This week Jim Reid and the panel interview Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler about a range of topics from his life in the world of poker. Known for his strong views on tournament structures, Allen gets right into the nuts and bolts of what makes for good and bad structures, how the stack sizes and the blind levels relate to each other, and the value in choosing the right structure for certain events. We also discuss traveling to play poker, the importance of game selection, Allen’s preference for mixed games, and some tips for folks heading to Las Vegas who want to have the trip of a lifetime – but on a shoestring budget!
Plus we give away a free prize at the end for folks in the YouTube chat. Join us on YouTube next Monday at 7:30 ET for free to ask our guests questions in real-time, and you can win too!
Allen is active on Twitter as @allenkessler and you can find out about his staking opportunities at https://stakekings.com/player/Chainsaw
We also go over this week’s home game results and discuss these topics:
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Home Games – https://rec.poker/homegame/
Go Premium! – https://rec.poker/premium/
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Time Stamps
| 04:57 | Welcome & Introduction |
| 07:12 | Introduction to Allen Kessler |
| 09:14 | How Allen deals with frustration |
| 11:22 | Allen describes his role in the poker industry |
| 15:13 | Allen: main things you want to look for are stack size, levels |
| 21:09 | Allen shares how he got his nickname CHAINSAW |
| 23:41 | Chat: Who’s going to run deeper you, Hellmuth, or Negreanu? |
| 25:32 | For less experienced players: How to know when to skip levels |
| 33:13 | No. 1 tip for World Series’ first timer: You want to be off the strip |
| 43:05 | Allen on where and how he plays video poker |
| 51:08 | What about poker makes Allen gleeful |
| 01:07:47 | John: Home Game Result updates |
| 01:13:04 | Rob: Book Study updates |
