Still on something of a rehab assignment, I played another session of 1/3. Usually I play only an hour or two of it at the most. This time I went for close to 4 and a half hours split between two casinos, and actually came across some pretty tough spots. But the highlight of it all was the rage I felt towards a table that felt like a slow moving Internet game.

I'd never been interviewed before on another poker podcast for any reason. But I have been now. Chris Murray brought me on, and that show will be published over the next few days. I'll certainly make an announcement about it in my next episode, but keep an eye out for it in the meantime.

Also, as I've been struggling to recover my poker mojo, I finally got off my ass and played a few spurts of 1/3. As usual there's at least one person who can never figure out what the hell is going on, including when it's their turn to play poker.

I don't have a lot to talk about this week since I still refuse to play. So I just make fun of nits for a little while, then realize the importance of variance, and also dig up some old hand histories from the archives to discuss what can happen when you actually pay attention to the hands people show and the things they say.

In one of wildest final hands in WSOP Main Event history, I go over a little bit about the action that put Lucas Jumalon into the poker history books, plus some analysis of hands I played recently.

Lately, I haven't really been feeling the poker itch. I've been wanting to feel the itch, but you don't scratch parts of your body unless they're itching. If you do, you're weird. Or at least the act of doing that is weird. I don't know if forcing yourself to play poker when you don't really want to is AS weird, but either way, it's not something you want to be doing. So I've been agitated at the table more easily, although I've been keeping it pretty well internalized for a change. Still though, when you're running bad as I mostly have been the last couple of weeks worth of play, it makes no difference how strong your desire to play is. You're going to be some level of irritated.

Long time friend and veteran poker pro Mike Zulker returns to the Dead Money studios for his third visit. Here we begin with discussing some of the highlights from his 2026 WSOP.

But Mike has come a long way in his career., mostly through cash games. Through many ups and downs, he now finds himself as one of the co-game runners for the Must Be Nice (MBN) high limit game at the Aria.

Throughout this show, Mike goes over some tough hand histories, and talks about the importance of how everyone needs to be treated at a game of this magnitude. We also touch on what to watch out for when staking other players, and things to not get caught up in when playing with friends.

A recent subscriber asked that I go over my poker career and what happened en route to each of the stakes I played. Seeing as I don't exactly get overrun with questions and/or comments, I devoted most of this episode to answering this question.

But before I get into that, I left Las Vegas for a few days as the 2026 WSOP was winding down, and I dropped in for a brief 2/5 session at the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida. I enjoyed the igloo oops I mean poker room. Even if it was, hands down, the most frigid poker room I've ever been in. Brutal.

So the 2026 WSOP is finally winding down. You know that when you show up on a Saturday and it takes hours just to get a third 2/5 game going. It was a rather brutal day--the kind that takes something from you that's a hell of a lot more valuable than money has ever been.

I haven't bought into a tournament in 13 years, and it's about as quality a decision as I've ever made. But, I did back myself to play in the main event in both 2012 and 2013. The outcomes were none too boring to say the least. So here are the highlights from each main event, starting with what my mindset was throughout each tournament, and going over key hands....and you'll have a hard time believing what you're hearing. You'll understand why by the end.

As expected, it's been a wild scene at the cash games in the World Series of Poker. So here are some of the highlights from the wonky hands that have gone down playing 2/5 at the Wynn.

It's been a good WSOP so far in Las Vegas. The cash games have seen a ton of soft play. Tonight started with having to aggressively put other nitty players in their place for chastising the game for playing the same way he essentially was. Then you got guys agreeing to straddle and coming up with reasons why they shouldn't have to do it so they can get a free round out of it. Then you got dealers paying absolutely no attention as to what the hell is going on. Then you got young cocky WSOP douche bags coming in and clicking buttons. And other randoms looking to call down with any pair. Wass something of a street fight as overnight games are most prone to turn into. Well, I tried. But it was a rough night.