culture
Four shows, with the dates attached.
Podcast recommendations age badly, because shows stop and lists do not. So each entry below carries the date of the most recent episode we could see when we wrote this page. Where that date is already old, it says so, without claiming the show has ended: we do not know that.
Thinking Poker
Episode 504 on 25 August 2026Andrew Brokos and Carlos Welch
Long interviews with people from every corner of poker, mixed with strategy discussion. The show says explicitly that it looks for stories from recreational players, local legends, dealers and people working in the industry rather than only from professionals.
The interview format gives you something no strategy article does: how people actually think while they are playing, including the parts they are not proud of. It is also the oldest show here, with archived episodes going back to 2013.
The Chip Race
Most recent episode listed on 12 AugustDavid Lappin and Dara O’Kearney, with Barry Carter
Interviews and strategy from the European tournament circuit, described on its own listing as a three time winner of the Global Poker Award for podcasts.
The nearest thing to a trade paper for tournament players, and the one on this list most likely to cover an event you could actually enter. The hands get discussed at length rather than mentioned in passing, which is rarer in poker audio than it should be.
Poker in the Ears
Episode 342 on 14 June 2025, the most recent listed when we read itJames Hartigan and Joe Stapleton, published by PokerStars
A conversational show from the two presenters of PokerStars television coverage, about life on the tournament circuit rather than about strategy.
It is the funny one, and it is made by an operator, which is worth knowing before you listen: the show is published by a poker company and is part of how that company markets itself. On its own terms it is the best account of what a tour stop is actually like.
Red Chip Poker Podcast
Season 8, episode 16 on 14 August 2026The Red Chip Poker coaching team
Short coaching episodes on a single concept at a time, described by the site as being for the poker player on the go.
The most concentrated strategy on this page and the easiest to fit into a commute. Note that the site states full access to the current season requires a paid subscription, so how much of it you can hear free depends on where you listen.
what audio is good for, and what it is not
A podcast cannot show you a board, a range or a chart, which rules out most of what strategy actually consists of. What it does better than any written article is the reasoning around a decision: why somebody chose this size, what they were worried about, what they would do differently. That is the part most players skip, so it is a genuinely useful thing to have in your ears.
The sensible division of labour is to listen for the thinking and read for the numbers. The numbers on this site live in the charts and the calculators, and the vocabulary the shows assume you know is in the glossary. Read those once and an hour of podcast goes a good deal further.
who is paying for the microphone
Two of the shows above are made by companies with something to sell. Poker in the Ears is published by PokerStars, and the Red Chip Poker podcast sits alongside a paid training product whose current season, the site states, requires a subscription. That does not make either show dishonest, and it does shape which subjects come up and which do not.
We are in the same position, which is the reason for saying it at all: this page is on the site of a poker training company. The way we handle that elsewhere, including where our own product stops, is written out in the integrity section.
next step
The vocabulary these shows assume you have.
Every one of them talks about ranges, pot odds and position as though everyone knows what they mean. Half an hour on the starting page and the shows stop being background noise.
questions about poker podcasts
What is the best poker podcast?
It depends on what you want. Thinking Poker for long interviews and reasoning, The Chip Race for the tournament circuit, Red Chip Poker for short strategy lessons, and Poker in the Ears if you want the tour rather than the theory.
Are there poker podcasts for beginners?
The short strategy shows are the easiest to start with, because each episode covers one idea rather than assuming a body of knowledge. That said, a podcast is a poor first teacher: you cannot see a board while you are driving. Read the rules and the hand rankings first and the shows become much more useful.
Is there a poker podcast in Dutch?
Yes, the PokerCity Podcast, which appears weekly and covers Dutch and international poker news, with a monthly interview episode. It is listed on the Dutch version of this page.
Why does each entry give a date?
Because podcasts stop, and a recommendation list full of dead feeds is worse than no list. The date is the most recent episode we could see on the day we wrote this, so you can tell at a glance how current a recommendation is.
Are any of these made by poker companies?
One is: Poker in the Ears is published by PokerStars, and Red Chip Poker publishes its show alongside a paid training product. Neither fact makes them bad, and both are worth knowing while you listen. We have the same conflict, which is why we say so.
Can you learn poker from podcasts?
You can learn ideas from them, which is not quite the same as learning to play. What audio does badly is anything visual: a board, a range, a chart. What it does well is the reasoning behind a decision, and that is the half most players skip.
Hosts, formats, awards and episode dates were read on the pages linked above on 30 August 2026 . Back to poker culture, or read the books these presenters keep citing on the poker books page.