The Truth About ICM (According to Nick Petrangelo)

icm with nick petrangelo

High stakes tournament crusher Nick Petrangelo views the Independent Chip Model (ICM) differently than most tournament players. Nick shares his views in his ICM Unmasked course. Here’s a quote from the introduction video: I think that people have gotten really carried away with the concept of ICM and it being very rigid…but I think there…

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Crush Live Poker Games With These 8 Battle-Tested Tactics

big stack of poker chips in live casino game

It is no secret that live poker games are far softer than online games. Most successful online players could switch to live poker and win at a solid rate from the get-go. The same can not be said for successful live players who hop online. Yet the players who have the highest hourly win-rates in…

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Big Blind Defense Strategy 101: Tournaments vs Cash Games

big blind defense strategy cash vs tournaments

Did you know that it is basically impossible to win money from the big blind in the long run? The big blind has to pay a full blind without looking at their cards (a massive disadvantage) and will be out of position against most opponents postflop. It’s an unforgiving position with many opportunities for mistakes.…

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How to Find a Live Poker Tournament

Poker tournament, chips on a poker table

Poker tournaments are still the most popular way to play poker. You have many tools at your disposal when you’re looking for information on live poker tournaments in your area. Whether you’re looking for a local tournament, on vacation, or searching for opportunity to travel and live the poker dream, here are some of the…

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How to Win on Low Flops When You’re Out of Position

low flops out of position

If you’ve ever looked down at a low flop and been unsure how to proceed, this is the article for you. Today we’re going to focus on how to play on low boards out of position after raising before the flop. This can be an intimidating spot because the stack-to-pot ratio is high (making it…

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[QUIZ] Can You Face Down a Double Barrel on the Turn?

Do you know when to fold, call, and raise against a double barrel on the turn? Let’s find out!Answer the following 10 questions in which you are the big blind versus a player who raised on the button, bet on the flop, and bet again on the turn, then […]

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Should You Stop Cold-Calling in Cash Games?

cold-calling cash games

Some poker players think you should only 3-bet or fold and never cold-call versus a single preflop raise. Other poker players think cold-calling is worth including your strategy. Who’s right? Today we’re going to go over cold-calling in cash games. We’ll start with the pros and cons so you can understand the basics of the…

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Why Are Most Poker Players Wimpy Bluffers?

wimpy bluffers

(Photo: PartyPoker) In part 1 of this article series, I told you about the Honesty Principle. The Honesty Principle: As a whole, the poker community bluffs much less than it should. In part 2, you read about the poker artificial intelligence Libratus and its uncanny ability to bluff at balanced frequencies. It should be fairly…

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[QUIZ] Do You Actually Know When to Delay C-Bet?

delay c-betting quiz

Ready to quiz your delayed c-betting skills? (Delayed c-betting is when you bet on the turn after checking back on the flop as the preflop aggressor. You can read up on this tactic before taking the quiz here.) Good luck, and don’t forget to share your score […]

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When a Poker A.I. Went Crazy with Five-Three Suited (Analysis)

poker artificial intelligence ai

In part 1 of this article series, we talked about the fact that the vast majority of poker players do not bluff often enough. As a result, their betting actions generally represent “honesty” (value hands) rather than “dishonesty” (bluffs). This led me to introduce what I call the Honesty Principle. The Honesty Principle: As a…

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When to Avoid a Solver’s “GTO” Plays

when to avoid theory

I was just listening to a podcast with Doug Polk and Andres “Educa-p0ker” Artinano. This quote from Andres stood out (paraphrased): Solvers are very good for studying the preflop and flop strategy, but not so useful for studying the turn and the river. Andres is basically saying that it’s less important to play theoretically sound…

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