Thinking Poker

Swedish pro and mother of two Jenny Westerlund recently had the biggest score of her career when she shipped the Main Event of the WSOP Circuit in Tallinn, Estonia for over €200,000. She talks to Nate and Andrew about her background as both a dealer and a kindergarten teacher and how she balances traveling the live circuit with (co-)parenting two kids as a single mother. You can join Andrew and Ca...

Software engineer and avid mixed games player Ian Gavlick is bringing games like triple draw into the modern era of poker strategy with Stud Flop Draw . He shares his passion for mixed game strategy and software with Andrew and Carlos and offers some predictions for how AI will shape the future of poker. You can join Andrew and Carlos on ClubWPT Gold by signing up at  https://clubwptgold.com/?prom...

Andrew and Carlos answer strategy questions from the Patreon, and Carlos discusses his move from Las Vegas to Jacksonville. You can join Andrew and Carlos on ClubWPT Gold by signing up at  https://clubwptgold.com/?promo=THINK .  Receive 10% off your GTO Wizard subscription when you  use this link to sign up  to GTO Wizard today and run deeper in your MTTs with GTO Wizard AI! You can now get two FR...

Michelle Farmer and Natascha Carpenter founded  Royal Queens Poker  in Atlanta in 2024 after seeing the lack of diversity in other leagues, a journey they shared with Andrew, Carlos, and  Gloria Jackson  on Episode 459 . Now they’re back to discuss the joys and challenges of their rapid growth plus some thoughts on the 2025 World Series of Poker. Thanks to  Caitlyn Arnwine  for connecting us...

Craig Savage is an educator by trade, but he’s been a competitive poker player and a student of Carlos’s for many years. Hot on the heels of his bracelet victory in the $500 NLHE Freezeout, he speaks with Andrew and Carlos about the experience and how he stays on top of the game despite family and professional obligations. In the strategy segment, Andrew discusse what exactly “ta...

Ian Chan is a Silicon Valley software engineer and a triple draw enthusiast who built his own badugi solver. He talks game theory, artificial intelligence, mixed games, and the underappreciated role of tactile poker experiences. We’ve also got a little in memoriam for Jane Hitchcock, who was our guest on Episode 330 . All our interviews with the University of Alberta Computer Poker Research...

Former Thinking Poker Podcast host Nate Meyvis joins the show to talk about AI, spaced repetition, and his new flashcard site ZippyFlash.com . Meanwhile Carlos drops in with occasional updates while playing the $1500 Shootout at the WSOP. You can join Andrew and Carlos on ClubWPT Gold by signing up at  https://clubwptgold.com/?promo=THINK .  Receive 10% off your GTO Wizard subscription when you  u...

This week, we’re bringing you an episode of Risky Business, a podcast about better decision making from our friends Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova. You can find more Risky Business at https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/risky-business-with-nate-silver-maria-konnikova. You can join Andrew and Carlos on ClubWPT Gold by signing up at  https://clubwptgold.com/?promo=THINK .  Receive 10% off your GT...

Nosebleed MTT crusher Sam Greenwood is one of the most successful poker players of all time. But how did he get started, how did he rise to the top, and why is he now giving away his secrets in a daily newsletter? Carlos and Andrew get to the bottom of it all in this fantastic interview. You can join Andrew and Carlos on ClubWPT Gold by signing up at  https://clubwptgold.com/?promo=THINK .  Receiv...

Chris “DeathDonkey” Vitch joins Carlos and Andrew for a lively discussion of poker in all its forms, including why he prefers non-hold ’em games, what hold ’em players get wrong about mixed games, and he approaches mixed game tournaments differently than cash games. You can join Andrew and Carlos on ClubWPT Gold by signing up at  https://clubwptgold.com/?promo=THINK .  Rece...

Tom “Tombos21” Boshoff returns to the show to discuss new developments in poker strategy and technology since his last appearance . Alex Sutherland is the source of the “think of a solver as a tool for conducting experiments” idea. We first discussed the idea of AI “intuition” with Michael Bowling of the University of Alberta Computer Poker Research Group. You c...

Five years ago, Jason Su taught the poker world to play with presence. Now he’s back to advocate for playing with joy. We discuss his new book, why most poker players motivate themselves in unsustainable ways, and how to change those habits both at the poker table and in life. In the strategy segment, Andrew discusses game theory in the real world and whether strategic uncertainty has a role...

Andres Korn grew up playing poker with his friends, but it wasn’t until he saw it on TV that he decided to take it seriously. He bought straight in to the WSOP Main Event and never looked back. Now he’s one of the most successful players in Argentina (and the world!), with an emphasis on mixed games but enough hold ’em proficiency to hold a bracelet in the prestigious $5K six-max...

Ariel Shefer wants to be a world champion. He’s tried backgammon, he’s tried bridge. Now, he lives in his car, driving for Uber to earn buy-ins for poker tournaments. He’s not broke (or at least, he wouldn’t have to be); this is how he keeps himself hungry. And maybe how he nets a sponsorship from Toyota, Hilton, Uber, or Virginia Slims… Ariel shares with us his remar...

Linda Johnson and Jan Fisher are titans of the industry, with over 100 years of poker experience between them. They share stories with Carlos and Andrew about poker rooms in the 1970s and 80s, how and why they changed, the history of Card Player Magazine, the history of Card Player Cruises , the founding of the Tournament Directors’ Association, and Poker Gives , a charitable project feeding...

It’s been two years since Carlos met Gloria Jackson when he contacted about for an interview. Now he lives with her and her two youngest sons, and both their lives have changed dramatically. The two of them share with Andrew what their lives look like now, both on and off the felt. If you aren’t familiar with Gloria, her original interview is well worth listening to even if you don&#82...

Co-owner of the Irish Poker Open Paul O’Reilly discusses the historic event with Carlos and Andrew. Plus the Irish poker scene, tips for visiting Dublin, and more! You can join Andrew and Carlos on ClubWPT Gold by signing up at  https://clubwptgold.com/?promo=THINK .  Receive 10% off your GTO Wizard subscription when you  use this link to sign up  to GTO Wizard today and run deeper in your M...

Card player, political scientist, and fan favorite Matt Glassman returns to the show to discuss the Oh Hell! book he’s working on and answer listener questions about American politics. Matt is a frequent Thinking Poker guest who first appeared on  Episode 191 . Lamont Jones talked Bid Whist with us on Episode 433 . You can join Andrew and Carlos on ClubWPT Gold by signing up at  https://club...

Jim Reid, LoriAnn Persinger, and Rob Gardner join Andrew and Carlos to talk about the RecPoker community and how the needs, goals, and experiences of recreational players differ from those of professionals. LoriAnn first appeared on Episode 394 of the Thinking Poker Podcast. You can join Andrew and Carlos on ClubWPT Gold by signing up at  https://clubwptgold.com/?promo=THINK .  Receive 10% off you...

Carlos shares his experiences from the GPI awards banquet and a visit with Tom McEvoy. Then he and Andrew discuss two tricky tournament spots with AK. We interviewed Tom McEvoy on Episode 450 .  You can join Andrew and Carlos on ClubWPT Gold by signing up at https://clubwptgold.com/?promo=THINK .  Receive 10% off your GTO Wizard subscription when you  use this link to sign up  to GTO Wizard today...

Winning a major poker tournament isn’t a fast track onto the Thinking Poker Podcast, but when Matt Savage says, “You have to talk to this guy!”, we oblige. And so glad we did! Zak VanKeuren, who won the WPT Prime Championship in December for over $1 million, is a great poker player, but he isn’t just a great poker player. He’s also a holistic wellness enthusiast and p...

Organizer, advocate, and poker pro Caitlyn Arnwine returns to the show for Black History Month! With Carlos and Andrew, she discusses why Black history is American history, how historical voting rights movements can inform contemporary struggles, how to advocate for Women’s Events, and what this all has to do with poker strategy. Plus, Carlos and Andrew discuss risk premiums in everyday life...

Legendary poker guru Alex “Assassinato” Fitzgerald returns to the podcast after a long hiatus to discuss solvers, live cash games, his new book, living in New York during the height of the pandemic, and much more! Alex previously appeared on Episode 84 and Episode 133 . His website is PokerHeadRush.com . You can join Andrew and Carlos in the ClubWPT Gold beta by signing up at  https://...

Ivonne Montealegre is best known in the poker world for organizing the popular Malta Poker Festival and the new Costa Rica Poker Festival. She shares with Carlos and Andrew about growing up in Costa Rica, living in Malta, how her mother got her into poker, what goes into organizing a poker festival, and her now role as Manager of the SiGMA Poker Tour. You can join Andrew and Carlos in the ClubWPT...

We are cancelling the ClubWPT Gold Meet Up Game we’d previously announced for Saturday January 25. We still plan to host a Home Game tournament on Saturday February 1 at 5pm Eastern/2pm Pacific. You’ll need password “THINK” to join the home game, and if you haven’t yet signed up for ClubWPT Gold, you can do so at www.clubwptgold.com  using promo code “THINK&#822...