Welcome to a very special episode of the GRID, where the winner of the Platinum Poker Hand competition is unveiled. Over 70 entrants from all over the United States and Canada, competed for the delicious prize, a 30K package to play in the PokerStars Players Championships, set for the Bahamas in January 2023.

After narrowing over 70 entrants to six fantastic finalists, a dream team of judges helped pick the winner.

Maria Ho, Award winning broadcaster with over four million dollars in poker earnings.   

Alex O’Brien, poker player, science writer and author of the upcoming book, The Truth Detective.

Sam Grafton, PokerStars Ambassador with over 12 million dollars in earnings, with a master’s degree in literary theory.  

Keith “Accidental Grenade” Becker- PokerStars ambassador and streamer, and former GRID guest.

Mark “Naigo1” Foresta- PokerStars Ambassador and streamer at https://www.twitch.tv/naigo1

Brad Willis- former PokerStars blog editor, current poker.org editor, and host/producer of the renowned true crime podcast, Murder Etc.  

The podcast itself reveals the winner. If you’d like to play along and pick your favorite, enjoy reading and watching all six finalists before listening to the final three minutes.

Listed in the same random order that they appeared on the pod:

1.       James Tedrow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09vHR0o9AfA

2.       Davis Harari: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DnqsnFilg8PFe-KByNpVTaz9KecCmi4R/edit

3.       Nicole Pamela Cervenka: https://vimeo.com/780795467/78200df845

4.       Matt Glassman: https://mattglassman.substack.com/p/j-3-offsuit-and-the-monster-ballads

5.       Dan Schill: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0Rx4T8wYy0

6.       Lisa Gjaltema: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AvAD6EqTk-4yF1QEJ0ny29KuQiSMF8M3HQP07E7FB1o/edit

Thank you again to the entrants, judges and to everyone at Stars who made this prize possible. Find out more about the PSPC here: https://www.pokerstarslive.com/pspc/

Good luck to everyone playing, especially Platinum Poker Hand finalist revealed in this episode: See YOU in the Bahamas!!

The GRID is sponsored by PokerStars. Logo art photo by Kyle Cassidy, intro music “Gotta Switch it On” by Grace Mesa. This special episode was produced by Daniel Meirom and edited/mixed by Quinn Waters.

In a special episode of the GRID, Jennifer invites high-roller regular Victoria Livschitz, for her very first podcast appearance. Victoria has had an extraordinarily successful career as a tech entrepreneur, and aptly for this pod, her biggest success was an early cloud computer leader called the GRID dynamics. She started touring the high roller circuit in the Fall 2021, and she’s had a stunning debut year to winning over 580K in tournaments as of Dec 2022, including outright victories at the Aria and the Venetian.

She tells Jennifer why she enjoys playing amongst the best players in the World, including the villain in this hand, Hall of Famer Erik Seidel. Victoria defended the big blind against Erik’s button open with Queen-Nine off with the nine of hearts. The hand checked through on the Jd 8h 5h flop and the six of hearts turn. When the queen of clubs landed on the river, Victoria feigned weakness with a bet of 10K into 45K, only to see Erik raise it up to 70K.   What would you do?

Jen and Victoria move on to discussing the development of women in poker, Victoria’s passion for the game and efficient study. She also speaks about how her experience managing large teams helps her decode poker tells.

Now that Victoria Livschitz has discussed queen-nine offsuit, there are 97 hands remaining on the GRID. Use our episode finder to browse them all. 

If you’re from the USA or Canada and listening to this promptly, there is still time to enter the GRID’s incredible contest to win a 30K Platinum Pass. The pass includes entry into the 25K PokerStars Players Championships, and a trip to the Bahamas in the dead of winter. Contest closes on Dec 14^th at Noon ET. Details here: https://pokerstarslearn.com/poker/learn/news/jennifer-shahade-announces-platinum-pass-competition-for-us-and-canada/

We interrupt our regular programming for a HUGE announcement. The GRID is giving away a Platinum Pass worth $30,000!! One lucky, and talented, listener from the US or Canada will be going to the Bahamas in January, to play the PokerStars Players Championships. 

To win, tell us your #PlatinumPokerHand, a memorable, funny or entertaining hand from live, online or even casual play. You can make a video, a sound file, or write a story. 

A star studded judging panel will help host Jennifer Shahade pick the winner. It will consist of top poker professionals Maria Ho and Sam Grafton, as well as author and science journalist Alex O Brien. PokerStars PA streamers Mark Foresta and Keith Becker will also be on the panel. Finally, Brad Willis, the long-time editor of the PokerStars Blog, and now the editor in chief of poker.org, will be an esteemed judge. 

Full contest details here: https://pokerstarslearn.com/poker/learn/news/jennifer-shahade-announces-platinum-pass-competition-for-us-and-canada/