Your correspondent discusses cash games vs. tournaments, whether cash-game players really are better than tournament players, and the allure of winning life-changing money as he heads to Las Vegas to compete in the World Series of Poker.

0:37 Introduction
1:12 Aspirations in poker
2:46 Why the World Series of Poker presents opportunities for mid-level pros
6:10 Cash-game pros vs. tournament pros
11:27 Session review: Four days of tournaments in Las Vegas
22:33 Ugh, the Rio

Why does poker keep getting harder? Are our opponents improving as quickly as they used to? And what factors will determine whether live poker remains beatable in the years to come? Also included in this episode of Third Man Walking: a review of a no-limit session in which your correspondent plays two big hands with pocket tens at two very different stakes.

0:00 Introduction
2:56 The Pareto Principle
8:33 The threat of an economic downturn

9:49 Session review: $5/$10/$20 NLHE and $5/$5 NLHE

18:37 Why very young people no longer dominate poker
22:05 Online poker
23:33 Impact of laws and rules

26:23 Plans for Third Man Walking

Your correspondent outlines his path to becoming a professional poker player and describes the challenges of playing for a living. He also looks back on a wild -- and complicated -- session of $5/$5 NLHE.

0:00 Introduction
0:22 What top pros are (or might be) like
2:35 My start in cash-game poker
7:22 Moving up in stakes
8:54 Struggling and recovering
13:30 Difficulties of playing for a living

15:50 Session review: $5/$5 No-Limit Hold-Em

32:25 What does the pro do?

Variance in poker, and especially in poker tournaments, can be maddening. This episode investigates the effects of variance in tournaments (where variance is insane) and cash games (where it can be milder). Your correspondent also reviews a recent $5/$10/$20 No-Limit Hold-Em cash game session.

0:00 Introduction
0:40 Jonathan Duhamel vs. Matt Affleck
7:53 Variance in tournaments
9:50 Tournament economics
13:30 Markup
16:55 Tournament delusion
20:34 Session review: $5/$10/$20 NLH
32:10 Variance in cash games

Episode 2 of Third Man Walking explores the dark, anarchic underbelly of the poker world, including the alleged poker cheating scam involving Mike Postle and Stones Gambling Hall.

0:00 Introduction
0:33 Is poker good for us?
2:57 Degenning
7:30 Misogyny

10:40 Session review: 5/10 NLHE

21:47 Poker outside casinos
22:30 Scamming and stealing
26:16 Cheating / Mike Postle
31:13 Problem gambling
33:20 What's good about poker