Ep 16 - Josh McSwiney - Spinning up his last dollar, High Rake, Bad Games, Why & How To Fix it!

Josh McSwiney's Story

APL Million Wrap

2025 APL Million Pros & Cons

Australian Gambling Regulation

Unregulated Online Poker in Australia

Pokies/Slot Machines Australia

Josh and Co-Hosts Fire Up and Debate:

- Rake

- Tournament Structures & Solutions

- Tournament Bubbles & Solutions

Jackstar Structure & Rake

The Star & Crown Rake

Operator Transparency

Upcoming Events

Hosted by Australian Poker Schedule founder Craig Abernethy.

Co-host - Catherine Young

Co-host - Professional live and online poker player Troy Mclean.

The content and topics we discuss in this episode are all on the pulse!

Special Thanks

Joshua McSwiney

Troy McLean

Catherine Young

Edited & Produced by

Craig Abernethy

craigabernethy.com.au

In Memory

Haydn Josling

(17 February 1991 - 8 July 2025)

Australian Poker Schedule

https://australianpokerschedule.com.au

Project Sun Rub

@projectsunrun on Instagram

www.projectsunrun.com

Chapters

0:00 - Intro

5:46 - Meet Josh McSwiney, his poker story, getting into poker, the lows, the highs, spin-ups and everything in between

19:34 - $15M APL Million Series Wrap - The big winners

23:20 - 2025 APL Million Pros & Cons

30:09 - Australian Gambling Regulation

31:35 - Pokies/Slot Machines Australia

33:39 - Australian Laws & Online Poker Ban/Tobacco Taxes creating other issues

36:15 - Unregulated Online Poker in Australia

38:02 - Unbeatable Poker Tournaments due to Rake and Structures

40:14 - Examples of Negative EV unbeatable tournaments and the data behind them.

42:29 - Best game under $200 in Australia, $180 Self-Dealt APL Million Classic

43:23 - Pushing back with examples of why rake is higher in Australia

44:52 - Rising Costs that players have to contend with

46:20 - Required Bankroll to play poker to reduce risk of ruin and going bust

47:17 - Possible solutions players/dealers and operators compromising

52:57 - How poker structures also affect ROI and win rate, final stages of tournaments

55:53 - Structure Solutions: Blind Level Roll-backs

56:45 - Unjustified rake for 1 day tournaments vs 3+ day tournaments

58:39 - Structure Solutions: Shot-clocks and the tournament money bubble

1:01:52 - Feedback: $2,500 APL Centurion new and improved structure

1:04:06 - Transparency: Some operators still not disclosing full details including structures, rake and everything.

1:05:20 - Bubble Frustration and Solution: Shot-clocks

1:06:35 - Australia's insane casino rake, cash games, No service or comps

1:07:15 - Australia's high rake on turbo's and satellites

1:08:17 - Josh McSwiney career highlights, most important wins, running hot

1:09:54 - Josh's Main Event win at Stacked Adelaide, the venue, and experience at great value cheaper than the big cities

1:13:16 - Other poker in Australia, WPT Australia, APLPT $300K GTD Kedron-Wavell (Brisbane), Poker in Paradise at APL The Ville 600

1:14:40 - Josh's pro tips and advice on how to pick your stops, organisation, accommodation, flights, rake-back incentives.

1:16:00 - Episode Summary and Wrap Up

1:16:52 - Feedback and credit for Josh and ambassadors speaking up!

1:18:35 - Please subscribe