Poker in the Ears

By PokerStars

What's Poker in the Ears about?

Every week, the hosts of PokerStars TV (James Hartigan and Joe Stapleton) bring you a behind-the-scenes look at what it's like being two regular folks on the international poker circuit. Told from the perspective of a cranky British dad (Hartigan) and an undateable American bachelor (Stapes), Poker in the Ears is a mostly uncensored take on the world of professional poker. The hosts also regularly call in favours, in the form of guest spots from their big-shot celebrity poker-playing friends. And they routinely hold on-air competitions, providing chances for listeners to join them on tour.

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286. Steve Preiss (VP, Poke...

09.29.2023

Big things are happening in the USA. The inaugural #NACOOP has been a huge success. Maria Konnikova, author of 'The Biggest Bluff', is returning as an ambassador. The North American Poker Tour is coming back after more than a decade. ...

Poker in the Ears episodes:

09.29.2023 286. Steve Preiss (VP, PokerStars North America) and WCOOP update with Howard Swains Big things are happening in the USA. The inaugural #NACOOP has been a huge success. Maria Konnikova, author of 'The Biggest Bluff', is returning as an ambassador. The North American Poker Tour is coming back after more than a decade. ...
09.21.2023 285. The Adults with Dustin Defa, WCOOP update with Howard Swains and Superfan Jack Sinclair For their latest Poker Movie Monday (recorded on a Wednesday, released on a Thursday), James and Joe discuss 'The Adults', starring former #PITE guest Michael Cera. They talk to the film's writer-director Dustin Defa about the importance of poker to ...
09.14.2023 284. EPT Barcelona champion Simon Wiciak and WCOOP update with Howard Swains James and Joe have a lot to get through in this extended episode of the podcast. In addition to recapping #EPTBarcelona, and speaking to Main Event champion Simon Wiciak, Joe talks about a "lively” comedy night in west London and ...
08.24.2023 283. EPT Barcelona preview with Fabiano Kovalski James and Joe are about to head to Spain for the next stop on the European Poker Tour. That means it's time for the #EPTBarcelona Preview Show! They run through the streaming schedule – eight days of cards-up coverage on ...
08.17.2023 282. WSOP 2023 recap with Nate Silver James and Joe are back from their break, ready to reveal what happened in Las Vegas this summer. Both played the World Series of Poker Main Event for the first time, with different expectations and experiences. Spoiler alert: neither of ...
07.21.2023 281. Blackbird and Lucky You with Matt Savage In this summer special (recorded a few weeks ago), James and Joe look at two "iconic” poker movies. They revisit 'Lucky You' (first reviewed in Episode 103) in the company of one of the film's consultants and stars: tournament director ...
06.29.2023 280. WSOP Main Event preview with Lon McEachern James and Joe are both preparing to travel to Vegas to play the $10k World Series of Poker Main Event. James is excited. Joe is incredibly stressed. So, they enlist the services of legendary broadcaster Lon McEachern – the voice ...
06.23.2023 279. WSOP 2023 update with Jeff Platt After a two-week break – during which they spent some time together in LA – James and Joe are back, catching up on what's been happening at the 2023 World Series of Poker. They enlist the services of PokerGo's Jeff ...
06.02.2023 278. SCOOP 2023 recap with Howard Swains With the 2023 Spring Championship of Online Poker in the books, James and Joe take a retrospective look at the series and review the headline stats and stories with their #SCOOP Correspondent Howard Swains. Plus, the guys briefly discuss some ...
05.26.2023 277. Between the Lines with Will Courtenay (Head of Race Strategy, Oracle Red Bull Racing) This week's podcast focusses on the release of the new video series 'Between the Lines', a collaboration between PokerStars and Oracle Red Bull Racing. James and Joe analyse the first episode (available to watch on the PokerStars YouTube channel and ...
05.19.2023 276. EPT Monte-Carlo champion Mike Watson + SCOOP Correspondent Howard Swains James and Joe start this week's podcast paying tribute to Doyle Brunson, 'The Godfather of Poker', who's died at the age of 89. They then recap their trip to Monaco and talk to the #EPTMonteCarlo Main Event champion: two-time European ...
04.27.2023 275. EPT Monte-Carlo preview with former champ Manig Loeser James and Joe are heading to Monaco for the PokerStars EPT Presented by Monte-Carlo Casino, so look ahead to seven days of live streams on Twitch and YouTube (April 30-May 6) and talk to former champion Manig Loeser, who won ...
04.19.2023 274. The Science of SCOOP with Steve Clarricoats (Head of Poker Operations for PokerStars Global Market) With the 2023 Spring Championship of Online Poker just around the corner (May 7-31), James and Joe go behind-the-scenes at PokerStars to talk to the man responsible for planning, scheduling, building and running every tournament series on the global site. ...
04.14.2023 273. Irish Poker Open 2023 champion David Docherty The guys are back from Dublin, where they worked on the live stream and played at the tables at the Irish Poker Open. Joe entered a couple of small side events, while James fired three bullets (courtesy of PokerStars) in ...
04.06.2023 272. Irish Poker Open preview with Fintan Hand Joe has a VERY special surprise for James on this week's podcast. The guys are heading to Dublin for the 2023 #IrishOpen (well, Joe's actually already there) and look ahead to the IPO Main Event with Fintan Hand, who made ...
03.30.2023 271. Sunday Million 17th Anniversary recap with Nick Walsh The Sunday Million has celebrated its 17th birthday, and James and Joe are celebrating the success stories of a couple of players. They recap their live coverage of the #SundayMillionAnniversary in the company of Nick Walsh, who faded commentary duties ...
03.23.2023 270. Phil Galfond With so much happening in the poker world in the first quarter of the year, James and Joe have had to postpone their annual pop culture special. Now, the guys are finally able to take a deep dive into the ...
03.16.2023 269. Global Poker Award winner Caitlin Comeskey Joe has just returned from ANOTHER trip to Vegas, where he was helping host a group of Red Spade Pass winners from Toronto. He talks about the experience that PokerStars provided, including VIP tickets to a couple of NBA games ...
03.09.2023 268. EPT Paris recap with winner Razvan Belea and runner-up Peter Jorgne The guys are just back from Las Vegas, where James was named Best Broadcaster at the #GlobalPokerAwards, so share some stories from their trip, mostly relating to spending/losing a lot of money. They also recap their slightly-less-recent voyage to France ...
02.16.2023 267. Bahamas recap with PSPC finalist Niclas Thumm Lots to get through on this week's show. James and Joe recap an exciting, eventful and exhausting #PCA2023 and #PSPC, in the company of Niclas Thumm, the #PlatinumPass winner from Germany who came sixth in the PokerStars Players No Limit ...
01.19.2023 266. Platinum Pass giveaway and PCA/PSPC preview with Griffin Benger Here we go! James and Joe give away the final #PlatinumPass before the Bahamas. Find out who from the #PITE community is going to #PCA2023 to play the $25k PokerStars Players No Limit Hold'em Championship. Before that, the guys are ...
01.12.2023 265. Chase Your Dream: The Reunion, plus Platinum Pass giveaway An exciting show with an incredible opportunity. In their first podcast of 2023, James and Joe catch up with the 'Platinum Five': the first players to qualify for the forthcoming #PSPC. Clement, Adrian, Christoph, Danielle and Daryl came to Barcelona ...
12.08.2022 264. EPT Prague preview with Steve O'Dwyer It's the last episode of the year, and there's lots to discuss. With #EPTPrague getting underway, the guys look ahead to the final European Poker Tour stop of 2022 and their five days of live coverage of the Main Event ...
12.01.2022 263. Poker Face with Jon 'PearlJammer' Turner This week, James and Joe discuss 'Poker Face'. Not the song by Lady Gaga. Not the upcoming TV series created by Rian Johnson. But the 2022 film, co-written by, directed by and starring Russell Crowe. Yes, it's a Poker Movie ...
11.24.2022 262. Poker in the USA with David Kaye Joe is back from a live poker series in San Diego. He provides James with a field report and a few hand histories, including an accidental angle shoot which led to a controversial ruling (let us know your thoughts: psta.rs/Discord). ...
11.17.2022 261. Daniel 'Jungleman' Cates Welcome to the Jungle! The legendary Daniel 'Jungleman' Cates is the guest on this week's podcast, discussing how he's changed as a person since the days of the nosebleeds on Stars and Tilt, his interest in music and charity, the ...
11.11.2022 260. WCOOP 2022 recap A few weeks later than originally planned, James and Joe are able to draw a line under #WCOOP, and provide a full recap of the 2022 World Championship of Online Poker. Having spent three consecutive nights covering the $10k Main ...
11.03.2022 259. EPT London recap with Main Event finalist Dan Chisu Following their week of live streams from the UK capital, Joe is back in LA and James is in Malta "on PokerStars business.” They look back at #EPTLondon 2022, summarising the key winners and recapping the Main Event, a tournament ...
10.20.2022 258. EPT London preview with former champ Robin Ylitalo It's the #EPTLondon preview show. James and Joe look ahead to the European Poker Tour festival at the Hilton Park Lane, summarising their streaming schedule (on the PokerStars Twitch and YouTube channels) and providing the headline details of the accompanying ...
10.13.2022 257. Analysing Joe Stapleton with Maria Ho In the wake of new revelations and dramatic developments, James and Joe revisit the controversy surrounding the hand between Robbi Jade Lew and Garrett Adelstein on Hustler Casino Live. They also get the thoughts of this week's guest, Maria Ho. ...
10.06.2022 256. Sam Grafton on Robbi Jade Lew cheating allegations and winning $5.5m In the wake of the most controversial "hero call” of all time – a hand on Hustler Casino Live that has provoked allegations of cheating – James and Joe enlist the help of high stakes pro Sam Grafton to analyse ...
09.29.2022 255. DDoS attack on WCOOP Main Event Sunday: Chris Straghalis, Director of Online Poker Experience at PokerStars This was meant to be the #WCOOP 2022 recap episode. But the agenda changed on Sunday 25th September when there was a malicious Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack on PokerStars, resulting in the cancellation of all World Championship of ...
09.23.2022 254. WCOOP 2022 double-champ Benny 'RunGodlike' Glaser + Howard Swains Three weeks into the 2022 World Championship of Online Poker, James and Joe take stock of the series so far with Howard Swains from the PokerStars Blog. Plus, they speak to UK pro Benny 'RunGodlike' Glaser, who's having a solid ...
09.02.2022 253. EPT Barcelona champion Giuliano Bendinelli and WCOOP preview James and Joe recap a hugely successful #EPTBarcelona, re-living the highs (an incredible turnout, a series of entertaining live streams) and the lows (James getting sick, lightning striking the venue). Plus, they speak to the winner of the record-breaking EPT ...
08.11.2022 252. EPT Barcelona preview with Hossein Ensan In their final summer special, James and Joe look ahead to #EPTBarcelona 2022. The guys will be kept busy, with eight days of live streaming from the birthplace of the European Poker Tour (August 14th – 21st on the PokerStars ...
07.14.2022 251. The Man with the Golden Arm with Nick Peine In their second summer special, James and Joe are joined by actor and poker fan Nick Peine ('A.P. Bio', 'Office Christmas Party') to review a gambling-themed film from 1955. Yes, it's a Poker Movie Monday (on a Wednesday, released on ...
06.24.2022 250. Catching cheats with Francis Lincoln, Head of Game Integrity at PokerStars In the first of their #PITE summer specials, James and Joe tackle the serious subject of cheating in online poker. This comes in the wake of some high-profile cases involving the use of real-time assistance software. So, how big a ...
06.09.2022 Episode 249 – 09/06/2022 – Platinum Pass winners Colm Chan and Toke Gerding Jensen James and Joe reflect on the changes announced to the #SundayMillion and the first few days of the #WSOP in Las Vegas, before focussing on #PSPC 2023. They look ahead to the PokerStars Players No Limit Hold'em Championship – now ...
06.03.2022 Episode 248 – 03/06/2022 – SCOOP 2022 ME winner 'WElcomeINnferNO', plus Rayan 'Beriuzy' Chamas and Howard Swains With the Spring Championship of Online Poker now in the books, James and Joe present their #SCOOP 2022 recap. They're joined by Howard Swains from the PokerStars Blog to provide the key stats and headline stories from the series. Plus, ...
05.20.2022 Episode 247 – 20/05/2022 – SCOOP 2022 champs 'easywithaces' and 'Senkel92' + Howard Swains It's an incredibly busy month for James and Joe. They've returned from Monaco, having streamed five days of the PokerStars EPT Presented by Monte-Carlo Casino, and are now half way through the 2022 Spring Championship of Online Poker. They recap ...
04.28.2022 Episode 246 – 28/04/2022 – Masato Yokosawa James and Joe are heading to Monaco for the first time in three years for the PokerStars EPT Presented by Monte-Carlo Casino. They reveal they'll be hosting five consecutive days of live coverage (on Twitch and YouTube) and talk through ...
04.21.2022 Episode 245 – 21/04/2022 – Coach Bahman James and Joe are back from their Easter break with an extended episode, unveiling the streaming schedule for #SCOOP 2022, the new dates and venue for the second #PSPC and a couple of additional European Poker Tour stops. They recap ...
03.31.2022 Episode 244 – 31/03/2022 – Koray Aldemir James and Joe are joined by the reigning No Limit Hold'em world champion, 2021 WSOP Main Event winner Koray Aldemir. In addition to talking about his start in poker and his epic victory in Vegas, Koray answers YOUR questions (thanks ...
03.24.2022 Episode 243 – 24/03/2022 – EPT Prague winner Grzegorz Glowny Since their last podcast, James and Joe have been to #EPTPrague, where they streamed five days of the Main Event, and they've hosted live coverage of the final day of the epic #SundayMillionAnniversay. They recap both tournaments on this week's ...
03.10.2022 Episode 242 – 10/03/2022 – Thinking Poker's Andrew Brokos By the time you listen to this podcast, James and Joe will be in Prague for the European Poker Tour. It's their first live event since…EPT Prague in December 2019! They talk about some of the early results from the ...
03.04.2022 Episode 241 – 04/03/2022 – The Card Counter with Lauren Mann It's the latest #PITE Poker Movie Monday on a Wednesday (in this case, recorded on a Thursday and released on a Friday). James and Joe finally take an in-depth look at 'The Card Counter', starring Oscar Isaac, Tiffany Haddish, Tye ...
02.24.2022 Episode 240 – 24/02/2022 – Global Poker Awards with Veronica Brill In an unexpected twist, #PITE has been named Best Podcast of 2021 at the 3rd Global Poker Awards in Las Vegas. Joe was at Aria to collect the award (and promptly misplace it) and takes great delight in making this ...
02.17.2022 Episode 239 – 17/02/2022 – GPI President Eric Danis Joe is on the road again: after scoring tickets to the Super Bowl in Los Angeles, he flew to Florida for a special NASCAR charity event, before heading to Las Vegas for the 3rd Global Poker Awards. On this week's ...
02.10.2022 Episode 238 – 10/02/2022 – Sam Greenwood After an unplanned one-week hiatus (James explains what happened), the boys return with a brief recap of Joe's latest live poker adventures and their long-awaited deep dive into recent films and TV shows. Canadian high stakes reg Sam Greenwood plays ...
01.27.2022 Episode 237 – 27/01/2022 – Alex Jacob With their deep dive into recent movies and TV shows pushed back a week, James and Joe invite poker pro turned trivia maestro Alex Jacob onto the podcast to talk poker and game shows. Alex is a WSOP and WPT ...

Older episodes

Poker in the Ears

What's Poker in the Ears about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Poker in the Ears episodes:

286. Steve Preiss (VP, PokerStars North America) and WCOOP update with Howard Swains

285. The Adults with Dustin Defa, WCOOP update with Howard Swains and Superfan Jack Sinclair

284. EPT Barcelona champion Simon Wiciak and WCOOP update with Howard Swains

283. EPT Barcelona preview with Fabiano Kovalski

282. WSOP 2023 recap with Nate Silver

281. Blackbird and Lucky You with Matt Savage

280. WSOP Main Event preview with Lon McEachern

279. WSOP 2023 update with Jeff Platt

278. SCOOP 2023 recap with Howard Swains

277. Between the Lines with Will Courtenay (Head of Race Strategy, Oracle Red Bull Racing)

276. EPT Monte-Carlo champion Mike Watson + SCOOP Correspondent Howard Swains

275. EPT Monte-Carlo preview with former champ Manig Loeser

274. The Science of SCOOP with Steve Clarricoats (Head of Poker Operations for PokerStars Global Market)

273. Irish Poker Open 2023 champion David Docherty

272. Irish Poker Open preview with Fintan Hand

271. Sunday Million 17th Anniversary recap with Nick Walsh

270. Phil Galfond

269. Global Poker Award winner Caitlin Comeskey

268. EPT Paris recap with winner Razvan Belea and runner-up Peter Jorgne

267. Bahamas recap with PSPC finalist Niclas Thumm

266. Platinum Pass giveaway and PCA/PSPC preview with Griffin Benger

265. Chase Your Dream: The Reunion, plus Platinum Pass giveaway

264. EPT Prague preview with Steve O'Dwyer

263. Poker Face with Jon 'PearlJammer' Turner

262. Poker in the USA with David Kaye

261. Daniel 'Jungleman' Cates

260. WCOOP 2022 recap

259. EPT London recap with Main Event finalist Dan Chisu

258. EPT London preview with former champ Robin Ylitalo

257. Analysing Joe Stapleton with Maria Ho

256. Sam Grafton on Robbi Jade Lew cheating allegations and winning $5.5m

255. DDoS attack on WCOOP Main Event Sunday: Chris Straghalis, Director of Online Poker Experience at PokerStars

254. WCOOP 2022 double-champ Benny 'RunGodlike' Glaser + Howard Swains

253. EPT Barcelona champion Giuliano Bendinelli and WCOOP preview

252. EPT Barcelona preview with Hossein Ensan

251. The Man with the Golden Arm with Nick Peine

250. Catching cheats with Francis Lincoln, Head of Game Integrity at PokerStars

Episode 249 – 09/06/2022 – Platinum Pass winners Colm Chan and Toke Gerding Jensen

Episode 248 – 03/06/2022 – SCOOP 2022 ME winner 'WElcomeINnferNO', plus Rayan 'Beriuzy' Chamas and Howard Swains

Episode 247 – 20/05/2022 – SCOOP 2022 champs 'easywithaces' and 'Senkel92' + Howard Swains

Episode 246 – 28/04/2022 – Masato Yokosawa

Episode 245 – 21/04/2022 – Coach Bahman

Episode 244 – 31/03/2022 – Koray Aldemir

Episode 243 – 24/03/2022 – EPT Prague winner Grzegorz Glowny

Episode 242 – 10/03/2022 – Thinking Poker's Andrew Brokos

Episode 241 – 04/03/2022 – The Card Counter with Lauren Mann

Episode 240 – 24/02/2022 – Global Poker Awards with Veronica Brill

Episode 239 – 17/02/2022 – GPI President Eric Danis

Episode 238 – 10/02/2022 – Sam Greenwood

Episode 237 – 27/01/2022 – Alex Jacob