Ep 16 - Josh McSwiney - Spinning up his last dollar, High Rake, Bad Games, Why & How To Fix it!
Ep 16 - Josh McSwiney - Spinning up his last dollar, High Rake, Bad Games, Why & How To Fix it!
Josh McSwiney's Story
APL Million Wrap
2025 APL Million Pros & Cons
Australian Gambling Regulation
Unregulated Online Poker in Australia
Pokies/Slot Machines Australia
Josh and Co-Hosts Fire Up and Debate:
- Rake
- Tournament Structures & Solutions
- Tournament Bubbles & Solutions
Jackstar Structure & Rake
The Star & Crown Rake
Operator Transparency
Upcoming Events
Hosted by Australian Poker Schedule founder Craig Abernethy.
Co-host - Catherine Young
Co-host - Professional live and online poker player Troy Mclean.
The content and topics we discuss in this episode are all on the pulse!
Special Thanks
Joshua McSwiney
Troy McLean
Catherine Young
Edited & Produced by
Craig Abernethy
craigabernethy.com.au
In Memory
Haydn Josling
(17 February 1991 - 8 July 2025)
Australian Poker Schedule
https://australianpokerschedule.com.au
Project Sun Rub
@projectsunrun on Instagram
www.projectsunrun.com
Chapters
0:00 - Intro
5:46 - Meet Josh McSwiney, his poker story, getting into poker, the lows, the highs, spin-ups and everything in between
19:34 - $15M APL Million Series Wrap - The big winners
23:20 - 2025 APL Million Pros & Cons
30:09 - Australian Gambling Regulation
31:35 - Pokies/Slot Machines Australia
33:39 - Australian Laws & Online Poker Ban/Tobacco Taxes creating other issues
36:15 - Unregulated Online Poker in Australia
38:02 - Unbeatable Poker Tournaments due to Rake and Structures
40:14 - Examples of Negative EV unbeatable tournaments and the data behind them.
42:29 - Best game under $200 in Australia, $180 Self-Dealt APL Million Classic
43:23 - Pushing back with examples of why rake is higher in Australia
44:52 - Rising Costs that players have to contend with
46:20 - Required Bankroll to play poker to reduce risk of ruin and going bust
47:17 - Possible solutions players/dealers and operators compromising
52:57 - How poker structures also affect ROI and win rate, final stages of tournaments
55:53 - Structure Solutions: Blind Level Roll-backs
56:45 - Unjustified rake for 1 day tournaments vs 3+ day tournaments
58:39 - Structure Solutions: Shot-clocks and the tournament money bubble
1:01:52 - Feedback: $2,500 APL Centurion new and improved structure
1:04:06 - Transparency: Some operators still not disclosing full details including structures, rake and everything.
1:05:20 - Bubble Frustration and Solution: Shot-clocks
1:06:35 - Australia's insane casino rake, cash games, No service or comps
1:07:15 - Australia's high rake on turbo's and satellites
1:08:17 - Josh McSwiney career highlights, most important wins, running hot
1:09:54 - Josh's Main Event win at Stacked Adelaide, the venue, and experience at great value cheaper than the big cities
1:13:16 - Other poker in Australia, WPT Australia, APLPT $300K GTD Kedron-Wavell (Brisbane), Poker in Paradise at APL The Ville 600
1:14:40 - Josh's pro tips and advice on how to pick your stops, organisation, accommodation, flights, rake-back incentives.
1:16:00 - Episode Summary and Wrap Up
1:16:52 - Feedback and credit for Josh and ambassadors speaking up!
1:18:35 - Please subscribe
New Zealand