The Grid 074.5 ft. Substack Special
The GRID is coming back soon! Till then, check out a couple teaser episodes on host Jennifer Shahade’s substack.
Jennifer Shahade
The Grid 074 ft. Yanjaa Wintersoul – Eight-Three Offsuit
The GRID podcast returns to our regular programming by welcoming a very special guest: International Memory Grandmaster, Yanjaa Wintersoul. Yanjaa, the first woman to become a Memory World Champion, talks about how memory tricks apply to poker, chess and trivia. The conversation is anchored by Yanjaa’s first poker tournament, the 2022 World Series of Poker Ladies Event, where she found herself in a befuddling blind vs blind spot.
Yanjaa and Jennifer move on to a general discussion of creative memory, spaced repetition and pattern recognition. They also explain why they won’t be appearing on Lex Fridman’s podcast anytime soon.
Find out more about Yanjaa on her website, https://www.wintersoul.org/ and @Yanjaa https://www.instagram.com/yanjaa/
For more GRIDs and Grandmasters, Jennifer just appeared on Jeopardy! Masters, to host a category, Chess, Masters. Watch it here.
Find host Jennifer @jenshahade and get her books here.
The GRID is sponsored by PokerStars. Logo art photo by Kyle Cassidy, intro music “Gotta Switch it On” by Grace Mesa.
The Grid 073 ft. Matt Glassman – Jack-Three Offsuit
As we approach the PokerStars Players Championship, we welcome our Platinum Poker Hand winner, Matt Glassman. Matt kicks off the episode with a riveting reading of his award winning essay, “Jack-Three Offsuit and the Monster Ballads Poker Game.”
Then Jen and Matt move on to discuss what makes a great home game, how to teach game theory to children, and which politicians would be best at poker. They also touch on how Matt is preparing for the upcoming PokerStars Players Championship.
In addition to being a fantastic writer and home game philosopher, Matt is also a senior fellow at the Georgetown University Government Affairs Institute. He blogs about politics, political science and game theory on his substack, Five Points. You can also follow Matt at https://twitter.com/MattGlassman312 (politics feed) and https://twitter.com/mattg312cards (card tweets) and find him on a previous appearance on the Thinking Poker Podcast.
You can follow Jennifer @jenshahade and find her books here.
The GRID is sponsored by PokerStars. Logo art photo by Kyle Cassidy, intro music “Gotta Switch it On” by Grace Mesa.
The Grid 072.5 The Winner is in: Announcing our Platinum Poker Hand
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.
The Grid 072 ft. Victoria Livschitz – Queen-Nine Offsuit
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 14th at Noon ET. Details here: https://pokerstarslearn.com/poker/learn/news/jennifer-shahade-announces-platinum-pass-competition-for-us-and-canada/
The Grid 071.5 – Tell Us Your Platinum Poker Hand
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/
The Grid 071 ft. Nate Solon – Pocket Threes
Jennifer invites data scientist, chess master and writer Nate Solon to the GRID. Nate talks about a hand from a private game early in his poker career. He found himself flopping bottom set on a dry board against a friend—but things got progressively worse: not only did he lose the pot, but he and his friend were accused of colluding. Nate and Jennifer look back at the unexpected hand in light of cheating accusations that have rocked both the poker and chess worlds.
Nate Solon also recalls a hand against Garrett Adelstein and why Garrett made it hard to think straight. Nate kindly shares the tuna salad recipe that “G-man” divulged post-hand. I hope you like jalapeno.
They move on to discuss Nate’s new book, “How to Evaluate Like a Grandmaster”, which Solon co-authored with Grandmaster Eugene Perelshteyn, and how evaluation in chess compares to poker. Jennifer also gets to ask Nate some burning inquiries, like what fallacies annoy him most, and how many avocadoes fit in an airplane.
Now that Nate has covered pocket threes, there are 98 hands remaining on the poker GRID. Use our episode finder to browse them all.
The GRID is sponsored by PokerStars. Look for an exciting announcement on December 1st for a BIG GRID/PokerStars collaboration.
Discussed on the show:
Nate’s blog, Zwischenzug (subscribe!) https://zwischenzug.substack.com/
Nate’s new book, HOW TO EVALUATE LIKE A GRANDMASTER: https://www.amazon.com/Evaluate-Like-Grandmaster-Eugene-Perelshteyn/dp/B0BHNF5CWB
Greg Shahade’s twitter review (with cameos by Jen!) : https://twitter.com/GregShahade/status/1582066200280195072?s=20&t=E2HGJO2wffRBT4XBm4oYgA
Jen’s writing, CHESS QUEENS (available now) and the forthcoming THINKING SIDEWAYS: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1399701371?geniuslink=true
Nate’s Blog about wicked vs. kind learning environments: https://zwischenzug.substack.com/p/why-is-chess-so-hard
Previous GRID guest Peter Svidler: https://thepokergrid.com/2019/08/24/the-grid-015-ft-peter-svidler-ace-seven-of-diamonds/
Now that Jennifer has covered Pocket Threes , there are 98 hands remaining on the poker GRID. Use our episode finder to browse them all.
The GRID is sponsored by PokerStars. Logo art photo by Kyle Cassidy, intro music “Gotta Switch it On” by Grace Mesa.
The Grid 070 ft. Wey Xie – Ace-Queen Offsuit
Jennifer Shahade invites Wey “CRAIBaby” Xie to the GRID. A high stakes online player who has battled and won with the best players in the World, Wey Xie talks about a pivotal hand he played with Ace-Queen offsuit on PokerStars.
150 big blinds deep in 1K NL, The hijack opened to 2.7x and Wey Xie called in the big blind with the Ace of Hearts and the Queen of Clubs. The flop came 6d7h9h. After Wey Xie checked, the original raiser bet $18.59, about 1/3 of the pot, and true to his online name, CRAIBaby put in a check raise to $88.73. The hijack flatted the raise to see the four of hearts on the turn. Wey Xie continued to aggress with a bet of $70 into $236. The villain raised to 223, and CRAIbaby put in the three-bet for $527. This left a 75% pot sized bet on the river. An offsuit jack came leaving him one big question: To jam or not to jam?
After unraveling his river decision, Wey Xie explains why he dropped out of a promising six figure starting salary job to become a professional poker player. Jennifer and Wey Xie also talk about theories of effective poker study, and what he thinks most people get wrong in their approach to the game, explaining what he means when he said, “the Beauty of the game is invisible if you don’t fully understand poker.”
Follow @WeyXie on twitter and Instagram.
Now that Jennifer has covered ace-queen offsuit, there are 99 hands remaining on the poker GRID. Use our episode finder to browse them all.
The GRID is sponsored by PokerStars. Logo art photo by Kyle Cassidy, intro music “Gotta Switch it On” by Grace Mesa.
The Grid 069 x The Chip Race ft. Jen Shahade – Jack-Six Suited
Jennifer Shahade joins David Lappin and Dara O’Kearney from the Chip Race to discuss a hand from the 3K Mystery Bounty event at EPT Barcelona. With bounties in play and the money bubble looming, Jennifer held Jack-Six suited, and got involved in a preflop confrontation with top Norweigian pro Preben Stokan and high roller Paul Newey.
The discussion moves on to common strategies and misconceptions on the Mystery Bounty format, which is rapidly increasing in popularity. In this iteration, 1/3 of each player’s entry fee went to the mystery bounty pool. The bounties went into play on day two, with a little less than 40% of the field remaining. Each bounty was worth a little over $2500*, when accounting for some prizes that were added on, such as a Platinum Pass.
Jennifer finished in 11th place out of 1132 entrants.
A version of this episode appeared on the Chip Race, which also included interviews with Andrew Neeme and Zachary Elwood.
Now that Jennifer has covered jack six suited, there are 100 hands remaining on the poker GRID. Use our episode finder to browse them all.
The GRID is sponsored by PokerStars. Logo art photo by Kyle Cassidy, intro music “Gotta Switch it On” by Grace Mesa.
*The formula for calculating this is to multiply the bounty value of each player by the number of entrants, then divide by the players remaining when bounties go into play.
The Grid 068.5 ft. ft. Nick Schulman – Jack-Four Offsuit
Jennifer Shahade re-releases her 2019 episode with 3-time WSOP bracelet winner and star commentator Nick Schulman. Nick, consistently ahead of the curve, played a big pot with jack-four offsuit in a NYC underground cash game.
She also touches on the current scandals that have shaken the chess and poker worlds. For more on Jennifer’s thoughts, check out her Financial Times article.
For more episodes of the GRID, check out our Episode Finder.
Support the GRID by subbing and rating on your favorite platform and check out host Jen Shahade’s new book, Chess Queens.
GRID sponsor, PokerStars recently announced opportunities for US players to win Platinum Passes.
The GRID is now proudly sponsored by PokerStars.
The Grid 068 ft. Matt Matros – Ace-Nine Offsuit.
Matt Matros, three-time WSOP bracelet winner and three-time author enters the GRID to discuss a fascinating hand with ace-nine offsuit, also featured in his new book, The Poker Brain: Improving Your Process Through Optimal and Exploitive Thinking.
Matt opened the hijack, deep in the money of an online bracelet event, and was called by poker pro Darren Rabbi in the big blind.
The flop was 852 rainbow and Matt, who was playing about 40 big blinds deep, elected to check back the flop, turning a 7, which completed the rainbow. At this point Darren led for full pot, and Matt’s poker brain went into full gear, as he contemplated folding, calling vs. raising.
This strategy rich episode delves into why particularly flop has such big bet energy, and the way that solvers and human intuition can contradict each other- or complement each other. They also talk about poker “trouble hands”, and why Jennifer wants to bring back hand nicknames, including “A Knock-off” for this particular combo. They also talk about Matt’s approach to poker coaching and writing.
The two wrap up with some comparisons between chess and poker mistakes.
Follow Matt Matros on twitter and buy his books, including the new “Poker Brain” on his amazon page.
Now that Matt has covered Ace-Nine Offsuit, there are 101 combos left on the GRID. Use our episode finder to browse them all. You can also find Matt’s previous GRID contribution, jack-deuce suited.
Support the GRID by subbing and rating on your favorite platform and check out host Jen Shahade’s new book, Chess Queens.
GRID sponsor, PokerStars recently announced opportunities for US players to win Platinum Passes.
The GRID is now proudly sponsored by PokerStars.
Logo art photo by Kyle Cassidy, intro music “Gotta Switch it On” by Grace Mesa.
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The Grid 067 ft. Yosha Iglesias – Ace-King Offsuit.
Yosha Iglesias, a poker player, chess master and coach, enters the GRID to talk about a long-awaited hand to be clicked off the GRID: Ace-King offsuit. She throws us back to the boom days of poker in France, where she found herself as a chipleader in an MTT at her college bar. In a dramatic three-bet pot with a crush, her talent for poker intersected with romance, giving us some unique insight into the term “sapiosexual.”
Yosha was also a guest on Jennifer’s award-winning podcast, Ladies Knight. On that show, she spoke about her work as a chess composer as well as her journey to coming out as a transgender woman. We include a brief, but very moving excerpt on the GRID. Yosha also shared some great news since the recording of the US Chess Women podcast: The French Chess Federation change its policies, and Yosha, along with two other transgender women are now eligible for French women’s events.
Now that Yosha has covered Ace-King Offsuit, there are 102 combos left on the GRID.
Find out more about Yosha on her website, and follow her on twitter and Youtube.
The Grid 066.6 Bonus Episode ft. Seth Stephens-Davidowitz
In a bonus episode of the GRID, Jennifer brings in her friend, best-selling author Seth Stephens-Davidowitz to talk about his new book, “Don’t Trust Your Gut: Using Data To get What You Really Want in Life.”. Seth is also the author of “Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are” and an amateur poker player. He has familial ties to the professional game: his brother Noah was a poker pro and journalist (of Subject: Poker) in the boom days.
Seth talks about his own poker game, and how the concept of range helped him understand how rare it is to pin people down to a specific hand. He also talks about a recent trip to Las Vegas, which made him realize that advanced poker strategies like mixing, are often inapplicable to tipsy Saturday night cash games. He extrapolates that to life, questioning whether we sometimes over-complicate our quest to get what we want.
Seth and Jennifer talk about the role of luck in poker and life, and the importance of getting lots of volume in, whether from a poker player, an artist looking to get exposure for their work or even in the dating pool.
They also talk about Seth’s work on data and happiness, and how poker might rank among other top activities, like sex, 80 degree weather, and proximity to nature.
Related Links:
Jennifer’s WSJ article on secondary infertility and poker
Interview with Seth’s brother Noah on Game Integrity
The Grid 066.5 ft. Angela Jordison – Ace-Eight Suited.
Angela Jordison enters the GRID, to discuss a sizzling hand she played against World Champion Greg “Fossilman” Raymer at the 2021 WSOP Senior’s Event.Angela raised in early position with ace-eight suited, and called a three-bet from Raymer on the button. When the flop came out beautifully, three-eight-ace with two clubs, Jordison check raised. They saw another eight on the turn, bringing in the club flush draw—and more importantly, giving Angela a full house. Now she just had to figure out how to get all of Raymer’s chips—and a fossil for the road.
Though Jordison is primarily a PLO live cash game player, she is also known for her live tournament success. She hails over $500,000 in live MTT earnings, including a six-figure score notched right after this interview, 3rd place in WSOP Event #18 for a sweet 150K prize. She also pulled off a remarkable hat trick back in 2015, when she won three events in a row at her local Oregon casino, the Pendleton.
This podcast releases just as Angela and Jennifer are ready to team up in this summer’s WSOP tag team event, raising money for abortion access. They discuss why the issue is so important to both, and their plans to dominate the event. You can find the All-in For Abortion Access logo on buttons and T-shirts here. The logo uses the hand seven-three to commemorate the 1973 Roe vs. Wade landmark decision, now in jeopardy.
Follow Angela on twitter @AngelaJordison.
Angela covered ace-eight suited, a hand that was also discussed by Darren Elias, leaving 103 combos on the GRID. Check out previous episodes using our Episode Finder.
Support the show by rating and reviewing the GRID on your favorite podcast platform and ordering Jen Shahade’s new book, Chess Queens.
The GRID is now proudly sponsored by PokerStars.
Logo art photo by Kyle Cassidy, intro music “Gotta Switch it On” by Grace Mesa.
Photos by Rachel Miller
The Grid 066 ft. TommyAngelo – Ace-Three Suited.
Poker coach, player, and renowned author on mindset and strategy Tommy Angelo enters the GRID to talk about a thrilling—and then not so thrilling—hand with ace-three suited. This hand throws back all the way to 1995, to a riverboat game on the Mississippi in Saint Louis, where Tommy found himself in a multi-way hand with ace-three of diamonds. The board ran out Queen of Spades, Four of Diamonds, and Two of Diamonds. After the flop checked around, the turn was the beautiful five of diamonds. Tommy started doing cartwheels and backflips in his head. He hit the stone cold nuts, a straight flush, a holding that we mostly dream about. Then the river came.
After unraveling the most memorable, and most painful hand of his multi-decade career, Tommy talks about common mindset missteps, his process in poker and in writing, and how to practice gratitude, even when you’re frustrated and card-dead. As he says: “Your flops are numbered. Love Them All.”
All of Tommy’s books, including the widely acclaimed Elements of Poker, and Painless Poker, can be found on multiple platforms, including e-book, audio book and hardcopy. You can find links to his articles and videos and learn about his coaching on https://www.tommyangelo.com/. Follow him for daily poker wisdom on @thetommyangelo.
Be sure to rate/review the GRID on your favorite podcast platform and check out host Jen Shahade’s new book, Chess Queens.
The GRID is now proudly sponsored by PokerStars. Logo art photo by Kyle Cassidy, intro music “Gotta Switch it On” by Grace Mesa.
The Grid 065 ft. Katie Stone – Pocket-Fours
Jennifer welcomes her longtime friend to the GRID, professional poker player and commentator Katie Stone. Katie brings a hand she played at a heads up charity challenge hosted by Solve For Why, a Vegas based poker training academy founded by Matt Berkey.
Katie had already won matches against Hearthstone streamer Hafu and poker pro Kitty Kuo when she faced her final four opponent: Poker Detox founder & high stakes pro Nick Howard.
After reviewing the tape of Nick’s aggressive preflop strategies earlier in the event, Katie was determined to widen her own ranges. She opened pocket fours on the button, faced a three bet, and elected to four-bet. Katie explains the unusual choice, and takes us through the rest of the hand, where she faced a tough decision on the river.
The conversation spins out from the hand into what chess can teach poker players about game integrity, how parenthood effects your perspective on poker, and how the marketing of women in the game has changed since Katie founded the GRINDETTES in 2011.
Follow Katie Stone on Instagram and twitter.
Check out previous episodes using our Episode Finder. Be sure to rate/review the GRID on your favorite podcast platform and check out host Jen Shahade’s new book, Chess Queens.
The GRID is now proudly sponsored by PokerStars. Our new logo art features a photo by Kyle Cassidy. The GRID intro music is “Gotta Switch it On” by Grace Mesa.
https://jennifershahade.com/Tweets @jenshahade Podcast at the GRID
Get Chess Queens: The True Story of a Champion and the Greatest Female Players of All Time.
The Grid 064 ft. Mike Shaw – King-Seven Offsuit
The multi-faceted Philly poker pro, Mike Shaw enters the GRID. The rock star, restaurant manager and mixed game proponent brings a hand from the very first live poker tournament he played, in 2004. He held King-Seven offsuit in a pivotal moment heads-up at the Binion’s Casino in Las Vegas. Though it wasn’t the World Series of Poker, it was the last year that the event was held there. While Mike didn’t win a bracelet, he still has the T-shirt that proves “I won a tournament at Binion’s.”
Mike Shaw explains to Jennifer Shahade about how he got the unique opportunity to fly out to Vegas that year, and how it changed the trajectory of his career. He also talks about how he worked on his anger in poker, which had previously led to many smashed laptops.
In addition to being a poker pro, he’s a singer and former rock star (of the band This Day Forward), a PACOOP champion and new cat dad. Mike also hosts the podcast “The Kinder Things”, which brings in special guests to show how kindness is not just an attribute, but also a practice. He brought Jen onto the pod last year. You can also find Mike on twitter at @ShawMike.
Now that Mike has covered King-Seven Offsuit, there are 105 combos left on the GRID. Check out previous episodes using our Episode Finder. Be sure to rate/review the GRID on your favorite podcast platform and check out host Jen Shahade’s new book, Chess Queens.
The GRID is now proudly sponsored by PokerStars. Our new logo art features a photo by Kyle Cassidy. The GRID intro music is “Gotta Switch it On” by Grace Mesa.https://jennifershahade.com/Tweets @jenshahade Podcast at the GRID
Get Chess Queens: The True Story of a Champion and the Greatest Female Players of All Time.
The Grid 063.5 Bonus Episode ft. Jennifer on the Poker Side of Chess Queens
Jennifer records a special solo episode of the GRID, where she takes readers through the poker highlights of her new book, Chess Queens: The True Story of a Chess Champion and the Greatest Female Players of All Time. She also reads out loud segments on jealousy, sexualization and the popularity of games.
In the original book that Chess Queens was based on, Chess Bitch, Jennifer did not play poker, and the new book is informed by her passion for *both* games.
Jennifer also draws parallels and contrasts from the gender politics in both games, comparing aggression and lookism in poker and chess. Knowing that the majority of GRID listeners identify as male, she ends with a story illustrating why gender equity is beneficial for everyone.
This episode was produced by Daniel Meirom and Quinn Waters, and is sponsored by PokerStars.
If you enjoyed this episode, you may like the Chess Queens audiobook. Or you can order a digital or hard-copy from a variety of vendors here.
Find previous GRID episodes on our Episode Finder.
The Grid 063 ft. Olivier Busquet – King Jack Suited
Jennifer welcomes legendary cash game pro Olivier Busquet to the GRID. He’s a two-time European Poker Tour champion, a WPT Champion, and has over nine million dollars in live earnings. Most known for his longevity in online cash and heads-up games, Olivier brings a throwback hand to the GRID. He had King-Jack suited in a Poker After Dark Episode that was filmed over a decade ago in 2011, just before Black Friday changed everything in US poker.
In the fated hand, Olivier is up against David “Viffer” Peat, who opens the button. Olivier three-bets in the big blind with King-Jack of spades and Viffer calls. The flop comes J78 rainbow, no spades and Olivier c-bets 10K into 15K. Viffer calls, with pocket fives, and the turn is another jack. Olivier bets 20K into 35K, and Viffer calls yet again. You’ll never guess what happened on the river–unless you have the imagination of a poker player.
Mentioned on this episode:
Olivier’s podcast, Two Lives with Olivier: https://www.twolivespodcast.com/
Doug Polk’s video on the hand: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rzp2vuXxss
Run it back with Remko: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2bAZuFpadxEX_d5QbaU-N2JKi_ZrnqIt
Follow GRID host Jennifer Shahade on twitter, and pre-order her book, Chess Queens here.
Now that Olivier has covered King-Jack suited, there are 106 combos left on the GRID. Check out previous episodes using our Episode Finder.
We are happy to announce that the GRID is now sponsored by PokerStars. More details on this partnership coming soon.
The Grid 062 ft. Keith Becker – King-Ten Offsuit
Jennifer Shahade welcomes fellow PokerStars Ambassador Keith “Accidental Grenade” Becker to the GRID. Keith, who also goes by whoopsboom brings a hand from the PokerStars PA Winter Series, where he captured an event win in the final stretch.
In his GRID moment, Keith had king-ten offsuit, with no heart. In an iconic spot about 45 big blinds deep, Keith three bet a button open from the small blind. He explains his thought process on the board, which ran out 3h 6d Jh 7h 6h.
Keith and Jen use the hand as a portal to discuss how key it is for people with limited study time to focus on spots that recur frequently. Keith also reveals some of the challenges he faces in playing his best while streaming, and talks about his dual Thursday night streams with fellow PokerStars PA streamer, Naigo. He also imparts how important it is for him to make a difference in his content, from creating a friendlier community to advocating for LGBTQ+ rights.
Follow Keith on his twitter and twitch channels. Follow GRID host Jennifer on twitter, and pre-order her book, Chess Queens here.
Now that Keith has covered king-ten-offsuit, there are 107 combos left on the GRID. Check out previous episodes using our Episode Finder.
We are happy to announce that the GRID is now sponsored by PokerStars. Look for more exciting news about this partnership in the coming months.
The Grid 061.5 Bonus Episode ft. Ella Papanek
This bonus episode of the GRID offers a fascinating discussion between Jen Shahade and quant sports trader & US Chess expert Ella Papanek. A recent graduate of Harvard University, Ella works at the Susquehana International Group (SIG), a global quantitative trading firm in the Philly area. Her interests span from chess to poker to sports, and of course- statistics, her major at Harvard.
Jen and Ella’s wide-ranging discussion touches on why it’s hard for children to think probabilistically, rating variability and gender and how to evaluate chess positions from a human perspective. They also talk about Ella’s specialty: sports analytics, and how it can be used not only to both predict outcomes but also to restructure rules to make the game better. As an example Ella points to chess tiebreak rules, as well as to Daryl Morey, President of the Philadelphia Sixers and chess enthusiast. Daryl co-founded the MIT Sports Analytics Conference, and famously suggested shaking up NBA rules by adding a four point line—or making three-pointers worth 2.5 points.
This episode is an expanded version of the January 2022 episode of Ladies Knight. Find our traditional GRID Episodes using our Episode Finder.
Discussed in the episode:
Susquehanna International Group
Jennifer Shahade’s upcoming book, Chess Queens, now available at US Chess Sales
Daryl Morey and Jessica Gelman’s MIT Sports Analytics Conference
MIT Sports Analytics panel “Beyond the Gambit: Chess’ Big Move”
NFL Big Data Bowl: https://operations.nfl.com/gameday/analytics/big-data-bowl/
Jen’s podcast episode with chess enthusiast Bill Chen, who also works at SIG
North American Corporate Chess League
The Grid 061 ft. Amanda Botfeld – King Jack Offsuit
Jennifer welcomes Amanda Botfeld, author of “A Girls Guide to Poker” to the GRID. Amanda discusses a hand from the tag team event at the World Series of Poker, where she paired up with the man who taught her poker 15 years earlier: her dad. The heart-warming duo came in third place, cashing for 50K total. Amanda emphasized the wholesome elements of poker in a viral tweet from one of their early poker lessons “Love you dad, and couldn’t have done it without you.”
Amanda brings to the GRID the very first hand she was dealt on the final table: king jack offsuit. She elected to play aggressively against the chip leader, three-betting the button vs a hijack open. As the hand progressed, she had to decide whether to commit most of her chips…or play it safe.
Amanda talks about her passion for getting more women into poker as an author, and as an instructor and the curriculum coordinator for Poker Power, a rapidly growing organization that aims to bring over one million women into poker. Jennifer has recently joined the Poker Power advisory board.
You can find Amanda on twitter, instagram and giving lessons at Poker Power. And check out her book A Girl’s Guide to Poker.
This episode features special music from Austin based musician and friend of the GRID, Jenny Parrot. Check out her new album, the Fire I Saw, on bandcamp, spotify and YouTube.
Now that Amanda has covered king-jack-offsuit, there are 108 combos left on the GRID. Check out previous episodes using our Support the GRID by pre-ordering Jennifer’s book, Chess Queens on Bookshop, B&N or amazon.
The Grid 060.5 Bonus Episode ft. Rusudan Goletiani
In a bonus holiday episode of the GRID, Jennifer introduces listeners to International Master Rusudan Goletiani. Goletiani is a three-time World Youth Champion, a two-time Olympic medalist and a former US Women’s Champion- she took Jennifer’s title in 2005.
In 1992, Rusa fled her region of Georgia, Abkhazia, due to war. She explains the dramatic story to Jennifer in the podcast, revealing the most terrifying moments of her life during her escape, as well as the most relieving.
Rusa and Jen also discuss the legendary Georgian champions that inspired her as a youngster, including Nona Gaprindashvili, Maia Chiburdanidze, Nana Ioseliani and Nana Alexandria. All four were featured in the documentary “Glory to the Queen.” They wrap up with a discussion on the importance of confidence and girls and chess. They also discuss how it extends beyond the game, to fields like finance, business and poker.
Beyond her chess accomplishments, Rusudan is a mom of three, a Columbia University business grad, and currently works in finance. This episode originally appeared in Jennifer’s other podcast, Ladies Knight.
Discussed in this episode:
Glory to the Queen documentary: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8682060/
Jen’s upcoming book, “Chess Queens”, which includes Rusa: https://jennifershahade.com/books
K-12 Nationals girls club room: https://www.instagram.com/p/CXMWrGTuiiN/
US Chess Women: https://new.uschess.org/give/women-chess-initiative
Girls to Grandmasters: https://www.g2gm.org/
Poker Power: https://pokerpower.com/
The Grid 060 ft. DGAF – Nine-Seven Offsuit
Jennifer welcomes a very special guest to the GRID, a prolific podcast host who captures the voice of a peripatetic cash game pro: DGAF. DGAF, as he calls himself, is the creator of epic “Sessions” podcast, with over 700 episodes, and the founder of Poker Rags.
DGAF brings the hand that hooked him on No Limit Hold Em almost 20 years ago, in 2003, right after Chris Moneymaker sparked the poker boom. After showing enormous discipline by folding three hands, DGAF got in the mix with nine-seven offsuit, flatting in the cutoff against an under the gun open from an older gentleman in suspenders. The flop came eight-six-deuce rainbow, giving DGAF an open-ender. He called in position against bets on the flop and the turn, which brought a three. When the river, a six, is checked to him- he finds the words that draw so many into the No Limit game: All in.
DGAF explains to Jennifer why this hand unlocked his poker career: he understood that he could now win in two ways in No Limit Hold Em, allowing him to control his destiny.
The conversation then veers to other topics, including his recent cash in the only tournament of his year, the World Series of Poker Main Event. Inspired by Jennifer, DGAF gave a portion of his winnings to three charities, including an abortion fund selected by Jennifer: The Lillith Fund. They also talk about creating content around poker, and when DGAF realized he may have an iconic voice to capture the highs and lows of the poker road.
Find DGAF Poker on twitter and patreon and listen to Sessions on your favorite pod platform, including Apple.
Now that DGAF Poker has covered nine-seven offsuit, there are 109 spots left on the GRID. You can now find previous episodes using our Episode Finder.
Support the GRID by pre-ordering Jennifer’s book, Chess Queens on Bookshop, B&N or amazon.
The Grid 059 ft. Dara O’Kearney – King-Six Suited
The GRID is back just in time for the Main Event bubble, and an appropriately timed interview with Dara O’Kearney, professional poker player and three-time author, most recently of Endgame Poker Strategy: The ICM Book.
Dara tells Jennifer about a hand from a decade ago at a tournament in Dublin which was modeled after the WSOP Main. The villain was David Lappin, who is now Dara’s co-host on the popular Chip Race podcast. The critical hand came early in the event when Lappin opened in early position, and Dara three-bet the button with K6s. The flop came Ace-Jack-Ten rainbow with the ace of diamonds. Lappin check called a c-bet to see the turn, a 7 of diamonds. Dara bet again on the turn, and when the river bricked, he emptied the clip. Lappin faced a tough decision with a very strong hand, and if you’re a loyal GRID listener, you may have a guess as to how it turned out.
After contemplating the hand, Dara and Jen speak more generally about suited kings, and how they tie in to some of his books and thoughts on ICM pressure. Jennifer puts Dara on the spot about a controversial part in his book related to Phil Ivey. Jen quotes third World Champion Jose Raul Capablanca: “In order to improve your game, you must study the endgame before everything else” as they dive deeper into the most common misconceptions about ICM as well as what amateurs often get right about ICM and bubbles.
At the start of this episode Jennifer reveals a new edition of her book, “Chess Queens” is now available for pre-order, tying into her conversation with Dara on his books, Endgame Poker Strategy, Poker Satellite and PKO Poker Strategy. Dara breaks down promotional strategies from pre-orders to effective titling to SEO with Barry Carter, his co-author on all three books.
Find out more about Dara on his blog, twitter and books page. You can listen to the Chip Race on soundcloud, and find his co-host’s GRID episode here.
Support the GRID by pre-ordering Jennifer’s new book on Bookshop, B&N or amazon.
Now that Dara O Kearney has clicked off K6s, there are 110 spots left on the GRID. You can now find previous episodes using our new Episode Finder.
The Grid 058.5 ft. Qiyu “Nemo” Zhou-King-Ten Suited
Jennifer Shahade welcomes Qiyu “Nemo” Zhou to the GRID. Nemo is a former World Youth Chess Champion, a streamer at twitch.tv/akanemsko and a professional e-sports player at Counter Logic Gaming. Since turning 21 in January, she has been sprinkling more and more poker into her main menu of chess and league of legends. She even won a poker tournament soon after this pod was recorded.
The hand she brings to the GRID is King-Ten suited from her first live cash game, a high stakes (25/50) “Ladies Night” game sponsored by the World Poker Tour. Other players included poker champions and previous GRID guests Jamie Kerstetter and Kelly Minkin as well as streaming superstar and chess master Alexandra Botez. Nemo’s opponent in this hand was Maria Konnikova, the best-selling author the “Biggest Bluff” and the fitting holder of the 7-2 off spot on our GRID.
In the critical hand, Ashley Sleeth opened in early position, and Nemo called on the button with King-Ten suited. Maria Konnikova three-bet from the small blind. Ashley and Nemo both called to see a flop of 983 rainbow with no hearts. The action checked around to a queen turn, when things start to get very interesting.
After dissecting the hand, Nemo and Jen discuss mental game and psychology, and how Nemo’s performance coach helped her win a Bullet Chess Championship on chess.com. They also talk about Josh Waitzkin’s book, The Art of Learning, favorite chess openings and why poker champion Xuan Liu reminded Nemo of Magnus Carlsen.
Jennifer, who recently joined Poker Power’s advisory board asks Nemo about her advice on how to grow poker to more young women, as Poker Power moves toward their goal to teach one million women poker. They also discuss how to avoid the jealousy that can accompany high performance goals, and to embrace community and cooperation.
Follow Nemo on twitch, twitter and Instagram. This is an historic episode of the GRID: our very first TWIN episode. Eagle eyed GRID fans may have remembered that Sam Greenwood also discussed King-Ten suited. And so just like last episode, we still have 111 hands left to cover on the GRID, which means, a little more show for you. Support the pod by retweeting/sharing episodes and subbing as well as rating and reviewing us on Apple/your favorite podcast feeds: it really helps and keeps us motivated!
The Grid 058 ft. Jordan Ellenberg – Five-Deuce Offsuit
The GRID welcomes best-selling author, mathematician and professor Jordan Ellenberg, author of the new book, Shape: The Hidden Geometry of Information, Biology, Strategy, Democracy and Everything Else. He is also the best-selling author of How Not to Be Wrong, a Math Olympian and a professor of mathematics at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
Though Jordan is not a serious poker or chess player, his books dive into so many areas that are of great interest to gamers from the math behind Deep Mind and Artificial Intelligence, game trees from checkers to GO and how to improve your odds in the lottery.
The interview began with a lucky start with a game, as Jordan clicked off the five-deuce offsuit cell on the GRID and explained to us how he randomized to select it. Now that he’s clicked off 52o, there are 111 spots left on the GRID.
Mentioned on the episode:
Interview with Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
Game Changer by Natasha Regan and Matthew Sadler
The Grid 057.5 Bonus Episode ft. Isabelle Choko
In a special bonus episode of The Grid, we welcome one of our most extraordinary guests ever: Holocaust Survivor, author and 1956 French Women’s Chess champion, Isabelle Choko.
Born on September 18, 1928 in Lodz, Poland, Isabelle Choko was two weeks away from her 11th birthday when Nazi Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. Isabelle and her loving parents were among 160,000 sent to the Lodz ghetto. Her father died there, while she and her mother were sent to Auschwitz in 1944. They later were sent to another notorious death camp, Bergen-Belsen, where her beloved mother died.
Isabelle was just 55 pounds when the camp was liberated by British soldiers in April 1945. Isabelle Choko later moved to France, where she discovered chess from her uncle. Also urged on by Grandmaster Savielly Tartokower, Isabelle became the French women’s Chess Champion in 1956, and went on to represent France in the first women’s Olympiad, in 1957 in the Netherlands. She went on to become a successful entrepreneur and artist. She’s also the author of The Young Blue-Eyed Girl and co-author of Stolen Youth: Five Women’s Survival in the Holocaust.
Madame Choko talks to us about the Queen’s Gambit, her most vivid memories of childhood survival and her message of peace and love for future generations.
This episode is co-hosted with Benjamin Portheault, who reached out to Isabelle Choko for this interview after his popular twitter thread reviewing a 2019 Europe Echecs story about Madame Choko. Benjamin also conducted the in-interview translation and visited Isabelle Choko in person to capture many of the photos in the gallery.
Many thanks to this episode’s executive producer Daniel Meirom, voice-over artist and translator Nathalie Boyer, editor Quinn Waters, . This episode is a joint production with the GRID. Subscribe to future episodes of The Grid on Apple Podcast or your favorite platform.
The Grid 057 ft. Jonathan Corbblah – Nine-Five Suited
Jennifer brings longtime friend, a master of many games, Jonathan Corbblah on to the GRID. He talks about a dramatic hand with nine-five suited in a private game at the Hamptons, where his new opponent confused him to the very last moments of the hand.
Jonathan speaks about how his psychological approach helps him in every game, from crushing private poker games to beating grandmasters in blitz to becoming a Jeopardy champion. He details how he closed in on a million dollars on TV, and challenges Jennifer and the audience to do better. (Spoiler alert- Jennifer doesn’t!)
Corbblah also mentions how Jennifer’s brother, Greg Shahade, made him a better Scrabble player, and how it all traced back to the matriarchs of both families (Greg’s blog, as mentioned on the pod, can be found here.). Corbblah is a host of the trivia show, Masterminds, and has appeared on over 13 game shows from Cash Cab to Wheel of Fortune. You can also find him on a mock TV show that Jennifer and GRID producer Daniel Meirom produced a decade ago, America’s Next Chess Star.
For more of Corbblah’s dazzling personality, follow him on twitch and twitter @Corbblah. Now that nine-five suited is clicked off the GRID there are 112 hands left on thepokergrid.com. Listen to previous episodes using our new Episode Finder.
The Grid 056 ft. Shirin Oskooi – Five-Six Suited
Jennifer welcomes poker player, survivor all star and tech executive Shirin Oskooi to the GRID.
Shirin brings us five-six suited, a combo she loves both for its chameleon-like preflop qualities, and a pivotal hand she played at the Wynn when she was new to poker. She held 56 of diamonds in the big blind and defended a lojack raise, to flop a flush with 78Tddd. As the hand continued, Shirin realized that her opponent had a narrow view of her range.
Shirin recently released a new poker training tool she created with poker pros Jesse Sylvia and Russel Thomas, Floptimal. She talks to Jennifer about how this has changed her approach to the game, and given her more insight into what she calls “god hands” like 56s.. Specifically, they talk about a surprising spot where 56s is called against a 12 big blind shove and a number of over-calls.
They also discuss Shirin’s experience on Survivor, from her epic jury speech to watching monkeys fornicate in the jungle (adult content warning).
You can follow Shirin on her instagram and twitter accounts and check out floptimal here.
The Grid 055.5 Bonus Episode ft. Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
Bonus Episode: Dr. Chanda Prescod Weinstein on times tables and Wu-Chess.
In a special bonus episode of the GRID, we welcome Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, theoretical physicist and author of the new paradigm shifting book, The Disordered Comsos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime & Dreams Deferred.
This episode originally appeared on Jennifer’s US Chess Women podcast, “Ladies Knight”, and we brought it to the GRID because we thought so many of themes were pertinent to the poker and gaming communities: a passion for numbers and geometry and for making our World more welcome to all genders, races and sexualities.
Listen in as Chanda tells Jennifer about how she fell in love with mathematics, how she met Jennifer and got more engrossed into chess via Wu-Chess and the Hip Hop Chess Federation, and how chess helps her refocus her brain. They touch on the recent issue of Chess Life Magazine (January 2021) with RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan and how much she enjoyed going over the games with her husband.
Chanda also talks about her powerful vision for seeing the world through the eyes of children and making sure black children have equal access to joy. She explains one of the most popular talking points of her book, why she sees “dark matter” as a misnomer, and gives her thoughts on the recent case Jennifer mentions, where artificial intelligence mistook a chess conversation for white supremacist propaganda.
This is a bonus episode of the GRID. If you enjoyed it, be sure to sub to Ladies Knight as well. We will get back to our regular programming soon, as host Jennifer Shahade wraps-up and updates listeners on some new and exciting projects.
Now find previous episodes using our new Episode Finder.
The Grid 055 ft. May Siu – Pocket-Jacks
Jennifer welcomes high stakes cash game player and Poker for Good and Murals for Good founder May Siu to the GRID to discuss one of the most coveted- and detested hands: pocket jacks. May was playing a big pot in a New York City cash game against one of her regular foes, “General Bang Bang.” Holding jacks in a 5-10-25 (straddle) game, she called Bang Bang’s under the gun open, and went four ways to an 8h-7s-2c rainbow flop. Playing 6K deep, Bang Bang bet big and fast on flop, turn (4h) and river (9s) to get all his money in by the river, putting May in the tank. This dramatic hand ended up being the last live poker hand they played in a year, as the pandemic surged and sent May and her trusted poker circle to online ZOOM games.
May also talks about a less pleasant experience in NYC games: a cheating scandal, in which five players infiltrated their home game, using marked cards that could only be detected with a black light. She explains how she helped eventually sniff them out and gives advice on how to rid your games of cheating.
Jennifer and May then go on to discuss May’s organization pokerforgood.org, and how she got so heavily involved in philanthropic initiatives from her work to spread #StopAsianHate awareness, to teaching child cancer survivors poker.
May is currently running a campaign muralsforgood.org to connect communities with mural art to #StopAPPIHate. Check out the website and gofundme here.
She is also running poker tournament fundraisers on 5/4 for AAPI NYC Comptroller Candidate Reshema Patel, as well as a fundraiser in conjunction with the Children Brain Tumor Foundation on 5/23.
Stay posted with May and learn how to get involved on muralsforgood.org and pokerforgood.org.
Now that May Siu has taken pocket jacks, there are 114 hands left on thepokergrid.com. You can now find previous episodes using our new Episode Finder.
The Grid 054 ft. Doug Polk – Queen-Eight Offsuit
Jennifer Shahade welcomes Doug Polk to the GRID. Doug covers a massive six figure pot from his high stakes heads up challenge against Daniel Negreanu, where Doug ended up winning well over a million dollars. In the crucial hand, Daniel opened the button to 1K at 200/400 and Doug called with queen eight offsuit. The flop was J♣ 9♠ 5♥ and Doug checked to Daniel, who bet 800 into 2k. Doug called to see the turn (J♣ 9♠ 5♥) 7♦. The action heated up on the turn as Doug checked again, and Daniel bet pot, $3600. Doug raised it up to 20,675 and Daniel called. The river blanked, bringing a final board of (J♣ 9♠ 5♥ 7♦) 2♣.
Doug breaks down every decision and frequency in the hand, and explains if he would have played the hand different five years ago, when he created his Upswing course on Heads-Up Mastery.
Jen and Doug move on to discuss a variety of subjects, including Doug’s chess beginnings, whether Doug would ever play a high stakes Heads-up chess match against Daniel Negreanu, and his brief stand-up comedy career. They also talk about his approach to heads-up and efficient study.
Follow Doug on twitter @DougPolkVids and YouTube. Now that Doug Polk has taken queen-eight offsuit, there are 115 hands left on thepokergrid.com. You can now find previous episodes using our new Episode Finder.
The Grid 053 ft. Landon Tice – Three-Four Offsuit
21-year-old Landon Tice enters the GRID to talk about a hand with three-four offsuit on the stone bubble of a $1600 event. Landon breaks down the action street by street, as he opened the button with 34o on the button. When the small blind called, they saw a monochrome flop of King-Three-Deuce. Landon barelled on the flop and the offsuit queen turn. An offsuit seven came on the river, after which the pot exploded.
After dissecting the hand, Jennifer and Landon talk about his approach to poker study, how his triplet brothers feel about his poker success, and his chess beginnings.
You can follow Landon on his channel https://www.twitch.tv/landontice and https://twitter.com/LandonTice
Now that Landon Tice has taken three-four offsuit, there are 116 hands left on thepokergrid.com. You can now find previous episodes using our new Episode Finder.
The Grid 052 ft. Alex “Thallo” Epstein – Nine-Six Offsuit
Jennifer welcomes WSOP bracelet winner Alex Epstein aka Thallo Poker to the poker GRID to discuss a thrilling hand with nine-six offsuit. This hand comes from the 2019 10K WSOP short deck event, which Alex won for more than $296,000. It was the first World Series of Poker Event using a “short deck”, or a 36 card poker deck without the deuces, threes, fours and fives. In this format, equities run closer together, giving it some similarities with Alex’s favorite poker variant, Pot Limit Omaha.
In the critical hand he speaks about on the GRID, Alex faces poker beast Chance Kornuth. Alex had been battling Chance throughout the event, with both chips and words. The retelling includes a little twist, and a reference to fellow GRID guest Nick Schulman.
Alex and Jennifer touch on what Alex misses most about private live games, who he’d most like to play poker with and the worst possible hand in short deck. They also delve into how and why our memory of poker hands can fail us.
Epstein also talks about his recent commentary work and how Run It Once developed his PLO game. You can find him on twitter and twitch.
Now that Alex Epstein has taken nine-six offsuit, there are 117 hands left on thepokergrid.com.
You can now find previous episodes using our new Episode Finder.
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The Grid 051 ft. Jonathan Little – Six-Eight Suited
Two-time World Poker Tour Champion Jonathan Little enters the GRID to talk about a hand from the 2015 World Series of Poker. Jonathan was at the final table of a 5K No Limit Hold Em event. In the big blind he looked down at six-eight of hearts, with blinds of 20/40K and 3.2 million chips. Six handed, he defended against an under the gun raise to go heads-up to a flop of jack-seven four rainbow. The flop checked through to bring a six on the turn, the second diamond. Jonathan bet 1/3 pot and UTG called.
Good news: Jonathan’s straight came in on the river, a five.
Bad news: The five was also a diamond, so the backdoor diamonds came in, so Jonathan loses to any flush.
Jonathan mulled over his decision on the river, and how he may play the hand different five years later.
With over seven million dollars in live earnings, Jonathan explains to Jennifer how he combines a career as a successful player with his multi-facetted content career, from podcasting to training to writing and publishing. He also explains how Jen’s brother and previous GRID guest Greg Shahade helped him many years ago when he was struggling with his win rate in sit n gos.
Jonathan is the author of over a dozen poker books, including the recent “Excelling at Tough No Limit Hold Em Games: How to Succeed Beyond the Small Stakes.” He’s also an author and editor of D+B Poker and the founder of pokercoaching.com. You can follow him on twitter @JonathanLittle.
Now that Jonathan has covered eight-six suited, there are 118 hands left on thepokergrid.com.
Please subscribe to the GRID on your favorite podcast channel, and rate and review on Apple or wherever you listen.
The Grid 050.5 Bonus Episode ft. Maria Konnikova
In a special bonus GRID, Jennifer Shahade shares an episode of her chess podcast, Ladies Knight, featuring author, psychology PHD and poker champion Maria Konnikova. In researching Konnikova, Jennifer realized that all of her books have natural overlap with games, starting with Konnikova’s premiere book, Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes. Mastermind shows how anyone can use Sherlock Holmes’ ways of catching culprits to improve their own cognitive ability from organizing your “memory attic” to deduction techniques.
Maria’s most recent book, The Biggest Lie, is about her journey from poker newbie to champion in just a year. Jennifer and Maria talk about how such a quest would differ if undertaken in chess. They also compare the deep focus required in chess and poker, and how her mentor Erik Siedel, allowed her to better understand the power of attention.
Konnikova also reveals her short, but dramatic chess career as a fifth grader and flirts with the idea of giving it another go. It’s never too late to learn, Jennifer assures her.
They also touch on Maria’s book, “The Confidence Game”, and what con artists can teach us about people who cheat in games like chess and poker. Spoiler alert: It’s not just about the money and rating points.
Maria Konnikova has previously appeared on the GRID to discuss a dramatic hand with seven-deuce offsuit.
If you are or know a woman looking to dig deeper into chess, check out the Madwoman’s Book Club Jennifer co-hosts with US Chess Women, which will feature Maria Konnikova’s Mastermind on Dec 18th.
Find out more about Maria and her books on mariakonnikova.com and subscribe to the Ladies Knight for more chess-inspired conversations hosted by Jennifer.
The Grid 050 ft. Faraz Jaka – Queen-Three Offsuit
Faraz Jaka, a professional poker player with over 11 million dollars in winnings, enters the GRID with a crazy hand with queen-three offsuit. Faraz throws us back to the 2010 North American Poker Tour in Foxwoods, where he played a hand that PokerStars included in their “Greatest” collection.
Matt Glantz opened and Jaka three-bet from the button with queen-three offsuit, a typical play for Faraz in those days. The Small Blind called while Glantz folded. They went heads-up to a flop of Queen of hearts, 5 of diamonds, jack of diamonds. After the flop checked through, the turn brought another jack, and the small blind bet 1/3 pot. Jaka called and they saw an offsuit six on the river, which led to a dramatic series of bets, a tank and an unexpected twist.
A former WPT poker player of the year, Faraz was once nicknamed by CNN “the homeless poker millionaire” for his vagabond lifestyle, hopping from MTT to MTT stop while enjoying the adventure and education of worldwide exploration. He explains how he makes that lifestyle work for him, even offering tips to listeners on how to pack as light he three-bets.
Faraz makes videos at youtube.com/farazjakapoker and is a coach at pokercoaching.com/faraz. You can find him on twitter and instagram @FarazJaka.
Now that Faraz has covered queen-three offsuit, there are 119 hands remaining on thepokergrid.com.
Subscribe to Jennifer Shahade on YouTube for NEW video version of this podcast.
The Grid 049 ft. Linda Johnson – Six-Deuce Suited
World Poker Hall of Famer Linda Johnson enters the GRID to talk about a hand she played against Antonio Esfandiari at a World Poker Tour event a decade ago in Los Angeles. Linda defended six-deuce of diamonds in the big blind and flopped bottom pair on ten-four-deuce with two hearts and one diamond. As Antonio barelled again and again, a plan came together on the river.
Linda won a WSOP bracelet in 1997 in Razz, becoming the third ever female to win an Open event. She also throws us back to the very first female World champion, Vera Richmond and explained why Vera’s own bracelet victory in 1982 was nearly erased from history books.
Linda has made a striking number of positive contributions to the game, as publisher of Cardplayer Magazine to her current work running Cardplayer Cruises. She also co-founded the WPT and the Tournament Directors Association (TDA) as well as the charity PokerGives. She touches on all of this in our episode, also revealing the best and worst business decisions she ever made.
Jennifer also reminds Linda of their very first meeting, at a World Series of Poker Ladies Event before Jen took the game as seriously. They also talk about their recent poker play at a fundraiser to support the campaign of Biden/Harris.
You can follow Linda on twitter @FirstLadyPoker and find her companies at https://www.cardplayercruises.com/ and the charity she co-founded http://pokergives.org/
Now that Linda has covered six-deuce suited, there are 120 combos left on https://thepokergrid.com/
Subscribe to thepokergrid on your favorite platform, and follow host @jenshahade on Instagram and YouTube.
The Grid 048 ft. Lee Davy – Ten-Eight Suited
Poker host and life coach Lee Davy steps into the GRID to talk about a critical hand in his career with ten-eight suited, in a 1K tournament in Blackpool. Lee was working on the railway at the time, but was also in tens of thousands of dollars of gambling debt for horse racing and sportsbetting. He bought the 1K buy-in on his already overstretched credit card. With 60K+ up top, Lee realized he could get out of debt with a win. “I was playing for all the wrong reasons. It was coming from a place of terror and scarcity.”
He opened the small blind against a good friend of his with ten-eight suited. The flop came Ace-Eight-Eight. Bingo. When Lee got all the money in, his friend turned over aces. Lee talks about how this hand, and his overall attitude in the event was a wake-up moment and how he later blossomed into a voice and coach for overcoming addiction.
Lee Davy delves into the coaching program he founded, 1000 Days Sober Experience, and how to best support friends who are trying to overcome various addictions. He also talks about his approach to interviews with poker’s biggest legends from Tom Dwan to Phil Ivey, and some of his all time favorite subjects.
Follow Lee on twitter @Chingster23 and find out about 1000 Days Sober Experience on his website
Now that Lee has covered ten-eight suited, there are 121 combos left on thepokergrid.com.
Subscribe to thepokergrid on your favorite platform, and follow host @jenshahade on Instagram and YouTube.
The Grid 047 ft. Kelly Minkin – King-Eight Offsuit
Professional poker player and lawyer Kelly Minkin enters the GRID with a hand she played with King-Eight Offsuit at the 2018 World Series of Poker Main Event. It was her second deep run in the Main, having finished 29th in 2015.
She fielded a big stack for most of this event, where she earned the nickname “Machine Gun Kelly” for a particularly sharp calldown. She also encountered some setbacks, and at the time of her king-eight hand, she was down to 18 big blinds. She opened on the button with K8o. The big blind defended and the flop came A hearts Q hearts and an offsuit three. Kelly put out a small cbet when the stakes suddenly escalated. “I felt I could read his mind”, she told me as her opponent put in the check raise, “and that he didn’t have anything.”
Kelly elaborates on how she reads people at the table, and how it can pay off in the courtroom as well. She also explains her commitment to studying math despite her very intuitive play at the table. She also talks about her work outside poker and law, from her charity work with the Landen Lucas Foundation to painting.
Kelly has over 1.5 Million Dollars in live tournament earnings and was the 2015 GPI Female Player of the Year. She’s also a partner at the VerStandig Law Firm, which specializes in gaming related law.
Her insightful and popular twitter account is @The_Illest and she’s also @the_illest on Instagram.
Now that Kelly has covered king-eight offsuit, there are 122 combos left on thepokergrid.com.
Subscribe to the GRID here, and look for video replays for most episodes on Jennifer’s YouTube channel.
The Grid 046 ft. Michael Acevedo – Eight-Deuce Offsuit
Author, coach and poker pro Michael Acevedo enters the GRID to talk about a hand that changed his life. The hand, in this case, was played by high roller beast Stevie Chidwick. Michael was a last minute invite to a study group that went over a high stakes sit and go hand history of Stevie’s. In the critical hand, Stevie called with 82o in the big blind against a button open. He faced a bet on a flop of Queen-Seven-Eight two tone, along with turn and river barrels. “If you’re folding there, you’re folding too much”, Michael blurted out. The room went silent. Later, Stevie and Michael independently confirmed his gut instinct, and Michael was invited as a regular, and core member of the star studded study group, which also included Apestyles and Elio Fox.
Michael’s background in physics and infographics allowed him to both learn the math behind poker game theory quickly, and to represent it beautifully for effective study. Michael and Jennifer discuss his concept of “equity buckets” and an iconic blind vs blind spot where eight deuce gets a rare chance to shine. They also discuss why Acevedo asserts that the essence of game theory is exploitation, and why he doesn’t think you can learn modern poker by “trial and error.”
Michael has over 2 Million dollars in online cashes and is the author of a renowned poker book, Modern Poker Theory: Building an Unbeatable Strategy Based on GTO principles. You can find him at @GTOPoker on twitter and Instagram and at twitch.tv/gto_poker.
Now that Michael has covered eight-deuce offsuit, there are 123 combos left on thepokergrid.com.
Subscribe to the GRID here, and look for video replays for most episodes on Jennifer’s YouTube channel.
The Grid 045 ft. Fintan “EasyWithAces” Hand– Ace-Ten Offsuit
Twitch streamer, SCOOP Champion and PokerStars Ambassador Fintan “EasyWithAces” Hand enters the GRID to talk about two pivotal hands with ace-ten offsuit. In a rare live poker appearance, he reached the final table at the 2017 Irish Open as chip leader. But as his stack dwindled, he looked down at ace-ten off in the Big Blind. Moments later, as his family arrived to rail his big event, he found himself facing a decision for most of his chips.
Fintan also touches on a tough spot with the exact same holding three handed at the 2020 SCOOP event he won for over 70K.
Fintan talks about his work with BBZpoker and the strides he’s made toward understanding what he needs to work on, and how to do it. He also gives his thoughts on what an aspiring streamer should focus on. They also talk about Fintan’s burgeoning passion for chess, which he started to take more seriously in August after an invite to chess.com’s popular POGChamps.
Fintan Hand
You can follow Fintan on twitch, twitter and Instagram. And watch the poker inspired chess lesson that Jennifer gave Fintan here.
Now that Fintan has covered ace-ten offsuit, there are 124 combos remaining on thepokergrid.com.
The Grid 044 ft. Mandy Baker– Jack-Five Offsuit
Professional poker player and yoga instructor Mandy Baker throws us all the way back to 2005, where she played her first 10K at the World Poker Tour in Foxwoods. Mandy thought she detected an excellent squeeze spot before even looking down at her cards: Jack-Five Offsuit. Mandy explained to Jen how this dramatic hand had ripple effects in the tournament and even in the years ahead.
Mandy also gives some insight into poker strategy from back in those early days of the Poker Boom and her journaling and yoga habits.
Previous GRID guest Nick Schulman, who took an adjacent hand, won the event to become the youngest ever WPT champ at 21-years-old. Mandy talks about a hand she played against Nick, and how she felt after he won the event. Mandy, who satellited into the event, described literally rolling around in hundred dollar bills after her mincash.
Mandy and Jennifer go on to discuss Mandy’s list of “the most talented poker players”, the perils and blessings of call-out culture, and implicit bias. Mandy has had an incredible record at the World Series of Poker Ladies Event, and she talked to Jen about why she enjoys that event so much.
You can follow Mandy on her website https://www.amandabakeryoga.com/, on twitch on https://www.twitch.tv/RosalinaSky and twitter @Mandy22Baker. https://twitter.com/mandy22baker
Now that Mandy has covered jack five offsuit, there are 125 combos remaining on thepokergrid.com.
The Grid 043 ft. Bill Perkins– Ace-Eight Offsuit
Investor, poker player, movie producer and new author Bill Perkins enters the GRID to discuss a high stakes hand he played against Antonio Esfandiari in 2018, on Poker After Dark. Antonio, a close friend of Perkins opened after an UTG limp, and Bill called, holding Ace-Eight in position. The limper folded but the blinds came along to see a 10♣ 8♣ 6♦ two club flop in a four way flop. Antonio c-bet and everyone called to see a turn, which brought the brickiest of bricks, the deuce of hearts 2♥ . At this point, Perkins leapt to action, putting in a hefty raise against Antonio’s bet. The blinds folded and another six, bringing a third club came on the river 6♣ . Bill overbet and Antonio tanked and said “donation because I love you” before reconsidering and tanking some more. On this episode, Bill forgot the outcome of the hand, but Jennifer revealed it to him!
Bill talks about what he learned from Antonio as a poker player, and his realization he needed to tweak some things in his game to balance his tendencies on TV.
They go on to discuss Bill’s new book “Die With Zero: Making the Most From Your Money and Your Life” and the concepts that poker players can most easily apply from the book. Bill explains how he wrote Die With Zero to encourage more people to live deliberately, spending money efficiently through various phases of life.
Bill also talks about his current stay in Italy, where he’s celebrating with his new fiancee. He’s also traveling with Dan Bilzerian- both Dan and Bill have both been playing a lot of chess on the road, and Jen and Bill discuss his own passion for the game as well as speculate on various time odds games against World Champion Magnus Carlsen.
You can follow Bill Perkins on twitter @bp22 and learn more about and order his book on diewithzerobook.com. Videos mentioned in the episode include Doug Polk’s recap of this hand, and Zachary Elwood’s analysis of Bill’s early televised hands.
Now that Bill has covered ace-eight offsuit, there are 126 combos left on thepokergrid.com.
Join our mailing list or subscribe to stay posted on the GRID. Also sub to Jen’s YouTube channel for a new format: video highlights of select episodes including this one.
The Grid 042 ft. Joe McKeehen– Queen-Ten Offsuit
Three-time WSOP Champion Joe McKeehen steps into the GRID to talk about a hand from the World Poker Tour final table at Rolling Thunder in 2018. The 2015 World Series of Poker Champion rivered the nuts with queen-ten offsuit, in a riveting hand that captured the imagination of the poker world.
The flop was Ace of hearts, five of hearts and a seven of spades. Joe explains why he decided to float with queen ten, even lacking a flush draw or a backdoor. The offsuit jack on the turn gave Joe a gutshot, so he bet when checked to. He rivered the stone nuts with a black king. When Joe’s opponent, Ian Steinman tanked to Joe’s jam on the river, Joe explained to Jennifer he thought Ian was contemplating an excellent fold with ace-king. Instead, his opponent folded a hand that was even far stronger- pocket kings.
Joe goes into depth on how a fold like that can influence table dynamics, and why hero plays like that are a major component of the poker dream. They also discuss Doug Polk’s video recap of the hand, titled, “The #1 Mistake Poker Players Make.”
Joe has over 16 million dollars in live event cashes. In addition to his 2015 WSOP win for over 7 million, he also won a bracelet in the 2017 10K Limit Hold Em Championship for over 300K. Joe added a third in between the recording and publication of this interview, with a win in the $3200 NLHE High Roller for over 350K. He’s a coach with Chip Leader Coaching.
Now that Joe has covered queen-ten offsuit, there are 127 hands left on thepokergrid.com
Looking for ways to improve your financial decisions through poker? Check out Jen’s PokerNews article on “Lessons from the GRID” and sign up for our GRID mailing list.
The Grid 041 ft. Soheb Porbandarwala – Queen-Deuce Offsuit
This week we welcome Soheb Porbandarwala to the GRID. The 30-year-old poker pro has been successful in both live and online poker, winning millions of dollars and five WSOP circuit rings. He came on the GRID to talk about a quite legendary hand with Queen-deuce offsuit, that took place at a WSOP circuit event in Atlantic City in 2018.
After getting to the bottom of how Soheb may have played the hand even better, he and Jen move on to topics such as super late entry, changing his youngest’s diaper while multi-tabling, and what he was going to do for work when he nearly quit poker.
Soheb caps off his GRID interview with memories from another memorable score- while playing in an ACR MTT heads-up for six figures, he disconnected while holding a flush. His opponent, the Brazilian streamer “nelebo10” decided to sit out rather than steal his blinds and coast to a W. The karma seems to only continue for the Brazilian streamer who just final tabled a PokerStars Stadium Series event for over 50K.
You can find Soheb’s results on HendonMob and follow him at @spewheb on twitter.
Now that queen-deuce offsuit has been covered on thepokergrid.com, there are 128 combos remaining.
Stay tuned on all our episodes and subscribe via your favorite podcast platform or email.
The Grid 040 ft. Kenneth “K.L.” Cleeton – on Jack-Seven Suited
Poker professional K. L Cleeton aka “highhands89” steps into the GRID to talk about a hand from the 2017 World Series of Poker with jack-seven suited. Cleeton got into the $10,000 buyin event via a video contest hosted by Daniel Negreanu. The crucial hand, which took place on day three of the WSOP saw Cleeton defending a raise from the big blind versus an open from top professional Harrison Gimbel. As the board double paired, K.L Cleeton kept a keen eye on what he could represent as he aimed to fulfill one of his goals for the event: bluffing a pro. In part due to this hand, Cleeton reached another goal and dream of many: cashing the Main.
After an in-depth discussion on the hand, Cleeton explains how card-rooms and live events could make their tournaments more accommodating to players with disabilities. Spoiler alert: No ten handed play! They also talk about Cleeton’s poker training tool Range Trainer PRO and his work as manager of Learn Pro Poker.
Follow Cleeton on highhands89 on twitter.
Now that K.L Cleeton has covered jack-seven suited, there are 129 combos left on thepokergrid.com.
Subscribe to the GRID and sign up our mailing list here.
The Grid 039 ft. Stephen “Jorbs” Flavall – on Four-Deuce Offsuit
Professional streamer and former poker professional Stephen “Jorbs” Flavall steps into the GRID to discuss a hand he played with four-deuce offsuit over a decade ago. It was a homegame that he thought would be casual, but he walked into a competitive vibe. When he opened with one of the trashiest hands in poker and proceeded to make bottom pair, the desire to enjoy a fun evening with friends dramatically collided with poker instincts.
Since the fateful hand, Jorbs has transitioned away from games like poker and chess into the games he streams on his channel, including Slay the Spier and Hearthstone.
Jen and Jorbs talk about streaming for fun and as a business and he advises on how to focus on providing value, rather than obsess over growth.
Follow jorbs at twitch.tv/jorbs and https://twitter.com/JoINrbs
Now that Jorbs has covered four-deuce offsuit, there are 130 hands remaining on thepokergrid.com.
Join the GRID mailing list here to find out about special promotions, new podcasts and GRID streams.
The Grid 038 ft. Liv Boeree – on Ace-Seven Offsuit
World Series of Poker and EPT Champion Liv Boeree joins Jennifer Shahade on thepokergrid.com to discuss a hand history with ace-seven offsuit on the bubble of the UK Millions in 2020. Liv, who has been focusing on her YouTube channel and speaking career recently, was playing after a long hiatus. She found herself with top pair and a weak kicker on an increasingly scary board, but with shallow stack depth, she jammed her stack in.
Liv talks about the emotional recovery in poker, and how it’s changed as her career flourishes beyond the game itself. They also talk about the collision of rationality and emotion on the bubble.
Boeree talks about her new YouTube channel, and reveals the intense effort that she puts into each segment as writer, star producer, editor and even director of photography! She pinpoints the video on the Doomsday Clock as a turning point in her presentation approach.
She also answers some burning questions from our listeners and explains why she loves bullet chess. Liv explains how much precision she’s been able to incorporate into her own life, a subject she explored in her Tedx talk “A Number Speaks a Thousand Words”. She also gave a TED talk on life lessons from poker.
You can follow Liv on twitter, Instagram, her website and of course, YouTube.
Now that Liv has covered Ace-Seven offsuit, there are 131 combos remaining on thepokergrid.com.
Sign up for the GRID mailing list here.
The Grid 037 ft. David K Lappin – Pocket-Fives
David K Lappin comes on thepokergrid.com to discuss a hand with pocket fives, that was set in Vegas in the 1980s at Binion’s Horseshoe Casino. David wrote the hand for a script in his life as a screen-writer long before he became a poker professional and podcast host. The hand itself puts listeners in the classic amateur’s quandary: you have ace-king but miss the flop. David goes on to explain what he finds lacking in most poker scenes, and how telling a good story about a hand in a movie compares to telling a good story to persuade your opponent to fold or call.
A vocal “frenemy” of the GRID, David and Jen joke about swapping years as “Podcast of the Year” for the GRID and the Chip Race, and why David is nicknamed “Scissorhands”, for his tight show edits. David also does his best rendition of Jennifer’s “send-off” at the end of each episode.
You can find David on twitter and his website. Find his podcast the Chip Race on soundcloud. David and his co-host, author Dara O’Kearney, also host a new YouTube complement to the Chip Race, the “Lock-in”, which Jennifer recently appeared on.
Now that David has discussed pocket fives, there are 132 combos left on thepokergrid.com.
We appreciate your reviews of the GRID on Apple and other podcast platforms. Sign up for the GRID mailing list here.
The Grid 036 ft. Chris Moneymaker – Five-Three Suited
For the GRID’s first anniversary episode, Chris Moneymaker tells a hand he played soon after his WSOP Main Event victory, against movie star Ben Affleck. The 25/50 No Limit Hold Em Cash game was hosted in 2003 at the Palms Casino, back when the hotel had a poker room. Ben was opening, calling or raising every single hand, and started the action in this one too, opening for 200. He got four callers including Vince Van Patton and Moneymaker, who was in position with three-five of spades. The flop came king of spades, ten of space and six of the clubs, giving Moneymaker a baby flush draw. Everyone checked to an offsuit four turn. Ben bet 1100, Vince called, and Chris raised to 4K. The river was the 4 of spades, completing Chris’s flush. Ben and Vince checked and Chris bet 6K, only to get raised to 17K by Affleck. Vince tank folded. The pot had swelled to over 100K and Chris now had a crucial decision whether to jam or call.
After unraveling the full details of the epic hand history, Chris talks about how to get invited to good games and why he fights for every last chip even when only play money is at stake.
Chris Moneymaker has been a member of Team PokerStars Pro since his historic 2003 World Series of Poker victory against Sammy Farha, a win that incited a poker boom. In 2019 Chris was inducted into the World Poker Hall of Fame, the same year that he hosted, the “Moneymaker Tour,”, which awarded Platinum Passes worth $30K all over the World.
We ask Moneymaker how many times he’s been asked “Is that your real name?”, why he doesn’t really drink anymore, and the doomed chop negotiations with Sammy Farha at the 2003 WSOP.
You can find Chris Moneymaker on twitter, instagram and on PokerStars.
Now that three-five suited has been clicked off thepokergrid.com, there are 133 combos remaining. Thanks to our guests and listeners for a year worth of podcasts- look for a special GRID inspired anniversary show at host Jen Shahade’s twitch channel on Friday May 15th.
The Grid 035 ft. Kara Scott – Seven-Six Offsuit
ESPN Anchor Kara Scott steps into the GRID to talk about a dramatic three-bet hand from the 2009 Irish Open, where she held seven-six offsuit. Kara ended up winning over $400,000 at the event a life-changing amount of money which relieved her of her debts and took her in a new direction. Kara, now an ambassador for 888, also talks about how struggles with memory caused her to rethink her approach to the game, and make a brave decision at a crucial career crossroads.
Kara also talks about how she developed her iconic voice, which is a hallmark of the World Series of Poker. She reveals the inspiration for her new podcast, “The Heart of Poker”, which uses a set of questions developed by psychologists to show us a more intimate side of great poker players.
Replay the 2009 hand discussed on this podcast here.
You can follow Kara on twitter, Instagram and find her podcast here.
Now that Kara has discussed seven-six offsuit, there are 134 combos left on thepokergrid.com.
The Grid 034 ft. Matt Hunt – Ten-Six Offsuit
Professional Poker Player and coach Matt Hunt found himself heads-up for a World Series of Poker bracelet in 2017, in one of the earliest “big blind” ante events in the WSOP. He enters the Poker GRID with a dramatic hand with ten-six offsuit, featuring critical decisions on all streets.
Matt limps the button with Tc6s with just over 20 big blinds. The big blind, Spanish professional Mario Prats Garcia, checked his option. The flop was 7d 5s 4c, giving Matt an opened ended straight draw. The turn brings the 9d for a possible backdoor diamond flush draw—and is checked through to an eight of diamonds river, where the action becomes particularly explosive.
Matt and Jen uncover both the strategic and psychological implications of Matt’s decisions in the hand and dive into strategic takeaways for anyone trying to improve.
Matt also explains how language and math intersect, or fail to intersect, and how this plays into the “Poker out Loud” format, a televised cash game in which players listen to noise-cancelling music, while describing decisions on all streets. Jen and Matt both bemoan the punishing nature of poker language, pondering why there are so few words to describe strategic brilliance. Matt also opens up about his struggles with depression, and his wake-up call that he needed professional help.
You can find Matt at https://twitter.com/MGHpoker, and his Solve For Why videos here. He is also a coach for Poker Detox and Tournament Poker Edge.
Now that Matt Hunt has covered ten-six offsuit, 135 combos remain on thepokergrid.com
The Grid 033 ft. Bill Chen – Queen-Jack Offsuit
Two-time WSOP Champion Bill Chen enters the GRID to talk about a hand he played against the legendary Phil Ivey back at the 2010 World Series of Poker. They were heads-up in a 3K horse event, and the game was Limit Hold Em.
The hand started when Bill raised his button, and Phil Ivey defended. Ivey then led on a flop of Ace Ten Deuce with two hearts.
The hand only got more interesting on the offsuit nine turn. Phil bet again, and Bill Chen raised. Phil called and they saw a seven of hearts on the river.
Now Ivey checked, Bill bet, and Ivey got in a vicious check raise. Bill folded.
Years later, when Jen Shahade asked Bill to be on the GRID, Bill had forgotten any details of the decade old hand. Luckily Bill’s friend and fellow WSOP champion Matt Hawrilenko stepped in and revealed Bill’s holding: Queen Jack Offsuit. Hawrilenko also reveals Phil Ivey’s holding in the episode. If you want to guess along before listening, check out former GRID guest Matt Matros’s blog speculating on both holdings.
After the hand, Bill and Jen move on to how such an intelligent person can lose his car keys so often, or forget such a memorable hand with Phil Ivey. They also discuss when Bill Chen realized he was good at math, what people get wrong about exponential growth, and what he misses most about his poker days.
Beyond his successful poker career, Bill Chen authored the game theory bible, “The Math of Poker” with Jerrod Ankenman. He’s also a US Chess rated expert, and was proud to represent Susquehanna International Group (SIG) at the recent US Amateur Team East, where one of the two SIG teams won the competitive event.
Bill is currently the head of Sports Analytics at SIG and he ends the podcast episode by inviting listeners to reach out to him if they’re interested in hearing more about employment opportunities. You can also follow Bill on twitter.
Thanks to all our listeners, guests and subscribers, the GRID received the Global Poker award for “Podcast of the Year.” Jen wrote up some thoughts on what she’s learned from hosting both the GRID and Ladies Knight over the past year and a half.
Now that Bill has covered queen-jack offsuit, there are 136 hands left on thepokergrid.com.
The Grid 032 ft. Terrence Chan – Three-Deuce Offsuit
Terrence Chan steps into the GRID, not the octagon, to discuss a funny hand he played with three-deuce offsuit against Erick Lindgren, way back at the 2006 World Series of Poker. Eric posted his blind when he was actually under the gun, leading to a leveling war that escalated quickly.
Chan speaks to how much poker has changed since then, and how lucky he was to be surrounded by brilliant people during the poker boom, from PokerStars founder Isai Scheinberg to members of the “Math House” such as Bill Chen and Matt Hawrilenko.
Terrence also talks about his disciplined approach to MMA, which allowed him to become a competitive fighter even while starting in his 30s. He describes how he’s moved on from orthorexia to a balance between eating right and flexibility.
Terrence Chan has over 1.2 million dollars in live poker earnings and is the co-host of the DAT Poker Podcast, with Daniel Negreanu and Adam Schwartz. He also has a blog at http://www.terrencechanpoker.com/ and tweets @Tchanpoker.
This episode was recorded at the Global Poker Awards in the first week of March. Our last night out for a long time was a happy one, as the GRID received the award for “Podcast of the Year.” Jen wrote up some thoughts on what she’s learned from hosting both the GRID and Ladies Knight over the past year and a half.
Now that Terrence has covered three-deuce off, there are 137 hands left on thepokergrid.com.
The Grid 031 ft. Darren Elias – Ace-Eight Suited
Four-time World Poker Tour Champion Darren Elias steps into the GRID to talk about a fascinating hand he played with ace-eight suited. In a first for the show, Darren’s opponent was an AI, Pluribus, as developed by Carnegie Mellon and Facebook to beat six max No-Limit Hold Em. The AI made an aggressive but low frequency play on the flop, which led to tough decision points for Darren on all streets. Through their hand analysis, Jen and Darren unravel his experience of playing thousands of hands against Pluribus over the summer of 2019.
Darren also gives some insight into his World Poker Tour domination, how his approach to poker has changed since becoming a dad and why he doesn’t use hand charts. Follow Darren on twitter @DarrenElias, and Hendon Mob, where he has over 7.5 million dollars in recorded cash winnings.
Now that Darren has covered ace-eight suited, there are 138 hands remaining on thepokergrid.com.
Podcast Tips: Jen Shahade Reflects on the GRID & Ladies Knight
I was getting boring in interviews. Ideas, chess and poker tips, and related life lessons flowed like fast playing kings, but I didn’t tell stories. Much like being asked “What’s Your Favorite Movie”, I drew a blank when an interviewer asked about a memorable moment or incident. Once aware of this weakness, I started to prepare anecdotes for speeches, and even panels and interviews.
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In my TEDx talk from 2014, I spoke about the critical win of my first US Championship title, where my legs fell asleep under the table on move 14 as I sunk into thought to discover a deep idea.
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At a women’s empowerment conference for the organization “Ladies Get Paid”, I set the scene to a poker tournament in Prague, where my Russian businessman opponent was surrounded by friends as I sat totally alone. Down to heads-up with 100,000 euros and a massive wrestling style belt on the line, it was later than the tournament staff had expected the event to take. We agreed to end it after a set number of hands. After those hands, I was on top but it turned out my opponent did not fully understand the arrangement (which was recorded on stream.) Back in New York City, I explained to hundreds of women how I was sympathetic, and yet unwavering in advocating for myself. I only spoke for a total of six or seven minutes on the panel, but was stopped by women all day, who told me they were moved by the storytelling. Stories that never would have materialized without conscious digging.
In the throes of insomnia in the Bahamas, I came up with the GRID, my 169 episode poker podcast and scavenger hunt. There was a growing resentment toward game theory in poker, implications that math (my favorite part) was just a grind and took all the beauty out of the game. The GRID was my way to attack that flawed premise without resorting to platitudes that would only prove the critics’ point.
An interview with no stories is usually boring. An interview that is 100% story may feel random, without clear takeaways. The GRID uses poker as, “a story generator,” as author Martin Harris called it, to force details out of each guest, anchoring the chat to a specific hand, time and place.
It avoids a pet peeve in interviews with gamers:
Question 1: “How Did you Learn Poker/Chess?”
A: “I was in university, and some of my friends were playing…so I checked out the game and then realized I could also play online. Then I made a deposit and was tired at my class the next day from playing so late…. (and I am also ready to go to sleep.)
Of course you don’t have to create an elaborate structure to start a pod or stream but mine gave me the gumption to enter a saturated market. If you follow my work, you’ll see many examples of beloved projects that some may critique as gimmicky (Exhibit A: Hula Chess).
And yet, this one did seem to resonate. Through my first year of podcasting, Ladies Knight won two Chess Journalists of America awards while The GRID won the prestigious Global Poker Award for best podcast among impressive shows hosted by friends, colleagues and enemies like Terrence Chan, Joey Ingram and David Lappin.
My efforts and errors in constructing and promoting my first 50+ episodes may help if you’re thinking of starting your own pod, or just want to be a better conversationalist.
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The GRID art: A single square image for your pod will cut across syndicates, from Stitcher to Spotify. It will be by far the most important graphic in the life of your podcast. For the GRID, we chose a beautiful image that tied in so well to the concept: a snippet from a collage of all possible 169 No Limit Hold Em hands, with iconic oversize aces in front. This was a big mistake. Though not an SEO expert, the algorithm is obviously tickled by faces, especially your own. So apparent narcissism be damned, we recently switched the GRID art to something far more along the lines of Ladies Knight. Both are designed by Frankie Butler with the photos by David Llada and Maria Emelianova.
Since posting this article, we further tweaked the image.
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SPIRIT: Ezra Klein avoids checking twitter and email for up to an hour prior to a pod so that his mind doesn’t get cluttered and his mood doesn’t veer toward anger or negativity. When shutting out trolls for even half a day isn’t plausible, I use a corny strategy. I verbalize and visualize the vibe I want in a pod. For instance, “a breezy and fun discussion on chess and art with Shannon Bailey” or “a strategically deep dive on king-ten suited followed by a chat on the beautiful aspect of poker theory.” I really try to nail the MOOD here, as this ties into rapport. Fun, incisive, energetic, emotive. Distracted or negative are the two worst possible moods, so if all else fails play a pop song and shake it off.
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BODY: Coffee is my absolute favorite drug and every night, I look forward to the “Royale” TM- Brian Koppelman (the first cup of the day). But if I’m too juked up, I talk over guests and ramble. Once, I had the trifecta of a good night sleep, way too much caffeine and a killer workout. My mouth was outpacing my brain and heart and certainly my dear guest’s patience. My husband, the brilliant Daniel Meirom, fixes it all up in editing so even if you’re my most loyal listener, you’ll have no idea which episodes I’m talking about. But I have pulled back on the caffeine…for Daniel’s sake.
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RATIOs: I came up with a few golden ratios that work for me as host. The first one is the 2/1 rule. As the host in conversational podcasts, I talk a lot, but since the audience hears from me every week (god help them), I aim for my guest talking at least 65% of the time.
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Word Choice: My friend Bonnie bought me an excellent little book, Actions: The Actor’s Theasaurus, which helps me avoid word repetition in speech. WOW! I hope you find this penultimate tip Amazing and Importent!
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To Prep or Fly By: No preparation is risky. Too rigid a list of questions makes it hard to totally bomb, but also makes an interview unlikely to be brilliant. I protect myself from total failure with a few questions, topics and quotes and abandon my notes when flow takes over. Some of my favorite chats with Dan Dvoress, James Altucher on the GRID or with Charlotte Clymer or Alisa Melekhina on Ladies Knight, are informed by years of enjoying the guest’s work, which can’t be faked in an hour of cramming. But don’t let that stop you from trying- an hour of prep is way better than zero. There’s nothing worse than the silence of a guest who realizes you haven’t read a chapter of their book, or know the name of the new business they just posted eight tweets about. You can cut the awkwardness out of the edit but the gross feeling of failure remains, like forgetting the name of your friend’s cat. Pizza. How did I ever forget that?
Thanks for listening to the GRID and Ladies Knight. Subscribe and join the GRID mailing list here.
The Grid 030 ft. Sam Greenwood – King-Ten suited
Poker coach and high roller tournament champion Sam Greenwood enters the GRID to discuss a high stakes hand with king-ten suited, held at the Triton Millions in July 2019. Sam was facing the tricky and outspoken Martin Kabrhel of the Czech Republic in a 3-bet pot, and as the board ran out, a hand that was decent on the flop started to look like a prime candidate for bluffing.
Sam talks about how even the top players in the World have trouble executing solver strategies extrapolating that the fear of “robotic” play is overblown. He gives tips for newcomers to shot clocks and reveals his most under-rated and over-rated study techniques.
Sam has over 21 million dollars in live earnings and won a WSOP bracelet in No Limit Hold Em in 2015. Other big tournament wins include his January 2019 PCA 100K Super High Roller victory, and a 2013 SCOOP win. You can find Sam on twitter and on his coaching videos on Run it Once.
Now that King-ten suited is covered, there are 139 combos left on thepokergrid.com.
The Grid 029 ft. Femi Fashakin – King-Nine Offsuit
Orlando based poker player and tech entrepreneur Femi Fashakin steps into the GRID to discuss a crucial hand from the largest poker tournament of all time, the WSOP Big Fifty. Femi won over a million dollars for topping the 28,000 player field, becoming the first Nigerian-born poker player ever to take home a gold bracelet.
With the final table looming, Femi faced a double check raise, and was put to a decision for all his chips with king-nine offsuit.
Femi and Jen talk about whether his story proves the vitality of the “American Poker Dream” and his tips for poker players coming up the ranks.
In exploring the double check raise, Jen describes working with Philly-based creative director Evan Young on a deck of GRID challenge cards, where specific missions allowed players to win bounties from each player, much like the seven-deuce game. One of those cards was the “Double Check Raise” mission, a challenge she found surprisingly difficult to fulfill in a friendly homegame. Jen and Femi talk about the power of rare lines and the importance of thinking them through in advance.
Femi wraps up with tips for aspiring entrepreneurs and explains why it’s a perfect fit for poker players to pursue multiple income streams.
Find Femi on hendon mob, and on twitter @femitfash
The Grid 028 ft. Georgina “GJReggie” James – Ace-Six Off
Georgina “GJReggie” James steps into the GRID to tackle the raggiest of aces, ace-six off and a tough spot in her biggest moment at the time as both a poker player and as a streamer. Georgina talks about how she found herself three-handed in a massive field event of the PokerStars Micromillions with thousands of runners. She held ace-six offsuit in the big blind and faced huge bets on both flop and turn as a thousand concurrent viewers watched- her largest ever stream audience by far at the time.
Jen and Georgina also talk about how she’s preparing for the PokerStars Players Championship in August 2020, which features 100x the buyin of her previous biggest live entry. She also gives some insight into the poker community on twitch (“the best ever” in her words), and explains how she worked with fellow PokerStars streamer PyeFace, to award two Platinum Passes via the “Dare to Stream Challenge.”
They also touch on Georgina’s blog, where she digs deep into the emotional complexity of reaching a career goal concurrent with a difficult time in her personal life.
Georgina is a member of Team PokerStars, where she streams at twitch.tv/GJReggie. You can also find her on Instagram, twitter.com/GJReggie and her blog https://gjreggie.com/
Now that Georgina has covered ace-six offsuit, 141 combos remain on thepokergrid.com.
The Grid 027 ft. Ben Johnson – Pocket-Sevens
Former poker pro and Perpetual Podcast host Ben Johnson enters the GRID to throw us back to the European Poker Tour in Baden, Austria, in 2006 where he was heads-up for the EPT title. He held pocket sevens and as the pot bloated, Ben found himself in a pressure cooker as an overcard flopped and his opponent showed massive strength. 15 years later, Ben reveals that he was unhappy with how he played the hand, but happy with how he played the tournament, as he unravels some of the reasons for both his mistakes, as well as his rapid ascent in the poker world.
Ben talks about his brief foray into day-trading after Black Friday. Though he did not find success in the field, learning about efficient markets helped prepare him for a Eureka Moment: Chess needed a weekly podcast featuring top players and personalities from all over the World. While poker has dozens of great podcasts, Ben found a legitimate gap in the market, which has since also populated by the US Chess suite of podcasts, including Jennifer’s monthly chess pod, Ladies Knight. Ben gives aspiring content creators advice, and explains how becoming a dad helped him reach out through his introversion.
James Hartigan and Lee Jones called the final table, at a high production and energy level of contemporary poker events. Jennifer and Ben contrast that with the way chess events were covered 15 years ago and compare other overlaps and differences between chess and poker.
Ben is also a National chess Master and many time member of National Championship chess team, Masterman, where he was Jennifer’s team-mate. He’s also a practicing chess coach and proud dad. Find out more about Ben on his podcast page, Apple and twitter account.
Jen and Ben have already shared three guests on their respective pods, James Altucher (Perpetual link), Peter Svidler (Perpetual link) and Greg Shahade (Perpetual link).
Now that Ben Johnson has covered pocket sevens on thepokergrid.com, there are 142 combos left on the GRID. Follow the journey on our website and join our newsletter here.
Some good news: We are semi-finalists for the Global Poker Award for Best Podcast, so if you enjoy the show, please vote at this link https://www.globalpokerindex.com/awards/podcast-of-the-year/ (optimized for a PC).
The Grid 026 ft. Dan Dvoress – Ace-Five Suited
Dan Dvoress enters the GRID to discuss a hand from a Triton High Roller where Dan flopped quads and got a surprising amount of action.
Dvoress is a Canadian pro with over 15 million dollars in live poker earnings. Just before recording this pod, Dan notched his highest ever live score, for 4 Million Dollars at the 250K buyin Super High Roller Bowl in the Bahamas. Before his live success, Dan was best known as a Run It Once coach and high stakes online pro, where he battled in various formats from cash to hyper sit n gos.
Dan also talks about why he loves poker so much, the #1 mistake poker pros make when using solvers, and why ace-five suited really is the “Magic” Hand.
Jennifer takes some audience questions, including those from fellow pros Sam Grafton, Max Silver and Timothy Adams, who ask Dan about a wide range of topics from becoming the best possible cyborg to archery to nicknames.
You can follow Dan on instagram and twitter @DDvoress. Photo by Neil Stoddart
Now that Dan has discussed ace-five suited, there are 143 combos remaining on thepokergrid.com.
The Grid 025 ft. Ben Yu – Jack-Eight Suited
Three-time World Series of Poker Champion Ben Yu enters the GRID to talk about a pivotal hand in his life and career. He was up against Jonathan Little at his first WSOP final table in the 2010 Limit Hold Em Shootout. Yu, who held jack-eight suited, had tough decisions that were complicated by ICM, shallow stacks and the gravity of the stakes for Ben. Prior to the summer, Ben had found himself in a deep hole- he was broke and depressed. He explains to Jennifer how he slowly climbed out of his situation, and how his second place finish in the fateful event paved the way for a successful career, where he now has over seven million dollars in live earnings and three bracelets.
Yu also talks about what strategic adjustments were the hardest for him when stepping up into high rollers, why it annoys him when people take shots at bankroll management, and how everyone is either a “spewmonkey or a coward” if steeped in enough pressure. Ben also reveals his biggest passion and why he doesn’t tweet very often anymore @Benyupoker.
Now that Ben has covered jack-eight suited, there are 144 combos remaining on thepokergrid.com
The Grid 024 ft. Trevor Savage – Six-Nine Suited
Poker professional, “Raising the Nuts” vlogger and podcast host Trevor Savage enters the GRID to talk about a 2013 cash game hand in which Trevor held Six-Nine Suited. Trevor is a New Jersey based online pro, but he’s recently been crossing the bridge to play on PokerStars PA, so Trevor and Jennifer recorded this episode live in Philly.
Trevor related a hilarious hand history ending in an epic call (in practice!), that illustrates his philosophy toward poker at the time. He and Jen discuss how his approach to poker has changed since, a mental health breakdown he had later in 2013 and the fun behind his “meet-up” games, where he plays almost every hand on the GRID. Trevor explained to Jen that proceeds from a recent meet-up game in Maryland Live benefited Strong Minds, one of the charities featured in previous GRID guest Dan Smith’s “Double Up Drive”, a matching charity initiative.
Trevor also discusses what parenting and poker have in common, and how his meditation practice helps him distinguish between emotion and intuition.
Follow Trevor on twitter, Instagram and raisingthenuts.com. You can also find his vlogs on Raising the Nuts, and his eponymous podcast on parenting, nutrition and mental health with his wife Jody Savage.
Now that Trevor has discussed six-nine suited on the GRID, there are 145 combos remaining on thepokergrid.com.
The Grid 023 ft. Andrew Lichtenberger – seven-four offsuit
Andrew Lichtenberger better known as “Lucky Chewy” enters the poker GRID to talk about a dramatic hand with seven-four offsuit against Viktor “Isildur1” Blom. Held at the 2013 NBC Heads-Up Championship, Andrew and Viktor played a huge four-bet pot in which Andrew faced a tough flop decision.
Andrew has over 10 million in live earnings and is both a World Poker Tour and World Series of Poker champion. A proponent of yoga and meditation, he is the author of Yoga of Poker: High Stakes Journey to Freedom and a coach at LearnWPT.
Jennifer asks Andrew about how he combines his interest in hard to quantify elements like intuition and even telepathy with his passion for game theory. They also touch on whether you can have love and empathy with your opponents while also trying to exploit their mistakes.
Andrew reveals how his eidetic memory helps him at the tables and peels back the curtain on his highly visual thought process. He describes has a 169 cell GRID in his head as he narrows down ranges throughout a hand.
You can find him on his blog and twitter feed.
Now that luckychewy has covered seven-four offsuit, there are 146 hands remaining on thepokergrid.com.
The Grid 022 ft. Helen Ellis – Seven-Eight suited
Jennifer brings author and poker afficianado Helen Ellis into thepokergrid.com to talk about a hand that symbolized her rebirth in poker and writing in 2015. Helen held 78 suited and was facing a tough line-up at a poker tournament at the Borgata.
Helen is the author of American Housewife (2016) and Southern Lady Code (2019). Jennifer and Helen talk about her long writing draught in her 30s, and how her own story may inspire poker players on a downswing. They also discuss the rudest things to do at the table, how Pulitzer Prize winner Colson Whitehead’s book, “The Noble Hustle” made her brave, and why she likes to feel invisible when she plays.
Follow Helen on Instagram @AmericanHousewife, on twitter @WhatIDoAllDay and find her books on her amazon page.
Now that Helen has discussed 78s, there are 147 hand combos remaining on thepokergrid.com.
The Grid 021 ft. Martin Harris – Jack-four suited
Author and tournament reporter Martin Harris steps into the GRID to talk about Jack-four suited, a hand that stuck out to him in a statistical analysis from a blog over a decade ago titled “169 Ways to Showdown.”
Martin also encountered J4s in a recent professorial home game in Charlotte, where he teaches a class at UNC on Poker in American Film & Culture. He is the recent author of Poker and Pop Culture: Telling the Story of America’s Favorite Card Game.
Martin is a reporter, blogger and writer. A friend of this podcast, he wrote articles on the GRID for both the PokerStars Blog and Pokernews soon after we launched.
You can find Martin on twitter @hardboiledpoker or his blog. Order his new book, Poker and Pop Culture on the publisher D+B poker’s website, or amazon.
Now that Martin Harris has covered Jack-four suited, there are 148 combos remaining on thepokergrid.com.
The Grid 020 ft. Peter Jetten – Ten-Eight Offsuit
Jennifer welcomes Canadian poker pro Peter aka “Apathy” Jetten to thepokergrid.com. Jetten has nine million dollars in live cashes, including many recent big scores from the Triton series. Today’s hand comes from the Main Event of the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series in Montenegro, where Peter faced Steve O’ Dwyer in a nail biter blind versus blind spot with ten-eight offsuit.
Jen and Peter discuss what he misses most about his early days of online poker, his worst decision of the year, and why he started playing high rollers. Peter also gives some inspiring advice to fully enjoy your good decisions in poker, avoiding an unhappy life in the game.
On January 1 of each year, Peter consults an oracle to determine the theme of the year, which he then posts on twitter. The Oracle started speaking to Peter in 2012, the Year of Justice followed by the memorable “Year of Science” in 2013, and most recently the Year of Action, 2019. Jen and Peter postulate what 2020 will bring.
Follow @PeterJetten on twitter.
Now that Peter Jetten has discussed ten-eight offsuit, 149 hands remain on thepokergrid.com.
The Grid 019 ft. James Altucher – Eight-Five Offsuit
Author, podcast host and investor James Altucher steps into the thepokergrid.com to discuss eight-five offsuit, a hand he played two decades ago at the Mayfair Club in New York City. He also explains why eight-five was so important to his overall poker strategy.
James hosts the popular “The James Altucher Show” and has written 20 books including Choose Yourself: Be Happy, Make Millions, Live the Dream. James also loves games, is a US Chess Master, and played poker professionally for a year.
Altucher is well known for his everyday tips on personal finance, from developing multiple income streams to negotiating salaries and fees. Jen and James talk about how to use lessons from poker in real life, discussing concepts like anchoring, precise asks and how to reduce financial anxiety. James also offers plenty of ideas for poker players looking for side hustles.
He closes with an entertaining story on his poker swan song, a hand against Irv Gotti.
This episode of the GRID was recorded at Stand Up NY, Altucher’s comedy club and studio in New York City.
Stay posted on James’ prolific projects, blogs and podcasts on his twitter, instagram and website.
Now that James Altucher has covered eight-five offsuit on thepokergrid.com, 150 combos remain.
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The Grid 018 ft. Mike “the Hat” Glick – Queen-Nine Suited
Mike Glick, better known as “Mike the Hat” is one of the best and most successful American poker players you may not have heard of.
He rose from No Limit Hold Em cash games in the east coast to become a regular in the highest stakes mixed games at Bobby’s Room at the Bellagio.
Today he talks to me about a storied high stakes NLHE hand against previous GRID guest Chris Kruk, where Mike held the queen nine of hearts. Mike made a surprising play that had the other regulars in Bobby’s Room, including Gus Hansen and David Oppenheim, talking for days.
Mike also gives some general poker tips and tells a story about a near disastrous accident involving Doyle Brunson, which turned into a running joke.
Mike Glick doesn’t do many interviews maintain a social media presence, so don’t look for him on twitter, Instagram or YouTube. He does however, encourage NLHE specialists to visit Bobby’s Room.
Now that Mike has covered queen nine suited, 151 hands remain on thepokergrid.com.
The Grid 017 ft. Nick Schulman – Jack-Four Offsuit
Three-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, World Poker Tour Champion and renowned poker commentator Nick Schulman enters the GRID to click off a challenging combo, jack-four offsuit. Nick played the fateful hand in a New York City homegame about a decade ago, where the stakes soared to 400/800 and night turned to morning. As the three-bet pot against “Brooklyn Issac” bloated on all streets, the hand took a dramatic twist.
Nick and Jennifer also talk about what he misses about New York cash, his commentary inspirations and how the GRID is a tool to test your own visual capacity in poker.
You can follow Nick at https://twitter.com/NickSchulman and find his commentary on pokergo.com.
Now that jack-four offsuit has been covered on thepokergrid.com, 152 combos remain.
The Grid 016 ft. Joshua Abady – Queen-Jack Suited
Poker player Joshua Abady comes on the GRID to talk about a hilarious hand with queen-jack suited at the Colossus at the WSOP that ended in dramatic confrontation. Abady explains how he uses his extroverted personality to make live poker more fun, and to occasionally make big exploits.
Josh, who is 25, also talks about why he got into poker, his early approach to the game, and how to grow the game to more players in his demographic.
Josh is a New York City based former scholastic chess champion, and the COO of Criticial Mass Applications, a cooking iphone app that is nearing launch. He’s been playing poker tourneys for just a few years, where he’s had much success particularly in Australia. I first found about Josh on the podcast, The Chip Race https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-chip-race/e/60821767, where I discovered he was an evocative story teller and passionate gamer.
Follow Josh’s poker exploits on instagram at jabady101 https://www.instagram.com/jabady101/
Now that Josh has covered queen-jack suited on https://thepokergrid.com/, 153 combos remain.
The Grid 015 ft. Peter Svidler – Ace-Seven of Diamonds
Eight-time Russian Chess Champion, beloved commentator, and poker aficionado Peter Svidler enters the GRID to talk to Jennifer about an “accidental NLHE” hand while he was waiting for PLO on RunItOnce. Peter held the ace-seven of diamonds, and as the pot swelled, he takes us through his discomfort in NLHE, as opposed to his favorite game, PLO.
Peter also talks about what makes him so good at chess, the importance of memory and chess, why he prefers PLO and the influence Phil Galfond has had on him. He also tackles the difference between himself and another elite chessplayer, who rose to the highest stakes poker games, friend and team-mate Alexander “Sasha” Grischuk.
Now that ace-seven suited has been discussed on thepokergrid.com, 154 combos remain.
Follow Svidler on twitter @polborta and find many video series hosted by him on chess24, as well as frequent commentator stints at grandchesstour.org.
The Grid 014 ft. Muskan Sethi – Jack-nine offsuit
Muskan Sethi comes on the GRID to discuss a thrilling televised hand against Mike “Timex” McDonald on the PokerStars TV show the Shark Cage. Muskan held Jack-nine offsuit in position, and faced crucial decisions on all streets, with an extra strategic element in that a called bluff would send her to an in studio “Shark Cage”, while successfully bluffing a better hand would send Timex to the Cage.
Jennifer and Muskan talk about how the hand and her experience on the show propelled her to a professional poker career and if she would have played the hand differently today. She now represents PokerStars and was honored by the President of India with a ‘First Ladies’ award, celebrating her position as the country’s first female professional poker player. She has also been appointed as India’s Responsible Gaming Ambassador.
You can follow Muskan on instagram at https://www.instagram.com/muskansethi5/ and twitter at https://twitter.com/muskaansethi. Relive or watch for the first time the full Shark Cage episode on YouTube and the pivotal hand at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrcWe5RIp0k&t=1957s
Now that J9 offsuit has been covered on thepokergrid.com, 155 combos remain.
The Grid 012 ft. Dan Smith – Pocket-Sixes
High stakes tournament player Dan Smith comes on the GRID to talk to Jennifer Shahade about a pivotal hand against Reiner Kempe with pocket sixes at the 2016 Super High Roller Bowl, a $300,000 poker tournament with a 5 million dollar first prize. Dan, who has won more than 27 million in live poker tournaments, including a WPT title and a runner-up finish in the 2016 WSOP One Drop, talks about how he handles high pressure situations and disappointments like bubbling.
Dan also talks about some of the typical mistakes he sees from less successful poker pros, and reveals how difficult he still finds some aspects of the game. Jen and Dan discuss his charity projects that culminate each year in the “Double up-Drive” and why the “Strong Minds” organization is so personally meaningful to him.
Dan Smith and Jennifer also know each other from the world of chess. Dan Smith is a member of the PRO Chess League team, the Montclair Sopranos. This year, Dan scored a shocking upset against four-time US Champion Alexander Shabalov, and he explained how that victory stacked up against his many poker tournament successes.
Follow Dan on twitter @dansmithholla, his website https://dansmithholla.com/ and doubleupdrive.com.
Now that sixes have been covered, there are 157 hands remaining on thepokergrid.com.
The Grid 011 ft. Matt Berkey – Queen-Five Offsuit
Notes: The GRID welcomes Matt Berkey, the founder of Solve for Why and a frequent player in some of the highest stakes cash games in the World. He comes on the GRID to talk to Jen Shahade about the largest pot we’ve covered yet, against Dan “Jungleman” Cates on Poker After Dark. Berkey held queen-five offsuit on a queen- seven- nine rainbow flop, and gives listeners some insight into the difficulty of and focus required to play a weak top pair in a multi-way pot against elite competition.
Matt also has over 4 million dollars in live tournament winnings. You can follow him on twitter https://twitter.com/berkey11, and find out more about his training academies and online training site at solve For Why https://solveforwhyacademy.com/, as well as their Instagram and twitter accounts.Now that queen-five offsuit has been discussed on the GRID, 158 hands remain on the poker grid.
The Grid 010 ft. Carlos Welch – King-Queen Offsuit
Carlos Welch is a poker player, coach and writer for PokerNews and Tournament Poker Edge. He’s known as the “man in a van”, as he travels from stop to stop in pursuit of stretching his poker success with both skillful play and frugality.
Carlos talks to Jen Shahade on the GRID about a hand against “Phil Laak” in an online WSOP bracelet hand with king-queen offsuit. In this hand, Welch tried to play a more theoretical or “GTO” style than he is used to from his bread and butter games.
They discuss typical life leaks of poker professionals, and tips for saving money. Carlos also talks about his work and friendship with Andrew Brokos of the thinking poker podcast, including their joint strategy videos on single table satellites.
Welch goes by HipHop101Trivia on twitter and he reveals to Jennifer his favorite hip-hop songs to grind poker to, as well as the hip-hop artist he thinks would be most fearsome at the poker table. Find Carlos on twitter or his coaching website, Medicore Poker at https://www.facebook.com/mediocrepoker.
Now that Carlos Welch has discussed king-queen offsuit on the GRID, 159 hands remain.
The Grid 009 ft. Aleeyah Jadavji – Ace-Jack Suited
Poker player and writer Aleeyah Jadavji talks on the GRID about something many poker players aspire to: a triple check raise in serious competition. She talks to Jen about unlocking the rare play with ace-jack suited, and why it’s important to incorporate new lines to invigorate your game.
Aleeyah is on the Pokernews editorial team and the WSOP media coordinator. Her passion for poker has grown since she was awarded a Platinum Pass to play in the 2019 PokerStars Players Championship.
Aleeyah and Jen also talk about cancer awareness and her victory at the Deep Stacks Poker Tour in Edmonton, where she raised $5000 for Breast Cancer Research, soon after she learned she was cancer free. Two of Aleeyah’s favorite recent articles, which she discussed with Jennifer are on Kevin Roster, who is spreading Sarcoma Awareness at the WSOP and Calen McNeil, who used chess and poker as rehabilitation tools. Follow Aleeyah at https://twitter.com/ElleSriracha and find her Pokernews story feed here.
The Grid 008 ft. Jake Abdalla – Eight-Deuce suited
High stakes heads-up player Jake “Jllama” Abdalla talks to Jennifer Shahade on the GRID about a shocking rendition of eight-deuce suited against Phil Ivey. The 2015 No Limit Hold Em hand was played as part of an eight-game mix on PokerStars, a typical battlefield for Abdalla and Ivey. Jake and Jen talk about how the “American Poker Dream” of playing Ivey heads-up matched up with reality, as well as their hefty cross book on the side. Jake also advises listeners on which mixed games they should study first, and tells us about some of the most important lessons he took away from his epic battles with Phil “Raise Once” Ivey.
On twitter, Jake now refers to himself as a “recreational professional poker player”, as he finds a new career as the director of “Mile High Labs.” In 2018, Jake created a course at the training site Upswing on “Mixed Game Mastery.” Follow him on twitter at jllama99.
The Grid 007 ft. Matt Matros – Jack-deuce suited
Three-time WSOP bracelet winner Matt Matros talks to Jennifer Shahade on the GRID about Jack-deuce suited, in a high stakes heads-up hand where preparation did not meet luck. The hand is set at the NBC Heads-Up Championship in 2013, where Matt faced four-time WSOP Champ Brian Hastings. Despite the shallow structure, Matt studied rigorously for the opportunity, locking himself in his hotel room for days to work with a heads-up specialist. He explains to listeners what he learned from both his work, and the outcome.
Matt and Jennifer talk about the philosophy behind Matt’s new book The Game Plan: How Casual Players Become Threats in NLHE tournaments. They also touch on his finalist entry into the PokerStars #MYChessPoker Game Challenge, and how poker compares to solving puzzles.
Matt is also a fiction writer and voracious reader. Matt tells Jen how he became a major character in a book by the great American writer, Colson Whitehead, who wrote the best-selling Underground Railroad as well as the Noble Hustle, a comic take on the world of poker and his foray into the WSOP.
Matt ends by estimating the odds Jen will finish the podcast, as they discuss another Quixotic project of hers, the ABC diet, a 26-day eating plan.
Follow Matt Matros on twitter, his official website and browse his prodigious collection of cashes on hendon mob. You can find his new book, The Game Plan, on amazon.
Now that Matt has discussed jack-deuce suited, 162 combos remain on the GRID.
The Grid 006 ft. Greg Shahade – Ace-Nine suited
Greg Shahade takes listeners on a trip down memory lane as he reviews a hand with his sister, GRID host Jennifer Shahade from a $200 Sit n Go from 2005. In the hand, he made a call with Ace-Nine suited that ignited a furious debate between math and feel players on the two plus two forum, where Greg wrote thousands of posts as “curtains.” Leading the charge against the call was “Gigabet”, while players such as “ZeeJustin” (Justin Bonomo) chimed in on Greg’s side.
Greg also relays the story of a $50,000 chess game he played against Tom Dwan at the World Series of Poker in 2007, the kind of legend that drew many chessplayers to poker.
Greg is an International Master of chess, and the founder of the PRO Chess League and the US Chess School. He played poker online professionally through the poker boom up until Black Friday, at which point he intensified his chess activities. Find out more on his gregshahade.com and find him @gregshahade on twitter and Instagram.
Now that ace-nine suited has been discussed, 163 hands remain on our GRID.
The Grid 005 ft. Ryan Laplante – King Queen Suited
World Series of Poker bracelet winner and 7-time WSOP final tablist Ryan Laplante enters the GRID with a tough spot with King-Queen suited, in one of his favorite events of the year, the 10K Bellagio Five Diamond event in Las Vegas. Ryan talks about how excitement to turn a flush on a paired board changed into suspicion after a river bet from sharp octogenarian Bob Mantin.
Ryan is a passionate poker coach for Chip Leader Coaching. He is also unveiling a new site, Learn PRO Poker, and he explains to Jennifer why a low price point is so vital to his vision.
Jen also asks Ryan about why he turns the expression “Fold and Tell No One” to a fresh mantra “Fold and Tell Everyone”, as they discuss his entertaining twitter poker hand history quizzes. Ryan also reveals the most under-rated hand on the GRID.
Follow Ryan @ProtenialMN and look for updates on his new training site at twitter.com/LearnProPoker
Now that King-Queen suited has been discussed on the Poker Grid, 164 combos remain.
The Grid 004 ft. Maria Konnikova – Seven Deuce Offsuit
Award winning author, psychology PhD, New Yorker writer and PokerStars Pro Maria Konnikova talks about the most notorious poker hand, seven-deuce offsuit. The author of the Confidence Game, Mastermind and the highly anticipated upcoming book, The Biggest Bluff talks about a hand from a 2018 World Series of Poker side event that gave her a new perspective on bluffing.
Maria dove into poker in 2017, starting out with small buy-in events under the tutelage of eight-time WSOP bracelet winner Erik Siedel. Since then, she has earned almost 300K in live cashes, highlighted by a Championship victory at the PCA National in 2018, less than a year after she started playing.
In their conversation, Maria talks about how bluffing with a zero equity hand can be empowering, while Jennifer offers a theory on why players focused on the GRID can veer toward under bluffing without good randomizing techniques. Maria advises how to study most effectively before a major series and muses on poker styles of some of the greatest writers of all time.
Follow Maria on twitter, https://mariakonnikova.com/ and her instagram @grlnamedmaria where she posts live updates from her adventures on the poker tour. You can also find frequent updates on her progress at the PokerStars Blog.
The Grid 003 ft. Jamie Kerstetter – Aces
Poker pro, commentator and everyone’s favorite twitter follow, Jamie Kerstetter talks to Jennifer Shahade about the most coveted poker hand, aces. Jamie tells a dramatic story from a decade ago, where she bamboozled an opponent with aces in a large pot. The aftermath ended in a true “walk of shame” for the villain in the hand. Jamie & Jen discuss how getting aces is such an adrenaline rush, it often draws people to poker- but it’s not always easy: how much you make with this hand can be a gamechanger in your win rate.
Jamie also talks about the worst nickname for aces, what makes a poker tweet funny and her first go at stand-up comedy at Run it Up Reno, which you can watch here.
Now that Jamie has discussed aces, 166 hands remain on our poker grid.
The Grid 002 ft. Kevin Rabichow – Ten Five Offsuit
Kevin “Barewire” Rabichow, high-stakes online player, coach and heads-up specialist, talks to Jennifer Shahade about Ten-Five offsuit; a riveting heads-up hand from 2013. Kevin talks about “King of the Hill” dynamics, and how the hand may be played differently today. He also talks about a few common pitfalls that snare some tournament players when playing some of the worst hands. Jen and Kevin wrap it up ruminating on best coaching practices from poker to chess to Ultimate Frisbee.
Rabichow is a popular coach at RunItOnce, where he made a series on the history of Heads-Up poker. He can also be found @KRabichow on twitter.
Now that Ten-Five offsuit has been discussed on “The Grid” 167 interviews remain.
The Grid 001 ft. Lex Veldhuis – King Four Offsuit
In the premiere episode of The Grid, Jennifer Shahade interviews Lex Veldhuis, poker professional, twitch.tv streamer and PokerStars Ambassador. Lex kicks off The Grid with a hand from 2007, where he held king-four offsuit. Lex and Jen talk about why the hand stands out in his memory as a turning point in his mental game. They also touch on how streaming can keep poker players honest with themselves, as well as tackling fears of embarrassment. Jen and Lex also discuss how game theory is making the game more fascinating and aggressive. They wrap up the interview with a story from the 2007 Barcelona EPT, where the live poker scene was very different, and how Lex plans to inject some of that back into the tournament culture with his “Lex Live” series.
Now that King-four offsuit has been discussed on “The Poker Grid”, 168 interviews remain.