How to Build Stacks and Avoid Spewing Early in a Tournament

Drew Amato 2016 WSOP

Early stage tournament play, before the antes kick in, is a subject that players have varying ideas about. Some think that the pre-ante phase of an MTT is basically a cash game played with tournament chips. Others think that it’s a waste of time to enter the tournament before antes are in play—that “real” tournament…

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Poker Game Theory – How You Should Think About the Game

poker game theory strategy article

Poker has evolved rapidly in recent years. So much so that many strategy resources including some books, videos and digital content have become out-dated. The most obvious change is that old-school players made their millions from exploitative play, whereas almost all players making millions now depend on poker game theory — with exploitative play mixed…

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8 Proven Strategies for Crushing Micro Stakes Games

micro stakes poker strategy

You’ve put in long hours at the tables. You’ve studied the books, courses and training videos. But the results aren’t there yet. This happens to the best of us. Poker is not a walk in the park, even at the lowest limits. Many great players struggled for a long time to find success at the…

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4 Tips That Will Help You Win More Money On the River

river poker strategy

The river is home to some of the toughest decisions you will make—hero calls, triple barrel bluffs, agonizing folds and everything in between. And with the pot size at its largest on the river, a great call can make your session, while a mistimed bluff […]

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3 Tips That Will Skyrocket Your Win-Rate Versus C-Bets Out of Position

Limit vs No Limit vs Pot Limit

Being out-of-position is unfavorable. Being the pre-flop caller is also unfavorable. Put these together and you’ve got a recipe for some tricky post-flop spots. Not only are we at an informational disadvantage versus an in-position pre-flop raiser, but we are (usually) at a range disadvantage as well. And playing against c-bets in such spots is…

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Improve Your Results with this Proven 3-Step Poker Warm Up Routine

Have you ever had an ‘off’ day—a day filled with hesitation and second-guessing of every move you make? You probably have. Days like that come naturally with being a successful poker player, and we’re only human, after all, so we can’t expect to operate at peak performance all the time. That said, we can take…

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How to Win at Poker in 4 Steps

poker terminology check call bet raise fold

The best poker players in the world tread a calculated path to success, and work constantly to improve their game. Today we’ll discuss four steps you must take to follow their lead—steps toward becoming a winning player. Doug Polk contributed to this article How to Win at Poker Step 1: Pick a game type and…

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How to Check-Raise with Short Stacks Like an MTT Boss

vs turn check-raise

Check-raising is an indispensable play in tournaments. Since average stack sizes are shallow, a check-raise will typically represent a large portion of your remaining chips. This allows you to put a lot of pressure on your opponent(s), because in order […]

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5 Tips for 4-Betting That Every Aspiring Pro Should Know

4-bet 5-bet ninja quiz

A single 4-bet pot can make or break a session. Putting lots of chips in the pot early is not for the faint of heart. When you apply the right strategies, however, you’ll earn your opponents’ respect and win more money. Today we’ve prepared 5 tips from high stakes pro Ryan Fee that will put…

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How to Bluff with Flush Draws Like a 3-Time Bracelet Winner

missed flush draw bluff q7s

Not all flush draws are the same. This may seem like an obvious point, but it is one that draws attention to a more fundamental concept: different flush draw spots demand different strategies. We’re about to take a look at 3 example hands in which our Hero holds a flush draw. Each of these were…

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Use Solvers to Revolutionize Your Poker Game with Fried Meulders

Solvers have revolutionized poker strategy. As the name suggests, a ‘solver’ is a powerful piece of poker software that offers ‘optimal’ solutions to a specific, user-inputted scenario. (We use ‘optimal’ in the sense of ‘game theory optimal’, but must be cautious using the term ‘solved’, as No Limit Hold’em is not, strictly speaking, a solved…

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5 Not-So-Easy River Spots Explained By A Game Theory Expert

Discussing hands with friends is a great way to get better at poker. Now, imagine if one of your friends was top 6-max player and game theory expert Fried Meulders. Discussing hands with him would be an incredible way to get better at poker. Fried is a successful regular in the ultra-tough Zoom cash games…

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6 Essential Tips for Dealing with Downswings in Poker Tournaments

downswings in poker

Downswings hurt no matter what poker format you play. But downswings in poker tournaments are the stuff of nightmares because variance increases as more players enter a tournament. Avid players of large field tournaments will experience incredible highs–like winning a WSOP bracelet–and devastating lows–like losing for months on end. If you are running bad in…

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The Ultimate Guide to Preflop Multiway Pots (And Squeezing)

check-raise module

Multiway pots are extremely complex. As more players enter the pot, the size of the game-tree increases. This makes finding the best play a more complicated task than it usually is. Many players, including top pros, frequently make mistakes multiway pots. We’ll break down 8 multiway pot examples in this article. These examples help demonstrate…

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