Interview with James Washer and Tournaments as a PokedadInterview with James Washer and Tournaments as a Pokedad
The Payoff with Pete
Cory and Jared chat with poké dad and former poker player James Washer about raising a competitive junior Pokémon player, improving at the game, and keeping family and fun at the centre of tournament life. The conversation blends practical strategy tips with honest stories about parenting, loss, and long-term growth.
54:45•9 Apr 2023
Poké Dads, Poker Past and Pokémon Dreams with James Washer
Episode Overview
- Stick with one deck until a child fully knows the cards before moving them on to new strategies.
- Treat each loss as a chance to find earlier misplays rather than writing it off as bad luck.
- Focus on sequencing, thinning, and understanding win conditions as key skills for improvement.
- Parents should emphasise effort and attitude over results, asking, “Did you play your best?”
- Travelling to events can give kids a safe community where they can be themselves with like‑minded friends.
“When you lose a game, don't say, 'I lost because I got unlucky'… nine times out of ten, there was something that you could have done on an earlier turn as well.”
What remarkable journeys have people faced head-on against addiction? Here, the focus shifts to another kind of obsession: Pokémon tournaments and the dads who travel the globe with their kids to play them. Cory and Jared sit down with “poké dad elite” James Washer, a maths-loving former poker grinder from Birmingham, Alabama, who swapped dreams of the World Series for weekends at Pokémon regionals with his son, Carson.
James shares how the whole thing started when eight‑year‑old Carson brought cards home from school and he noticed, “there’s like a game on here. We should learn how to play this game.” One trip to the local card shop later and the whole family was hooked.
You’ll hear James talk honestly about teaching a child to handle variance and loss without blaming luck for everything: “Once the kids realise that… you need to learn to get better… then you don’t learn.” He lays out a clear path for junior players: master one deck, learn sequencing and thinning, then study matchups and different win conditions before branching into more complex strategies. There’s plenty here for parents too.
James explains how he balances being a competitive Masters player with supporting his son, why he loves the “poké dad” label, and how travelling to events gives Carson a space where he can truly be himself with other Pokémon‑mad teens. The poker background sneaks in as he contrasts reading people with sticking to solid, percentage‑based play.
Between jokes about “poké widows”, missed flights, and dreams of becoming the oldest regional top‑8 finisher, the chat stays grounded in family, fun, and doing your best rather than chasing perfection. If you’re a parent thinking about card games for your kids—or a competitive player who wants to get better without losing your sanity—this one might get you asking: how could play, practice and patience reshape the way you compete and connect?
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