Mixed game master and Main Event final tabler Alex Livingston joins Carlos and Andrew to discuss playing mixed games, coaching mixed games, teaching in Rwanda, and coining the term Old Man Coffee.

Alex and Chris Vitch teach the Mixed Minds video training course.

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Alex Livingston is a professional poker player and coach. With Chris Vitch, he teaches the Mixed Minds course. Alex finished 3rd in the 2019 WSOP Main Event for $4 million.

Rene “TheWakko” Kuhlman is one of the best no-limit cash game players in the world, and he’s an even better teacher! With Andrew and Carlos, he discusses his rocky journey to the top and the lessons he learned along the way about bankroll management, mindset, and success.

More from Rene:

The Mechanics of Poker coaching program

The Mechanics of Poker Podcast

Support the Podcast:

You can join Andrew and Carlos on ClubWPT Gold (now in Canada!) by signing up at https://clubwptgold.com/?promo=THINK. 

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Rene “TheWakko” Kuhlman is a professional poker player specializing in high stakes online cash games. He is a coach for The Mechanics of Poker and GTO Wizard and co-host of The Mechanics of Poker Podcast.

This is the conclusion of our interview with Joel Porter-Dias, which began with Episode 484. Joel first appeared on Episode 409.

Joel’s blog
Old Man James
DJ Renegade on Soundcloud
Joel’s book Ideas of Improvisation

You can join Andrew and Carlos on ClubWPT Gold by signing up at https://clubwptgold.com/?promo=THINK. 

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Joel Porter-Dias is a poet who has earned a living from gambling for over thirty years. He has also been a DJ, a computer programmer, and probably a few other things we didn’t even get to ask him about. His book Ideas of Improvisation is available from Thread Makes Blanket Press.

Joel Porter-Dias, who first appeared on Episode 409, returns to discuss advantage slot play and some legendary gamblers who recently passed. Joel is a fascinating and multi-faceted guy, which is why this is only Part 1 of a very long interview!

Joel’s blog
Old Man James
DJ Renegade on Soundcloud
Joel’s book Ideas of Improvisation

You can join Andrew and Carlos on ClubWPT Gold by signing up at https://clubwptgold.com/?promo=THINK. 

Receive 10% off your GTO Wizard subscription when you use this link to sign up to GTO Wizard today and run deeper in your MTTs with GTO Wizard AI!

You can now get two FREE episodes per week of Thinking Poker Daily. 

Joel Porter-Dias is a poet who has earned a living from gambling for over thirty years. He has also been a DJ, a computer programmer, and probably a few other things we didn’t even get to ask him about. His book Ideas of Improvisation is available from Thread Makes Blanket Press.

Swedish pro and mother of two Jenny Westerlund recently had the biggest score of her career when she shipped the Main Event of the WSOP Circuit in Tallinn, Estonia for over €200,000. She talks to Nate and Andrew about her background as both a dealer and a kindergarten teacher and how she balances traveling the live circuit with (co-)parenting two kids as a single mother.

You can join Andrew and Carlos on ClubWPT Gold by signing up at https://clubwptgold.com/?promo=THINK. 

Receive 10% off your GTO Wizard subscription when you use this link to sign up to GTO Wizard today and run deeper in your MTTs with GTO Wizard AI!

You can now get two FREE episodes per week of Thinking Poker Daily. 

Jenny Westerlund is a professional poker player from Switzerland. She recently won the Main Event of the WSOP Circuit in Tallinn, Estonia.

Software engineer and avid mixed games player Ian Gavlick is bringing games like triple draw into the modern era of poker strategy with Stud Flop Draw. He shares his passion for mixed game strategy and software with Andrew and Carlos and offers some predictions for how AI will shape the future of poker.

You can join Andrew and Carlos on ClubWPT Gold by signing up at https://clubwptgold.com/?promo=THINK. 

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Ian Gavlick is a poker playing Software Engineer, who spent 15 years working at companies like Twitter & Microsoft before starting Stud Flop Draw to build modern study tools for mixed games.

Andrew and Carlos answer strategy questions from the Patreon, and Carlos discusses his move from Las Vegas to Jacksonville.

You can join Andrew and Carlos on ClubWPT Gold by signing up at https://clubwptgold.com/?promo=THINK. 

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Michelle Farmer and Natascha Carpenter founded Royal Queens Poker in Atlanta in 2024 after seeing the lack of diversity in other leagues, a journey they shared with Andrew, Carlos, and Gloria Jackson on Episode 459. Now they’re back to discuss the joys and challenges of their rapid growth plus some thoughts on the 2025 World Series of Poker.

Thanks to Caitlyn Arnwine for connecting us with them!

Follow Royal Queens Poker on Social Media:

Instagram
Facebook
Tiktok

You can join Andrew and Carlos on ClubWPT Gold by signing up at https://clubwptgold.com/?promo=THINK. 

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Michelle Farmer and Natascha Carpenter have over 15 years of poker experience. Royal Queens Poker hosts ladies-only tournaments and offers classes to encourage female participation. Additionally, Royal Queens Poker provides free poker events at local restaurants and bars, where players have the chance to win prizes.

Craig Savage is an educator by trade, but he’s been a competitive poker player and a student of Carlos’s for many years. Hot on the heels of his bracelet victory in the $500 NLHE Freezeout, he speaks with Andrew and Carlos about the experience and how he stays on top of the game despite family and professional obligations.

In the strategy segment, Andrew discusse what exactly “targeting” means and why so many people get it wrong.

You can join Andrew and Carlos on ClubWPT Gold by signing up at https://clubwptgold.com/?promo=THINK. 

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Craig is an educator with 31 years of experience, specializing in psychology, the psychology and ethics of leadership, and advanced biology. A former collegiate athlete, he turned to poker in 2003 as a new competitive outlet. He has a gold WSOP bracelet from the 2025 $500 NLHE Freezeout and is part of the Chase the Dream docuseries.

Ian Chan is a Silicon Valley software engineer and a triple draw enthusiast who built his own badugi solver. He talks game theory, artificial intelligence, mixed games, and the underappreciated role of tactile poker experiences.

We’ve also got a little in memoriam for Jane Hitchcock, who was our guest on Episode 330.

All our interviews with the University of Alberta Computer Poker Research Group are here.

The Counterfactual Regret Minimization paper we discuss is here.

You can join Andrew and Carlos on ClubWPT Gold by signing up at https://clubwptgold.com/?promo=THINK. 

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You can now get two FREE episodes per week of Thinking Poker Daily. 

Ian Chan is the VP of Engineering at Postscript. He’s also an avid poker player who enjoys applying his knowledge of game theory and computer science to triple draw games.