Today’s guest on CPG was a 2022 finalist for the GPI tournament director of the year, is the tournament supervisor for the MGM Grand, and is touted by CPG favorite & one day poker hall of famer Matt Savage as one of the very best in the world at his craft… Justin Hammer.
I had an amazing time speaking with Justin & learning about everything that goes into estimating & hitting tournament guarantees, what the other side of an overlay feels like when guarantees are missed, and how it feels running tournaments in Texas where, as we all know, everything is bigger.
Before you dive in and learn more about Justin, there are some technical difficulties in today’s episode so please bear with us and, if you just can’t take it, tag Matt Savage on Twitter and send him your complaints.
I’m sure it’s somehow his fault.
Now, without any further ado, I bring to you one of the very best & brightest tournament directors in the whole world… the one & only Justin Hammer.
Today’s guest on CPG has over $20,000,000 in lifetime online MTT cashes and is genuinely one of my favorite human beings in the world of poker, Jon “Apestyles” Van Fleet.
It’s been about a year since the last time the Great Ape was on CPG and you shouldn’t be surprised to learn that the man continues to thrive.
His Twitch stream remains one of the most popular poker streams on the face of the planet, he’s now an ACR sponsored pro, he’s sold thousands & thousands of his Apestyles Bundle, and he’s recently released a new Apestyles Bootcamp over on BBZPoker.
In my opinion, the world at large needs a billion or so more human beings like Jon. He’s authentic, empathetic, quick-witted, quick to laugh, and genuinely cares about his fellow human beings.
You probably don’t wanna see him sitting at your poker table, though.
With that said, in today’s Round 3 conversation with Jon “Apestyles” Van Fleet, you’re going to learn:
What on earth the “Pocket Snails” project is and why it’s near and dear to Jon’s heart.
The only platform where the Ape is a net losing player (With hopes to turn that around in 2022).
How Jon deals with being live on stream during amazing highs and gut-wrenching lows that come with being a poker player.
And much, MUCH more!
Now, without any further ado, I bring to you one of the greatest online poker players of all-time… Jon “Apestyles” Van Fleet.
Today’s guest is a fan favorite. One of my personal friends, DGAF he’s the host of the podcast sessions where he detailed.
His day-to-day life on the grind. His third rise after going broke a couple of times, and we’ve had some good news and the third rise department, because DGAF has been commenting on the hustler live stream, which is a really great opportunity for him and his brand and his podcast, which is very, very exciting.
He’s also been playing some high stakes. On the hustler live stream, which if you’ll remember a Tactical Tuesday. Yeah. From a few weeks back, Jon and I discussed DGAF’s, you know, unmasking of himself on the hustler live stream, which him and I are about to get into in this following conversation.
We’re also gonna talk about G man, we’re going to talk about DGAF’s plans for the future of his podcast and his brand, what he’s been getting up to in the world and how his journey back into the arena of high stakes poker has been going.
So without any further ado, I welcome back a good close personal friend of mine, a man that I’ve gone to war with many, many times on the Greenfeld, the one and only DGAF.
Today’s guest on CPG is a multiple time WSOP gold bracelet winner who has $2.6 million in live MTT cashes… Eric Froehlich.
Eric’s journey into the world of poker began with a gateway game you should be very familiar with at this point: Magic: The Gathering. And Efro isn’t just good, he’s a Magic Hall of Famer who’s one of the very best on the planet.
Back in 2005 when Eric entered his first world series of poker, we didn’t have to wait very long for him to make his mark. As fate would have it, his first ever cash at the WSOP was beating over 1,000 players to take down a $1,500 limit event in 2005 for a cool $300k score.
From there he ended up winning another WSOP bracelet as well as becoming a sponsored Full Tilt red pro.
But as you’re about to learn in my conversation with Eric, however, outer success is always secondary to inner peace.
In today’s episode with Eric Froehlich, you’re going to learn:
The amazing story behind Eric’s first WSOP bracelet… if you’re a bankroll nit you should probably close your eyes.
The power of self-healing and growth.
The romantical tale of how Eric met his wife.
And much, MUCH more!
Now, without any further ado, the one and only Eric “Efro” Froehlich.
Today’s guest on CPG is an OG of the online poker world, Adam “Roothlus” Levy. In his combined online & live tournament poker career, Roothlus has cashed for close to $8,000,000.
And since Adam’s poker career started way, way back… you gotta just know we’re gonna spend some time reminiscing about the golden age of poker… an age where Adam Levy absolutely feasted.
In 2006, Roothless hit #5 in PocketFive’s online poker rankings and then at the WSOP in 2008, he was on the receiving end of a classic Hellmuth’ian rant. If you’re a fan of such things, all you gotta do is grab your popcorn and google “Hellmuth Adam Levy rant”.
The problem with feasting & good times is that, alas, they inevitably come to an end.
As your about to learn, in Adam Levy’s case, Black Friday was an especially bitter pill to swallow because of his genuine love for everything online poker.
So in today’s episode with Adam “Roothless” Levy you’re going to hear all about those glory days, what he got into after Black Friday, and what his life looks like today.
Now, without any further ado, I bring to you the “Roothlus” one… Adam Levy.
Today’s guest on CPG is Karina, the founder of Mindset Design, personalized poker coaching that helps you improve your mindset & mental health.
Karina has been going podcast crazy lately having appeared on “The Chip Race”, “RecPoker”, and now Chasing Poker Greatness while also firing up her own show: “Mindset Design”.
The first three guests on “Mindset Design” include bestselling poker author and CPG favorite Dara O’ Kearney, hugely popular poker vlogger Ashley “PokerfaceAsh” Frank, and one of my all-time favorite human beings in the world of poker, one of the GOATs of online MTT’s, Jon “Apestyles” Van Fleet.
What you’re about to find out in today’s episode is that the smart money is on Karina becoming a force in the world of poker sooner rather than later.
In today’s episode with Karina, you’re going to learn:
Why Karina’s brilliance is matched only by her ambition to disrupt the current paradigm of mindset training & performance.
Her poker origin story.
All about the tools she’s developing to help the poker world upgrade their mindset.
And much, MUCH more!
So now, without any further ado, it is my absolute honor and privilege to bring to you the once and future mindset queen… Karina.
Today’s guest on CPG is not only one of the greatest online MTT players in the world, but is also an all-time great in an area very near and dear to my own heart: poker training.
Benjamin “bencb789” Rolle is the founder of Raise Your Edge where his flagship product “Tournament Masterclass” has become the gold standard in MTT training and has helped countless poker players (Including past CPG guest and one of the top poker streamers in the world, Matt Staples) realize their full tournament potential.
He’s also pretty good at poker, too… with past successes on the green felt including:
Taking down the $25k Sunday Million Super High Roller on GG Poker just a few weeks ago for almost $400k.
Scooping the GGPoker Super MILLION$ for $424k.
And winning the gargantuan 2016 $102k buy-in WCOOP Super High Roller for over $1.1 million after making a deal with friend, wunderkind, and past CPG guest Fedor Holz.
Oh yeah, both he and Raise Your Edge have also recently become members of Team PokerStars.
In today’s episode with the great bencbc789, you’re going to learn:
– Ben’s origin story into the world of poker.
– His surprising driving force in launching Raise Your Edge (Hint: It wasn’t about money).
– Why he decided to get into the esports business.
– And much, MUCH more!
So now, without any further ado, I bring to you one of the human beings who pop into my head when I think of Poker Greatness… the one and only Benjamin “bencb789” Rolle.
Today’s guest on CPG is the co-host of DAT Poker Podcast and one of the OG online nosebleed end bosses, Terrence Chan.
After finding himself in the world of gambling as a middle schooler and then running his own bookmaking business in high school, you could say it was almost destiny that Terrence fell into the world of poker.
And it just so happened that as Terrence turned 21 and was bitten by the poker bug, he received an offer to move to Costa Rica & help build and grow a tiny online poker startup that I’m sure you won’t remember… It was called something like “PokerStars”.
At PokerStars, Terrence would find himself smack dab in the middle of poker history. In 2003, Chris Moneymaker was one of a handful of PokerStars satellite winners who played in the WSOP Main Event.
And while you probably know the ending to that story, what you probably don’t know is what went down at PokerStars HQ between the time they learned Moneymaker actually won and the few short months they had to prepare for the inevitable Moneymaker BOOM.
Let’s just say that if you could spell the word “poker”, there’s a good chance Terrence was gonna offer you a job.
So in today’s show with the indomitable Terrence Chan you’re going to hear stories about what it was like working with beloved legend of online poker Isai Scheinberg, how Terrence felt about leaving PokerStars so that he could find his limits in the world of professional poker, how he ultimately found himself locked in a cage and battling in the world of MMA, and much, MUCH more.
Now, without any further ado, I bring to you one of the original online nosebleed end bosses & a human being who’s shown time and time again that he’s willing to fail while daring greatly… the one and only Terrence Chan.
Today’s guest is, quite frankly, one of the current best overall poker players on the face of the planet, Dan Zack.
Dan’s pursuit of greatness in the world of poker reminds me of a Russian proverb:
“If you chase two rabbits, you will not catch either one.”
When I put on my research hat while preparing for today’s show, one thing immediately became apparent:
Dan Zack, an ELITE and brilliant poker mind, has basically zero presence on the internet besides his Twitter account.
This, to me, was a refreshing reminder of how vitally important it is to correctly prioritize your time and energy so that you give yourself the best possible chance to realize the vision you have for your life.
And when it comes to competing against the very best poker players on the planet in the highest stakes games in the world, there’s zero room for error.
That isn’t to say you can’t live a healthy life in your pursuit, it just means you’re not wasting precious time and energy chasing multiple rabbits.
In today’s episode with Dan Zack you’re going to learn about his poker origins, hear him tell incredible high stakes cash game stories, learn about our shared love of spreadsheeting, and much, MUCH more!
Now, without any further ado, it is my honor and pleasure to bring to you a Titan of high stakes poker… the great, Dan Zack.
Today’s guest on Chasing Poker Greatness is the past winner of a WSOP gold bracelet, is a nationally syndicated poker columnist, and is the PokerNews USA Executive Editor Chad Holloway.
If there’s a major poker event or news story anywhere in the world, you can be pretty sure Chad has covered it. His career in the world of poker as a writer, editor, and player now spans nearly 15 years.
As you’re about to learn, Chad’s foray into the world of cards began pretty normally while he was schooling it up at Tulane University but, instead of immersing himself in the world of poker through daily grinding on the green felt, instead he integrated the world of poker into his life through his writing, creativity, and genuine love of the game.
Today you’re going to learn all about Chad’s origin story into the world of poker, how he felt winning a WSOP gold bracelet, and, near the end of the episode, about an incredible project he’s working on that involves a former WSOP Main Event champ & nosebleed regular who has mysteriously fallen off the grid over the past couple of decades.
Being a human who loves all things poker history and lore, you won’t be very surprised to learn that our discussion into Chad’s passion project went at least 30 minutes after we stopped recording.
So now, without any further ado, I bring to you a man who routinely chases poker greatness, and does everything in his power to spread his love of this beautiful game far and wide… Chad Holloway.
