The Poker Grid

Eddy Goldman, founder of Chess Ninja London, poker pro and musician enters the GRID with seven-deuce suited. Eddy has had a very storied life, from a jail cell in Singapore, to streamed games at the Hippodrome. Eddy talks to us about a hand he played in April 2025 at the Irish Open cash games.  With... The post The Grid 084 ft. Eddy Goldman– Seven-Deuce Suited appeared first on The Poker Grid.

Jennifer welcomes poker dealer and writer Jeffrey San Gabriel on the GRID to talk about dealing a famous hand at the 2024 World Series of Poker Main Event. The fateful four-bet hand featured Will Berry (in the hijack) and Adrian Mateos (on the button). Jeffrey dealt a flop of Q♦ 4♦ 2♠ and Berry bet 425,000... The post The Grid 083 ft. Jeffrey San Gabriel – Kings appeared first on The Poker Grid.

Today we welcome to the GRID poker pro and a Global Poker Award winner Xuan Liu. Xuan is a powerhouse on the felt, earning over 2.4 Million dollars in live tournament earnings, including final tables at EPT San Remo and the PCA. Now she is a regular in high stakes cash games and streams all over the globe,... The post The Grid 082 ft. Xuan Liu – King-Seven Suited appeared first on The Poker Grid.

Five-time author and three-time WSOP bracelet winner Matt Matros returns to the GRID to discuss a hand from his latest book,Twenty four NLHE Tournament Hands from 2024: A Year of Nitty Folds and Daring Bluffs. The hand was played in Philadelphia, where both Jennifer and Matt head to next week for the PokerStars Philadelphia Open.   Matt... The post The Grid 081 ft. Matt Matros – Ace-Four Suited appeared first on The Poker Grid.

Alex “Schwibbs” Schwint is a PokerStars USA crusher. He's won titles in nearly every PA series there is to win from PASCOOP to PACOOP to Winter Series. With a WSOP bracelet and two circuit rings, the wins keep coming–he event won a seat to the 2025 Irish Open on PokerStars PA. We welcome him to the GRID... The post The Grid 080 ft. Alex “Schwibbs” Schwint – Ace-Six Suited appeared first on The Poker Grid.

High stakes tournament crusher Sam Greenwood enters the GRID to discuss a deep hand with Ace-Deuce offsuit from a recent event in Triton Jeju. The hand kicks off Sam's new substack, where he takes us on a tour of the many mishaps that even elite performers make:  https://samgreenwoodpoker.substack.com/ As he puts it: “I've played millions... The post The Grid 079 ft. Sam Greenwood – Ace-Deuce Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.

Dan “DrDadPoker” Schill enters the GRID to talk about a cash game hand from the show No Gamble, No Future, where he got tangled up in a big pot with 17-time WSOP Champion Phil Hellmuth. Dan and Jennifer go on to talk about what he's learned about efficient study and poker strategy in the past... The post The Grid 078 ft. Dan “DrDadPoker” Schill – Nine-Eight Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.

Judy Whitlow enters the GRID to talk to Jennifer about playing her first poker tournament at the age of 75, and why it's never too late to learn something new or follow your dreams. That tournament was where Judy and Jennifer met, and they've been friends ever since. Judy has also become a regular on... The post The Grid 077 ft. Judy Whitlow – Pocket Sevens appeared first on The Poker Grid.

Abby “Abbypoker” Merk enters the GRID to talk about a hand that has been haunting her for two years. Nearing the bubble at the 2023 WSOP Main Event, she faced off high stakes tournament pro Stephen Chidwick in a ballooning pot that would put all her chips at risk. As Abby retells the stress of... The post The Grid 076 ft. Abby Merk – Ace Queen Suited appeared first on The Poker Grid.

Welcome back to the GRID podcast! Our re-launch kicks off with Hendon mob founder and PokerStars Pro Barny Boatman. Barny relates a pivotal hand in his historic victory at the 2024 European Poker Tour stop in Paris. Barny Boatman by Danny Maxwell, who won the 2024 Global Poker Award for this photo With 19 players... The post The Grid 075 ft. Barny Boatman – Jack-Nine Suited appeared first on The Poker Grid.

The GRID is coming back soon! Till then, check out a couple teaser episodes on host Jennifer Shahade's substack. The post The Grid 074.5 ft. Substack Special appeared first on The Poker Grid.

The GRID podcast returns to our regular programming by welcoming a very special guest: International Memory Grandmaster, Yanjaa Wintersoul. Yanjaa, the first woman to become a Memory World Champion, talks about how memory tricks  apply to poker, chess and trivia. The conversation is anchored by Yanjaa's first poker tournament, the 2022 World Series of Poker... The post The Grid 074 ft. Yanjaa Wintersoul – Eight-Three Offsuit  appeared first on The Poker Grid.

As we approach the PokerStars Players Championship, we welcome our Platinum Poker Hand winner, Matt Glassman. Matt kicks off the episode with a riveting reading of his award winning essay, “Jack-Three Offsuit and the Monster Ballads Poker Game.” Then Jen and Matt move on to discuss what makes a great home game, how to teach game... The post The Grid 073 ft. Matt Glassman – Jack-Three Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.

Welcome to a very special episode of the GRID, where the winner of the Platinum Poker Hand competition is unveiled. Over 70 entrants from all over the United States and Canada, competed for the delicious prize, a 30K package to play in the PokerStars Players Championships, set for the Bahamas in January 2023. After narrowing... The post The Grid 072.5 The Winner is in: Announcing our Platinum Poker Hand appeared first on The Poker Grid.

In a special episode of the GRID, Jennifer invites high-roller regular Victoria Livschitz, for her very first podcast appearance. Victoria has had an extraordinarily successful career as a tech entrepreneur, and aptly for this pod, her biggest success was an early cloud computer leader called the GRID dynamics. She started touring the high roller circuit... The post The Grid 072 ft. Victoria Livschitz – Queen-Nine Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.

We interrupt our regular programming for a HUGE announcement. The GRID is giving away a Platinum Pass worth $30,000!! One lucky, and talented, listener from the US or Canada will be going to the Bahamas in January, to play the PokerStars Players Championships.  To win, tell us your #PlatinumPokerHand, a memorable, funny or entertaining hand... The post The Grid 071.5 – Tell Us Your Platinum Poker Hand appeared first on The Poker Grid.

Jennifer invites data scientist, chess master and writer Nate Solon to the GRID. Nate talks about a hand from a private game early in his poker career. He found himself flopping bottom set on a dry board against a friend—but things got progressively worse: not only did he lose the pot, but he and his... The post The Grid 071 ft. Nate Solon – Pocket Threes appeared first on The Poker Grid.

Jennifer Shahade invites Wey “CRAIBaby” Xie to the GRID. A high stakes online player who has battled and won with the best players in the World, Wey Xie talks about a pivotal hand he played with Ace-Queen offsuit on PokerStars. 150 big blinds deep in 1K NL, The hijack opened to 2.7x and Wey Xie... The post The Grid 070 ft. Wey Xie – Jack-Six Suited Ace-Queen offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.

Jennifer Shahade joins David Lappin and Dara O'Kearney from the Chip Race to discuss a hand from the 3K Mystery Bounty event at EPT Barcelona. With bounties in play and the money bubble looming, Jennifer held Jack-Six suited, and got involved in a preflop confrontation with top Norweigian pro Preben Stokan and high roller Paul... The post The Grid 069 x The Chip Race ft. Jen Shahade – Jack-Six Suited appeared first on The Poker Grid.

Jennifer Shahade re-releases her 2019 episode with 3-time WSOP bracelet winner and star commentator Nick Schulman. Nick, consistently ahead of the curve, played a big pot with jack-four offsuit in a NYC underground cash game.  She also touches on the current scandals that have shaken the chess and poker worlds. For more on Jennifer's thoughts, check... The post The Grid 068.5 ft. ft. Nick Schulman – Jack-Four Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.

Matt Matros, three-time WSOP bracelet winner and three-time author enters the GRID to discuss a fascinating hand with ace-nine offsuit, also featured in his new book, The Poker Brain: Improving Your Process Through Optimal and Exploitive Thinking. Matt opened the hijack, deep in the money of an online bracelet event, and was called by poker pro... The post The Grid 068 ft. Matt Matros – Ace-Nine Offsuit. appeared first on The Poker Grid.

Yosha Iglesias, a poker player, chess master and coach, enters the GRID to talk about a long-awaited hand to be clicked off the GRID: Ace-King offsuit. She throws us back to the boom days of poker in France, where she found herself as a chipleader in an MTT at her college bar. In  a dramatic three-bet... The post The Grid 067 ft. Yosha Iglesias – Ace-King Offsuit. appeared first on The Poker Grid.

In a bonus episode of the GRID, Jennifer brings in her friend, best-selling author Seth Stephens-Davidowitz to talk about his new book, “Don't Trust Your Gut: Using Data To get What You Really Want in Life.”. Seth is also the author of “Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us... The post The Grid 067.5 Bonus Episode ft. Seth Stephens-Davidowitz appeared first on The Poker Grid.

Angela Jordison enters the GRID, to discuss a sizzling hand she played against World Champion Greg “Fossilman” Raymer at the 2021 WSOP Senior's Event.Angela raised in early position with ace-eight suited, and called a three-bet from Raymer on the button. When the flop came out beautifully, three-eight-ace with two clubs, Jordison check raised. They saw... The post The Grid 067 ft. Angela Jordison – Ace-Eight Suited. appeared first on The Poker Grid.

Poker coach, player, and renowned author on mindset and strategy Tommy Angelo enters the GRID to talk about a thrilling—and then not so thrilling—hand with ace-three suited. This hand throws back all the way to 1995, to a riverboat game on the Mississippi in Saint Louis, where Tommy found himself in a multi-way hand with... The post The Grid 066 ft. TommyAngelo – Ace-Three Suited. appeared first on The Poker Grid.

Jennifer welcomes her longtime friend to the GRID, professional poker player and commentator Katie Stone. Katie brings a hand she played at a heads up charity challenge hosted by Solve For Why, a Vegas based poker training academy founded by Matt Berkey.  Katie had already won matches against Hearthstone streamer Hafu and poker pro Kitty Kuo... The post The Grid 065 ft. Katie Stone – Pocket-Fours appeared first on The Poker Grid.

The multi-faceted Philly poker pro, Mike Shaw enters the GRID. The rock star, restaurant manager and mixed game proponent brings a hand from the very first live poker tournament he played, in 2004. He held King-Seven offsuit in a pivotal moment heads-up at the Binion's Casino in Las Vegas. Though it wasn't the World Series... The post The Grid 064 ft. Mike Shaw – King-Seven Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.

Jennifer records a special solo episode of the GRID, where she takes readers through the poker highlights of her new book, Chess Queens: The True Story of a Chess Champion and the Greatest Female Players of All Time. She also reads out loud segments on jealousy, sexualization and the popularity of games. In the original book that Chess... The post The Grid 063.5 Bonus Episode ft. Jennifer on the Poker Side of Chess Queens appeared first on The Poker Grid.

Jennifer welcomes legendary cash game pro Olivier Busquet to the GRID. He's a two-time European Poker Tour champion, a WPT Champion, and has over nine million dollars in live earnings. Most known for his longevity in online cash and heads-up games, Olivier brings a throwback hand to the GRID. He had King-Jack suited in a... The post The Grid 063 ft. Olivier Busquet –  King Jack Suited appeared first on The Poker Grid.

Jennifer Shahade welcomes fellow PokerStars Ambassador Keith “Accidental Grenade” Becker to the GRID. Keith, who also goes by whoopsboom brings a hand from the PokerStars PA Winter Series, where he captured an event win in the final stretch. In his GRID moment, Keith had king-ten offsuit, with no heart. In an iconic spot about 45... The post The Grid 062 ft. Keith Becker – King-Ten Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.

This bonus episode of the GRID offers a fascinating discussion between Jen Shahade and quant sports trader & US Chess expert Ella Papanek. A recent graduate of Harvard University, Ella works at the Susquehana International Group (SIG), a global quantitative trading firm in the Philly area. Her interests span from chess to poker to sports, and of course-... The post The Grid 061.5 Bonus Episode ft. Ella Papanek appeared first on The Poker Grid.

Jennifer welcomes Amanda Botfeld, author of “A Girls Guide to Poker” to the GRID. Amanda discusses a hand from the tag team event at the World Series of Poker, where she paired up with the man who taught her poker 15 years earlier: her dad. The heart-warming duo came in third place, cashing for 50K... The post The Grid 061 ft. Amanda Botfeld – King Jack Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.

In a bonus holiday episode of the GRID, Jennifer introduces listeners to International Master Rusudan Goletiani. Goletiani is a three-time World Youth Champion, a two-time Olympic medalist and a former US Women's Champion- she took Jennifer's title in 2005.    In 1992, Rusa fled her region of Georgia, Abkhazia, due to war. She explains the... The post The Grid 060.5 Bonus Episode ft. Rusudan Goletiani appeared first on The Poker Grid.

Jennifer welcomes a very special guest to the GRID, a prolific podcast host who captures the voice of a peripatetic cash game pro: DGAF. DGAF, as he calls himself, is the creator of epic “Sessions” podcast, with over 700 episodes, and the founder of Poker Rags. DGAF brings the hand that hooked him on No Limit Hold Em... The post The Grid 060 ft. DGAF – Nine-Seven Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.

The GRID is back just in time for the Main Event bubble, and an appropriately timed interview with Dara O'Kearney, professional poker player and three-time author, most recently of Endgame Poker Strategy: The ICM Book.  Dara tells Jennifer about a hand from a decade ago at a tournament in Dublin which was modeled after the WSOP Main.... The post The Grid 059 ft. Dara O'Kearney – King-Six Suited appeared first on The Poker Grid.

Jennifer Shahade welcomes Qiyu “Nemo” Zhou to the GRID. Nemo is a former World Youth Chess Champion, a streamer at twitch.tv/akanemsko and a professional e-sports player at Counter Logic Gaming. Since turning 21 in January, she has been sprinkling more and more poker into her main menu of chess and league of legends.  She even won a... The post The Grid 058.5 ft. Qiyu “Nemo” Zhou-King-Ten Suited appeared first on The Poker Grid.

The GRID welcomes best-selling author, mathematician and professor Jordan Ellenberg, author of the new book, Shape: The Hidden Geometry of Information, Biology, Strategy, Democracy and Everything Else. He is also the best-selling author of How Not to Be Wrong, a Math Olympian and a professor of mathematics at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Though Jordan is... The post The Grid 058 ft. Jordan Ellenberg – Five-Deuce Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.

In a special bonus episode of The Grid, we welcome one of our most extraordinary guests ever: Holocaust Survivor, author and 1956 French Women's Chess champion, Isabelle Choko.  Born on September 18, 1928 in Lodz, Poland, Isabelle Choko was two weeks away from her 11th birthday when Nazi Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. Isabelle... The post The Grid 057.5 Bonus Episode ft. Isabelle Choko appeared first on The Poker Grid.

Jennifer brings longtime friend, a master of many games, Jonathan Corbblah on to the GRID. He talks about a dramatic hand with nine-five suited in a private game at the Hamptons, where his new opponent confused him to the very last moments of the hand.  Jonathan speaks about how his psychological approach helps him in every... The post The Grid 057 ft. Jonathan Corbblah – Nine-Five Suited appeared first on The Poker Grid.

Jennifer welcomes poker player, survivor all star and tech executive Shirin Oskooi to the GRID.   Shirin brings us five-six suited, a combo she loves both for its chameleon-like preflop qualities, and a pivotal hand she played at the Wynn when she was new to poker. She held 56 of diamonds in the big blind and... The post The Grid 056 ft. Shirin Oskooi – Five-Six Suited appeared first on The Poker Grid.

Bonus Episode: Dr. Chanda Prescod Weinstein on times tables and Wu-Chess. In a special bonus episode of the GRID, we welcome Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, theoretical physicist and author of the new paradigm shifting book, The Disordered Comsos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime & Dreams Deferred. This episode originally appeared on Jennifer's US Chess Women podcast,... The post The Grid 055.5 Bonus Episode ft. Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein appeared first on The Poker Grid.

Jennifer welcomes high stakes cash game player and Poker for Good and Murals for Good founder May Siu to the GRID to discuss one of the most coveted- and detested hands: pocket jacks. May was playing a big pot in a New York City cash game against one of her regular foes, “General Bang Bang.” Holding jacks in a... The post The Grid 055 ft. May Siu – Pocket-Jacks appeared first on The Poker Grid.

Jennifer Shahade welcomes Doug Polk to the GRID. Doug covers a massive six figure pot from his high stakes heads up challenge against Daniel Negreanu, where Doug ended up winning well over a million dollars. In the crucial hand, Daniel opened the button to 1K at 200/400 and Doug called with queen eight offsuit. The... The post The Grid 054 ft. Doug Polk – Queen-Eight Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.

21-year-old Landon Tice enters the GRID to talk about a hand with three-four offsuit on the stone bubble of a $1600 event. Landon breaks down the action street by street, as he opened the button with 34o on the button. When the small blind called, they saw a monochrome flop of King-Three-Deuce. Landon barelled on the flop... The post The Grid 053 ft. Landon Tice – Three-Four Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.

Jennifer welcomes WSOP bracelet winner Alex Epstein aka Thallo Poker to the poker GRID to discuss a thrilling hand with nine-six offsuit. This hand comes from the 2019 10K WSOP short deck event, which Alex won for more than $296,000. It was the first World Series of Poker Event using a “short deck”, or a... The post The Grid 052 ft. Alex “Thallo” Epstein – Nine-Six Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.

Two-time World Poker Tour Champion Jonathan Little enters the GRID to talk about a hand from the 2015 World Series of Poker. Jonathan was at the final table of a 5K No Limit Hold Em event. In the big blind he looked down at six-eight of hearts, with blinds of 20/40K and 3.2 million chips.... The post The Grid 051 ft. Jonathan Little – Six-Eight Suited appeared first on The Poker Grid.

In a special bonus GRID, Jennifer Shahade shares an episode of her chess podcast, Ladies Knight, featuring author, psychology PHD and poker champion Maria Konnikova. In researching Konnikova, Jennifer realized that all of her books have natural overlap with games, starting with Konnikova's premiere book, Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes. Mastermind shows how anyone can... The post The Grid 050.5 Bonus Episode ft. Maria Konnikova appeared first on The Poker Grid.

Faraz Jaka, a professional poker player with over 11 million dollars in winnings, enters the GRID with a crazy hand with queen-three offsuit. Faraz throws us back to the 2010 North American Poker Tour in Foxwoods, where he played a hand that PokerStars included in their “Greatest” collection. Matt Glantz opened and Jaka three-bet from the... The post The Grid 050 ft. Faraz Jaka – Queen-Three Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.

World Poker Hall of Famer Linda Johnson enters the GRID to talk about a hand she played against Antonio Esfandiari at a World Poker Tour event a decade ago in Los Angeles. Linda defended six-deuce of diamonds in the big blind and flopped bottom pair on ten-four-deuce with two hearts and one diamond. As Antonio... The post The Grid 049 ft. Linda Johnson – Six-Deuce Suited appeared first on The Poker Grid.

Poker host and life coach Lee Davy steps into the GRID to talk about a critical hand in his career with ten-eight suited, in a 1K tournament in Blackpool. Lee was working on the railway at the time, but was also in tens of thousands of dollars of gambling debt for horse racing and sportsbetting.... The post The Grid 048 ft. Lee Davy – Ten-Eight Suited appeared first on The Poker Grid.

Professional poker player and lawyer Kelly Minkin enters the GRID with a hand she played with King-Eight Offsuit at the 2018 World Series of Poker Main Event. It was her second deep run in the Main, having finished 29th in 2015.  She fielded a big stack for most of this event, where she earned the nickname “Machine... The post The Grid 047 ft. Kelly Minkin – King-Eight Offsuit appeared first on The Poker Grid.