The Poker Grid: Recent Episodes
Jennifer Shahade
The Grid is a 169 episode poker hand scavenger hunt hosted by chess champion and PokerStars pro Jennifer Shahade. Jen interviews poker players about dramatic hands they’ve played, aiming to fill out all 169 possible starting poker hands, from the worst, seven-deuce offsuit to the best, pocket aces.
Jennifer brings the radiant Julie Anna Cornelius, known as “LuckyJadeJules”, to the GRID for a long-anticipated appearance. A force of nature on and off the felt, Jules brings a hand from the RunGood Stop in Council Bluffs, Iowa, where she found herself heads-up for a Main Event title. After battling back from a deficit heads-up, Jules found herself about even in chips with her opponent Abbas Pasha. With effective stacks around six million at 75K/150K blinds, Abbas opened the button to 300K. Jules three-bet to a million chips with Q10from the big blind, and saw a flop of 953 . She continued for one million and Abbas called. The turn brought the 8. With around pot behind, Jules shoved with her flush draw and gutter, for one of the biggest pots of her life. With dozens of friends and supporters cheering, Jules recounts what the big heads-up battle meant to her, and why it was such a perfect poker moment, even though she ended as runner-up.
Beyond her success at the poker tables, Jules is a former ballerina and a runner, and one of the most personable players on the tour. She shares how she’s found success in various areas, from taking up running later in life, to making friends everywhere she goes. They also talk about the upcoming NAPT in Las Vegas.
Now that Jules has discussed Queen-Ten suited, there are 81 hands remaining on the GRID. Browse other hands and see what’s left at: https://thepokergrid.com/episode-finder/
Mentioned on the Show:
Run Good Gear
Jules on Instagram
NAPT Las Vegas, November 3-12
Jen’s Summer Festival win
Yanjaa Wintersoul
Thinking Sideways (support the pod with a pre-order!)
The post The Grid 094 ft. Julie Anna Cornelius – Queen Ten Suited appeared first on The Poker Grid.
Urgent care physician and poker player Cindy Spier enters the GRID to discuss one of her impressive tournament victories. At the Senior’s Event at a WSOP circuit event in Pompano, Florida, Dr. Spier held Queen Seven Offsuit, once known as the “computer hand.” Three-handed for the ring, she was in the big blind facing a raise from the chip-leader. She three-bet her with queen seven offsuit and continued to play with the type of ruthless aggression which has earned her nine live tournament victories, for an incredible first place rate of over ten percent. In 2025 alone, she has won three WSOP Circuit rings.
After Jennifer and Cindy go over the hand, Cindy gives some insight into her success as a doctor and the decision-making skills and mindset tips she is able to transfer over to the poker table. A member of Jaka Coaching and Pocket Queens, Cindy also talks efficient study tips for busy adults.
Now that Dr. Cindy Spier has ticked off queen-seven offsuit, there are 82 hands remaining on the poker GRID. Browse other hands and see what’s left at: https://thepokergrid.com/episode-finder/
Related Links:
Pocket Queens Study Group
Pocket Queens on Instagram
Jaka Coaching
Cindy’s Hendon Mob 1st places
Jennifer’s upcoming book, Thinking Sideways
Upcoming NAPT in Las Vegas
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Jennifer Shahade welcomes author, poker player, science writer and commentator Alex O’Brien to the GRID. The two break down a hand from Jennifer’s final table at the Women’s Summer Festival, where she held Ten-Eight Offsuit in the big blind. The table had been nine handed for over an hour, and when the button opened, Jennifer made the ambitious call. When the flop came J9A rainbow, she check called a bet with her straight draw. A brick four completed the rainbow and after the action went check check, a deuce on the river came, leaving Jennifer with a choice: give up or bluff with her ten-high?
Alex and Jennifer also revisit a hand that they played together at the tag team event of the WSOP, where they played as the “Write-Offs.” The conversation also touches on Alex O’ Brien’s book, The Truth Detective: Lessons from Poker on Risk, Reward and Imperfect Information, and what it can teach us about the bluff to value ratio in life and in poker.
Now that Jennifer and Alex have discussed ten-eight offsuit, 83 hands remain on the poker GRID. Also see Peter Jetten discuss Ten-Eight here. Browse other hands and see what’s left at: https://thepokergrid.com/episode-finder/
Links mentioned in the show
Alex O Brien’s book the Truth Detective (UK links to her book.)
PokerStars Women’s Summer Festival full replay with comms by James Hartigan, Joe Stapleton and Caitlin Comeskey
Women’s Summer recap by Jennifer on her substack
Hippodrome Live Channel
Alex and Jennifer at the Tag Team Champs
Alex’s hand from the Women’s Winter Festival against Georgina James
Alex O Brien’s article for poker.org with strategy analysis by Dara O’Kearney
NAPT 2023 LVThe post The Grid 092 ft. Alex O’Brien – Ten-Eight Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.
Poker player and Innocence Center lawyer Claudia Salinas enters the GRID to talk about her very first livestreamed hand. Claudia’s friend Veronica Brill called her in as a last-minute replacement for a Ladies Night game at the Commerce casino. While engaged in client calls right up to showtime, Claudia arrived on set a little nervous to play with pros like Caitlin Comeskey, Christina “Baby Shark” Gollins and Tiffany Michelle as well as Veronica herself.
Facing Kasey “PokerMomma” Lyn Mills and Veronica Brill, Claudia found herself in a three-pot with pocket kings. And the news kept getting better and better when a king and two deuces hit the flop. Watch the hand here:
Claudia and Jen discuss the hand, and then move on to a deep dive into Salinas’ work as a lawyer at the Innocence Center to help free the innocent and the wrongfully incarcerated. Claudia also talks about her upcoming poker charity tournament All in for Justice on October 2nd, which also happens to be International Wrongful Conviction Day.
Now that Claudia has discussed pocket kings, 83 hands remain on the poker GRID. Also see poker dealer Jeffrey San Gabriel discuss kings here. Browse other hands and see what’s left at: https://thepokergrid.com/episode-finder/
Links Mentioned
Claudia’s Instagram account
Innocence Center Website
All-in-for Justice October 2nd Charity Event in Jamul Casino near San Diego
American Autopsy (book by Dr. Michael Baden)
2024 Innocence Project Gala that Jennifer attended as a guest of Linda Kenney Baden
Previous GRID episode with Matt Matros
Innocence Center Board member and exonoree Amanda Knox on Joe Rogan
The book Invisible Gorilla
Cheyanne Ivey of Ivey Solutions planning for the Innocence Project gala with Claudia Salinas
The post The Grid 091 ft. Claudia Salinas – Pocket Kings appeared first on The Poker Grid.
PokerStars Ambassador Nick Walsh enters the GRID with pocket nines, a dramatic hand that marked the beginning of passion for the Spin & Go format, a three handed turbo poker tournament with randomized prize pools. Nick was in a rush to grab dinner with his then girlfriend, when he decided to play just one more spin. And all of a sudden, he was playing for $150,000.
After discussing the pivotal hand, Jennifer and Nick discuss the strategy and mindset required for spins, and their veiled complexity. They also debate whether most players perform better or worse when they hit a high multiplier, or play for larger stakes than normal.
Now that Nick Walsh has discussed pocket nines there are 83 hands remaining on the Poker Grid. Browse other hands and see what’s left at: https://thepokergrid.com/episode-finder/
Links Discussed in the Show
Nick’s Discord
Spin & Go Championship set for EPT Barcelona
Kevin Rabichow Episode on the GRID
Follow Nick
The post The Grid 090 ft. Nick Walsh – Pocket Nines appeared first on The Poker Grid.
Jennifer brings WPT Champion, Triton analyst and renowned coach Kevin Rabichow to the GRID, to discuss a dramatic hand against Artur Martirosyan from this year’s 25K Heads-up WSOP event. A heads-up specialist with over 7 Million Dollars in combined live and online earnings, Kevin reveals his top exploits and what he’d love to see more of in future heads-up tournaments. He also explains why mid-stack can be the trickiest stack size, and in fact even more complex than the deep stack game.
Rabichow is hot off the release of his course, The Heads Up Edge: A Tactical Guide to Winning Tournaments: Dominate the Endgame. (You can use the code GRID for 20% off the course, which presents a five-hour crash course in heads-up theory and exploits.)
In round three of the 25K event, Kevin found himself facing high stakes pro Artur Martirosyan, a three-time WSOP bracelet winner with over 26 million dollars in cashes.
The hand was played in the very first level, so they had starting stacks (600K) at the 1K/2.5K blind level.
Kevin opens 65o on the button, and Artur calls.
FLOP [632r] Pot= 12k
Artur check calls Kevin’s 8K bet.
TURN: [4t] Pot=28k
Check check
RIVER: [7x] Pot=28K
Artur checks, Kevin bets 21K, only to get checkraised to 132K. In the episode, Kevin goes into depth about his thought process, his post-hand analysis and his impression’s of Artur’s heads-up game.
Now that Kevin Rabichow has discussed Six-Five Offsuit there are 84 hands remaining on the Poker Grid. Browse other hands at: https://thepokergrid.com/episode-finder/
Related Links:
Kevin’s new course: (USE code GRID for 20% off)
Jennifer’s upcoming book Thinking Sideways
Kevin’s previous appearance on the GRID
Kevin’s website
The post The Grid 089 ft. Kevin Rabichow– Six-Five Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.
Jennifer welcomes poet, host, chef, poker author and once mass-multitabler Katie Dozier to the GRID. Dozier brings a hand against Chris Moneymaker from a VIP PokerStars Sit N Go, from Katie’s days of strategizing how to squeak the most value out of her Supernova status. At the time, Katie held court on up to 50 tables at once as hotjenny314. In the hand against Moneymaker, Katie held only Five-Three Offsuit, but she was hungry for a bounty.
After discussing the hand, Katie generously shares two of her own poems, including Ten-Deuce Offsuit Rain, a tribute to Doyle Brunson. They also talk about what poetry and poker have in common, besides starting with the same two letters. For example, Katie points out that in ICM and in poetry word choice, the fewer chips or words you have, the more each increases in value. They also talk about how success in poker or poetry requires you become resilient to rejection.
Katie is an editor at the poetry magazine Rattle and co-hosts the Poetry Space podcast. Find her at https://linktr.ee/katie_dozier.
Dozier was a member of the poker playing quartet the Grindettes. You can also listen to Jamie Kerstetter and Katie Stone on previous episodes of the GRID.
Now that Katie Dozier has discussed Five-Three Offsuit there are 85 hands remaining on the Poker Grid. Browse other hands at: https://thepokergrid.com/episode-finder/
Also mentioned on the pod
Katie Stone
Jennifer’s upcoming book, Thinking Sideways:
The post The Grid 088 ft. Katie Dozier– Five Three Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.
Jennifer welcomes the one and only Jon “Apestyles” Van Fleet to the GRID to discuss a recent hand he played with King-Eight Offsuit. A man who stood the test of time in the poker world, Van Fleet is a well known coach, author, streamer and last but not least, a longtime crusher online and live with over 23 million dollars in poker winnings.
The hand in question arose on a busy Sunday grind—Jon was streaming on https://www.twitch.tv/apestylespoker when a fun hand popped up. In the early stages of a 6-max $600 tournament, Apestyles (34300, 56 BB) found himself in the big blind with [8c Ks] facing a 3x raise from the small blind.
FLOP [4h 6c 6d] Pot= 4050
His opponent in the hand, who went by “btcfomo” bet 20% pot, which Apestyles called.
TURN: [Jc] Pot=5670
after which Apestyle called another bet, this time a 30% pot size bet.
RIVER: [4s] = 9138.00
btcfomo bet yet again, but this time only 10% pot.
Apestyles went all in for his remaining 28K.
But was the shove any good? As usual, Apestyles has thoughts.
Perpetually curious about poker and all its theoretical and practical intricacies, Jennifer and Jon speak about his longevity in the game, his upcoming course on systematic studying, and his passion for chess. They also dig into ChatGPT and a funny back and forth Apestyles had with the LLM on analyzing this hand for the GRID.
Follow Jon Apestyles Fleet on twitch, his website and look out for his upcoming course on Apex Poker Systems with Tombos21 from GTO Wizard.
Now that Jon “Apestyles” Van Fleet has discussed King-Eight Offsuit there are 86 hands remaining on the Poker Grid. Also find Kelly Minkin on Episode 47, and browse other hands at: https://thepokergrid.com/episode-finder/
Pod Links:
Episode with Schwibbs
BBZ coaching: https://bbzpoker.com/
Jennifer’s new post on ChatGPT and chess.
The post The Grid 087 ft. Jon “Apestyles” Van Fleet– King-Eight Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.
PokerStars ambassador and Ontario crusher Arlie Shaban enters the GRID to discuss a hand from his first major online victory, the Hot 22. Holding 34 offsuit, he hit two pair on the flop? and was yearning for all that money to go in. Would his growing twitch crowd get one of Arlie’s epic celebrations?
After the hand, Jen and Arlie discuss how to treat poker as a business, Big Brother inspired tips on how to nail a job interview, and extreme challenges. Arlie also gives insights into effective poker study techniques.
Follow him on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/arlieshaban and Youtube.
Now that Arlie Shaban has discussed Three-Four Offsuit there are 86 hands remaining on the Poker Grid. Also find Landon Tice in episode 53, and browse other hands at: https://thepokergrid.com/episode-finder/
Discussed on the Pod:
Arlie’s Hot 22 Win Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_crC7D4CH8
Tunde and Shawn’s 64 hour chess challenge: https://jenshahade.substack.com/p/from-70-hours-to-70-seconds-a-record
Struggling for Points by Kerstin von Gabain https://taopoker.blogspot.com/2011/03/orphaned-cards.html
Arlie ShabanThe post The Grid 086 ft. Arlie Shaban– Three Four Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.
Jennifer welcomes high performance coach and poker champion Jason Su to the GRID. He is the author of the acclaimed book, Poker with Presence and most recently, The Joy of Poker: Win More, Be Happy.
Jason talks about a hand in the early orbits of a $2.5k off strip side event. He defended the big blind with queen eight of hearts against a tough opponent in early position. They saw a flop with Jack of hearts five of clubs deuce of hearts. After check calling the flop, a queen of spades hits the turn, giving Jason top pair along with his draw. The river brought an offsuit six, after which Jason faced an unexpectedly large bet: 4300 into 5300. After pondering whether to call or fold, a third option occurred to Jason…
After the hand, they talk about some of Jason’s top tools for building presence and joy in his clients. “Being present is not a trait—it’s a skill”, Jason writes in the Joy of Poker.
Now that Jason Su has discussed Queen-Eight Suited, there are 86 hands remaining on the Poker Grid. Browse other hands and see what is left: https://thepokergrid.com/episode-finder/
Discussed on the Pod:
Jason’s new book, now available on amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Joy-Poker-Win-More-Happy-ebook/dp/B0F75RNRJF?ref_=ast_author_mpb
Jason’s performance coaching: https://www.pokerwithpresence.com/coaching
The GRID Episode 82 with new Triton Champ Xuan Liu: https://thepokergrid.com/2025/04/26/the-grid-082-ft-xuan-liu-king-seven-suited/
The post The Grid 085 ft. Jason Su– Queen Eight Suited appeared first on The Poker Grid.
Eddy Goldman, founder of Chess Ninja London, poker pro and musician enters the GRID with seven-deuce suited. Eddy has had a very storied life, from a jail cell in Singapore, to streamed games at the Hippodrome.
Eddy talks to us about a hand he played in April 2025 at the Irish Open cash games. With a bonus bounty at stake, Eddy was thrilled to turn trip deuces…only to get some bad news when his opponent showed.
After the hand, Eddy talks about what he learned from his experience in jail, and what blitz chess can teach us about becoming better poker players. We also discussed partnering up for the 50/50 event at the Women’s Winter Festival in London.
Now that Eddy Goldman has discussed Seven-Deuce Suited, there are 87 hands remaining on the Poker Grid. Browse other hands and see what is left: https://thepokergrid.com/episode-finder/
Discussed:
Hippodrome Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/@HippodromeLivePoker
Chess ninja: https://www.instagram.com/chessninja_london/
Play Like a Champion: https://geni.us/PlayLikeAChampion
The post The Grid 084 ft. Eddy Goldman– Seven-Deuce Suited appeared first on The Poker Grid.
Jennifer welcomes poker dealer and writer Jeffrey San Gabriel on the GRID to talk about dealing a famous hand at the 2024 World Series of Poker Main Event. The fateful four-bet hand featured Will Berry (in the hijack) and Adrian Mateos (on the button). Jeffrey dealt a flop of Q4 2 and Berry bet 425,000 into a pot of 1.36 Million chips. Mateos called. The turn was the 10 of spades and Berry bet 1.3 Million into 2.2 Million. After a little thought, Mateos folded. It was only later that Jeffrey realized he dealt such a dramatic hand: Mateos was holding pocket kings, which he laid down correctly to Berry’s aces.
Jeffrey and Jen move on to Jeffrey’s new substack, “Thinking in the Box”, his pet peeves at the table, and his thoughts on slide-dealing, which is being rolled out at EPTs, with an eye toward full adoption by EPT Barcelona. They also discuss Jeffrey’s most positive experiences dealing, and his tips on tips.
Now Jeffrey San Gabriel has discussed kings, there are 88 hands remaining on the poker GRID. Browse other hands https://thepokergrid.com/episode-finder/
Discussed:
The famous Mateos hand: Video | Facebook
Jeffrey’s substack: https://pokerdealerjeff.substack.com/
Jen’s substack: https://jenshahade.substack.com/
Photo by Matthew Berglund
The post The Grid 083 ft. Jeffrey San Gabriel – Kings appeared first on The Poker Grid.
Today we welcome to the GRID poker pro and a Global Poker Award winner Xuan Liu. Xuan is a powerhouse on the felt, earning over 2.4 Million dollars in live tournament earnings, including final tables at EPT San Remo and the PCA. Now she is a regular in high stakes cash games and streams all over the globe, including this hand, played at the WPT World Championship at the Wynn.
The Squid game was in play, also known as the Stand-Up Game. In this action-packed format, players are incentivized to play lots of hands to earn a squid token or the right to sit down. Otherwise, they have to pay a bounty to each player at the table.
Xuan held King Seven of Clubs in the small blind and with a squid token at stake, it was plenty strong enough to get involved with her friend Peter, who isolated in the straddle. The flop came out Queens of clubs, jack of clubs, and ten of hearts and as the pot approached six figures, Xuan knew what she had to do.
After going over the hand and the nuts and bolts of Squid strategy, Xuan and Jennifer move on to discuss the power and limits of randomization, in poker and in life. Xuan also talks about her successful quest to play poker in every Canadian province, while on a tight budget.
Now that Xuan Liu has discussed King Seven suited, there are 89 hands remaining on the Poker Grid. See which combos are left: https://thepokergrid.com/episode-finder/ Follow Xuan’s adventures at https://www.youtube.com/@XuanLiu
Other Links Mentioned:
Xuan’s YouTube video on this session
Jennifer’s post on the MIT panel with Jen, Xuan, Alex Botez and Nate Silver. https://jenshahade.substack.com/p/hot-hands-and-cold-decks-on-fire
Xuan’s GPA award winning hand from the Lodge Poker Club
The post The Grid 082 ft. Xuan Liu – King-Seven Suited appeared first on The Poker Grid.
Five-time author and three-time WSOP bracelet winner Matt Matros returns to the GRID to discuss a hand from his latest book,Twenty four NLHE Tournament Hands from 2024: A Year of Nitty Folds and Daring Bluffs.
The hand was played in Philadelphia, where both Jennifer and Matt head to next week for the PokerStars Philadelphia Open.
Matt Matros, 70 big blinds deep with his opponent, raised Ace-Four of spades from the hijack which was met by a three-bet on the cutoff. Matt called and they saw a flop of 653 rainbow with one spade. Matt check called a 2/3 pot bet on the flop. The turn brought the three of spades, which was checked through. The river was yet another three, and Matros went all in, for 1.5x pot. As his opponent tanked, Matt had plenty of time to think about ranges in what he ultimately calls his “favorite hand of the year.”
Beyond the hand, Jen and Matt discuss the stickiness of results-oriented thinking, Matt’s poker writing style and the limitations of solvers when analyzing live poker hands.
They also talk about Matt’s next big career move, as he heads to law school in his 40s. Matt is another example of someone who proves it’s never too late to play your best poker, or to make a big life move. “Don’t let some number on your driver’s license dictate what you’re going to do.”
Find Matt’s books at https://www.amazon.com/stores/Matt-Matros/author/B001IQUJOW
Now that Matt Matros has covered ace-four suited, there are 90 hands remaining on the poker GRID. See which combos are left: https://thepokergrid.com/episode-finder/ For bonus GRID content, check out https://jenshahade.substack.com/
The post The Grid 081 ft. Matt Matros – Ace-Four Suited appeared first on The Poker Grid.
Alex “Schwibbs” Schwint is a PokerStars USA crusher. He’s won titles in nearly every PA series there is to win from PASCOOP to PACOOP to Winter Series. With a WSOP bracelet and two circuit rings, the wins keep coming–he event won a seat to the 2025 Irish Open on PokerStars PA.
We welcome him to the GRID to discuss two hands from a PokerStarsPA Scoop Warm-Up that he won for 21K. Coincidentally, both hands were with Ace-Six Suited, and match the suits of two recent posts by Jennifer Shahade, hearts and spades.
In the first, Schwibbs held Ace Six , at the final table—he already had a nice chip lead, with 70 big blinds with a table average of 40. Another PokerStars PA regular, R-hart215 (30 Big blinds) opened in first position, and Schwibbs called in the small blind. The flop came King Nine Six and Schwibbs check called a small bet. The turn was the six and when R-Hart215 made another small bet, Schwibbs check raised. When the Nine hit on the river, Schwibbs went all in, after which he got a tank fold. After we recorded the podcast, Scwhibbs’ opponent kindly revealed his holding: pocket jacks.
After discussing another ace-six suited hand history from the very same event—this one a four bet preflop—Schwibbs and Jen move on to general tips on poker study and a breakthrough lesson he had with BBZ poker. He also talks about his forays into live poker, and why he’s so passionate about coaching.
Follow Scwhibbs at https://x.com/SchwibbsPoker, or find him on the PokerStars PA streets.
Now that Scwhibbs has covered ace-six suited, there are 91 hands remaining on the poker GRID. Use our episode finder to see which combos are left: https://thepokergrid.com/episode-finder/ For bonus GRID content, check out https://jenshahade.substack.com/
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High stakes tournament crusher Sam Greenwood enters the GRID to discuss a deep hand with Ace-Deuce offsuit from a recent event in Triton Jeju. The hand kicks off Sam’s new substack, where he takes us on a tour of the many mishaps that even elite performers make:
https://samgreenwoodpoker.substack.com/
As he puts it: “I’ve played millions of hands of poker and cashed for millions of dollars in tournaments, but I’ve also made millions of mistakes along the way. Everyday on this Substack I am going to revisit the mistakes I’ve made.”
This hand came from level one of a 20K tournament. Sam opened the button with A2and Boris Angelov defended the BB. The board ran out QT4 J2. Sam walks us through each decision, his flop sizing, and turn and river bets, ultimately explaining why he gave himself a D+ for the hand.
Sam and Jennifer go on to discuss the importance of hand histories in the age of solvers, his writing inspirations, and the enduring anxiety of ace-king offsuit.
Find the Punt of the Day at https://samgreenwoodpoker.substack.com/
Now that Sam Greenwood has discussed the corner piece ace-deuce offsuit, there are 92 hands left on the Poker Grid. Use our episode finder to see which combos are left: https://thepokergrid.com/episode-finder/
The post The Grid 079 ft. Sam Greenwood – Ace-Deuce Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.
Dan “DrDadPoker” Schill enters the GRID to talk about a cash game hand from the show No Gamble, No Future, where he got tangled up in a big pot with 17-time WSOP Champion Phil Hellmuth.
Dan and Jennifer go on to talk about what he’s learned about efficient study and poker strategy in the past year, and what he still wants to work on. They also touch on hot streaks-seeJennifer’s recent essay for another take on poker heaters: https://jenshahade.substack.com/
You can watch the hand, and the entire stream on PokerStars’ YouTube channel
Follow Dan’s twitch streams, including coverage of USA SCOOPS. Now that Dan Schill has covered nine-eight offsuit, there are 93 hands left on the Poker Grid. Use our interactive episode finder to see which combos are left:
The post The Grid 078 ft. Dan “DrDadPoker” Schill – Nine-Eight Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.
Judy Whitlow enters the GRID to talk to Jennifer about playing her first poker tournament at the age of 75, and why it’s never too late to learn something new or follow your dreams. That tournament was where Judy and Jennifer met, and they’ve been friends ever since. Judy has also become a regular on the tour. She’s played everywhere from European Poker tour stops in Prague and Barcelona to NAPT Las Vegas and the Women’s Winter Festival in London.
Whitlow brings a hand with pocket sevens, from her favorite stop, EPT Monte Carlo.
Sevens is a special hand for Judy these days, as she’s now 77 and plays them every chance she gets.
They also discuss Judy’s successful career in design and construction, what “playing like a girl” really means, and what attracts Judy to another new hobby: chess.
Judy Whitlow joins Perpetual Podcast host Ben Johnson in discussing 77 on the GRID. 94 hands remain. Use our interactive episode finder to see which combos are left.
Look for bonus content for this episode on Jennifer’s substack including a preflop lesson with Judy.
EPT Monte Carlo 2024 Party, Photo Danny Maxwell/Rational HoldingsThe post The Grid 077 ft. Judy Whitlow – Pocket Sevens appeared first on The Poker Grid.
Abby “Abbypoker” Merk enters the GRID to talk about a hand that has been haunting her for two years. Nearing the bubble at the 2023 WSOP Main Event, she faced off high stakes tournament pro Stephen Chidwick in a ballooning pot that would put all her chips at risk. As Abby retells the stress of the moment, and the logic that led to her decision, Jennifer surprises Abby with Stevie’s take on the hand.
Abby Merk is a poker pro and the 2024 Global Poker Award winner for Rising Star in Content Creation. Follow her everywhere @abbypoker. Also thanks to Stephen Chidwick, who is a coach at Octopi Poker, for his contribution to this episode.
Sub to the GRID on your favorite platform, and sign up for Jennifer’s substack, Games and the GRID: https://jenshahade.substack.com/ for bonus content
Hand:
Abby (CO): ~65BB
BB (Stephen Chidwick): Covers
Preflop: Abby raises a little over 2BB from the CO with A Q, BB calls.
Pot: 6 BB
Flop: A K 7
Chidwick checks, Abby bets 1.5BB, Chidwick calls.
Pot: 9 BB
Turn: Q
Chidwick checks, Abby bets 8BB, Chidwick raises to 30BB, Abby calls.
Pot: 69 BB
River: 4
Chidwick moves all-in (32 BB effective)….What would you do?
Photo credit matt burgland
The post The Grid 076 ft. Abby Merk – Ace Queen Suited appeared first on The Poker Grid.
Welcome back to the GRID podcast!
Our re-launch kicks off with Hendon mob founder and PokerStars Pro Barny Boatman. Barny relates a pivotal hand in his historic victory at the 2024 European Poker Tour stop in Paris.
Barny Boatman by Danny Maxwell, who won the 2024 Global Poker Award for this photo
With 19 players remaining, Barny was put to the ultimate test by the chip-leader. He held jack-nine suited in the big blind and faced max pressure on a board of J 8 3 2 2. A fold guaranteed survival. A call meant seizing the chip lead, and a fighting chance at all the glory. Boatman recalls the thoughts and intuition that led him to what he calls his “sliding door moment.”
Now that Barny Boatman has checked off Jack-Nine suited, 95 hands remain on the GRID. Use our interactive episode finder to see which hands have been clicked off, and which are waiting to be hunted down.
For bonus GRID content and essays on chess, poker and decision making, sign up for Jennifer’s substack: https://jenshahade.substack.com/
The post The Grid 075 ft. Barny Boatman – Jack-Nine Suited appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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.
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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.
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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:
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James Tedrow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09vHR0o9AfA
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Davis Harari: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DnqsnFilg8PFe-KByNpVTaz9KecCmi4R/edit
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Nicole Pamela Cervenka: https://vimeo.com/780795467/78200df845
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Matt Glassman: https://mattglassman.substack.com/p/j-3-offsuit-and-the-monster-ballads
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Dan Schill: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0Rx4T8wYy0
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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.
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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/
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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/
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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...
The post The Grid 071 ft. Nate Solon – Pocket Threes appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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...
The post The Grid 070 ft. Wey Xie – Jack-Six Suited Ace-Queen offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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...
The post The Grid 069 x The Chip Race ft. Jen Shahade – Jack-Six Suited appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
The post The Grid 067 ft. Angela Jordison – Ace-Eight Suited. appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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...
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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...
The post The Grid 065 ft. Katie Stone – Pocket-Fours appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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...
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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...
The post The Grid 063.5 Bonus Episode ft. Jennifer on the Poker Side of Chess Queens appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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...
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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...
The post The Grid 062 ft. Keith Becker – King-Ten Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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-...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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 post The Grid 059 ft. Dara O’Kearney – King-Six Suited appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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...
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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...
The post The Grid 058 ft. Jordan Ellenberg – Five-Deuce Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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...
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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...
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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...
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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,...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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Trigger warning: this episode of the GRID contains recollections of abuse, suicidal ideation and rape. Please share the National Suicide Prevention Line 1-800-273-8255 or text HOME to 741741 for 24/7 help.
Over the past few weeks, hundreds of articles have been written about the Queen’s Gambit and “real life Beth Harmons” or “the IRL Queen’s Gambit.”
In a holiday bonus episode of the GRID, we welcome someone with more than an incidental resemblance to Beth Harmon, chess champion and games player Diana Lanni. Diana intersected with Walter Tevis in the 80s in New York City, where they were both regulars at clubs like the Game Room and Washington Square Park. Diana was the only strong female player in those arenas, where she drew huge crowds to watch her blitz prowess.
In this podcast interview, we delve deeper into Diana’s wild New York days, while also surveying some of her adventures and triumphs on the tour from her US Championship outings to playing 2nd board for the US in the 1982 Olympiad.
In a blog for chess.com, Batgirl, hits on key parallels between Beth and Diana. “(Walter) Tevis was undoubtedly quite aware of Diana, her childhood, her problems and her obvious talent. In a world populated almost entirely of men, a woman stands out.”
Diana also details trauma, abuse and addictions she overcame in this episode, which is not appropriate listening for children.
My first book, Chess Bitch, also covered Diana’s life in some detail, from a high stakes chess game for cocaine in a Miami strip club to a rehab stay at the Bellevue Hospital in New York. Diana later got involved in sports betting and even had a stint in jail while in California, after which she was inspired to walk a very straight line.
Diana credits chess itself for her recovery, as the “The logic of chess was an alternative system to the chaos of life.” This mirrors Beth Harmon’s passion for the chessboard, “It’s an entire world of just 64 squares. I feel safe in it. I can control it. I can dominate it. And it’s predictable, so if I get hurt, I only have myself to blame.”
The GRID itself is about how artifice and structure can make sense of chaos and endless possibilities. And how in the best cases, games like chess and poker offer the solace of deep focus and a community that can become like family. And in both the Queen’s Gambit, and Diana Lanni’s story, we see that side of chess, and its potential to lift and connect, when traditional structures fail.
Thank you for listening to the GRID and we look forward to clicking off more cells while also posting more bonus episodes in 2021. Till then, don’t forget to subscribe and share your favorite GRID episodes, and a little holiday cheer.
Further Reading:
Chess Bitch, Women in the Ultimate Intellectual Sport
Batgirl’s Blog on chess.com
Walter Tevis by David Hill for the Ringer https://www.theringer.com/tv/2020/11/9/21555790/the-queens-gambit-netflix-book-walter-tevis
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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....
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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...
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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...
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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...
The post The Grid 049 ft. Linda Johnson – Six-Deuce Suited appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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....
The post The Grid 048 ft. Lee Davy – Ten-Eight Suited appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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...
The post The Grid 047 ft. Kelly Minkin – King-Eight Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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....
The post The Grid 046 ft. Michael Acevedo – Eight-Deuce Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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...
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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...
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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...
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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,...
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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...
The post The Grid 041 ft. Soheb Porbandarwala – Queen-Deuce Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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...
The post The Grid 040 ft. Kenneth “K.L.” Cleeton – on Jack-Seven Suited appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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...
The post The Grid 039 ft. Stephen “Jorbs” Flavall – on Four-Deuce Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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...
The post The Grid 038 ft. Liv Boeree – on Ace-Seven Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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...
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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...
The post The Grid 036 ft. Chris Moneymaker – Five-Three Suited appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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...
The post The Grid 035 ft. Kara Scott – Seven-Six Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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...
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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....
The post The Grid 033 ft. Bill Chen – Queen-Jack Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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...
The post The Grid 032 ft. Terrence Chan – Three-Deuce Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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...
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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...
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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....
The post The Grid 029 ft. Femi Fashakin – King-Nine Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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...
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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...
The post The Grid 027 ft. Ben Johnson – Pocket-Sevens appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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 post The Grid 026 ft. Dan Dvoress – Ace-Five Suited appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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...
The post The Grid 025 ft. Ben Yu – Jack-Eight Suited appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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....
The post The Grid 024 ft. Trevor Savage – Six-Nine Suited appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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...
The post The Grid 023 ft. Andrew Lichtenberger – seven-four offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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...
The post The Grid 022 ft. Helen Ellis – Seven-Eight suited appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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...
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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...
The post The Grid 020 ft. Peter Jetten – Ten-Eight Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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...
The post The Grid 019 ft. James Altucher – Eight-Five Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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...
The post The Grid 018 ft. Mike “the Hat” Glick – Queen-Nine Suited appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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 post The Grid 017 ft. Nick Schulman – Jack-Four Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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...
The post The Grid 016 ft. Joshua Abady – Queen-Jack Suited appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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...
The post The Grid 015 ft. Peter Svidler – Ace-Seven of Diamonds appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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...
The post The Grid 014 ft. Muskan Sethi – Jack-nine offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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,...
The post The Grid 012 ft. Dan Smith – Pocket-Sixes appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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...
The post The Grid 011 ft. Matt Berkey – Queen-Five Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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”...
The post The Grid 010 ft. Carlos Welch – King-Queen Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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...
The post The Grid 009 ft. Aleeyah Jadavji – Ace-Jack Suited appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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...
The post The Grid 008 ft. Jake Abdalla – Eight-Deuce suited appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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,...
The post The Grid 007 ft. Matt Matros – Jack-deuce suited appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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...
The post The Grid 006 ft. Greg Shahade – Ace-Nine suited appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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...
The post The Grid 005 ft. Ryan Laplante – King Queen Suited appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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. ...
The post The Grid 004 ft. Maria Konnikova – Seven Deuce Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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...
The post The Grid 003 ft. Jamie Kerstetter – Aces appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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...
The post The Grid 002 ft. Kevin Rabichow – Ten Five Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.
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....
The post The Grid 001 ft. Lex Veldhuis – King Four Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.