Show Notes
Alex Fitzgerald has been a poker professional for half of his life, turning to the game when he was just 18 years old. In the nearly two decades since, Fitzgearld has racked up millions in online winnings with final tables on the World Poker Tour and European Poker Tour.
But unlike many other top players, he has also shared his knowledge, taking on students of all levels and steering them towards a better game. In fact, Fitzgerald has worked with more than a thousand players over the years, diagnosing their play, finding the leaks and plugging them so they can start winning fast.
Fitzgerald is also an author, writing The Myth Of Poker Talent, Exploitative Play In Live Poker, and The 100 Biggest Mistakes That Poker Players Make. Players looking for help can visit PokerHeadRush.com for Fitzgerald's free poker strategy newsletter and three training videos.
Highlights from this interview include a not-so-deadliest catch, playing cards on the boat, why poker beat Arby's, being a poker doctor, writing books to get people fired up, talent vs. hard work, the moneyball of poker, humans being human, long-distance running, from death metal to rap battles, Christmas in Prague, and the 49-hour home game.
More from Poker Stories
Dylan Weisman spent the pandemic "in the lab," pouring over numbers that few had ever bothered to look at before when it came to the game of PLO. While solvers had been in use for years by high-stakes pros for no-limit hold'em, pot-limit Omaha had been largely ignored, and Weisman saw an opportunity.
Scott Seiver called his shot in 2024, making it known that he intended to win World Series of Poker Player of the Year honors. After 17 cashes, nearly $1.5 million in earnings, and three bracelets, he accomplished his goal and will have a banner hanging at the Horseshoe/Paris for future generations of poker players to see.
Matt Savage was Tournament Director for the World Series of Poker during the poker boom, and has since spent more than a decade as the Executive Tour Director for the World Poker Tour. But the perennial Poker Hall of Fame nominee is also a co-founder of the Tournament Director's Association, which helped to standardize poker tournament rules.
Victoria Livschitz jumped head first into the shark-infested waters of the high roller scene in late 2021, having spent her pandemic lockdown studying all she could about the game. While others may have been intimidated by the talent at the very top of the pyramid, in an environment with very few women, Livschitz had already seen it all before, having found success with a number of different business ventures in male-dominated industries.
Barny Boatman spent much of his youth traveling the world, living in numerous countries and working a variety of jobs that included factory worker, bartender, journalist, English teacher, computer programmer, board game inventer, and even movie reviewer. But it was in the poker world that he found his true calling.