Chasing Poker Greatness

Today’s guest on the Chasing Poker Greatness Podcast is Gareth James.Gareth is the founder and head coach of the prestigious MTT Poker School, the co-host of the mindset poker podcast Poker on the Mind where he and past CPG guest Dr. Tricia Cardner (Who herself is a poker performance wizard & author who sports PHDs in both psychology & criminology) help you improve your mental game, and co-author (along with the aforementioned Dr. Tricia Cardner) of Purposeful Practice for Poker.Gareth graduated college with a degree in music and aspirations on becoming a behind-the-scenes player in the music industry. He settled into a gig teaching music where he quickly learned his idea of helping children learn to be more musical was very, very different from public education's.Stop me if you’ve heard this story before: Loads of talent, unhappy career, wants more autonomy in their professional life...Bingo, bango, bongo a professional poker player is born.In today’s episode you’re going to learn:The exact moment Gareth knew he was going to become a professional poker player.The behind-the-scenes story of how Gareth landed the gig training Berkey for the massive $300k buy-in High Roller Bowl final table in 2016.The form of learning Gareth believes is rocket fuel to your poker game.And much, MUCH more!So without any further ado, I bring to you poker coach, author, and podcaster Gareth James.New CPG Cash Game Courses!Preflop Bootcamp: https://bit.ly/Preflop-BootcampFish in a Barrel: http://bit.ly/fish-in-a-barrelNeutralize Flop Leads: https://bit.ly/2OkN8Yt

17 Feb 20211h 19min

On this week's Tactical Tuesday, Coach Brad and his student Jon take a look at a couple of hands posted in Greatness Village. The first hand features Coach Thomas choosing to take an unorthodox line from the big blind against the button at 500NL. In the second hand, a villager raises preflop, bets the flop and the turn with a combo draw and arrives at the river with absolutely nothing. Tune in to find out whether you should be bluffing or giving up in those situations. If you'd like to potentially get one of your hands reviewed by Coach Brad on Tactical Tuesday sign up for the VIP Newsletter at http://chasingpokergreatness.com/VIP Going VIP will also get you access to Poker Power Hour, a weekly group coaching session hosted by the coaches of Greatness Village.

16 Feb 202135min

Today’s guest on the Chasing Poker Greatness podcast is the author of SCOOP! Winning High Low Concepts for the Hold’em Mind volumes 1, 2, & 3 Greg Vail.Greg’s a Red Chip Poker Coach and cash game pro who specializes in the world of Big O and Omaha Hi-Lo.Greg’s poker career is split into two acts: The first act was from 2005-2010. He was a young, immature kid with horrible spending habits and no discipline trying to figure out how to navigate the world. Spoiler alert: That didn’t end so well.So, recognizing he needed to disrupt his lifestyle, Greg joined the Army in 2010 until he was medically discharged in 2015.Act 2 began in 2015 when Greg fell back into the poker world except this time he was a totally different human being. Strong discipline has a way of doing that.Since then he’s written 3 books, has helped student after student learn how to improve their split pot skills, and lives for providing and raising his daughter.In today’s episode, you’re going to learn:Why Greg chooses to both play and teach split-pot games.The lessons & wisdom Greg took with him from the Army into poker.How teaching has helped Greg and myself become better players.And much, MUCH more!So, without any further ado, I bring to you my conversation with author and coach Greg VailNew CPG Cash Game Courses!Preflop Bootcamp: https://bit.ly/Preflop-BootcampFish in a Barrel: http://bit.ly/fish-in-a-barrelNeutralize Flop Leads: https://bit.ly/2OkN8Yt

12 Feb 20211h 54min

Kenny (SpaceyFCB) Hallaert has cashed for over $10 million in his live and online poker careers combined.Even though he has yet to take down the elusive major live tournament, it’s easy to say he’s seen way more than his fair share of success on the green felt.Some highlights of Kenny’s career thus far: 6th place in the 2016 WSOP Main Event for $1.4 million.3rd place in the 2017 WSOP $5k 6-Max event for $238k.1st place in the 2017 SCOOP $1k 8-Max for $147k.Kenny has racked up quite the laundry list of poker accomplishments…All before hitting the age of 40.In our conversation you’re going to hear where Kenny’s seemingly lifelong love of cards began, the hilarious story of he flipped satellite tickets for a year because of a silly law, and how he eventually fell into a gig organizing and marketing tournaments for his local casino in Belgium (Despite not having much real-world experience doing either).In today’s episode, you’re also going to learn:- Why a football injury was a major catalyst in Kenny’s poker evolution.- One of the major poker social pressures you don’t have to feel if you don’t want to.- Why Kenny is happy just firing up any tournament, regardless of buy-in or prize pool.- And much, MUCH more!So without any further ado, I bring to you the amazing Belgian crusher of live and online MTT’s Kenny Hallaert.Join the VIP Newsletter: http://bit.ly/CPG-VIPPreflop Bootcamp: https://bit.ly/Preflop-BootcampNew CPG Cash Game Courses!Preflop Bootcamp: https://bit.ly/Preflop-BootcampFish in a Barrel: http://bit.ly/fish-in-a-barrelNeutralize Flop Leads: https://bit.ly/2OkN8Yt

10 Feb 20211h 25min

Tactical Tuesday goes back to its roots on this week's episode with a pair of hand breakdowns brought to you by Coach Brad and his student Jon. The first hand comes from a recent $5/$10 session on Ignition where Jon faces an unexpected turn donk in a 3bet pot. The second hand is one posted in the hand history review section of Greatness Village by one of Coach Thomas' students. If you'd like to potentially get one of your hands reviewed by Coach Brad on Tactical Tuesday sign up for the VIP Newsletter at: https://chasingpokergreatness.com/VIP Going VIP will also get you access to Poker Power Hour, a weekly group coaching session hosted by the coaches of Greatness Village.New CPG Cash Game Courses!Preflop Bootcamp: https://bit.ly/Preflop-BootcampFish in a Barrel: http://bit.ly/fish-in-a-barrelNeutralize Flop Leads: https://bit.ly/2OkN8Yt

9 Feb 202134min

Today’s guest on the Chasing Poker Greatness podcast is a WSOP Gold bracelet winner, WPT champ, and WPT Tournament of Champions Champ who has cashed for $4.2 million in live tournaments, Matthew Waxman.Matt’s pretty much the perfect guest for a long-form interview…When the lights came on dude came out swinging, throwing down Greatness Bomb after Greatness Bomb without ever running out of steam. After what felt like 15 minutes of being fully immersed in Matt’s poker journey, I looked down at the clock and 1.5 had zoomed by like magic.The bad news I did that thing again where I only asked my guests two of my prepared questions. The good news is Matt’s going to come back on in the very near future and mesmerize me once again.When our Round 2 goes down I fully expect to share with you some behind-the-scenes stories featuring the late, great Gavin Smith.In today’s conversation with Matt, you’re going to hear stories about:His first ever live poker experience which involves him leaving his High School to head to the smoky casino and his friend hitting the Royal Flush jackpot.The time he sat down at $20/$40 NL in Commerce with his entire bankroll in action so that he could win enough money to buy in directly to the LAPC Main Event the following day.The story of how his bankroll exploded with a 6-figure day where he took down an FTOPs event he didn’t even wanna play.And much, MUCH more!And before you dive into today’s episode, if you’d like to support CPG while also taking the necessary first step towards playing winning cash game poker, Preflop Bootcamp fires up on the last Saturday of every month.The place to check it out is ChasingPokerGreatness.com/bootcampSo without any further ado, I bring to you WSOP & WPT Champ, the founder of PokerRithm.com, and the briefly ranked #1 poker player in the entire multiverse Matt Waxman.New CPG Cash Game Courses!Preflop Bootcamp: https://bit.ly/Preflop-BootcampFish in a Barrel: http://bit.ly/fish-in-a-barrelNeutralize Flop Leads: https://bit.ly/2OkN8Yt

5 Feb 20211h 29min

Today’s guest on the Chasing Poker Greatness (https://chasingpokergreatness.com) podcast was the #1 GPI ranked female poker player in Lithuania and the UK in 2019 and is the founder of the Fantastic Ladies in Poker Daiva Byrne.Daiva loves poker. I know this may sound pretty obvious in an intro for a show called Chasing Poker Greatness so let me explain myself:Daiva loves poker in a way that’s both refreshing and mesmerizing. She made me think back to the beginning of my poker journey and conjured up all of those priceless aspirational memories.You’re going to hear her tell the story of the time she went on vacation with her husband (two strangers in a strange land who did not speak the native tongue) and how the first thing they did after unpacking was, you guessed it, find the poker room and jump right into the nightly tournament.Maintaining that itch to sit down at whatever table she can so that she can play poker for love of the game, regardless of the stakes or prize pool, is just how Daiva’s constructed.And the fact that she does everything in her power to spread the word about the game she loves with females spread out all across the globe shows you why Daiva is a vital asset to our community.In today’s conversation with Daiva, you’re going to learn:- Daiva’s poker origin story.- The exact reason why Daiva is so appreciative for poker.- Why watching poker on TV can be extremely misleading.- And much, MUCH more!So, without any further ado, I bring to you the founder of the Fantastic Ladies in Poker Daiva Byrne.New CPG Cash Game Courses!Preflop Bootcamp: https://bit.ly/Preflop-BootcampFish in a Barrel: http://bit.ly/fish-in-a-barrelNeutralize Flop Leads: https://bit.ly/2OkN8Yt

3 Feb 20211h 31min

Tactical Tuesday brought to you by https://chasingpokergreatness.comOn this week's episode, Coach Brad and his student Jon discuss Jon's perception of online poker before Jon began playing online in the summer of 2020 and how those perceptions have changed as Coach Brad has guided Jon up through the stakes. Find out how someone who was initially terrified of playing $200NL is now crushing $1000NL just 6 months later and what you can do to improve your poker game to have similar results.To support Chasing Poker Greatness, visit: https://chasingpokergreatness.com/VIPNew CPG Cash Game Courses!Preflop Bootcamp: https://bit.ly/Preflop-BootcampFish in a Barrel: http://bit.ly/fish-in-a-barrelNeutralize Flop Leads: https://bit.ly/2OkN8Yt

2 Feb 202130min