Poker Strategy
FTR will turn you into a winning poker player!
Welcome to FTR’s Poker Strategy section! We currently have 508 free Poker Strategy articles in our ever growing archive.
These strategy articles contain as much information as you would find in multiple poker books – for free! Make sure you take advantage of this free poker strategy and poker training, on all of the topics shown below. Whether you’re a beginner, seasoned professional, cash game grinder, or tournament specialist, there is something to help take your game to the next level.
FTR has been featured by many poker websites and magazines over the years. In Bluff Magazine, Lee Jones mentioned that FlopTurnRiver.com has absolute golden information you can use to improve your game. Poker pro Chris “Wallace” Fox also recommended FlopTurnRiver.com as a free poker training site in Poker Pro Magazine. We also have many reader testimonials from our members saying FTR made them a winning poker player.
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Categories in Poker Strategy
Beginner Poker
112 Articles
Basic strategy concepts to teach new players how to play poker.
Cash Games
58 Articles
When the value of your chips actually means something.
Heads Up
6 Articles
Learn how to battle and beat your opponents, mano y mano.
Limit Hold'em
38 Articles
Strategy articles that help you bet, raise, 3-bet, and cap your bets.
Live Poker
38 Articles
Learn how to transition from online play to your local casino.
MTT
35 Articles
We teach you how to make the final table and lock up a big score.
No Limit Hold'em
182 Articles
What are the two most powerful words in poker? I’m all-in.
Omaha
14 Articles
When two cards just aren’t enough.
Open Face Chinese
4 Articles
Learn how to get those Queens up top for Fantasy Land.
Poker Dictionary
1,236 Articles
Learn the lingo and terms used by poker players.
Poker Psychology
67 Articles
The power of the mind in poker: There is no spade.
Poker Rules
14 Articles
The rules of the road. Learn how to play various forms of poker.
Poker Tools
37 Articles
Improve your game by learning how to use the tools of the trade.
Poker Videos
98 Articles
Watch and learn from the best in the world.
SNG
41 Articles
For the players who only have two decisions, shove or fold.
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Featured Poker Strategy Articles
Spenda’s 5 Biggest Leaks of a Losing NL Player – Leak 1
If you’re a losing No Limit Hold’em player, then you probably have big leaks in your game. Always remember to consider the value of position at all times. Another thing that losing players have a problem with is controlling the size of the pot.
Bankroll Management 101
Bankroll Management Calculator The above tool will help determine which buy-in level you should be playing at, based on the size of your current bankroll. It will give you 3...
Taking the Next Step
In poker, it’s important to keep improving your game so that you can move up in stakes. By carefully considering bankroll management, studying the player pool at your new level and approaching the bigger game with the right mindset, you can increase your chances for success.
Tactics vs. Strategy (Part 1): The Study of Tactics in Poker
The study of tactical play in poker is about figuring out which plays are likely to work well against certain player types and against the field as a whole.
The Psychology of Losing
You can’t win every hand or tournament when playing poker. But an extended losing streak can often have severe emotional repercussions that may compound over time, causing you to lose even more. Learn how to break out of the cycle and start winning again.
How, Why and When to Double Barrel in No-Limit Hold’em
In this week’s column, we look at tons of different ideas that govern how, when and why to double barrel on the turn in no-limit hold’em games.
Most Recent Articles in Poker Strategy
NLHE Foundations #03: Calling to Close the Action in 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 sign...
Blind Stealing 101
A few people have been posting stats threads lately and I've seen a trend that really needs to be addressed. Most of the people I've seen stats on are not stealing blinds nearly enough, and aren't defending their blinds nearly enough. I've decided to type up something...
EV Calculations Tutorial 3: More Complicated Scenarios
When calculating the expected value of a semi-bluff, you will need to work with compound probabilities. This means that certain probabilities will be expressed as the product of the probabilities of two events occurring. If you’re careful, the calculations should be easy.
The Reality of Online Poker
Having spent around twenty years in the gambling industry in one capacity or another and numerous years in online poker, you cannot help but become aware of the seedier side of the industry. But this applies to all fields, it doesn’t matter what it is or how high...
PokerStars Sit And Gos – 8 Game
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...
Spenda’s 5 Biggest Leaks of a Losing NL Player – Leak 4
#4 Adjusting to Certain Player Types Poker is not an easy game. There are so many variables that a lot of the time it could be classified as a glorified guessing game. We are presented with many different opponents, all who have different ideas on optimal plays. To...
Texas Holdem Expected Value Hand Charts – 8 Players
While you should choose your ranges based upon game dynamics and your personal playing style, it’s sometimes helpful to see the average value of different starting hands. In this chart, we’ve compiled the EV of different cards across millions of hands in 8-player games.
Texas Holdem Expected Value Hand Charts – 7 Players
Working on preflop ranges can be difficult because you’ll almost never have a valid sample size. Check out these results from millions of 7-handed Texas Hold’em tables to see what hands are profitable for other players and what hands lose money.
Rules for Table Selection
There are many things you can do to increase your poker skill and you should do them. However, it is unlikely that you will do anything between now and your next poker session that will dramatically increase your skill. Reading the right books, studying some articles,...
Texas Holdem Poker Hands Position (Full Ring)
Depending on your position, your poker hands order will change; this is especially true when the table is full. The later you are to act, the more liberal you can be with the order of the hands you choose to play. The closer you are to being first to act, the more conservative you’ll need to be.
PokerStars SnG Tournaments – Types/Definitions/Descriptions
Click here to read our PokerStars Review. Have you ever wondered what Sit & Go tournaments were available on PokerStars in your favorite games? Have you ever wondered what the buyin levels were, so you could plan your moves up? Well, wonder no more. We here at FTR...
Emotional Mastery Over Poker Tilt
Here's a fun topic I spent some time working on. It's incomplete but this is an endless topic. Does it make sense to anyone else, or just me? (To give credit where it's due, this is my take on Anthony Robbins - you can do a search for his books.) Realizing Emotional...
Short Stacked and Dangerous
It’s one of the scariest feelings in poker – You’ve just lost a huge pot to a three-to-one underdog and given up most of your stack. As you watch the opponent sort your chips and integrate them into his pile, a sickening realization creeps up on you… You’re short stacked, playing against opponents with more the five times your chip count.
Reversing the Initiative in a Hand
Reversing the initiative in a hand (when is this appropriate and why is it valuable) First I think it's important to define what initiative is, and how it varies. Player A open raises preflop, and Player B calls in position. Player A has the initiative. In order to...
Leveling by Gametight
Leveling is an in-game battle of psychology. It stems from this: Level 0: What do I have? Level 1: What does my opponent have? Level 2: What does my opponent think I have? Level 3: What does my opponent think that I think they have? Level 4: What does my opponent...