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, locking himself in his hotel room for days to work with a heads-up specialist. He explains to listeners what he learned from both his work, and the outcome.

 Matt and Jennifer talk about the philosophy behind Matt’s new book The Game Plan: How Casual Players Become Threats in NLHE tournaments. They also touch on his finalist entry into the PokerStars #MYChessPoker Game Challenge, and how poker compares to solving puzzles.

Matt is also a fiction writer and voracious reader. Matt tells Jen how he became a major character in a book by the great American writer, Colson Whitehead, who wrote the best-selling Underground Railroad as well as the Noble Hustle, a comic take on the world of poker and his foray into the WSOP.

Matt ends by estimating the odds Jen will finish the podcast, as they discuss another Quixotic project of hers, the ABC diet, a 26-day eating plan.

Follow Matt Matros on twitter, his official website and browse his prodigious collection of cashes on hendon mob. You can find his new book, The Game Plan, on amazon.

Now that Matt has discussed jack-deuce suited, 162 combos remain on the GRID. 

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 forum, where Greg wrote thousands of posts as “curtains.” Leading the charge against the call was “Gigabet”, while players such as “ZeeJustin” (Justin Bonomo) chimed in on Greg’s side.

Greg also relays the story of a $50,000 chess game he played against Tom Dwan at the World Series of Poker in 2007, the kind of legend that drew many chessplayers to poker.  

Greg is an International Master of chess, and the founder of the PRO Chess League and the US Chess School. He played poker online professionally through the poker boom up until Black Friday, at which point he intensified his chess activities. Find out more on his gregshahade.com and find him @gregshahade on twitter and Instagram.

Now that ace-nine suited has been discussed, 163 hands remain on our GRID. 

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 into suspicion after a river bet from sharp octogenarian Bob Mantin.

Ryan is a passionate poker coach for Chip Leader Coaching. He is also unveiling a new site, Learn PRO Poker, and he explains to Jennifer why a low price point is so vital to his vision.

Jen also asks Ryan about why he turns the expression “Fold and Tell No One” to a fresh mantra “Fold and Tell Everyone”, as they discuss his entertaining twitter poker hand history quizzes. Ryan also reveals the most under-rated hand on the GRID.

Follow Ryan @ProtenialMN and look for updates on his new training site at twitter.com/LearnProPoker

Now that King-Queen suited has been discussed on the Poker Grid, 164 combos remain. 

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.  

Maria dove into poker in 2017, starting out with small buy-in events under the tutelage of eight-time WSOP bracelet winner Erik Siedel. Since then, she has earned almost 300K in live cashes, highlighted by a Championship victory at the PCA National in 2018, less than a year after she started playing.

In their conversation, Maria talks about how bluffing with a zero equity hand can be empowering, while Jennifer offers a theory on why players focused on the GRID can veer toward under bluffing without good randomizing techniques. Maria advises how to study most effectively before a major series and muses on poker styles of some of the greatest writers of all time.

Follow Maria on twitter, https://mariakonnikova.com/ and her instagram @grlnamedmaria where she posts live updates from her adventures on the poker tour. You can also find frequent updates on her progress at the PokerStars Blog.

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 hand. Jamie & Jen discuss how getting aces is such an adrenaline rush, it often draws people to poker- but it’s not always easy: how much you make with this hand can be a gamechanger in your win rate.

Jamie also talks about the worst nickname for aces, what makes a poker tweet funny and her first go at stand-up comedy at Run it Up Reno, which you can watch here.

Now that Jamie has discussed aces, 166 hands remain on our poker grid.

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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 some of the worst hands. Jen and Kevin wrap it up ruminating on best coaching practices from poker to chess to Ultimate Frisbee. 

Rabichow is a popular coach at RunItOnce, where he made a series on the history of Heads-Up poker. He can also be found @KRabichow on twitter. 

Now that Ten-Five offsuit has been discussed on “The Grid” 167 interviews remain. 

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

Now that King-four offsuit has been discussed on “The Poker

The post The Grid 001 ft. Lex Veldhuis – King Four Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.