the Irish poker scene, Irish folklore, and Rapid Response Ukraine, a humanitarian organization working directly with volunteer...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2022/05/episode-377-fergal-nealon/
Writer, poker player, and former sex crimes prosecutor Dan Schorr joins Carlos and Andrew to discuss preparing for his first WSOP Main Event, game theory in the criminal justice system, and his n...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2022/05/episode-376-dan-schorr/
In this colossal interview, poker enthusiast, filmmaker, and three-time SCOOP/WCOOP winner DrKamikaze talks to Carlos and Andrew about split pot games, mixed game tournaments, how studying other ...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2022/04/episode-375-drkamikaze/
Carlos and Andrew dive straight into strategy this week, getting in depth on river bet sizing and other theory topics. Get Andrew’s new course on Toy Games, his course on Targeting, and much mo...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2022/03/episode-374-river-bets-and-other-theory/
Noted poker authority Ed Miller returns to the show to discuss his new venture, DeckPrism Sports, which provides 24/7 pregame and in-game Managed Trading Services for American Sports. Ed’s earl...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2022/03/episode-373-noted-in-game-betting-authority-ed-miller/
Industry luminary Lee Jones returns to the podcast to discuss AI-assisted strategy and the poker developments that worry him most for the long-term health of the game. Lee first appeared on Episo...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2022/02/episode-372-lee-jones/
Legendary commentator Joe Stapleton joins Andrew and Carlos to talk about comedy, stirring the pot on Twitter, the challenges of color commentary for online events, poker NFTs, and more. You can ...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2022/02/episode-371-joe-stapleton/
Conrad Simpson of Solve For Why fame joins Carlos and Andrew to talk about his remarkable life story, dealing shady private games, swings, shot taking, and professionalism. You’ll find our st...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2022/01/episode-370-conrad-simpson/
Poker player, coach, and podcast host Brad Wilson joins Carlos and Andrew to discuss spades, poker soft skills, analyzing data, and what it means to chase poker greatness. Andrew was on Episode 6...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2022/01/episode-369-brad-wilson/
Data analyst Michael Lukich joins Carlos and Andrew to talk about taking a data analysis approach to solvers and game theory. His website is lukich.io and his Solver School launches in January. ...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2021/12/episode-368-michael-lukich/
Carlos and Andrew go all in on strategy, discussing how to adapt to new rules and variants (like the new GG Poker final table rules) and how to play from the small blind versus limpers. Our earli...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2021/12/episode-367-adapting-to-change/
It’s the end of an era, as Nate Meyvis steps down as co-host and Carlos Welch takes up the mantle. Our fullest accounting of the show’s beginning and early days is on Episode 100 (which Ca...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2021/11/episode-366-a-new-host/
Magician Shawn Farquhar and filmmaker Jon Ornoy join Carlos and Andrew to discuss their forthcoming documentary. Lost in the Shuffle is a film about the history of playing cards and the magicia...
Just a quick solo episode this week, with Andrew discussing the importance of open-mindedness and deductive reasoning for serious poker players. Logic puzzles like these can be a fun way to pract...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2021/11/episode-364-deductive-logic/
Irish poker pro and long-time friend of the show Dara O’Kearney joins Andrew to discuss his new book, Endgame Poker Strategy. The interview is packed with strategy discussion of final table pla...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2021/10/episode-363-icm-with-dara-okearney/
Poker room manager Chris Pavelchik joins Andrew to discuss the logistics of opening a new poker room: hiring, training, marketing, and much more. In the strategy segment, Andrew talks about adapt...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2021/09/episode-362-chris-pavelchik/
Andrew delivers a pure strategy episode, answering two questions that get at larger issues about playing overpairs on coordinated flops with deep stacks. WSOP Home School Thinking Poker Daily Cus...
Kathy Liebert, a true legend of the game, shares tales from the pre-Boom tournament circuit (including her stint as a prop player). She and Andrew compare notes on how an old-school pro can best ...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2021/08/episode-260-kathy-liebert/
Though I don’t have children of my own, I get along well with kids and generally enjoy spending time with them. In particular, I find it fascinating to inhabit, as well as I can, their worlds f...
Brazilian pro Guilherme “guix2x” Brasiliero joins Andrew to discuss the Brazilian poker scene, staking stables, the contemporary poker software landscape, and much more. Links Thinking Poker ...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2021/07/episode-359-guilherme-brasileiro/
Carlos Welch is the latest player to win a WSOP bracelet, thanks to a late-night victory in the “Crazy Eights” event on WSOP.com. Just hours after the victory, he shares his excitement and re...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2021/07/episode-358-carlos-wins-a-bracelet/
Santiago has been working in the poker media from Argentina since 2009. He writes frequent articles and book reviews for Poker Logia and has provided live coverage of the WSOP Main Event in 2015 ...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2021/07/episode-357-santiago-garcia-mansilla/
Professional poker player and former Magic: the Gathering World Champion Uri Peleg talks about game theory, exploitative play, making sense of solvers, frequency mistakes vs fundamental mistakes,...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2021/06/episode-356-uri-peleg/
Carlos celebrates the ten-year anniversary of his first WSOP, reflecting on his career and fondly recalling his former fishiness. Links Use discount code “Carlos” to get 25% off Exploiting Sm...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2021/06/episode-355-ten-years-of-carlos-welch/
Nate Meyvis, in classic Nate Meyvis fashion, offers an extended reflection on what he learned from the various games with which he’s been obsessed over the course of his life, most notably Brid...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2021/06/episode-354-would-you-like-to-play-a-game/
In this all-strategy episode, Nate and Andrew discuss ICM and Risk Premium in non-hold ’em games, then Andrew talks about bluffing, bluff-catching, and tiny continuation bets. Episode 115: Ben ...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2021/05/episode-353-icm-plo-and-tiny-c-bets/
Byron Jacobs is the B in D&B Poker, publishers of Modern Poker Theory and Why Alex Beats Bobbie at Poker among many other books. He and Andrew discuss the past, present, and future of poker publi...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2021/04/episode-352-byron-jacobs/
Comedian, poker player, and long-time friend of the show Clayton Fletcher talks to Andrew about creativity, freedom of expression, political correctness, and so-called cancel culture. This is an ...
Keith Dunlap is a poet, novelist, and memoirist took up poker after a cancer diagnosis whose chemotherapy treatment required him to quarantine before it was cool. We talk about why poker interest...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2021/03/episode-350-keith-dunlap/
Dr. Konstantinos “Duncan” Palamourdas joins Nate and Andrew for a marathon conversation about playing poker, teaching poker, learning poker, and learning from poker. Links Why Alex Beats Bo...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2021/03/episode-349-duncan-palamourdas/
In this solo episode, Andrew discusses multiway pots, bluff-catching, tells, and “going with your gut.” Become a Patreon patron to unlock daily episodes of pure Thinking Poker strategy. Zach ...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2021/03/episode-348-tells-and-going-with-your-gut/
In this solo episode, Nate Meyvis discusses the history of the podcast, his own history as a poker player, and what that all has to do with helping you get better at poker now.
Comedian, poker player, and long-time friend of the show Clayton Fletcher talks to Andrew about social media, missing the WSOP, online poker vs online comedy during the pandemic. Our first interv...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2021/02/episode-346-clayton-fletcher-online/
Nate and Andrew go it alone, discussing processes for studying, finding your leaks, and continuing to grow and improve as a poker player. For more on this and many other poker strategy topics, su...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2021/01/episode-345-finding-your-own-leaks/
Card player, political scientist, and fan favorite Matt Glassman returns to the show to discuss the assault on the US Capitol Building and the game theory of political violence: what drives it, w...
Marketing Manager of the World Poker Tour Matt Clark joins us to discuss the past and future of marketing poker to the masses. The book Matt recommended is Strokes of Genius. You can follow him o...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2021/01/episode-343-matt-clark/
Sean Lango, professional musician/poker player and Thinking Poker’s very own audio engineer, joins us to discuss the podcast, playing poker online, playing music online, the best music of the y...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2020/12/episode-342-sean-lango/
Patrick McKenzie, known as “patio11” on Hacker News and elsewhere, is a blogger, consultant, and all-around public intellectual on subjects related to software and business. He’s also, of c...
https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2020/12/episode-341-patrick-mckenzie/
Some people/platforms were having trouble with the MP3 I uploaded yesterday. I haven’t been able to figure out what caused that, but it’s a small enough file I’m going to try releasing the ...