If you are eager to learn the Foundations of No-Limit Texas Hold'em, one of the most popular and exciting card games in the world, then this beginner's article guide is the perfect place for you.

And if you are new to the game but not sure where to start, don't worry LearnWPT is here to help.

In the video above we covered some basic things a new poker player needs to know in order to play the game. LearnWPT Lead Instructor Nick Binger shows you the Foundations of No-Limit Texas Hold’em:

1. Poker hand rankings
2. Tips for proper betting
3. Handling cards
4. Key strategies for selecting which hands to play at the start of each hand

Plus get FREE downloadable tools below!

First-In Hand Range charts are an amazing poker tool to help you quickly learn the Foundations of No-Limit Texas Hold’em. This tool will tell you what hands to play when you are the first person to put money into the pot at the poker table. They'll keep you on very solid, profitable ground and ensure that you aren't playing bad poker hands!

Download your FREE copy of first-in hand range charts here

Here are some tips for using them at the table:

• Use the Position Graphic at the beginning to determine your position at the table and reference the appropriate chart for your seat. Always count backwards from the Button ("dealer button") to determine your position
• You should raise with all hands highlighted in PINK. Do not call the minimum bet amount - RAISE!
• Your raise sizing should be 3 times the big blind amount. For example if blinds are 100-200 in a tournament and you elect to raise first-in to the pot, your total bet amount should be 600
• Stay consistent with your raise sizing. If you raise a larger amount with a specific hand and smaller amounts with others, you will be easier to read at the table (IE don't raise to 600 with AA, but 400 with 99)

Remember, these charts are intended for use when you are the first person to put chips in the pot before the flop aside from the blinds (forced bets). If someone else has already voluntarily put chips in the pot before your turn to act, these charts do not apply.

When you join LearnWPT.com for just $5 your first month we'll teach you the 5 Key Factors every player needs to know to put your opponents on accurate hand ranges!

• Position
• Range
• Stack Depth
• Board Texture
• Number of Opponents

When you start playing, no matter if it is a cash game, online poker tournament or the biggest live poker event, understanding the fundamentals of No-Limit Texas Hold’em will help you elevate your skills toward becoming a professional poker player.

Check out this preview of the Episodes you'll receive as part of your $5 First Month Membership introducing the 5 Key Factors...

PRO TIP: To build mental muscle memory for these tasks in real-time, focus on the 5 Key Factors even when you are NOT in the hand.

TRACK YOUR PLAY TO BUILD A STUDY ROUTINE

If you want to learn No-Limit Texas Hold’em poker strategy and start seeing better results at the table, the first step is to write down the specifics of what happens in hands when you are faced with difficult decisions.

Poker software programs that capture hand histories and allow users to control replays such as LearnWPT’s Hand Input Tool, offer an easy way to enter hands with your favorite internet-connected device.

When just beginning to study poker it’s often most beneficial to start tracking your play simply using a pen and paper. It is important to make sure you are tracking the right factors when noting hands for poker strategy study so that you can develop a consistent process and measure your progress.

Here is a simple checklist of 8 questions to use when tracking your play for poker strategy analysis:

1. ☐ What was my seat position at the table?
2. ☐ What were the seat positions of my opponents?
3. ☐ What was my chip stack to start the hand?
4. ☐ What were the chip stacks of my opponents to start the hand?
5. ☐ What were my 2 cards, specific rank and suit?
6. ☐ What were the community cards, specific rank and suit?
7. ☐ What were the specific actions in the hand? Which player opened the betting?
8. ☐ Did my opponents show down their hand, if so what were the specific cards?

Use this checklist to review your play on a regular basis and you will start to see patterns that can be adjusted to increase your win rate. It is very important to remember that the result of any given hand does not matter when studying poker hands to try and improve your game.

Focus your study on trying to determine what actions your opponent would take with all types of hands they could have in a specific spot and avoid trying to pinpoint a single hand.

We created LearnWPT to make it as easy as possible for anyone to improve their poker game, on their own time and their own terms. A plan for improvement that includes small, consistent amounts of effort over time is the key factor that most often separates winning pros and students of the game from the average poker player.

Ready to continue learning the Foundations of No-Limit Texas Hold’em Strategy and become a better player?

Enter your email in the box below or visit LearnWPT.com and click the green PLAY NOW button to immediately gain access to Free Poker Strategy Content and Tools (including Full LearnWPT Strategy Episodes)

PLUS Receive free poker strategy emails to your inbox each week.

No matter how you choose to use LearnWPT.com there’s a path for you to learn, improve, and have fun on your own time and your own terms.

I am honored to be your guide on this journey and appreciate your support of LearnWPT!

Nick Binger
Lead Instructor, LearnWPT

Have Questions about LearnWPT? Send an email to our Support Team at [email protected] or click the red CONTACT US button and they will be happy to help!

We all make mistakes due to lack of focus, loss of motivation, or because we are simply unprepared. Thousands of hours studying hands and playing in pressure situations should make decisions easier over time, but even the best players in the world make mistakes when it matters most.

The key to improvement and avoiding these mistakes comes from being a student of The Mental Game.

In Strategy Episode 58, Jared introduces us to the concept of The Mental Game and why players of every skill level should add these strategies to their study routine right now!

Gain access to our full library of Mental Game Strategy Episodes from Jared Tendler right now when you join LearnWPT.com as part of your $5 First Month Membership!

We'll see you online!
-Team LearnWPT

DECISION POINT: In a Tournament where blinds are 800/1,600 it folds to a Middle Position player who limps. The Hijack folds and you raise to 5,200 from the Cutoff with Q♥J♥. The Button folds, the Small Blind goes all-in, and both the Big Blind and MP2 fold. Action is on you, what do you do here?

PRO ANSWER: In a Multi-Table Tournament with 800/1,600 blinds and a 20 chip ante we are dealt QJs in the Cutoff. The MP2 open limps and it folds to us. We could potentially limp behind and play QJs speculatively as a suited connector. Specifically in tournaments, picking up chips is at a premium and a preflop raise here gives us an opportunity to take the pot down preflop or potentially on the flop with a continuation bet. While calling behind is profitable, raising is a better play. We decide to isolate with a raise to 5,200.

It folds to the Small Blind who moves all in for 19,000 chips. All of the other players fold and it is back on us with a decision to make. At this point there is 27,560 in the pot and it is 13,800 more to call. This means we are getting almost exactly 2:1 pot odds. Preflop hand values in No-Limit Hold’em run close enough together that it is extremely rare for a hand to have less than 33% equity versus all but the narrowest of ranges. We also have a reasonably strong hand for this situation, although probably not the best hand at the moment.

Even if our opponent has a fairly narrow range such as 88+, ATs+, KQs, AJo+, KQo we still have over 33% equity here. The final factors to evaluate are specific to this tournament. If calling in this spot would have a significant impact on our stack’s ability to accumulate chips in the rest of the tournament we could consider passing on this edge. For example, if we call and lose and our 25-30 BB stack is reduced to 10 BB stack, we would lose the ability to steal or reshove and must play push/fold poker.

In this situation, if we call and lose this hand our stack will be reduced from around 30 BBs to 20 BBs. While the impact of losing our stack is not insignificant, it is not enough to warrant passing up on a profitable call here.

Calling is the best play.

The WPT GTO Trainer allows you to Play and Train against True GTO Opponents and get real-time Feedback and Analysis on Your Actions.

LearnWPT.com Members can choose from Cash Game and Tournament scenarios and receive immediate feedback on their play compared to GTO including EV (expected value) Loss, Percentage Played, and the Ideal Action.

Click the button below and play the WPT GTO Trainer for free....

Join LearnWPT.com for just $5 your First Month of Membership and play through hundreds of solved hands per hour (anytime, anywhere, and as many hands as you want) on the WPT GTO Trainer!

DECISION POINT: In a Tournament a Middle Position player raises and it folds to you in the Big Blind. You 3-Bet with Q♥Q♦ and get a call. On the 8♠A♥J♣ flop you bet and MP2 calls. You check the 4♦ turn, MP2 bets, and you call. The river is 5♠ and you check. Your opponent goes all-in and action is on you. What do you do here?

PRO ANSWER: We are dealt pocket queens in the Big Blind. It is folded to MP2 who raises to 2.5 BBs. It folds to us and we reraise to 10 BBs and our opponent flat calls. The flop is 8sAhJc. With a stack to pot ratio (SPR) of just under 2 here it’s very difficult to get away from our hand. So the question is: how we can extract the most value out of our Pocket Queens?

A pure GTO solution to this situation involves a mixed strategy of checking to induce bluffs as well as betting extremely small (around 5.5 BBs). Both of these strategies keep our opponent’s range extremely wide and allow them to either bluff with much of their range (when we check) or call with worse hands than ours (when we bet small). In this situation we elect to make a small bet of 5.5 BBs and our opponent calls.

The turn is the 4d, which changes very little. Given our small bet on the flop we have encouraged our opponent to float (a float is when someone calls the flop to take the pot away on a later street) with a wide range. This means checking to them makes a lot of sense here to potentially encourage bets from many of the back door flush draws, weaker hands, and pure air that is in our opponent’s range. We check and our opponent bets 8 BBs.

Against tougher opponents who are capable of fighting for pots in this spot it is very important that we call here or else we have set our opponent up to be able to float us VERY profitably in this spot with their entire range. Against very straightforward opponents who are not capable of floating or bluffing with the correct frequencies we could make an exploitative fold here, but against tougher opponents we must call and we do.

The river is the 5s which changes very little given neither of our ranges rarely connect with it. We check and our opponent moves all-in. This is an extremely difficult spot versus a tough opponent. We’re getting nearly 3:1 on our money so before considering any other tournament factors, we need our opponent to be bluffing here around 25% of the time as we should only beat a bluff. If you use a GTO solver on this problem, it actually recommends a mixed strategy of calling and folding.

This is one of the real benefits of GTO solvers. It shows us how to optimally play against the very toughest opponents who are fighting hard for every last chip. Against the absolute toughest opponents who are capable of bluffing in this spot we should absolutely be calling some percentage of the time.

So the question we have to ask ourselves is: Is our opponent capable of floating and bluffing in this spot? In most regular tournaments where the field isn’t as tough and doesn’t play as optimally as the computer does in these spots, most players simply aren’t bluffing in these spots for all their chips often enough to justify calling here against all but the absolute toughest opponents.

Knowing the optimal way to play a situation and then adjusting for opponent tendencies is essential to adapting to the field in a post solver world.

Folding is the best play.

• To Train and Play Hands using the WPT GTO Trainer for instant feedback on YOUR leaks
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• Downloadable Tools you can use at and away from the tables

To join (just $5 your first month) click the white JOIN NOW button in the top corner of your screen or the JOIN TODAY button below to start improving your game!

Have Questions about LearnWPT? Email us at [email protected] and we’ll be happy to help!

LearnWPT Instructor Tony Dunst recently broke down a hero fold he made on the bubble of the WPT Montreal $5000 CAD No-Limit Hold'em High Roller Event that helped add $95K to his already impressive Tournament winnings.

Check out Tony's blog where he breaks down his thought process with big pressure and big money on the line...

Learn more about Tony and how he can help improve your game by clicking here: Meet LearnWPT Instructor Tony Dunst

DECISION POINT: At a 6-handed Tournament final table where blinds are 6,000/12,000 the Middle Position player limps and the Cutoff raises. It folds to you in the Small Blind with T♠T♥. Action is on you, what do you do here?

PRO ANSWER: At the final table of a daily local casino tournament the blinds are 6,000/12,000 with a 12,000 big blind ante we are dealt pocket tens in the Small Blind. The MP2 player limps and it folds to the Cutoff who raises to 35,000. The Button folds and action is on us.

Play has been a little tight and players have still been limping with some regularity. The first thing we need to do here is put our opponents on estimated hand ranges. Normally the open limper would be a bit concerning as they have only around 8 big blinds to begin the hand and most players are aware that with a short stack they should be either pushing all-in or folding a vast majority of the time. Given that limping is going on with some regularity, we can assign a range of some premium hands and some hands our opponents want to “see a flop” with such as mid pocket pairs and connectors or broadway hands such as QJo.

The Cutoff player, if they are aware of players limping fairly wide ranges, should be raising quite wide here. With the Hijack only having 65,000 chips and it being the final table, pay jumps should be fairly significant at this point. This means MP2 should be very wary of busting prior to the Hijack without a decent hand so they move up the pay scale.

Given both of those factors, our pocket tens are likely well ahead of both ranges. Another factor to consider is how important is it for US to not bust before the shorter stacks and move up the pay scale. Certainly if our hand were a bit more marginal like pocket sevens we would have to seriously consider folding here.

Pocket tens is a premium hand and even though we are unlikely to generate a huge amount of fold equity when we move all-in, our chip stack does potentially hurt Villain and take away many of their opportunities to abuse the shorter stacks in this way. This means we will generate some folds which will give us an additional 77,000 chips. In other instances we will be playing a pot with a significant equity edge over our opponent’s range of hands that if we win, will make us the chip leader and give us opportunities to abuse these same concepts against the rest of the table.

While this decision is closer than it may seem on the surface, our hand is still far too strong versus our opponent’s ranges in this situation to fold.

Moving all-in is the best play.

Whether you are a tournament or cash game player, looking to advance your move arsenal, or ready to master the game, attending a LearnWPT Live Strategy Workshop is the quickest and most effective way to expand your No-Limit Hold’em game plan and get you on a path to success.

For the current schedule of 2-Day and 3-Day interactive training events taught by winning Professional Players and world-class Instructors click the button below:

Have a question about LearnWPT Live Workshops? Contact us at [email protected] or (888)600-5593 and we’ll be happy to help!

Ever wish you had a Poker Pro looking over your shoulder, helping you to decide whether to call a big raise or fire that third barrel?

What if you had the chance to get personal advice and feedback on YOUR play from Nick Binger, Andrew "LuckyChewy" Lichtenberger, and Eric "Rizen" Lynch?

Would you seize the opportunity to be 1 of 30 students who are given intimate access to proven advanced techniques and decision-making processes that help top professionals thrive in today’s competitive games?

Attend the LearnWPT Live at Bellagio Advanced Tournament Strategy Workshop + Lab Day Session May 23rd - 25th, 2020 in Las Vegas and:

• Transform your preflop and postflop play through a deeper understanding of concepts and techniques used by top players
• Discover the process that the world’s best players use to maintain a cycle of constant improvement and keep their edge
• Get in-depth feedback regarding your play and learn the keys to real-time hand analysis directly at the table during Lab Day

ARE YOU READY?

Click below for schedule of upcoming events:

Questions? Contact the Live Support Team (888) 600-5593 or [email protected] and we’ll be happy to help.

We created LearnWPT to make it as easy as possible for anyone to improve their poker game, on their own time and their own terms. A plan for improvement that includes small, consistent amounts of effort over time is the key factor that most often separates winning pros and students of the game from the average poker player.

And we've made it much easier to improve your No-Limit Texas Hold'em game with our Membership Tier Levels. Choose the LearnWPT Membership to best fit your budget, schedule, and stage in your development as a player (upgrade or cancel at any time).

We've also made it super easy for you to upgrade to the next Tier without waiting for the end of your current term (view your current Membership Tier on your MY ACCOUNT page).

When upgrading your current Subscription Plan to a higher Membership Tier, a prorated credit from your existing plan will be applied to your new plan. You will never lose value by upgrading!

The $5 First Month Membership helps new members fix nagging leaks and craft their own game while learning fundamental strategies. Choose specific game situations that give you the most trouble and get in-depth answers with steps for improvement. Filter for Foundations, Small Stakes, Mid Stakes, or High Stakes curriculum and tailor your training to the areas that need improving the most.

$5 for Your First 30 Days of Membership gives you access to:

• 41 WPT GTO Trainer Scenarios
  • Train and practice Cash Game, Multi Table Tournament, Small Stakes Cash, Final Table, and Heads Up spots
• The ENTIRE On-Demand Library of Game-Changing Strategy Episodes (500+ and counting!)
• Access to the LearnWPT Membership Features
  • Hand Input Tool (HIT)
  • Ask A Pro
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At the end of your $5 First Month Membership you will automatically upgrade and unlock full membership benefits (including Member Discounts on LearnWPT Live Workshops and new in-depth strategy content weekly) for just $29 a month.

Upgrade anytime to Gold or Platinum Membership Levels!

A LearnWPT $29 Monthly Silver Membership or $288 Yearly Silver Membership gives you access to:

• 41 WPT GTO Trainer Scenarios
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  • BONUS: Yearly Members receive 3 extra training scenario
• The on-demand library of over 500+ Strategy Episodes PLUS new strategy content weekly
• The LearnWPT Membership Features
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A LearnWPT $59 Monthly Gold Membership or $588 Yearly Gold Membership gives you access to:

• 56 WPT GTO Trainer Scenarios
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• The on-demand library of over 500+ Strategy Episodes PLUS new strategy content weekly
• The LearnWPT Membership Features
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Bonus: Gold Members receive Early Access to new Features and Live Training Events!

A LearnWPT $99 Monthly Platinum Membership or $996 Yearly Platinum Membership gives you access to:

• Unlimited Access to all WPT GTO Trainer Scenarios
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Bonus: Platinum Members receive Early Access to new Features and Live Training Events!

Note: Upgrade to any Membership Level from your current tier and a prorated created from your existing plan will be applied to your new play. You will never lose value by upgrading!

We've made it easy for you to watch, train, discuss, study, and improve with these exclusive LearnWPT Membership Features:

• WPT GTO Trainer: Play real GTO hands online and as often as you like while getting real time feedback on YOUR trouble spots. The WPT GTO Trainer is laser focused on plugging your leaks and training you for peak performance by allowing you to choose the specific situations that give you the most trouble at the table.

• Strategy Episodes: Videos in short, easy to digest segments (usually 10-15 minutes) that focus on introducing and reinforcing specific aspects of the game plan. Sort Episodes by cash or tournament, concept, learning path, LearnWPT Instructor, last watched, and more!
  
  
• Hand Input Tool (HIT): Hand recording and analysis will make you a better and tougher poker player! Use HIT to record, save, share, and analyze played hands. You can also submit hands you've played for analysis from the LearnWPT Pros.
  
  
• Ask A Pro: Ask any of your poker questions and submit hands that you played to get rapid answers from the LearnWPT Pros.

• Community Forums: Use the Community Forums to grow your poker family and develop a continuous process for improvement through discussion. The Forums are a safe place to discuss concepts and strategy with LearnWPT Pros and fellow Members.
  
  
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Let the LearnWPT Team of Instructors help improve your play and elevate your game:

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• WSOP Bracelet Winner and WPT Alpha 8 Champion, Andrew "LuckyChewy" Lichtenberger
• 3x WSOP Bracelet Winner, WPT Champion, and Commentator for the World Poker Tour, Tony Dunst
• 3x WPT Champion, historic WPT back to back wins, and the Season XVIII Player of the Year, Brian Altman
• 3x WSOP Bracelet Winner and the highest earning female player of all time, Vanessa Selbst
• Acclaimed author with 3 WSOP Final Tables and over 300 online Final Tables, Eric "Rizen" Lynch
• Acclaimed author, pioneer of Mental Game training, and the official Mental Game Coach of LearnWPT, Jared Tendler
• 3x WSOP Bracelet Winner, Professional Coach, and partypoker US Network Team Pro, Michael "Gags30" Gagliano
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There have been many poker “trainers” in the past that allowed you to play poker hands for practice. However, these have been powered by people’s opinions of what is good play and not true Game Theory Optimal (GTO) strategy.

What makes WPT’s GTO Trainer different?

• The WPT GTO Trainer allows you to play through true Nash equilibrium solutions to various No-Limit Hold'em poker Scenarios (over 4 BILLION solved spots and counting!)
• Get instant feedback on the precise EV (Expected Value) Loss of every move you make
• Rapidly plug leaks and learn the GTO strategies that have dominated the highest stakes games in the world

OK, time to get started...

➧ Training on Mobile
➧ Getting Started
➧ Begin Your Training
➧ Hints and Tips
➧ Understanding Your Results
➧ Session Summary
➧ Review Previous Sessions
➧ Train with Team LearnWPT

To play the WPT GTO Trainer without the need for screen adjustment between hands, simply add LearnWPT.com as a shortcut to your iOS and Android mobile device.

Click below for a few simple steps to train optimally using the GTO Trainer from a mobile device:

• Trainer Instructions for iOS Devices
• Trainer Instructions for Android Devices

Using the WPT GTO Trainer is fast and easy! Members can click TRAINER in the top navigation bar or mobile menu.

Members must be logged in to your LearnWPT.com Membership to start Training and Practicing.

1) Select the Specific Spot you want to train from the available list of Scenarios (ex: MP2 Open vs Button Call)

• Use REFINE SEARCH to filter for specific training scenarios
• Spots will be either a Cash Game or Tournament Scenario (labeled as Cash, MTT - Tournament, FT - Final Table, SMALL - Small Stakes, or HU - Heads Up)
• Click the drop down box to select the specific Game Type, Situation, and Stack Size you would like to train
• Select multiple options in the menus to narrow your search

Hint: Any Scenarios with a green PLAY NOW button are packs available to your current membership that you have not trained with yet

2) When selecting the Spot to train, take note of the Effective Stack size in Big Blinds and Pot Size information to consider when making your decision (see image below for example). These factors will remain constant at the start of each new hand based on the specific Scenario you’ve selected.

Here are some additional tips for choosing which spot to train:

• Your Position and Action (Hero) is always listed first in the Scenario name
• Each Scenario will have you training from either In Position or Out of Position (noted in the description of Scenario action)
  • Cash Game Scenarios use a green table
  • Tournament Scenarios use a blue table
  • Final Table Scenarios use a purple table
  • Small Stakes Scenarios use an orange table
  • Heads Up Scenarios use a burgundy table

3) The description of Scenario explains the Preflop action.

• Example - MP2 Open vs Button Call Scenario:
  • Hero (you) are the MP2 player and Open to 2.5BBs preflop
  • The Button player (Villain) calls and everyone else folds
  • Action starts with the flop and 7.5BBs in the pot

4) View the Hand Range Charts per Position for this Scenario.

• The hand range charts for Hero and Villain show respective ranges going to the flop (after their last preflop action)
• Percentages listed for specific hand combos indicate the frequency with which those specific hands are in the overall range for the given scenario
• Hand ranges are also color coded based on order of action preflop (lighter or darker shades of each color visually indicate the frequency for these hands):
  • The LAST preflop aggressor's hand range is shown in red
  • The preflop caller's hand range is shown in green

Hint: Select the image of the hand range charts per position (ie MP2 or Button) to expand to a larger view

After selecting the Scenario you wish to train, simply click or tap on the START NEW SESSION button to start!

Reminder: When training you should be solely focused minimizing EV Loss, instead of whether or not you win any one particular hand.

This allows you to have a long term mindset towards poker that focuses on the quality of decisions and not short term results.

Click START NEW SESSION and you will instantly be faced with a postflop decision based on the Scenario you select from the menu.

1) Customize the WPT GTO Trainer to change how you get instant feedback while training!

• Click the SHOW STATS % button and choose between:
  • Specific EV Loss and % Played Percentage Stats for each action (green)
  • Simplified response that indicates if the action you chose is correct or not recommended (orange)
  • The simplified feature is perfect for players who are just starting to study Game Theory Optimal Strategy

2) You'll immediately be faced with your first decision.

• Choose Fold, Call, Check, Bet, or Raise by clicking the button
• Bet sizing options are those commonly recommended by GTO
• Villain’s responses to your decisions are GTO - you’ll often face multiple decisions in a hand

3) After each decision, you'll see the EV Loss and Played % for your action directly on the table.

• EV (Expected Value) Loss - This shows the number of big blinds you would lose against a GTO player if you took this action
• Played % - This shows how often a GTO Player would take the same action you took

Remember - EV Loss of 0.00 does not mean the GTO Player would take that action 100% of the time (the difference is due to balancing ranges through mixed strategies and maximizing EV for your overall range)

4) Your goal is to select the action for each individual hand that is as close to 0.00 EV as possible.

• EV Loss of 0.00 is the same action a GTO Player would take
• 0.00 EV Loss means you broke even against a GTO Player
  

5) The Ideal GTO Action is noted in the top center of the table.

• A green check-mark next to your action means it is GTO
• Next is the action a GTO Player would take and how often they would take that specific action
• Ideal Action and Frequency are displayed so you know the GTO play for each action immediately
  
  

6) Multiple actions in a given spot are often "correct" according to GTO Play.

• GTO Play has many mixed strategies, where plays are made a specific percentage of the time
• You will often see actions with a very low EV Loss (e.g. -0.01) and a reasonable Played % (e.g. 35%)
  • These actions are not "wrong" and are part of a balanced overall GTO strategy
  • If a play results in high EV Loss (color coded in red), you should generally avoid that play unless you have compelling exploitative reasons to make it against a specific opponent
    
    

• If the Percentage Played for an action is 1% or less, then that action is rarely taken by a GTO Player and you should generally avoid that play
  • If you select an action that results in a Played % of 1% or less, all subsequent decisions for that specific hand will display "N/A" in red, since that entire line should be avoided

EV Loss Color Coding Hint: Green = Near GTO Play, Orange = Take Caution, Red = Probable Leak in Your Game

• Toggle the AUTO ADVANCE button to advance to the next hand decision automatically (green - default) or manually (red)
  • For new users we recommend leaving the Auto Advance button in the off position so that you can take your time and review the real time feedback
• Click the FULL SCREEN button for a large view
• Review these instructions anytime by clicking HOW TO PLAY
• Toggle the SHOW STATS% button switch between specific EV Loss and % Played Percentage Stats for each action (green) to a simplified response that indicates if the action you chose is correct or not recommended (orange)
• Select FAVORITE to save a hand to your library for future review or to send to Ask a Pro
• Click the EXIT SESSION button to complete your Training Session and review your stats on the Session Summary Page
  
  

• View the hand ranges during a session by clicking the green ℹ️ information icon button to review the charts during play
• The hand range charts are labeled by position name
  
  

View the charts when facing a difficult spot and examine the possible hand combinations to help train your decisions closer to 0.0 EV Loss.

Your overall EV Loss and Total Hands played are accessible right from the WPT GTO Trainer Dashboard.

Remember, the WPT GTO Trainer puts you up against an unbeatable (i.e. perfect) opponent. There is no winning in the long-term against it. The most we can ever hope for is to break-even. This is great for us, since this perfect opponent is also the perfect teacher.

Over time, the closer you come to break-even play against the Trainer, the tougher player you’ll become and the harder it will be for your opponents to outplay you.

And if you have high EV loss don’t get discouraged. It’s normal to feel challenged when you are learning new concepts. After all, the WPT GTO Trainer is literally a perfect opponent.

WHY FOCUS ON EV LOSS?

The way we measure our performance against the Trainer is by tracking "EV Loss" or Expected Value Loss.

The best possible result after you pick an action is an EV Loss of 0. This means the action you chose breaks even against a perfect player.

• When EV Loss isn’t 0, the number shown is the amount of big blinds that we would lose taking a specific action in the long run
• It's possible to make a poor play (high EV Loss) that results in winning a specific hand

You’ve all seen players make bad plays and win the pot or make the right play and lose the pot. Over time EV Loss will track closer and closer to actual losses.

You’ve put in the work, now you can start to see where your specific leaks are for each Scenario. Your Session Summary will break down your hand compared to GTO Play.

Reading and Interpreting the Data:

KEY STATS:

1) Overall EV Loss in big blinds Per 100 hands played.

• Goal is to get as close to 0.00 as you can
• 0.00 EV Loss is impossible for humans to attain in the long run
• Do your best and focus on spots giving you the most trouble
  • Do not be discouraged by a high EV Loss in the beginning. When new to GTO Trainer, it's very common for players to have an EV Loss of -50.00BBs/100 or more

2) Number of Hands Played in your Session

• Sample size is important when considering relevant statistics
• A minimum of 200 hands is the recommended sample size to start seeing stats for your play
• Schedule a set number of hands each day to practice a specific Scenario and keep track of your progress
  

AGGRESSION:

3) AGGRESSION gives an instant snapshot of the key actions You (shown in Red) are taking across all hands played vs what actions a GTO Player (shown in Blue) would take

• Don't Worry, if you initially have a huge gap in one direction vs GTO - this is not uncommon

Hint: Hover over the bar graph to see the number of hands in that session each action was taken by you vs a GTO Player

HAND TYPES:

1) HAND TYPES compare your play to GTO Play divided by the different categories of hands (i.e. pairs, flushes, trips, etc).

• Your Action is on the top bar and GTO Play is the bottom bar

Hint: Green (aggressive action) = Bet or Raise, Yellow (passive action) = Check or Call, Red = Fold. A color key to be implemented shortly!

2) How to read your results - in this example from the dashboard image for the PAIR hand category shown above:

• You chose to either Bet/Raise 17% of the time, Check or Call 72% of the time, and Fold 10% of the time when you had a 1-Pair hand in this given scenario (top line of the bar graph)
• GTO Strategy is to Bet/Raise 24% of the time, Check/Call 62% of the time, and Fold 14% of the time (bottom line of the bar graph)
  

3) If the top line results are very different from bottom line results (after a large number of hands played) then you know you are playing those hand types differently than how a GTO Player would play them. These are the spots you want to study first.

Don’t get intimidated by stats listed or if there are big differences between your play and GTO Play. Keep training the same Scenario and focus on your biggest leak before you play each Session. Before you know it you’ll be closer to 0.00 EV Loss (and GTO Play!).

HAND BREAKDOWN:

1) HAND BREAKDOWN displays all of the hands you've played in a session listed by hand type, position, board summary, and EV Loss.

• Click the REPLAYER button next to a specific hand played to show the action unfold and review for study later
• Have questions about that hand? After replaying the hand click the ASK A PRO button to send your hand the LearnWPT Pros for analysis using the Ask a Pro Feature

2) Select a specific hand played to see these details:

• BOARD - Shows the specific rank and suit for each street dealt (flop, turn, river)
• ACTION - The action Hero (you) chose on that street (bet/raise, call/check, fold)
• GTO PLAY % - Percentage of time a GTO Player would take a specific action if faced with the same decision
• EV LOSS - The number of big blinds your action would lose against a GTO player
  • Evaluate EV Loss in Proportion to Pot size
  • An EV Loss of -1.00 is significant in a 6.5BB pot. It is far less significant in a 100BB pot
  • The color coding of EV Loss on the Trainer table takes into account pot size
    

3) Each street of action is broken down with a color coded bar graph noting the specific actions a GTO player would take if faced with the same decision as HERO, including the percentage of time a GTO player would take those specific actions.

• In the above example our decision to bet 2.50 on the flop you will see that a GTO Player:
  • Checks 56% of the time
  • Bets small 15% of the time
  • Bets large 28% of the time
  • Green = Bet or Raise, Yellow = Check or Call, Red = Fold

4) In some instances you will see gradient shading (lightest to darkest moving left to right) representing the bet-sizing that a GTO Player would choose in a given spot.

• In the example above:
  • Bet/Raise small amount (lightest green)
  • Bet/Raise larger amount (darker green)
  • Bet/Raise largest amount (darkest green)

Review previous Sessions from the main GTO Trainer Dashboard!

1) Select the Spot you would like to review from available Scenarios

• The total number of hands played as well as your total EV Loss overall for the specific Scenario are listed for quick reference
  

2) Click the REVIEW SESSIONS button.

3) Select a Session you played from the list.

• Overall EV Loss, Session Date, and Total Hands played are listed for each Session within each specific Scenario
• For best results and rapid improvement start by studying your largest EV Loss Spots
  

4) Click the Blue REVIEW SESSIONS button to get the specific statistics for the individual Session within a Scenario. A session review window will open.

Need help interpreting the results and strategy on adjusting your game? Use the LearnWPT Ask a Pro Feature and the Community Forums to get answers and guidance from Team LearnWPT.

Discuss and share specific hands that gave you trouble while training with the LearnWPT Instructors using Ask a Pro.

1. Select the Trainer Pack and click the REVIEW SESSIONS button
2. Find the date of the specific session and click the blue REVIEW SESSIONS link
3. Find the specific hand that you had a question about and click the ▶ REPLAY icon
4. After the hand action replays click the ASK A PRO button

Enter your subject line, question, and SUBMIT. Your question and a replay of the hand will go directly to the Ask a Pro Forum to be answered from Team LearnWPT!

With Train & Explain Episodes we've combined two key factors to improving your game: drilling hands and having a feedback loop. Train & Explain will help make learning GTO Strategy fast and easy regardless of your skill level!

Train & Explain Strategy Episodes gives you an exclusive seat behind a LearnWPT Pro for select hands from the WPT GTO Trainer to learn the "why" behind each decision.

There is a twist: you'll play the same hands as the LearnWPT Pro for each Episode. After playing, watch the Strategy Episode for a detailed breakdown of each decision point as LearnWPT Instructors analyze the same hands you just played.

Tip: Use the REFINE SEARCH to filter for all Train & Explain Episodes.

We know you’ll have a lot of questions about GTO Strategy and we’re here to help! The LearnWPT Instructors will be showing you plenty of specific ways to use the WPT GTO Trainer to improve your poker game in future Strategy Episodes.

Now that you’ve had a chance to walk through the WPT GTO Trainer it’s time to Play!

Whether you need practice postflop after defending your Big Blind in a Tournament, or you want to drill 3-bet defense from middle position with deep stacks in a Cash Game, it’s just one click away.

Train as often as you like. Get real time feedback on trouble Spots and Ask the LearnWPT Pros with one click.

We Want Your Feedback! Email the Support Team at [email protected] with any questions or suggestions.

Thousands of poker players descended on the Rio in Las Vegas for 6 weeks of action during the 50th World Series of Poker looking to win a prestigious WSOP Bracelet (and some cash too).

LearnWPT Member Susan Faber was one of those players there to win her first WSOP bracelet.

And guess what? SHE DID!

Sue emerged as the victor in the $500 buy-in Salute to Warriors No-Limit Hold’em event* defeating the field of 1,723 entries and earning $121,161 in the process.

Sue, a 71-year-old tax accountant and recreational poker player, was only woman to win an “open” No-Limit Hold'em event this series.

We recently asked Sue about her WSOP experience, her love of the game, and more…

LearnWPT: What do you enjoy most about playing poker? How did you get started playing No-Limit Texas Hold’em?

Sue: I started playing poker when my son got me involved in playing on line poker about 10 years ago. I realized I was far behind the other players on the net and started looking for classes I could take to get better. I found that WPT was teaching classes in Las Vegas and traveled there to participate. I took the beginners class and the advance class.

The thing I enjoy the most about playing poker is of course winning but also the social aspect. I have met so many nice people both dealers and people playing the game and have made many good friends.

LearnWPT: Is poker a hobby or do you have more lofty goals for your poker career?

Sue: Poker is a hobby. I would love to play more in live events and plan to do that in 2020.

LearnWPT: Do you play many live tournaments? Why did you pick this specific WSOP event to Play?

Sue: I only play live events now. I picked this event because it was a salute to warriors and I have so much respect and thanks to give to the men and women that serve. My husband also served in the Army.

*According to a report from the WSOP, the funds raised will support the roughly 100,000 U.S. troops and their families. A portion of each buy-in went to the USO. The event raised $43,075 for the charity, which will be used to fund USO projects throughout Southern Nevada.

LearnWPT: How did it make you feel to be playing on the big stage under the lights and on live stream? Were you nervous? How did it feel to have your family and friends there to watch?

Sue: It was definitely an experience of a lifetime it seemed unreal. I was not nervous because I was so concentrated on the game.

I loved having family and friends there to watch and it was an experience of a lifetime for my husband also he was so proud of me.

LearnWPT: How often do you use LearnWPT.com to improve you game? What specific Member Features do you like about the online training site?

Sue: I use LearnWPT weekly to review past episodes or the new ones that are sent to me.

I love the on-line training site because I can go back and review any aspect of the game I want to at any time. The episodes are so timely and involve so many things that I can add to my game.

LearnWPT: Can you name 3 specific skills or techniques from the LearnWPT.com game plan that helped you win this WSOP bracelet? Can you talk about how or why they helped?

Sue: Learning and memorizing the opening hand ranges helps me to know what cards to play in the position I am in and narrowing what cards my opponents have in their positions.

Knowing when a flop is dry or coordinated and continuation betting after the flop. Short Stack play really helped at the final table.

The mental game with Jared Tendler helped me come back from large losses.

LearnWPT: $121,000 for a $500 investment is a pretty amazing payday. Any big plans for the money?

Sue: $10,000 of it will be saved for the main event next year. I would like to go on a cruise and do some remodeling to my home.

LearnWPT: Aside from poker, what else do you do for fun?

Sue: I love to spend time with my two grandchildren.

LearnWPT: Anything else you’d like to add about your experience?

Sue: I am so glad I joined LearnWPT.com which gave me the skills and confidence to win the bracelet at the WSOP this year.

Sue dominated the Final Table and we couldn’t be more proud of her and her accomplishment! You can read more about Sue’s road to victory on the WSOP Updates page or watch the replay on CBS All access.

Hearing stories like Sue makes US successful!

Have a success you’d like to share? Let us know by emailing the LearnWPT Team at [email protected].

When we created LearnWPT.com our goal was to provide a place that empowers players to ask questions, help get them focused, and provide a solid game-plan to bring to the table every time they sit down.

Some of the ways we accomplish this is by:

• Teaching and presenting examples of proven, winning concepts through our Strategy Episodes (short 10-15 minute instructional videos)
• Providing a place where Members can send questions to receive answers and guidance with the Ask a Pro Feature and Community Forums
• Giving Members the ability to record, save, and send real hands they’ve played to receive expert analysis of their play using the Hand Input Tool
• Hosting Live Workshops for Students to learn and interact with the LearnWPT Instructors in person

Not a Member? Click below to join (just $5 your first month!) and start improving your game today: