The Flow Show with Jeff Gross

In this episode, Joey Ingram, author, content creator, poker player and host of the award-winning poker podcast Poker Life Podcast, talks about where poker is headed and why he’s so passionate about it. Jeff and Joey discuss his book, Chasing the Poker Dream, his podcast, and his viral MMA investigation video. Listen in to hear Joey share his thoughts on legalized poker, surrounding yourself with positivity, and how studying still determines your effectiveness in the game. Visit Jeff Gross - The Flow Show or find us on iTunes to subscribe, visit previous episodes, and learn more about your host, Jeff Gross. Time Stamped Show Notes: 02:30 – Introducing Joey and his journey 02:40 – He was born outside of Chicago and moved to Chicago when he was 21; he had no money and lived with roommates 03:45 – His family isn’t involved in his poker journey 04:14 – He started playing poker at 19-20 years old; he lost money online and at the casino repeatedly 05:02 – He found Two Plus Two and started learning; he began to build up his bank roll, started playing on Poker Stars, and quit his job 06:02 – He has had ridiculous swings and is comfortable not having a lot of money 07:20 – He switched to PLO and has done 24-table no-limit hold ‘em 08:35 – Joey’s book Chasing the Poker Dream 09:00 – The book goes into the qualities of a successful poker player and what separates them from the rest 10:44 – He dedicates his life now to producing content and he’s happy with that 13:45 – Joey’s view on player, company, and media marketing improvements 14:11 – Joey believes poker player are marketed poorly on all outlets; outlets feud with each other and there isn’t much promotion and support 18:15 – He believes poker isn’t going to have a comeback; he thinks companies don’t care about it and doubts higher-ups even play 19:50 – He’s disappointed by the lack of policing and bots on sites and believes they have no way of policing and protecting their cash games 20:54 – He believes bots are rampant on sit-and-gos; he believes you can’t win cash games and can win tournaments because there are still bad players there 22:14 – He doesn’t support ACR for cash games and says the best place to play might be PP poker clubs; Global Poker may be a good option 24:25 – He plays online but has refocused on marketing poker; he’s doubtful of the future of American poker 27:15 – He’s stepped outside of poker and witnessed how much better the media and marketing is in poker 28:00 - He’s inspired to create content that excites people and players again while still being real and honest 32:15 – He understands the negativity in tournaments because players live tournament-by-tournament, game-by-game, paycheck-to-paycheck 32:50 – There are great things about the game, but the other side is not always positive 34:00 – Joey’s thoughts on short-deck: it’s a niche game and probably won’t catch on 35:00 – He loves Poker Central and Poker Stars and understands why Doug left poker 42:15 – Response to a comment calling Joey a “dick” 42:21 – He believes it was because of his ACR comment; he spent so much time on ACR and the investigation 44:42 – He believes Jeff gets the best side of these big companies and sites; he’s still extremely concerned about the bots operating on the sites right now 46:55 – He believes no one is taking a stance against the corruption on poker sites 47:45 – Joey’s stance on prop-bets 49:15 – He lost most of his bets this year 50:00 – His won many prop-bets over the course of his career 53:15 – He doesn’t talk about what he studies, learns or cares about; he cares about the qualities needed to become successful at life 54:00 – When he started the podcast 4-5 years ago, he didn’t have a YouTube channel; he wanted something with high-level discussion 55:15 – He did PLO and WSOP events because it’d be good for business and validating 56:54 – People use numbers and metrics to validate others in poker; Joey doesn’t operate that way but understands that it’s hard to track anything else 58:25 – Joey talks about Jamie Staples; Jeff heard that Jamie felt attacked by Joey when he signed on to Stars 59:00 – Joey clarified that he doesn’t determine what someone does or doesn’t deserve; he admires Jamie’s work ethic and success 01:00:18 – He doesn’t care who gets sponsored and doesn’t waste time talking about others behind their back 01:06:51 – On PLO 01:07:00 – He believes it’s growing but will never pass hold ‘em 01:07:15 – How he responds to people who believe poker is a “zero sum game” 01:07:50 – He recently received a message from someone who said Joey brightens his life; he’s gotten millions of views and listens and gives knowledge to improve lives 01:09:16 – There are many ways to impact people; Joey believes he is doing his part 01:11:42 – People must create the opportunity for themselves to make a difference and impact others. 01:14:30 – On Joey’s podcast 01:14:52 – There are many things he knows he could do to improve his podcast 01:15:30 – He loves the conversations he has on the podcast and has learned so much from his guests 01:17:12 – He believes his podcast work hurts him overall; if a podcast doesn’t do well it affects the algorithm 01:18:35 – He’s made many connections in poker but could build up a brand around the podcast 01:19:32 – On his MMA investigation viral video 01:20:23 – It gave him confidence in the content he can produce across any field; he feels committed to being a voice in poker 01:22:15 – Thoughts on The Thirst Lounge 01:22:45 – He admires Bill Perkins and considers the conversation they had life-changing 01:24:50 – He’s surprised Bill’s Bahamas trip wasn’t covered on sites and in the media 01:26:26 – Joey’s 5-10 year outlook 01:26:48 – He’d like to be in charge of the WSOP someday so he can control scams; he’d put the event in a great light 01:28:22 – He does everything himself and isn’t good at organization or planning 01:30:30 – Joey’s thoughts on club GTO 01:30:45 – He says it’s a way of life; he is always looking to improve and grow 01:32:01 – His most pivotal moment was when he stopped 24 tabling 01:32:22 – If you focus in, you’ll be more successful, present, and focused 01:33:21 – He’s trying to increase awareness of big poker events; he’s shifting his strategy when he speaks 01:34:32 – He’s studying up to figure out what he wants to do 01:35:48 – How PLO and hold ‘em has changed over the past 5 years 01:36:11 – Mid-stakes players are using strategies that high-stakes players used to deploy; resources for PLO have increased 01:40:22 – His thoughts on legalized poker 01:41:33 – Poker Stars is becoming a global dominant leader and their strategy is genius; they’ve taken the loudest voices in poker and signed them to be ambassadors 01:42:37 – The ambassadors build content and have trusted followers who listen 01:50:00 – Final takeaways: Surround yourself with positivity and study 3 Key Points There are great things about poker but it’s important to remember the balance and recognize both sides. Create a positive and inspiring environment for yourself. Find a way of life that works best for your personal success, presence, and focus.  Contact/Resources Partner - Party Poker Website – Jeff Gross Poker Gaming and Strategy Site – Two Plus Two Joey’s Book – Chasing the Poker Dream Poker Central - Website Viral MMA investigation – YouTube Video  

In this episode, Bencb789, creator, founder, and coach at Raise Your Edge reveals why he keeps a low profile despite his incredible success in high roller tournaments. Jeff and Bencb789 discuss what he attributes to his success and why he was inspired to create content to help other players transform their game. Listen in to hear the Bencb789 share the truth about what it’s like at the top – and the bottom – and learn some insider tricks to improve your game and life.  Visit Jeff Gross - The Flow Show or find us on iTunes to subscribe, visit previous episodes, and learn more about your host, Jeff Gross. Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:00 – Introducing Bencb789 and his journey 01:45 – He started playing poker in 2009; he improved quickly and was encouraged by friends to work on his strategy and move up to tournament poker 03:26 – His family didn’t necessarily support him at first but they came around when they saw how serious he was 05:03 – He went broke a few times at the beginning using his parent’s money; when he started working on his strategy he made money 06:20 – Ben keeps a low-profile because it keeps him more focused with and provides less distraction 08:05 – He didn’t want to incorporate a company in Germany so he moved around Europe and is now in Vienna 09:35 – Thoughts on his future kids playing online poker, performance food, and travel 10:00 – He sees poker as normal and would support it; he thinks in the future there will be possibilities beyond what we can even imagine right now 11:45 – He likes to eat food as fuel to enhance his performance; he eats healthily on a regular basis but will indulge on occasion 14:03 – He loves Canada’s natural beauty and recently enjoyed Sicily and Costa Rica; usually when he travels it is for something poker-related 17:20 – Why Bencb789 loves poker, how he started winning, and what happened at the top 17:30 – He’s naturally competitive and hates the traditional corporate environment 18:30 – He loves an environment where he creates wins and losses by his own accord; his results are directly correlated with his endurance and effort 20:15 – He made money after a year and was happy to pay his bills playing poker 21:00 – He learned the power of mindset, network, and overall health and this is what propelled him to success 21:41 – His largest tournament score was the WCOOP Super High Roller Title against Fedor Holz in 2016 22:30 – He released his course April 2017; he had been playing less poker because he was working on Raise Your Edge 23:40 – He had trouble staying motivated after playing the highest tournaments 24:30 – He feels more pumped about poker now that he has learned more strategies 26:30 – The Raise Your Edge offerings: They’re on social media and offer a variety of courses 27:30 – The course was started long ago; he saved hands to discuss theories and indexed topics to teach in webinars 29:30 – The course took a long time to launch because he wanted to perfect it; now they have a large team and dedicated students 33:20 – The Ranger tool gives you helpful hands and spots to play; it gets updated regularly and follows an easy-to-learn pattern 35:00 – It teaches you a hand matrix, frequencies, and how to bet; it’s worth investing your time and efforts into learning 38:30 – Students engage with coaches and ask about hands; he updates whenever new information or strategies come up 39:17 – The course is always current and there’s money to be made in poker 40:50 – The course is an investment but there is tons of content available to students 42:30 – You don’t need the course to start; just learn from the free content 43:57 – Bencb789’s thoughts on Twitch 44:00 – He enjoys Twitch but prefers to play professionally so he can focus more on the game 47:30 – The mindset course he offers 48:00 – The course is applicable in poker and in life; a strong mindset is required in order to see true results 50:00 – The course isn’t a traditional mindset course; it’s doesn’t just assess tilts, it gets into your past and limiting beliefs 54:00 – How Bencb789 disconnects 54:15 – He doesn’t check his phone 30-60 minutes after waking up and has a morning routine he follows; he also tried to disconnect before bed 55:00 – He has tried to create the best possible environment; he decides when to connect and what to engage in 59:00 – Bencb789’s thoughts on the future of poker 59:30 – He believes poker is a timeless game and will continue evolving with the advancements and spread of technology; stages will keep growing 01:00:34 – He sees poker as the dominant game in the future 01:02:29 – A re-tweet giveaway contest: Win Raise Your Edge gear and two cash prizes 01:03:45 – The best YouTube videos to learn from are deep run videos available on the Raise Your Edge YouTube channel 01:06:16 – Poker as a “zero-sum game” 01:06:50 – He doesn’t care if people think poker doesn’t have any use to society; he sees poker like any other professional sport 01:07:46 – Poker offers entertainment value to people; people see it as different from sports because of the gambling component 01:09:15 – People can become addicted to poker and that needs to be addressed; it’s important to give back but shouldn’t be obligatory 01:10:15 – The most important thing is that people are happy and doing something they love 01:12:30 – How poker has helped him in life 01:12:40 – It takes more to get him off balance 01:13:30 – He’s conscious, mindful, and rational; bad beats enable him to stay peaceful when others would get mad 01:17:05 – He’s learned that it’s important to make sure he’s happy first; with that in place, he can better serve and help others 01:19:30 – Take care of yourself and put yourself in a position to reach results and happiness 01:23:30 – If you’re afraid, just start and structure your studying to learn as you go 01:24:55 – Understand that you’ll never learn everything there is to know 01:25:50 – Questions from the audience Q: “What’s better: To play stacked, medium stakes, or low stakes on your own and grow? A: “I always encourage people to try and play on their own. It teaches you more ownership, discipline, and self-sufficiency.” Q: “What is your favorite tournament format and why?” A: “Fast Track Tournaments, although I love many kinds of tournaments.” Q: “What’s the difference between a player and a top player?” A: “Top players take the big risks that others shy away from. There are some sleeping giants playing mid-stakes; they could be the best players in the world.” Q: “How much were you studying and playing in the beginning?” A: “It depends on your level. If you’re a beginner, the ratio should be about 70-80% studying to 20-30% playing. The more you advance, the more you should play.” 3 Key Points With all the information that’s online, remember, you’re in control of what you consume. Create your ideal environment and stay focused on what matters. Take care of yourself – you can’t perform optimally, deliver to others, be fulfilled, and be happy until you’re right with yourself. Just start. Structure your studying and accept that you can’t possibly learn it all.  Contact/Resources Partner - Party Poker Website – Raise Your Edge Raise Your Edge Social Media – YouTube, Instagram, Twitter Website – Jeff Gross Poker