The Chip Race

This week, we are locked in and worn out after a mammoth spell of live poker as David and Dara are joined by former guest Niall Farrell on the heels of his UKIPT Dublin victory.

The trio discuss the results from Dublin, whilst also giving their takes on what live poker brands need to get right for the players to be successful in the coming year.

The new and exciting Mystery Bounty format is analysed and David announces ‘The €550 Chip Race Mystery Bounty Event’ at the upcoming Unibet Open Malta in September.

In an extra-long jam-packed episode, Niall is asked about his upcoming BBC documentary and what it’s like to have so much of his last year chronicled. The lads also take a few moments to pay tribute to the late Todd Terry.

This week, David and Dara welcome reigning MSPT player of the year Kyna England. They are also joined by 2-time WSOP winner and poker author, Bill Chen. For strategy, they’ve got the online legend that is Chris Moorman as he faces off against Ali Imsirovic. Fergal Nealon stops by to discuss ‘Rapid Response Ukraine’. Plus, Barry Carter has all the latest news.

This week, we are locked in and cranking out a show in the tiny gap between live events.

Dara and David are back from the Dublin Poker Festival which came right on the heels of the Malta Poker Festival which came right on the heels of umpteen other live festivals. To say the lads are exhausted after months of live poker would be an understatement but that doesn’t mean any relent from their content output.

The pair chat about the unique deep-stack and extra levels in the structure of the European Deepstacks. They tip their caps to Willow Connolly, Triona Sheeran and Annette O’Carroll who enjoyed big results at the festival.

The conversation then switches to the question of how to attract more women to the game and why The Malta Poker Festival succeeds in getting a big female turnout.

With the WSOP on the horizon, Dara talks about his preparation and the lads discuss the thorny subject of mark-ups, before the episode wraps up with the announcement of the Unibet Open’s return to Malta in September.

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This week’s show has an Irish Poker Open theme as we are joined by not one champion, but two. Steve O’Dwyer is here to talk about his victory and more. We’ve also got 2016 champ Dan Wilson who short stack ninja’d his was to fifth this year. Dan is also be the focus of our strategy segment as we analyse the most talked about hand of the tournament. Ivonne Montealegre stops by to discuss the Malta Poker Festival. Plus, Barry has got the latest news.

This week, we are locked-in and closing out a week of coverage of The Irish Poker Open with a special 50th episode.

David and Dara wanted to record from the plush Irish Open studio but instead they are back at their desks two days after the festival.

The lads discuss Steve O’Dwyer’s dominating performance on a Main Event final table in which he knocked out every single player. They also analyse some of the other great performances on show including those of Dan Wilson, Rus Mircea and runner-up Kyle Maguire.

There is some chat about David’s new poker nemesis Alex Kulev who won an online $5K Mystery Bounty tournament whilst playing Day 2 of the Main.

There is also Dara’s take on David’s interview and subsequent article in which he elaborated on his feelings about playing with sticky-palmed chatterbox William Kassouf.

The episode wraps up with some plugs for the upcoming Unibet Online Series and a duo of Unibet powered live festivals - The Malta Poker Festival and The Dublin Poker Festival - with David almost leaking news of a third live event that is about to be announced.

This week we are locked in and hanging out in the beautiful Estonian capital of Tallinn.

After Dara finally finishes his hot chocolate, the lads take refuge in David’s room at the Park Hilton, the venue for the Patrik Antonius Poker Challenge.

Dara and David have been in the commentary booth, covering some special events from the festival including the ‘Challenge Patrik’ heads-up championship, the First Land Of Poker (FLOP) Meet-Up Game (MUG) and a big cash game featuring Patrik Antonius, Kim Hultman and Juha Helppi.

The lads also discuss their recent articles for VSO News - David’s piece on poker pariah turned ‘decision scientist’ Annie Duke and Dara’s tribute to his late friend, poker player Mark Dalimore.

Before they wrap-up, Dara gives his top satellite tip as they plug the upcoming satellites for the Malta Poker Festival and Dublin Poker Festival.

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This week, we welcome back to the show our good friend, WSOPE Main Event champion Jack Sinclair. We are also joined by Nordic Poker Champion Jon Kyte. For strategy, Isaac Haxton stops by to discuss a hand he played versus Brian Rast. We do a deep dive into the thorny subject of poker scammers. Plus, our brand new newsman Barry Carter has got news and results.

This week we are locked-in and hatching out a plan to become reality TV stars with Big Brother Canada winner turned poker twitch sensation Kevin Martin.

Dara and David take a deep dive into three of Kevin's recent tweets, one of which probes his belief in copying from the best and the other two which illustrate his excellent understanding of what makes good content.

The lads talk about how the current season of High Stakes Poker actually improved when some of big names left the game. They all give their takes on Doug Polk's 'Top 5 Best Poker Players Ever' list while also compiling their own 'Top 5 Online Tournament Players' list.

The conversation then segues to live poker, specifically live tells and the recent staring contest between Alex Foxen and Stevie Chidwick. From there, Dara and David go into detail about their upcoming live schedules which include events in Tallinn, Dublin, Malta and then Dublin again.

The conversation ends with the news that Dan Bilzerian has been taken out of the bin by GG as Dara and David give Kevin the floor to voice his views on the Instagram star's original signing and possibly bungled re-signing.

This week, we welcome mixed game beast and 2-time WSOP bracelet winner Brandon Shack Harris. We will also be joined by popular UK pro and twitch streamer Jamie Nixon. For strategy, we’ve got poker star, the one and only Vanessa Kade. With a little help from Mason Malmuth, we chat about tilt. Plus, Ian… yes still Ian… will have the news and results!

This week, we are locked in and caking out in Prague.

On location in the Czech capital, Dara and David discuss their cashes in the Main Event and Highroller respectively. Dara talks about a particularly dicey hand on the exact bubble when he woke up with pocket aces.

The Chip Race's former graphic-artist and animator Willie Elliot is applauded for his player experience-centric approach in his role as Customer Engagement Manager for PokerStars Live Events and with the exception of the egregious 15% registration on nightly hyper-turbos, our review of the stop was positive.

There is a moment of contemplation for Unibet ambassador gone to soon Ian Simpson and a chat about GG ambassador seemingly gone not soon enough Dan Bilzerian.

The episode concludes with a round-up of the latest poker stories, including Unibet Open back-to-back champion Padraig O'Neill's 'Mystery Bounty' big win, Jamie's Kerstetter's Toilet Glory and Vanessa Kade's deep run in the Wynn $10Million.