by FTR Poker Admin | May 14, 2021 | Featured MTT, MTT, Poker Strategy
I see people misplaying small pairs (22-66) a lot so I want to go over my thoughts on them and maybe we can start a discussion because some people probably disagree with some of these thoughts. I believe small pairs are extremely overrated hands that are often...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 14, 2021 | Featured Poker Tools, Poker Tools
A few weeks ago, I promised a series showing how to study poker using spreadsheets. This week, we start that series. There are some prerequisites that you’ll need to have under your belt before you can get started with this series. First, you need to work...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 14, 2021 | Beginner Poker, Poker Strategy
Almost every poker site going offers some form of meaty deposit bonus. Invest a chunk of money into a site and they’ll give you the chance to earn some extra cash. However, budding players with small bankrolls may feel that they can’t take full advantage of these...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 14, 2021 | Featured SNG, Poker Strategy, SNG
I’m not going to cover the theory underlying ICM as this has been covered much more comprehensively elsewhere (Link here), so these posts are intended to be a step-by-step guide to the following situations that cannot be calculated using SNGPT (note that SNG Wiz...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 14, 2021 | Poker Strategy, SNG
Click here to read our PokerStars Review. PokerStars features Sit & Go Tournaments (SNGs) for over a dozen different poker games, offering something for everyone, no matter what your favorite game or skill level. For those that excel in multiple types of games, or...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 14, 2021 | Live Poker, Poker Strategy
Massimo makes a couple of insightful posts about good adjustments to make when playing poker in a live casino cash game. Because the competition is so much different than a “tight”, online game, these strategies can help the online player succeed in the...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 14, 2021 | Beginner Poker, No Limit Hold'em
The Most Important Series I’ve Ever Written Back in late 2013, I wrote a five-part series that did something that I still think is pretty incredible: I taught a process for doing complex expected value (EV) calculations without requiring any kind of advanced...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 13, 2021 | Featured Limit Hold'em, Limit Hold’em, Poker Strategy
Fnord provides tons of strategy advice in our community. He put together this list of why folks suck at Limit Hold’em. You play too many hands You ignore the size of the pot (including chasing with bad pot odds) You call 2+ small bets cold pre-flop with unpaired...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 13, 2021 | Beginner Poker, Poker Strategy
If you were to ask this question to any player who is a successful multi-tabler, then they would probably laugh you out of the room. Anyone who successfully plays multiple tables and plays them very well without making stupendously dumb plays and who makes good money...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 13, 2021 | MTT, Poker Strategy
I recently found this site and thought I would post a few thoughts. I play on Party, Paradise, and Stars in the largest MTT no limit tourneys available after 6:00 pm PST most nights under this name. I especially like the 8:00 pearl and 6:00 R&A on Paradise, the...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 13, 2021 | No Limit Hold'em, Poker Strategy
I play my poker a lot differently these days. My operation has switched from high-stakes single tabling to far lower stakes and multi-tabling. So in a way this is going from high-stakes-low overlay-low turnover to low-stakes-higher overlay-higher turnover. This suits...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 13, 2021 | Poker Psychology, Poker Strategy
I am going to reveal something that I think is of immense use to any poker player. While it is critical to know how to play the game well, this is only a tiny part of being a successful poker player. Playing poker has so many similarities to financial trading that it...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 13, 2021 | Beginner Poker, Poker Psychology, Poker Strategy
“Don’t be a Poker Pansy.” Apparently you can’t make a post in the Beginner’s Forum without attaching some cheesy phrase to it. That’s probably because most beginners are slow thinkers and incapable of comprehending anything beyond...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 13, 2021 | Poker Psychology, Poker Strategy
Recently I have seen a number of posts by newer players complaining about bad beats and suckouts and perhaps even suggesting that certain sites deliver a greater proportion of bad beats than others. There is already a sticky in the bad beat forum about this but I...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 13, 2021 | No Limit Hold'em, Poker Strategy
Introduction As part of the free NLHE Foundations Course, I’ve been providing a “hold my hand” approach to different types of analysis that you can do to learn about poker. If you want to take part, go to the link above, post in the thread, and...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 13, 2021 | No Limit Hold'em, Poker Strategy
Often in HU matches, I’ll come across a player who doesn’t seem to have many leaks. He’ll raise a solid range from the BU, not play too loose OOP, and have a good mix of cbets and two barrels, as well as balanced ranges in other areas. Many when playing, whether it’s...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 13, 2021 | Cash Games, No Limit Hold'em, Poker Strategy
First, two hands…. $5/$10 No Limit Holdem 6 players Stacks: UTG fakker11 ($1594.00) UTG+1 GIVEmeSOME99 ($815.00) CO traheho ($1062.00) BTN Bttech86 ($1000.00) SB Hero ($1095.00) BB zero2lose ($2772.75) Pre-flop: ($15, 6 players) Hero is SB 4 folds, Hero...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 13, 2021 | Poker Psychology, Poker Strategy
It’s never easy to shrug off a losing session. We’ve all taken our share of beats, both good (if there is such a thing) and bad. Sometimes, they can affect us so deeply that they permanently alter the way we play. But, even in the midst of these trying...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 12, 2021 | Beginner Poker, Poker Psychology, Poker Strategy
Practice makes Perfect. It’s something we’ve all heard a million times. It’s meaning is obvious! What could I possibly have to add to this catchy, well-informed nugget!? Well, I have a secret: Practice does not make Perfect. Rather, Perfect practice...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 12, 2021 | Cash Games
For the past few weeks, we’ve been looking at the basis of pre-draw hand distributions. In this week’s edition, we’re going to put it all together and start looking at actual pre-flop hand ranges as a whole. You will need to know the material from...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 12, 2021 | Video Poker
As you’ve probably already guessed, Double Double Jackpot Poker is very similar to the video poker variant Double Jackpot Poker. Although Royal Flush still pays out the most, four-of-a-kind is the hand to hit in this game. Players should take note that in this...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 12, 2021 | Beginner Poker
One of the problems with studying poker as a whole is that different poker games have different ways of dealing the cards across multiple streets. If you want to study poker on its own, then you need to have some sort of standardized model for dealing with ranges. It...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 12, 2021 | Beginner Poker, Poker Psychology, Poker Strategy
As you can see from my blog roll, not all of my titles are original or catchy, but I do strive for them to be accurate, and this one is most certainly accurate. We all know about this term “bankroll management”, and if you don’t, allow me to give you a brief idea of...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 12, 2021 | No Limit Hold'em, Poker Strategy
Gah, I got this idea in my head and thought I’d write it down. A month ago I essentially explained to my AIM buddies something I was thinking about in a lot of depth, as it was a concept that was integral in killing tight passive games. Pretty much everything I...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 12, 2021 | Poker Strategy, SNG
Click here to read our PokerStars Review. PokerStars recently introduced a new mixed-game, 8-game, to their games. 8-game combines eight different poker games in a 6max format, testing a player’s ability in a wide variety of games. 8-game can be played in both a...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 12, 2021 | Cash Games, No Limit Hold'em, Poker Strategy
I wrote an article on FlopTurnRiver a couple of weeks ago about the merits of multi-tabling. I feel that there are deeper strategic consequences behind what was in that article. With poker there is an almost pendulum like motion with regards to what tactics and...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 12, 2021 | No Limit Hold'em, Poker Strategy
There are many players in the online poker community who use some sort of tracking software. I have never been one to go with the masses and while others have been knocking themselves out using PokerTracker or Hold’em manager, I have and will always continue to use...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 12, 2021 | Poker Strategy, SNG
Disclaimer: This guide is based on my experiences of $10 & $20 DON SNGs. Introduction This post follows on from my ‘DONs Mid-Tournament & Post Flop Play’ and looks at end game strategy based around bubble play and collusion. Bubble...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 12, 2021 | Beginner Poker, Poker Psychology, Poker Strategy
I’ve been through all the ups and downs of poker. I just thought I’d share some things with some of the beginners to help them not make mistakes early on. We all make mistakes starting out and I was making the same mistakes over and over and for far too...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 12, 2021 | Poker Strategy, Poker Tools
Below is a nice write-up provided by Calculatem Pro that describes the software package, its benefits, and some testimonials! How To Take Advantage of Bad Players At Online Poker The increase of poker popularity has led to a flood of fish who are just WAITING for you...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 12, 2021 | No Limit Hold'em, Poker Strategy
One of the recent trends in online poker is the introduction of No Limit Hold’em cash games with an Ante. Major sites such as FullTilt, UB (formerly UltimateBet), and Absolute Poker have added these games to their lobby looking to attract more players. Ante games tend...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 12, 2021 | Poker Tools
Following the same organizational ideas as we have used so far in this series, this week we’re going to look at one of my favorite topics in poker: checking to induce a bluff. We’re going to make a simple spreadsheet along the lines of what we have made in...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 11, 2021 | No Limit Hold'em, Poker Strategy
Over the years, many people have asked me for advice on what is the “perfect” strategy for certain types of games. I think people get somewhat seduced by the thought that something as complex as poker can be simplified to a few basic strategies that can be...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 11, 2021 | Poker Psychology, Poker Strategy
This article aims to express just why, in a theoretical sense, you can’t play poker under rolled. It’s for people at all levels of the game who don’t know/havn’t read this stuff, and I really hope to be explicit. There are also points that even...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 11, 2021 | MTT, Poker Strategy
With no current full-time job and after making such a huge score last month I have had a lot of time to sit and think about poker and I have been mulling over lots of ideas about articles that I would like to write about. I am constantly thinking about my game and I...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 11, 2021 | Live Dealer Casinos
There are lots of fun live dealer games to choose from at Ladbrokes. Ladbrokes also has many deposit options available. Ladbrokes Live Dealer Overview 18+. New real money customers only. First deposit only. The Wagering Requirements for all bonuses must be met within...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 11, 2021 | Live Poker, Poker Strategy
Poker tells are one of the most important aspects of poker, however they are often deemed less important than the math involved. While playing, it is crucial to observe your opponents in order to get clues as to the cards they are holding or the actions they may take....
by FTR Poker Admin | May 11, 2021 | Cash Games, No Limit Hold'em
Introduction Open limping before the flop in no-limit hold’em cash games is almost always the sign of a loose/passive, weak player. However, this doesn’t have to be the case, and you can definitely add open limping to your game in the right circumstances...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 11, 2021 | Live Poker, Poker Strategy
INTRODUCTION If you are an online player who’s about to try B&M poker for the first time, this sticky is meant for you. Unlike Brodie’s excellent article on B&M etiquette (a must-read), this one is intended to prepare you mentally for the...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 11, 2021 | Limit Hold’em, Live Poker, Poker Strategy
In my last post I gave an introduction of who I am and how I got to playing live small stakes limit poker. In this post I want to just jump into my actual guide of how to play. The best place to start is just in the basics. THE RAKE My local casino does not offer a...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 11, 2021 | Beginner Poker, Featured Strategy
The Fundamental Problem If you’re looking to win in poker in today’s games with the state of the industry being what it is, then you’re going to have to be on another level when compared to the competition. The only way to do this is to seek out as...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 11, 2021 | MTT, Poker Strategy
Point 42: Heads Up The most frequent question I get asked is how do I play heads up. This is truly a difficult part of the game for most people because they have so little experience. All most all their poker play is based on tables with large fields. I haven’t...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 11, 2021 | Limit Hold’em, Live Poker, Poker Strategy
4) The Small Broadways (KT; QJ-QT; JT) The first thing to note with all of these hands is that suitedness really increases their playability. All of these hands are good hands to play in multi-way pots because they can win occasionally just by hitting top pair; they...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 10, 2021 | Poker Psychology, Poker Strategy
After reviewing this month’s play, I came to the same conclusion I came to last month, and the month before that, and the month before that. But I have failed to act upon that conclusion. Further, many of my professional-minded friends, after reaching the exact same...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 10, 2021 | Omaha, Poker Strategy
Omaha Hi-Lo, also known as Omaha 8, is one of the most technical poker games to play, and requires quite a lot of skill in order to play correctly. It is easy to make non-obvious mistakes that will cost you a lot of money in the long run, particularly when you do not...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 10, 2021 | Beginner Poker, Poker Strategy
We’ve all been there – short stacked and blinded half into oblivion with nothing but cold cards coming our way. Then, suddenly, we look down to see queen-jack unsuited. “A monster,” we muse, and limp into the first pot we’ve played in a half hour. But when...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 10, 2021 | Poker Strategy, Poker Tools
Below is a nice write-up provided by Texas Calculatem that explains the benefits of using a poker odds calculator while playing online Texas Holdem poker. How To Use An Odds Calculator To Win More Money At Online Poker Do you use a poker odds calculator? I sure hope...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 10, 2021 | Poker Strategy, Poker Tools
Pocket pairs can be great hands in Texas Hold’em. High pairs like AA and KK can win pots without improving. Lower pairs like 22 and 33 often need help but when it arrives the hand can be dominant. For example if you hold 22 then the odds of flopping a set are...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 10, 2021 | Cash Games, No Limit Hold'em, Poker Strategy
Let’s face it, we all know how important aggression is in poker. But years ago I used to remark how easy it was to be aggressive and that anyone could do it. If I told a novice player to empty the clip every time he entered a pot then his violent aggression...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 10, 2021 | Beginner Poker, No Limit Hold'em
This is the third installment in the No-Limit Hold’em Foundations Course. Before you read this lesson, you should have completed lesson 1 and lesson 2, and this includes doing the exercises and posting them in the forum threads for each lesson. Also make sure to...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 9, 2021 | Limit Hold’em, Live Poker, Poker Strategy
In this post I am going to continue with my basic guide on how to play specific hands preflop. 2) The Big Broadways and a note about suitedness (AQ-AT; KQ-KJ) Our big broadway cards are profitable because most limit players are playing way too many hands, so when we...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 9, 2021 | No Limit Hold'em, Poker Strategy
From now on every Friday I will be taking some of the strategy discussion from the forums, sum up some of the cool content in case you missed it, and make my own comments on the issues discussed. In the high stakes forum this week, there was a hand posted by...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 9, 2021 | Poker Strategy, SNG
(50/100 + 10, 75/150 + 15, 100/200 + 20) You should generally start to open up your starting hand requirements at this stage. Since there are now antes in the pot, the pot is becoming worthwhile to steal. If the hand is folded around to you in a late position, you...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 9, 2021 | Beginner Poker, Featured Beginner Poker, Featured Poker Psychology, Poker Psychology, Poker Strategy
Whether you are a cash game, tournament, or SNG grinder, putting in time at the tables is a big key to becoming a winning player. It takes hundreds of thousands of hands to become proficient at any of the poker disciplines and to do so you will have to grind. Some...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 9, 2021 | Limit Hold’em, Poker Strategy
I have always felt that the playing of overcards presents some of the most difficult situations in limit hold’em at times. When I first started out as an online player, limit hold’em was my main game and these overcard situations were some of the most difficult for me...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 9, 2021 | Beginner Poker, Cash Games, No Limit Hold'em, Poker Strategy
I’m going to try to tie this in as much as possible the points I made in my post on blind stealing, Blind Stealing 101. I think that for the people who don’t already raise behind limpers often, it will be best if they think of it as an extension of blind...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 9, 2021 | Poker Psychology, Poker Strategy
All serious poker players are familiar with the idea of tilt. Tilt is a change, for the worse, in our poker play due to emotions. Most players recognize tilt as a negative reaction to play on the felt: a bad beat, a cooler, or even winning a large amount of money can...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 9, 2021 | Cash Games
One of the most basic things you need to know about no-limit 2-7 single draw is how the probabilities work for different types of starting hands. We’re going to start off with a look at pat hands in this game and how the range distributions work out. In...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 9, 2021 | Live Poker, MTT, Poker Strategy
I don’t know about you, but I am a poker junkie. I religiously watch (even DVR) the WSOP coverage every year on ESPN and had a mini-orgasm this year when ESPN televised much of the Main Event live. People like my wife hate the live coverage because each hand...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 9, 2021 | MTT, Poker Strategy
Point 33: The Biggest Lie in Poker What is one of the first things everyone learns playing poker? Starting hand requirements. What hand beats what and what the best hole cards are. Then armed with that certainty, neophytes all over the world are firing up their...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 9, 2021 | Cash Games, No Limit Hold'em, Poker Strategy
This is the fourth part in a series dealing with the key ideas that can be used to accelerate the process of gaining a feel for equities in different spots. In this week’s edition, we’re going to discuss some major cases for when the turn comes and how you...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 9, 2021 | Beginner Poker, Poker Strategy
The new year typically brings resolutions in your personal, professional, and more importantly, poker life. Many players view the beginning of another year as a fresh start, a time to get rid of bad habits and to begin implementing changes. Those looking for some...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 9, 2021 | Limit Hold’em, Poker Strategy
Ideally, this is where you should start playing. The levels before this are pretty useless other than the experience you get by playing the hands. This is where you really need to work on your strategies and learn to play poker more aggressively. You have the general...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 9, 2021 | Cash Games, Featured Cash Games, Featured Heads Up, Heads Up, No Limit Hold'em, Poker Strategy
After about 2 months of playing 90% HU, I have become really confident in my game and feel like I have knowledge to share about it. Initially, I wanted to write a strategy guide but my thoughts are just so scrambled Idk that I could organize it. My thoughts will be in...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 9, 2021 | Beginner Poker, Poker Strategy
When is a good time to start Multi-Tabling? Playing multiple tables has pretty much become the norm for online poker players. Actually, it’s a necessity for serious players looking to build up a bankroll or wanting to earn some regular extra spending cash. This...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 8, 2021 | Omaha, Poker Strategy
Hopefully this will be a semi-regular feature where I’m going to make strategy posts or hand analyses of varying lengths on varying Omaha topics depending on my mood. Here’s today’s installment – a hand that I discussed with a friend: Pot Limit...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 8, 2021 | Live Poker, Poker Strategy
Whenever you speak to a novice poker player or someone who knows very little about poker then you will often get similar opinions as to what it actually takes to make a good poker player. One person may say how it is all about “mathematics” while another...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 8, 2021 | No Limit Hold'em, Poker Strategy
Over the past three weeks, we have been building up to this week’s material. This week, we’re going to look at how to use what we’ve learned so far to perform EV calculations for extremely complicated scenarios. The math involved does not change at...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 8, 2021 | Poker Strategy, Poker Tools
Below is a table of Texas Holdem starting hands, ordered by their Expected Value (EV) in a 4 player holdem game. These statistics were produced by using millions of hand histories to compute the following results....
by FTR Poker Admin | May 8, 2021 | Beginner Poker, Poker Psychology, Poker Strategy
A lot of time is spent discussing proper bankroll management. While this is an important fundamental everyone must conquer, players must also learn how to build their roll to move up in stakes. Between good play, cashing in on bonuses, promotions, and/or rakeback, and...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 8, 2021 | No Limit Hold'em, Poker Strategy
Introduction After reading through the latest gut wrenching 19 hands chart thread, I am going to try an experiment. We don’t have enough people writing interesting and informative articles around here anymore. The stickies are becoming stale and outdated. I...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 8, 2021 | No Limit Hold'em, Poker Strategy
These thoughts about manipulation keep running through my mind and it’s keeping me awake, so I decided I’d write them down. A few months ago I got really into manipulation and made some pretty good blog posts about it. Eventually, I got more into exploring...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 8, 2021 | Beginner Poker, Poker Strategy, SNG
This is the fifth part of a series of tutorials teaching people how to perform expected value calculations with a minimum amount of math. Please read through the first four parts of this series before you start into this segment on tournament calculations. While the...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 8, 2021 | Cash Games, No Limit Hold'em
Introduction Back in my very first edition of this strategy column, I outlined what I believe to be a very efficient method for approaching the process of learning in poker. Later on, I expanded on these ideas in late 2014 in my original article An Introduction to...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 8, 2021 | No Limit Hold'em, Poker Strategy
Specific hand strategy First of all, these aren’t all the situations that occur. I only chose to outline the situations that occur very frequently. The situations that don’t come so frequently are the ones you’ll have to confront head on and use your best judgment....
by FTR Poker Admin | May 8, 2021 | Poker Psychology, Poker Strategy
You have a pretty looking hand and your opponent has a funny, lopsided looking hand and you’re happy to see that all the money goes in the pot. The end. Everything after that is just an illusion taking your focus away from a truth in poker. You’ve made the...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 8, 2021 | Poker Psychology, Poker Strategy
Yes, poker is definitely like her. It can give you feelings of great exhilaration, and then bloody annoy you, all within the space of a few minutes. When you first meet poker, you just want more. You can’t stop playing with her, and think she’s the best...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 8, 2021 | Beginner Poker, Cash Games, No Limit Hold'em, Poker Strategy
I have to admit, most of my articles give advice that is hard to understand. When you don’t understand preliminary concepts to the ideas of talking about, it’s almost impossible to truly understand anything I or high stakes players talk about. In later articles I’m...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 8, 2021 | Featured Limit Hold'em, Limit Hold’em, Poker Strategy
When you play a game like limit hold’em, or any other form of poker for that matter, it is important to try and assess what you are trying to do before the flop and also what you will need to do post flop. So when you make a play pre-flop in limit hold’em then one of...
by FTR Poker Admin | May 8, 2021 | Beginner Poker, Poker Psychology, Poker Strategy
Most of my recent blogs have been geared toward live poker. However, since we’re in an online environment, I felt that it was high time that I gave some tips and tricks to help you in the internet age. We’ve all fallen prey to the common ills of online...
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