Hosted by Andrew Brokos and Carlos Welch this weekly poker podcast features in-depth interviews with fascinating people from all corners of the poker world plus sophisticated strategy discussions.

latest episodes

Episode 457 Eugene Katchalov

Eugene Katchalov left the world of professional poker at the top, but he’s still around as a recreational player and entrepreneur. In this delightful conversation, he discusses what makes poker fun, what poker needs, and how solvers have changed the … Read more…

Episode 456: Jeanne David

Jeanne David has worked as the manager of an in-patient drug treatment facility and as the head of Responsible Gaming at PokerStars, but she’s always been a poker player herself as well. On the heels of her induction in the … Read more…

Episode 455: Marc Goone

Hungry Horse founder and live cash crusher extraordinaire Marc Goone joins Carlos and Andrew for a lively discussion of solvers, win rates in live cash, exploiting regs, teaching poker, “lyrical myrical” rappers, and more. 25% off everything (except gift cards) … Read more…

Episode 454: Jessica Vierling

Vegas-based poker pro Jessica Vierling is famously forthcoming about her struggles: with alcoholism, suicidal thoughts, and holding herself to impossibly high standards. The most important thing, she says, is to be honest and authentic. She is just that in this … Read more…

Meet your hosts

Picture of Andrew Brokos

Andrew Brokos

Andrew has been playing poker professionally since 2005. In addition to playing and hosting the podcast, Andrew's also a poker coach. He offers one-on-one poker private coaching and serves as a video instructor for both Tournament Poker Edge and Red Chip Poker.

One of his most notable poker accomplishments is cashing five times in seven years at the World Series of Poker Main Event, including three finishes in the top 100.

Picture of Carlos Welch

Carlos Welch

Carlos was drawn to poker as a way to escape poverty and has done so successfully for nearly two decades. Though he won a WSOP gold bracelet in 2021, he is still known primarily for his extremely frugal lifestyle and his desire to inspire others to better manage their money in order to pursue financial freedom through poker.

After appearing as a guest on Episode 39 of the Thinking Poker Podcast, Carlos became a regular guest on the show and officially took over as co-host on Episode 366. He is also a poker coach and has contributed strategy articles to media outlets including PokerNews and Cardplayer Magazine.

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favorite episodes

from the archives

A few randomly selected episodes over the years. To view all episodes visit the full podcast archive.

FAQ

Most frequent questions and answers

Thanks for your support!

We have a few e-books and premium podcasts for sale over in the Thinking Poker Store. 

We’d also would love to have you use our links to shop on Amazon, sign-up for Tournament Poker Edge or RedChip Poker, or purchase Zachary Elwood’s excellent books on tells.

The full details on a number of ways to help us out a smidge are covered on the Support the Podcast page.

When we set off to make the podcast, we didn’t want to be just another poker podcast. We were really interested in sharing unique but often hidden stories about the people in and behind poker. So we aim to not just talk to the same old big-name pro players, but instead to provide a platform to recreational players, local legends, poker biz insiders, dealers and more to share their stories.

With that in mind, we mostly approach people we think we and and our listeners would be interested to hear from. Some stories are untold for a reason and not everyone is comfortable being publicly interviewed, but we’re very appreciative of those that are!

We welcome your suggestions of guests (you can write us using the form at the bottom of this page), but keep in mind we aren’t interested in guests that are primarily promoting a product and do not accept solicitations by promotional agencies. 

We originally used different intro songs for the podcast, but one from Podcast editor Sean’s former band, Palmyra, quickly became a permanent anthem for the podcast.

Palmyra, now inactive, was a Brooklyn based quintet made up of Gina Pensiero (songs, vocals, guitar), Karl Sturk (guitar), Kenny Roebuck (trumpet, vocals), Sean Lango (bass, synth), and Jonathan Lango (drums).

The intro song is Spires. The outro song is called Whereby the Signatory. And snippets used from bumpers include Cold Coffee, Suicidal Female Poets, and on rare occasions Lights Dot. These can all be found on the Palmyra bandcamp under the albums Hoodcat and The City, On Repeat.

Besides their weekly appearance on the Thinking Poker Podcast, it’s quite likely that the Palmyra-specific chapter is closed. But you can support the band their digital songs on Bandcamp, and Gina’s voice does live on in her collaboration with Sean softcenter

We originally used different intro songs for the podcast, but one from Podcast editor Sean’s former band, Palmyra, quickly became a permanent anthem for the podcast.

Palmyra, now inactive, was a Brooklyn based quintet made up of Gina Pensiero (songs, vocals, guitar), Karl Sturk (guitar), Kenny Roebuck (trumpet, vocals), Sean Lango (bass, synth), and Jonathan Lango (drums).

The intro song is Spires. The outro song is called Whereby the Signatory. And snippets used from bumpers include Cold Coffee, Suicidal Female Poets, and on rare occasions Lights Dot. These can all be found on the Palmyra bandcamp under the albums Hoodcat and The City, On Repeat.

Besides their weekly appearance on the Thinking Poker Podcast, it’s quite likely that the Palmyra-specific chapter is closed. But you can support the band their digital songs on Bandcamp, and Gina’s voice does live on in her collaboration with Sean softcenter

The podcast’s primary sponsor is poker coaching site Tournament Poker Edge.

We are always open to hearing from other high-quality organizations looking to reach our audience, but keep in mind we are quite choosey about who  we work with, and we don’t reply to spam solicitations.

Get In touch

Guest you’d love to see on the show? Want to send in your strategy hand? Just want to say hello? 

Still looking for more podcast episodes? Visit the full podcast archive