Solve For Why’s ‘Only Friends’ Poker Podcast Ends After Three Years

After 719 episodes over a three-year period, the popular Only Friends podcast hosted by the Solve For Why crew is no longer.

Solve For Why founder Matt Berkey announced in March that he would be ending the daily podcast, which won the 2023 Global Poker Award (GPA) for Best Podcast.

Berkey said the decision was in part due to losing the Las Vegas studio space but added in a later post that YouTube’s recent crackdown on certain gambling content made the decision to end Only Friends “feel like the right one.”

The Solve For Why crew celebrated the podcast’s ending with a four-hour stream on Friday that featured an array of guest poker players and content creators including Nikki Limo, Jesse Sylvia, Jason Sommerville, Ryan Depaulo and PokerNews Podcast co-host Mike Holtz.

“It’s a bittersweet day as we are live w/our 719th and final episode,” the crew wrote on X. “Thank you to everyone who joined us for the ride. We really appreciate all the support and loyalty day in and day out. Let’s go out w/a bang.”

‘Only Friends’ Says Goodbye

Only Friends debuted in March 2022 and quickly gained a following among poker fans for its ensemble cast that included Landon Tice, Conrad Simpson, Melissa Schubert and Brian “Tortoise” Lamanna.

The crew streamed daily for the next three years, covering everything from cheating scandals to cryptocurrency markets and general life advice. Many praised the show for its unfiltered commentary on the poker industry and for the expertise brought by Berkey, a well-known high-stakes cash game player.

Several poker players and industry figures voiced sadness at seeing Only Friends go, including Joey Ingram, Lance Bradley, Chad Holloway, Marle Spragg, Joe Stapleton and Caitlin Comeskey.

“The end of a very impressive run,” Bradley wrote on X. “Our game is always best served when people takes risks and try new things. Kudos to the entire crew for pushing (pulling?) us forward.”

Head to YouTube to see the final Only Friends podcast episode.

Big Bet Berkey Battles to Beat Box Breaker Bleznick

_{*Lead photo courtesy Solve For Why via YouTube}

Connor Richards is an Editor & Live Reporter for PokerNews and host of the Life Outside Poker podcast. Connor has been nominated for two Global Poker Awards for his writing.

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