On this week’s episode of Poker In The Ears, Joe and James tactfully skip over the political nonsense of the world to bring you entertainment that makes your heart sing with joy.

The EPT Online is a hot topic (11:10). The event started this weekend, and will be giving away over $20 million in guaranteed prizes. Joe and James will be streaming the final tables of the $1k Arena Championship, the $10k High Roller and $25k Super High Roller, as well as three consecutive days of the Main Event. You can see their schedule and live stream here.

Very special guest Matthew Dicks joins the show (19:20). He’s a multi award-winning storyteller who recently wrote a cracking article for the PS Blog. Dicks is on the podcast to enlighten you (and, most importantly, Joe) on how to tell a good bad beat story.

Dicks says that typical bad beat stories are a lot like “reporting on dinner”. In order for the story to be entertaining, there needs to be interesting elements that tie it together. So what actually makes a story?

Apparently, much to the dismay of every poker player who’s ever moaned to friends about their latest poker hands, it’s not so much about the chip counts or the flushes vs full houses.

Stories are about human beings and their transformation.

“If you have something to say about yourself as a human being, your dignity, your reputation, the way you feel about someone else – those are the things I can relate to. I have those things going on in my life all the time. That’s how we connect,” says Dicks.

So there you have it folks. Put human beings at the center of your bad beat stories. And also, never open with a platitude. Or with the end of the story. Just don’t do it.

Learn all about the art of storytelling from Matthew Dicks in the article, How to tell a good bad beat story. Then you’ll be primed to check out the interview with Dicks on the Poker In The Ears podcast. Joe learned a lot. So could you…

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