Episode 7 - Sam Grafton: From Actor and Activist to Poker Star

Sam Grafton is a high stakes online and live tournament player, Run it Once instructor and recently named PokerStars ambassador. He is one of the most respected and well liked players on the tour. In this conversation, Olivier and Sam discuss Sam’s life before poker including his background as an actor, his political activism and his master's degree in critical theory. They cover a number of topics ranging from the meaning of community in poker to how Sam’s trips to Palestine helped shape his worldview.

Nick Schulman is a long time poker professional who plays and wins in some of the biggest games in the world. He’s also widely regarded as one of the best commentators in the poker community. In this conversation, Nick and Olivier have a wide ranging discussion about why they love the game of poker, what it’s taught them, how they’ve grown throughout their careers and how and whether we should grow the game.

Jennifer Shahade is a two time United States Women's Chess Champion, poker player, author, commentator and podcast host. In this episode, Olivier and Jennifer discuss the book Scarcity by Sendhil Mullainathan and Eldar Shafir. Their wide ranging conversation addresses how a lack of resources can impact our decision making in poker and in life.

In 2016, with no prior training, Olivier made a 6 figure prop bet to train for 6 months and then fight another poker player in a full UFC rules MMA fight. His opponent in that fight and his guest in this episode is poker pro, JC Alvarado. This is the first full conversation that they've had since the fight. In addition to the fight, JC also talks about his poker career, getting staked by Daniel Negreanu, playing high stakes private games in Hong Kong and the decision he currently faces to leave poker.

Elliot Roe is a mental coach and hypnotherapist who helps athletes, poker players and business executives reach their highest potential.  In this conversation, Olivier and Elliot talk about the insights Elliot has learned from working with some of the top poker players in the world. They also discuss the value of meditation both as a tool to help players execute in game but also as an invaluable life skill that can help all of us learn more effectively and love more profoundly. 

Dan Colman is an enigmatic presence in the poker world. At 23 years old, he defeated Daniel Negreanu to win the 2014 WSOP Big One for One Drop Tournament. The $15,000,000 prize was the second largest in the history of poker at the time. Much was made in the press about Dan's muted reaction to winning the event. In this conversation, Olivier asks Dan about his emotions before, during and after tournaments. They also discuss Dan's decision to move further away from poker in recent years.

In the first episode of Two Lives, Olivier discusses his motivation for starting the podcast, the meaning behind the title, and he answers AMA questions from Twitter.