PartTimePoker.com Podcast

Abe Limon joins our hosts for a no-holds barred discussion of scummy behaviour in the poker world and elsewhere. Discussion of the Matt Kirk/Leon Tsoukernik controversy segues into analysis of the endless procession of sexual assault allegations coming out currently. The next topic is tax deductible charity, both its virtues and its frequent abuses. The show ends on a more positive note, with a breakdown of a PokerStars Power Up hand.

Alex and Andrew are back, like zombies just in time for Hallowe’en! Their guest: Miikka Anttonen, an online pro who’s risked not only his savings but his career on a prop bet to prove to himself once and for all whether he’s in the right line of work. Other topics include PartyPoker, the ethics of consumption, and Quan Zhou’s dramatic main event bubble hand.

Two guests showed up for this longer-than-usual episode of the PartTimePoker Podcast: Short stack specialist and rookie PTP writer Lorin Yelle, and renowned staring expert Mike “Timex” McDonald. The focus for the episode was originally meant to be the latest Man vs. Machine poker contest, but although that topic does get covered, the bulk of the episode is a long and fascinating conversation with Mike, covering a wide range of topics related to his new business Pokershares. For the strategy segment, Lorin discusses his history with short-stacking, and offers the hosts some pointers.

Feats of strength are impossible to perform over the internet, but Alex, Andrew and guest Kat Arnsby indulge in the other great Festivus tradition, the airing of grievances. The list of things the trio have to complain about includes the changes PokerStars has announced for 2017, Marty Derbyshire and his firing from PokerNews, President-Elect Trump, and being put in a gross turn spot with bottom set on a wet board.

With guest Adam Small of PocketFives, Andrew and Alex discuss the outcome of this year’s WSOP Main Event final table, the unpredictable and entertaining style of its champion Qui Nguyen, the poor turnout for the PokerStars Festival New Jersey, and the US election, the results of which were not known at the time of recording. For strategy, it’s back to the November Nine, and a hand played between Kenny Hallaert and Michael Ruane during the first day.

We’ve asked our listeners in the past what sort of content they’d like to hear on the podcast. They told us “anything except politics,” so naturally, here is a two-hour episode consisting entirely of political debate between Andrew Barber and guest Bryan Paris, and virtually no poker content to speak of.

After a prolonged absence due to numerous non-poker distractions, Alex and Andrew are back at it. A whole slew of topics are up for discussion, including why you should wear the same thing every single day, and why you shouldn’t lean on your elbow. They even manage to slip some poker-related material in, including tournament structures, angle shooting, and why Alex should not be allowed anywhere near a PLO tournament.

With the WSOP over, errant co-host Andrew Barber returns to the podcast, and he and Alex have some catching up to do. The two discuss their respective WSOP experiences and Alex’s bets, Andrew gives his take on last episode’s story about California card rooms, they go over some of the back stories of this year’s November Nine, and explore the mash-up variant known as Drawmaha. Finally, for strategy, they look at two examples of players hero-folding quads, one from this summer’s Main Event, and another from the 2012 Big One for One Drop.

Alex is joined by fellow PTP contributor Steve Ruddock, replacing Andrew Barber while the latter is busy with the WSOP. They discuss WSOP prop bets big and small, from Vanessa Selbst’s high-risk bracelet bets against Dzmitry Urbanovich and Jason Mercier, to Alex’s own little bets for a fun Main Event sweat. Steve also discusses some of the latest developments in the complex world of California gambling legislation, one of his areas of expertise. Finally, they go over a tough river decision faced by Safiya Umerova on her way to winning the WSOP $1500 Shootout. Will Alex end up berating Steve for being too nitty yet again?

Dr. Jaclyn Moskow’s recent allegations against Nolan Dalla, regarding events which took place on the set of Poker Night in America, have raised difficult questions for the poker world. It’s an uncomfortable conversation, but Alex and Andrew attempt to navigate it with the help of social worker Leah Freeman and poker player and writer Mariana Vamplew. They discuss the realities of being a woman in society and in poker, and why it’s so hard for everyone to talk about sexual harassment and assault. Afterwards, Andrew puts Alex in the hotseat with a hand he played in the $1500 WSOP Dealer’s Choice event.

Alex, Andrew and ‘the Poker Mutant’ Darrel Plant discuss the recent intergenerational poker Twitter feud, compare poker to Hearthstone and try to guess the age of this year’s WSOP Main Event winner. The three also review a listener’s hand, in which hero flops broadway on a monochrome board.

Alex and Andrew are joined by Justin Hammer, tournament coordinator at the Commerce Casino in LA to discuss experimental tournament formats. Other topics on the agenda include the outcome of the Spin-and-Go satellites to the EPT Grand Final in Monaco, the recent refunds disbursed by PokerStars to high stakes Spin-and-Go players, and a river decision by Mustapha Kanit that confused even pros like Vanessa Selbst.

The full unedited interview of Olivier Busquet about his MMA fight and poker in general.

Alex and Andrew talk to Olivier Busquet about his MMA fight, prop betting and the GPL, then are joined by PTP contributor Steve Ruddock for a debate about Mike Dentale's alleged collusion scandal.

Alex and Andrew take a look at the concept of risk aversion, and how it plays into wealth inequality. Meanwhile, one risky endeavor that seems to be paying off is the Global Poker League, which has had a very successful first two weeks. But when put into the shoes of a GPL player, will Andrew take the risky line on the river, or opt to play it safe?

So much has happened at PokerStars in the past two weeks that it was hard to fit into one episode. Alex and Andrew talk about the controversial rake hike, online satellites for the EPT Grand Final, the charges facing Amaya CEO David Baazov and more. They also take a look at a 2-7 Triple Draw variant that’s been popping up in high stakes cash games.

In this first episode of the PartTimePoker Podcast, PTP lead writer Alex Weldon and WSOP bracelet winner Andrew Barber talk about their own backgrounds, the defeat of world Go champion Lee Sedol by Google’s AlphaGo, and the controversy facing Ivan Luca after he found himself heads-up against his girlfriend Maria Lampropoulos at the end of a Eureka Poker Tour main event. These topics lead to discussion of the ethics of markup, AI bots and the future of online poker, and the issue of soft play in tournaments. Finally, in the strategy segment, Andrew critiques a hand in which Alex finds himself debating whether to make a thin river value bet in a low buy-in Mix-Max tournament.