Third Man Walking

Your correspondent shares some details of the life he led before becoming a professional poker player, then recaps two big cash game sessions, $10/$20/$40 NLHE and $5/$10/$20 NLHE. 0:20 Introduction 1:57 A big hand from 2011: J4hh in a limped pot 7:37 $10/$20/$40 NLHE 8:57 Black KK vs. fun player 9:50 QQ vs a tight 3bettor 12:15 Big bluff with QdJx vs. fun player 15:28 A set of sixes vs. fun playe...

Peter Alson joins me to discuss his new novel about poker, The Only Way to Play It. 0:21 Introduction 1:12 Peter Alson 26:05 Session review: $5/$5 No-Limit Hold-Em in San Diego County 37:04 Session review II: More $5/5 No-Limit Hold-Em in the San Diego area You can follow Peter Alson on Twitter @. More information about The Only Way to Play It is here: PeterAlson peteralson.com/the-only-way-to-pla...

Your correspondent discusses one of poker's best-known players and the training site he helped found. 0:23 Introduction 4:10 Matt Berkey (T7dd) vs. Jack Laskey (AKo) 12:08 Berkey (KxQh) vs. Chris Konvalinka (J9hh) 18:07 Berkey and "Dead Money" 25:01 Solve for Why's podcast 28:39 Solve for Why's training videos 32:17 Berkey (K9cc) vs. Andrew Lichtenberger (QJo) 37:31 Berkey (QdTx) vs. Christian Sot...

Live poker is shrouded in uncertainty. It often isn't clear what's happening in a given hand, or even who's winning. Your correspondent examines the implications of this uncertainty for two player types that are common in live poker. 0:00 Introduction 1:35 How much we don't know 8:23 The dreamer 11:37 The pied piper (questionable poker coach) 16:28 Live cash game review: A bad day at 5/10/20 23:24...

Your correspondent describes his own experiences playing poker during quarantine. 0:00 Introduction / live poker vs. online poker 4:28 Private online games 13:22 Playing on apps 17:30 Cash games and meritocracies 22:27 A no-limit hold-em fish tries to learn PLO

Your correspondent's initial thoughts on Maria Konnikova's excellent new book "The Biggest Bluff," in which she learns how to play, and succeeds in, live tournament poker. 0:00 Introduction/COVID/podcast plans 3:20 "The Biggest Bluff"

Yale Greenfield joins Third Man Walking to discuss how the coronavirus has affected the poker economy. We discuss online cash games, tournaments, public vs. private games, how games have changed as the quarantine has progressed, and how poker creates FO

With the coronavirus upon us, a special episode about the classic poker movie Rounders, which you can watch again today, alone, at home

Your correspondent plays the Main Event of the World Series of Poker for the first time. 0:00 Introduction 0:57 Why does everyone think they run bad in tournaments? 3:30 WSOP update 8:36 The Main Event 9:57 Day 2 11:45 Day 3 14:19 Hand review: Casino Royale

Your correspondent discusses cash games vs. tournaments, whether cash-game players really are better than tournament players, and the allure of winning life-changing money as he heads to Las Vegas to compete in the World Series of Poker. 0:37 Introduction 1:12 Aspirations in poker 2:46 Why the World Series of Poker presents opportunities for mid-level pros 6:10 Cash-game pros vs. tournament pros 1...

Why does poker keep getting harder? Are our opponents improving as quickly as they used to? And what factors will determine whether live poker remains beatable in the years to come? Also included in this episode of Third Man Walking: a review of a no-limit session in which your correspondent plays two big hands with pocket tens at two very different stakes. 0:00 Introduction 2:56 The Pareto Princi...

Your correspondent outlines his path to becoming a professional poker player and describes the challenges of playing for a living. He also looks back on a wild -- and complicated -- session of $5/$5 NLHE. 0:00 Introduction 0:22 What top pros are (or might be) like 2:35 My start in cash-game poker 7:22 Moving up in stakes 8:54 Struggling and recovering 13:30 Difficulties of playing for a living 15:...

Variance in poker, and especially in poker tournaments, can be maddening. This episode investigates the effects of variance in tournaments (where variance is insane) and cash games (where it can be milder). Your correspondent also reviews a recent $5/$10/$20 No-Limit Hold-Em cash game session. 0:00 Introduction 0:40 Jonathan Duhamel vs. Matt Affleck 7:53 Variance in tournaments 9:50 Tournament eco...

Episode 2 of Third Man Walking explores the dark, anarchic underbelly of the poker world, including the alleged poker cheating scam involving Mike Postle and Stones Gambling Hall. 0:00 Introduction 0:33 Is poker good for us? 2:57 Degenning 7:30 Misogyny 10:40 Session review: 5/10 NLHE 21:47 Poker outside casinos 22:30 Scamming and stealing 26:16 Cheating / Mike Postle 31:13 Problem gambling 33:20...

In the first episode of Third Man Walking, we discuss how it feels to play poker for a living, and why professional poker players are best described not as sharks, but as cockroaches. We also review a $5/$10 cash game session in which our correspondent wins over $7000. 0:00 Introduction 1:36 Frustrating session review 5:15 Waiting for our chance 8:41 Rules and basic strategy 14:30 Winning session...