The WPT's 20th Season Is Headed Back to Choctaw!

Our next stop is at Choctaw Casino & Resort in Durant, OK this May for the $3,800 World Poker Tour® Choctaw Main Event which features 50K in starting chips plus a massive $2 Million Guaranteed prize pool. The 2021 WPT Choctaw Champion Dapo Ajai took home 560K!

Join the massive field of professional and recreational players who will travel to Choctaw to test their skills and compete for the title of the next WPT Champion - including Team LearnWPT.

The final table of this exciting event will be played at the HyperX Esports Arena on May 26th in Vegas and filmed for television. Ready to see your name in lights and compete for a WPT Title on the big stage?

LearnWPT is here with some expert strategy to help get you there!

LearnWPT Prepares You for the Main Event 🏆

Think you have what it takes to navigate a tough tournament field and have your name etched on the Mike Sexton Champions Cup?

LearnWPT is here with some free expert strategy and tips to help get your game in shape and get you ready to crush the competition at WPT Choctaw Main Event.

➧ Get In on the Action
➧ Train LIVE with LuckyChewy & Brian Altman
➧ Final Table Strategy
➧ Test Your Final Table Skills
➧ On Tour with LearnWPT
➧ One Last Thing

Get In on the Action ...

The Choctaw Casino & Resort in Durant, OK is welcoming players back to their amazing resort and tournament venue with a full festival of poker action starting on April 28th. This exciting festival features several high guaranteed prize pools ranging from 50K to 300K and a ton of satellites into the Main Event!

This action packed series is capped off with Day 1A of the $2Million Guaranteed WPT Main Tour Event on May 13. Re-entry Format - Day 1B on May 14th - Click for more information.

📅 Main Event Schedule:

Day 1A: Friday, May 13, 2022 starting at 12 p.m. CT
Day 1B: Saturday, May 14, 2022 starting at 12 p.m. CT (Registration will remain open until the start of Level 9)
Day 2: Sunday, May 15, 2022 starting at 12 p.m. CT
Day 3: Monday, May 16, 2022 starting at 12 p.m. CT
Final Table: Filmed for TV and will take place on May 26, 2022 at HyperX Esports Arena Las Vegas

The super deep championship structure for this $3,800 event offers plenty of chances to outwit and outplay your opponents. Get ready to battle with the best and play for your share of the massive $2M Guaranteed prize pool.

Train With LuckyChewy & Brian Altman Before the Main Event 🐐

Before the Main Event kicks off LearnWPT will be hosting a 2-Day Live Tournament Strategy Workshop May 9th-11th at Choctaw Casino & Resort with Andrew "LuckyChewy" Lichtenberger and Brian Altman. The chance to TRAIN LIVE with two of the most successful players in poker is here and you won’t want to miss it!

During this 2-Day Interactive Workshop you’ll be given access to proven techniques to help get you ready to take down the Mike Sexton Champions Cup 🏆.

Once you've learned the right moves, attendees will immediately put their skills into action at the WPT Main Event Freeroll Satellite and play against each other in an exclusive freeroll with a seat into the $3,800 WPT Choctaw Main Event Seat* as first prize.

This Satellite Tournament is exclusive to LearnWPT Live at Choctaw ticket holders giving you a 1 in 20 shot of winning and playing in a World Poker Tour® Main Event!

P.S. An exclusive Welcome Reception for Students on Monday, May 9th will kickoff the event! Meet your Instructors and fellow Students in a relaxed environment. We look forward to seeing you LIVE!

Can't make Choctaw? Join us at The Venetian® Resort Las Vegas!

What Are the Keys to Final Table Play?

Will you be one of the final 6 players competing for the WPT Choctaw Main Event title at the HyperX Esports Arena in Las Vegas on May 26th? To make sure you are prepared to shine for the TV cameras and show off your skills, we’ve got some important strategies to share to help you get ready.

Final Table Strategy can differ dramatically from the early stages of a tournament, especially with huge pay-jumps and the prestige that only comes with winning a World Poker Tour title. Often players are unprepared for the pressure that comes with playing in front of an audience and for potentially life-changing money at stake.

When you are facing the pressure of big pay jumps and the studio lights seem just a little too bright, it’s important to stay focused and make objective decisions.

Watch this LearnWPT Strategy Episode from LearnWPT Instructor and WPT Commentator Tony Dunst for key insights on how the Pros perform on the big stage at the HyperX Esports Arena!

Here are a few tips to help sharpen up your game for showtime!

• Be aware of stack sizes and pay jumps at all times, even the slightest changes in stack sizes can shift strategy dramatically
• When short stacks exist, there is extra pressure on the bigger stacks to avoid busting out
• The chip leaders can use this extra pressure to win many pots while the short stack is in play
• As a medium stack vs larger stacks be cautious with any bets and raises and try to take marginal hands to showdown passively
• Preflop ranges shift quite a bit at final tables due to this effect with big stacks playing much wider ranges and medium stacks much narrower ranges
• Do not be afraid to ramp up your aggression against players that are playing tight in the hopes of laddering up

Your Practice Partner? - The Best Poker Player in the World

Think you have what it takes to take down the championship and outwit a world-class Pro? It’s time to challenge the world’s perfect opponent - The WPT GTO Trainer!

Get ready to make a deep run in the WPT Choctaw Main Event by playing these 5 hands from the WPT GTO Trainer. Practice this spot where you are in the steal position as the chip leader vs a tough Big Blind and prepare for your time to shine LIVE on stream.

Your goal is to get as close to ZERO EV loss with each decision.

As you play, remember these tips:

• The Big Blind will likely call with a fairly wide range in this spot given direct pot odds
• The Big Blind will flat call with some big hands preflop due to ICM pressure, even as strong as pocket Kings
• You will be c-betting almost 100% when checked to using a smaller sizing
• Th BB will lead the flop with a portion of their range to counter your small c-bet strategy - be prepared to continue vs most leads
• Be cautious building big pots with some stronger hands as the BB’s range narrows significantly on later streets

P.S. After playing the hands get YOUR SCORE and learn the "why" behind the correct plays.

Join Team LearnWPT On Tour at Choctaw

Are you playing the WPT Choctaw Main Event? Stop and say Hi 👋 to the LearnWPT Team!

LuckyChewy, Brian Altman, Tony Dunst, and Adrian Naggy will be on site and in the action! Be sure to follow Team LearnWPT On Tour as we travel to play WPT Events.

Follow the Main Event action on WPT.com or on Twitter at @WPTlive.

Good Luck and Have FUN!

If you are playing in the WPT Choctaw Main Event or Festival and want to celebrate a victory or deep run with your poker family, email the LearnWPT Team to keep us updated. Also make sure to follow and tag us on Twitter @learnwpt, Facebook, or Instagram to share your success.

Good luck and good playing,
-Team LearnWPT

We hope you enjoyed these free strategies and tips from Team LearnWPT! Subscribe below for more FREE poker content.

Have Questions about LearnWPT? Send an email to our Support Team at [email protected] or click the red CONTACT US button.

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 world-class crushers like Andrew "LuckyChewy" Lichtenberger, Tony Dunst, and Eric "Rizen" Lynch?

If you had the ability to get hands on coaching by a team that boasts over $22 Million in live tournament winnings, 2 WPT Championship Titles, 3 WSOP Bracelets and 3 WSOP Circuit rings, would you jump at the chance?

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 AND have the chance to win your way into a World Poker Tour® Main Event?

Your opportunity is May 27th-30th during the LearnWPT Live at The Venetian® Resort Las Vegas Tournament Strategy Experience!

Chewy, Tony, and Rizen will help you:

• 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
• Learn the keys to real-time hand analysis directly at the table during Lab Session and give you feedback regarding YOUR play
• Prepare to play and win a 30 player Satellite Tournament with a $5,000 buy-in WPT Main Event Seat as 1st prize!

Train With Your Instructors During Lab Session

The hallmark of the LearnWPT Live Workshop experience are the interactive hands-on Lab Sessions!

During the Lab sessions you’ll take a seat at the poker table with real chips and cards and play live hands against fellow Students while a LearnWPT Instructor deals the action and provides in-depth, personalized analysis.

LuckyChewy, Tony, and Rizen will observe and correct strategic errors in real-time as you play your game and incorporate new concepts. Lab Sessions are interspersed with lecture throughout the Workshop sessions to create a lively and interactive learning process focused on rapid application of strategy concepts.

Take Your Shot to Win a WPT Main Event Seat!

Once you’ve learned the right moves to make, immediately put your skills into action at the WPT Main Event Freeroll Satellite. Attendees of LearnWPT Live at The Venetian® Resort Las Vegas will play against each other in an exclusive freeroll with a $5,000 WPT Main Event Seat* as first prize!

This Satellite Tournament is exclusive to LearnWPT Live at The Venetian® Resort Las Vegas ticket holders giving you a 1 in 30 shot of winning and playing in a World Poker Tour® Main Event!

Meet LearnWPT at The Welcome Reception!

The LearnWPT Live Experience starts with a fun Welcome Reception on Friday, May 27th (6PM PT - 8PM PT).

During this kickoff event to the Tournament Strategy Workshop you’ll check-in and have the opportunity to meet LuckyChewy, Tony, Rizen, and fellow Students in a relaxed environment while enjoying beverages and hors d'oeuvres!

How Are LearnWPT Live Students Doing?

LearnWPT Live Attendees have won World Series of Poker Bracelets, WSOP Circuit Rings, made deep runs in World Poker Tour® and WPTDeepStacks events and more!

Are you ready to be our next success story?

We look forward to seeing you in Vegas!
-Team LearnWPT

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

*The $5,000 buy-in WPT Main Event Seat is non-transferable and has no cash value. Winner must play the awarded event seat within the prescribed prize redemption period, before December 31, 2022 or the prize will be voided. See our FAQ section for more information.

DECISION POINT: You are in a multi-table tournament where blinds are 3,000/6,000 with a 6,000 big blind ante. There are 13 players left and 9 places paid. The action folds to you in the Cutoff with A♠A♣ and your raise to 15,000, the Button folds and both the Big Blind and Small Blind call. Your opponents check the Q♦J♥T♣ flop and action is on you. What do you do here?

PRO ANSWER: We are in the mid to late stages of a multi-table tournament. There are 13 players left and 9 places are paid with a fairly standard, top heavy payout structure. The blinds are 3,000/6,000 with a 6,000 big blind ante. We are dealt AsAc in the Cutoff six handed and preflop the action folds to us.

At this particular table, smaller raises are frequently being called in multiple spots. Even though making it 12,000 is normally a fairly standard raise in this spot, we decide to raise to 15,000 in the moment and get called by both the Small Blind and Big Blind.

The flop is QdJhTc and both players check. This is a very coordinated board that often connects with the Blinds’ calling ranges. The issue we are facing is that we only have 95,000 chips and the Small Blind only 41,000 chips and there is 51,000 in the pot.

With a stack to pot ratio of less than 2, an overpair to the board, and a potential draw to a straight we have a situation where we really aren’t deep enough to ever fold here. However, our hand is also quite vulnerable to many of the types of hands the Blinds would call with and in some cases we are even behind on this flop.

If we were much deeper stacked there could be a case for playing this hand a little more cautiously, but at this stack depth we really have to go with our hand and we can still extract a lot of value from KQ/KJ/KT/T9s/Q9s/J9s type hands.

The Blinds are also quite likely to have reraised preflop with AK/QQ/JJ/TT so most of the hands where we are really crushed shouldn’t be in their range,aside from 98s and if they call really loose perhaps some K9s. When we are behind it’s often against two-pair hands where we will have 9 outs on the flop and often when we miss the turn we pick up 3 additional outs to improve to higher two-pair.

Normally we would continuation bet a little on the higher side here to protect our hand but with the Small Blind’s shorter stack we can bet 20,500. If the Small Blind were to shove it technically reopens the betting which would allow us to shove over the top should the Big Blind decide to call.

This sizing adjustment may seem minor, however it avoids the awkward situation of us betting 30,000 and the Small Blind shoving that can entice the Big Blind to call. In that case we would have no option other than to call and then face the additional potential complication of an eight, nine, or some other action killing card coming off on the turn that will make our decision even more difficult.

Bet sizing must be a critical area of focus in order to improve your game, and in this spot the precision of your bet sizing will make a huge difference.

Betting half the Small Blind’s stack is the best play.

The World Poker Tour's 20th Season Keeps Rolling!

Our next stop is Thunder Valley Casino Resort in Lincoln, CA this April featuring an epic schedule of satellites, huge guaranteed events, and closing with the player favorite Bounty Confidential.

The Thunder Valley festival headliner is the $1,500 buy-in WPTDeepStacks Main Event that features 30K in starting chips plus a massive $1 Million Guaranteed prize pool and is sure to deliver an unparalleled player experience. The friendly and skilled staff at the 😎TV Poker Room are no strangers to hosting prestigious events with the World Poker Tour and you can be assured that the WPTDeepStacks Main Event will be no exception.

Whether it's enjoying the fabulous amenities or relaxing in the spacious and modern rooms, players On Tour rave about this event as a can’t miss stop. Let’s not forget about the main reason to travel to Thunder Valley this April - to score a share of the $1 Million Guaranteed prize pool and experience the first class poker room and staff, and Team LearnWPT will be there in the action.

Let's get you ready to dominate the felt ...

LearnWPT Prepares You for Thunder Valley and the WPTDeepStacks Main Event!

Team LearnWPT is here with some free expert strategy and tips to help get your game in shape and get you ready to have fun and crush the competition at WPTDeepStacks Thunder Valley Main Event 🏆.

😎 Get In on the Action
😎 Satellite Strategy
😎 Bounty Tournament Strategy
😎 On Tour with LearnWPT
😎 The Most Important Tip

Get In on the Action ...

The Thunder Valley Resort Casino in Lincoln, CA is welcoming players back to their amazing resort and tournament venue with a full festival of poker action starting on April 9th.

Kicking off the festival on the 19th is the $200 Season Opener and a ton of satellites into the Main Event!

Highlights of the festival include the 5-day, $460 buy-in Monolith multi-flight $250K Guaranteed prize pool Tournament starting on April 21st. The action packed series is capped off with the popular (and secure) $1,100 Bounty Confidential event on May 1st.

Day 1A of the headlining $1Million Guaranteed WPTDeepStacks Main Event begins April 28th. Re-entry Format - Day 1B on April 29th - Click for more information.

📅 WPTDeepStacks Main Event Schedule:

Day 1A: Thursday, April 28, 2022 starting at 12 p.m. PT
Day 1B: Friday, April 29, 2022 starting at 12 p.m. PT
Day 1C: Saturday, April 30, 2022 starting at 12 p.m. PT (Registration will remain open until the start of Level 10)
Day 2 Final: Sunday, May 1, 2022 starting at 12 p.m. PT

The championship structure offers plenty of chances to outwit and outplay your opponents. Get ready to battle with the best and play for your share of the life changing $1M Guaranteed prize pool.

FREE 🛰️ Satellite Intro LIVE With LearnWPT at Thunder Valley - April 27th!

Satellite poker tournaments are a great way to play a larger buy-in event at a lower price so you don’t need to have big bucks to be in contention for a game-changing score. Strategies for Satellites can be very different from a normal Tournament.

To help get you ready for the WPTDeepStacks Main Event we're inviting you to join LearnWPT on April 27th for a FREE 1 hour introduction to Satellite Strategy Workshop LIVE in the Thunder Valley Poker Room at noon to kick off Satellite Day!

P.S. After the Workshop jump into the $85 Step Satellite at 1 p.m. to win a seat into the $340 WPTDS Main Event Satellite at 5 p.m. PT

Can't make the FREE Introduction to Satellite strategy? Use the strategies below to sharpen your focus and who knows, maybe you’ll turn a few bucks into a huge payday.

Check out these keys to Satellite Play:

• Everyone gets paid the same prize
• No incentive to build a large stack once you are likely to win a seat
• As the probability of winning a win a seat goes up, your ranges in all spots tighten up
• There are times in a satellite poker tournament when players should never continue against an all-in
• Satellites are the only form of poker where it can be correct to fold pocket Aces preflop
• Pay very close attention to stack sizes and level changes!
• Often in the satellite endgame 10BBs may be a big stack that is guaranteed to win a seat

3 Tips for Bounty Poker Tournament Play

Bounty Poker Tournaments are a fun way to add variety to your poker tournament schedule. The real money bounty awarded for knocking out each player creates extra action plus it gives every poker player a chance to win some cash in most cases without needing to finish inside the bubble.

The most recent innovation in tournament bounty poker that has caused great excitement among poker players is the Lottery Style Bounty Tournament.

In this type of event (more commonly known as a Mystery Bounty or Bounty Confidential) players who make Day 2 and eliminate a player draw an envelope with the bounty amount hidden inside. Bounty amounts range from slightly less than a buy-in, all the way to 50 times the buy-in based on the total number of tournament entries.

To maximize your chances at grabbing a massive bounty there are specific strategy reminders you should be conscious of during your next Lottery Style bounty event. Check out LearnWPT Instructor and Poker Legend Andrew “LuckyChewy” Lichtenberger’s 3 key lessons for Lottery Style Bounty Tournaments below:

➧ Lesson #1: Making Day 2 in a Lottery Style Bounty Tournament is very important, but getting there with a big stack is critical to maximizing return on investment. Take thinner edges on Day 1 and focus on spots to accumulate chips before you reach the money so that you can have a better shot at accumulating bounties once you are in the money.

➧ Lesson #2: Bounties usually make up roughly one third of the prize pool. They are of most value when the average bounty amount in dollars is larger than the minimum cash and quite a bit larger than any pay jumps. Keeping track of which larger bounties have been won already is essential to making the highest expected value decisions in these types of events.

➧ Lesson #3: As the average bounty value decreases and you get deeper in the tournament where the prize money and associated pay jumps in the actual prize pool are larger than the average bounty amount, winning a bounty should be much less of an important factor in your decision making. Where previously you might have made a thin call to potentially win a huge bounty, you should instead evaluate this spot in terms of your overall tournament.

For more information and strategy on the different types of Bounty Poker Tournaments visit www.learnwpt.com/bounty

Join Team LearnWPT On Tour at Thunder Valley

Are you playing the WPTDeepStacks Main Events or Festival Tournaments? Stop and say Hi 👋 to the LearnWPT Team!

LuckyChewy and Adrian Naggy will be on site and in the action for the WPTDeepStacks Main Event!

Follow the Main Event action on WPT.com or on Twitter at @WPTlive.

Good Luck and Have FUN!

If you are playing in the WPTDeepStacks Main Event and want to celebrate a victory or deep run with your poker family, email the LearnWPT Team to keep us updated. Also make sure to follow and tag us on Twitter @learnwpt, Facebook, or Instagram to share your success.

Good luck and good playing,
-Team LearnWPT

We hope you enjoyed these free strategies and tips from Team LearnWPT! Subscribe below for more FREE poker content.

Have Questions about LearnWPT? Send an email to our Support Team at [email protected] or click the red CONTACT US button.

In order to maximize fold equity and to utilize a powerful move to adjust for the shallow stacked situations, we recommend adding the check-raise to your overall game-plan in otherwise standard....... C-Betting spots.

Adding the Check-Raise to your overall game-plan will help maximize fold equity and give you a powerful move to adjust for shallow stacked situations.

When you're the preflop aggressor and you frequently follow up with a c-bet, it can be a very strong strategy as you can directly counteract attempts by opponents to exploit you on the flop. However, c-betting can leave you very vulnerable when you are betting out on the flop after being the preflop aggressor with your entire range or with a high frequency.

This strategy may give opponents behind you an opportunity to easily raise you, put you all-in, or simply raise a significant portion of your stack so that you end up being unable to continue against that aggression. So if you are c-betting with a very high frequency in spots where you can't continue because of stack sizes, your opponent can effectively get the last bet in and raise you so you're unable to create any further fold equity in the hand.

In order to prevent this from happening, you can adjust your overall c-betting strategy based on stack size and you can introduce the check-raise as part of your game plan, which can often reclaim fold equity that wouldn't exist on the c-bet. In order not to get exploited, you should utilize this strategy with an overall balanced range.

Consider this example that illustrates why check-raising can be a better play than simply c-betting:

The blinds are 500 and 1,000 with a 100 ante, it's a 9 handed table, it folds around to you in the Cutoff seat, you have 8♦9♦ and 21,500 chips in your stack. You open to 2,500 chips or 2.5 big blinds, the Button calls, both Blinds fold and the flop comes 10♣7♥3♠ rainbow, no diamond.

So now you have an open-ended straight draw, there's 7,400 in the pot and you have 19,000 back. Your stack size might leave you vulnerable, so if you bet 3,000 and your opponent puts you all-in for 19,000, there's going to be nearly 30,000 chips in the pot and it would cost you 16,000 to call so you would have about 32% equity calling this all-in.

However, you need more equity than that in order to call, as the real danger in this spot is flopping a hand that has a lot of equity. With this c-bet leaving you incredibly vulnerable, if you use a 100% c-betting strategy with this stack size you're going to be very exploitable.

Consequently, if your c-bet gets raised and if you can't continue even when you're flopping a lot of equity, that might mean that this is a bad spot to be c-betting with a high frequency.

Instead of c-betting, if you check, your opponent can check behind, or even more commonly, they would take a stab at this pot. In that case, if the Button bets out, you can see that you have a very natural stack size now to check-raise all-in.

You are now leveraging your stack size to create fold equity on this check-raise and you can get the last bet in on this flop, giving your opponent ample opportunity to fold a good portion of their range. If they don't fold, you still have 8 outs to improve to a straight.

So, when you're holding a draw on the flop and c-betting leaves you very vulnerable because of the stack size, you can opt to check-raise instead. When stacks start to get smaller in tournaments, having a very high c-betting frequency can often be a counterproductive strategy for you, especially against opponents who are aggressive, floating you or raising your c-bets frequently.

Against opponents who are very passive you should start c-betting these spots if they're playing fit or fold, calling preflop, or not putting pressure on you postflop. However, if you are playing against opponents who are raising your c-bets or floating you, introducing the check-raise into your arsenal will counter their strategy.

C-betting is one of the most common problem areas for both amateurs and Pros.

You will spend most of your time figuring out when you should c-bet or employ tricks such as check-raising. There are a variety of ways that your opponents might try to counter your c-bets.

They can call your c-bet on the flop with the intention of taking the pot away from you on the turn, which is called floating. To counter floating you can respond by betting again on the turn with an appropriate frequency.

Your opponents can also try to counter your c-bets by raising them in position or check-raising when they're out of position, so you should expand the range of hands that you're willing to take to a showdown against them.

You can adjust by calling their raise on the flop, or simply by calling with your top pair hands instead of folding them on the flop, which is going to punish those raises and you can continue to expand your range.

In addition, opponents might try to counter your c-bets by leading into you, so you should float them yourself, call them on the flop in order to take the pot away from them on the turn, or you can raise against this lead.

Implement these winning poker strategies in your own play and learn how to maximize value as the first-in raiser with these key adjustments!

......................................................................................................................... ..........................TRAIN - PLAY - THINK LIKE A PRO!

✔ Do you know what poker math is and when it should be used at the poker table?

✔ Is it really that important to understand for poker players?

✔ ​​Do you know when a situation becomes profitable based on Pot Odds?

💡Let us show you how poker math works and how you can use it to improve your poker decisions and get confidence for your next poker session.

Many people hate math, but there's no escaping its importance at the poker table.

The truth is that you don't need to be an expert at poker math to beat the games, however, using poker math is definitely something that differentiates the best poker players from the average ones.

So, if you want to upgrade your poker strategy and improve your win rate, make sure your poker math knowledge is up to par!

💡Math is a tool we use to calculate Pot Odds and determine our chances of winning during the decision-making process.

Many people play poker and there are many different strategies for winning. However, players need to remember no matter what strategy you use or how good your luck might be, poker is a game of probabilities.

💡There are a specific number of cards in the deck and a certain probability that outcomes will occur.

When we use poker math, we use it to make the right decision and calculate if the odds are in our favor. This means that poker math can be helpful when determining when our hand is a winning one.

Poker math tells us whether it's worth putting money into the pot to chase after a particular card and how likely you are to hit it.

To understand how poker math actually works you need to become familiar with 2 key elements - Outs and Pot Odds. These two elements are crucial for the decision-making process.

So let's get started!

Outs

💡Outs are cards that need to come on the flop, turn, or river that are likely to improve your hand.

When evaluating a poker hand the first step is to consider how many outs we have and how likely it is that an out will be dealt in the specific scenario.

To understand the basic concept of Outs, you can check LearnWPT Episode 37, which explains how to do basic Outs calculations in shortcuts.

If you haven't already reviewed the Episodes on Outs and Pot Odds, you definitely should check those before diving into the world of poker math.

Pot Odds

💡The Pot Odds are the odds a player gets to continue in hand, or more specifically a ratio comparing the size of the pot to the size of the bet.

To determine pot odds, determine how much is in the pot and then compare that amount to how much it costs to call the bet. Note that any opponent's current bet is considered part of the pot.

Your poker decisions should be fundamentally based on pot odds. The key to profitable poker is understanding pot odds and basic math so that when it comes time for decisions, you will be able to consistently make profitable ones!

Understanding the odds is also key to playing draws effectively. After some practice, basic odds calculations won't take you a lot of time at the table and will help improve your poker strategy by using simple math.

Your goal for learning about odds is to gain a repeatable skill to help evaluate decisions based on facts and data.

💡Think of pot odds in terms of a risk/reward ratio.

Pot Odds are the ratio how much is in the pot to win versus how much we risk to win it. Or more simply how much is in the pot already to how much we have to call to continue in hand.

The Rule of 2

The best way to learn is from an example:

The Rule of 2 is a shortcut to calculating your percentage chance of hitting one of your outs on the next card to come. To use the Rule of 2, multiply the number of outs x 2 and the result gives you the percentage chance of hitting one of your outs on the next card.

In this example, we have 9♣️8♣️. The board is 3♥4♣️Q♣️ so we have a flush draw and we are heads up on the flop. Our single opponent bets $1000 into $1000 pot. Remember that when talking about pot odds, we have to include any bet from our opponent that is already in the pot. So in this situation, there is $1000 in the pot plus our opponent's $1000 bet meaning the total amount that we could potentially win by continuing is now $2000.

The next step is to compare the total amount we could potentially win to the amount it costs us to call. In this case, it costs us $1000 to continue and there is $2000 in the pot. So our pot odds are 2:1. There are two units to win, and it costs us one unit to call.

As a rule of thumb, you can know that any time you are facing a pot-sized bet you're getting 2 to 1 pot odds.

What about The Rule of 4?

The Rule of 4 is applied in mostly the same fashion as the rule of 2 except that it can only be used on the flop when one player is all-in and you are facing the decision to call.

As an example, let's say you have 9♣️8♣️. The board is 3♥4♣️Q♣️ so we have a flush draw and your opponent goes all-in.

In this case, you would determine how many outs you have to make your flush, then multiply by 4 to determine the percentage chance of hitting your flush. There are 13 total cards of each individual suit and we can see 4 of them currently (2 in our hand and 2 on the board), so we can subtract 4 from 13 and get a result of 9 outs.

Then using the rule of 4 we multiply 4 x 9 for a result of 36, so we have a 36 percent chance of hitting our flush draw on the next 2 cards to come. It is important to only use the Rule of 4 for situations where you are in the flop facing an all-in and guaranteed to see the next 2 cards if you call.

To determine whether calling all-in on the flop is profitable or not, you need to figure out your chance of winning by using the Rule of 4.

Here are some tips for practicing:

When practicing your poker strategy, start paying attention to pot odds and how to apply the Rule of 2 or The Rule of 4 to determine your percentage chance of winning.

✔ If you're all-in on the flop and your pot odds are greater than your chance of making your hand, continuing in the hand is profitable.

✔ If your pot odds are worse than your hand odds, then it's not profitable to continue.

✔ If pot odds and the chance of hitting are precisely the same, it's a break-even decision.

Watch LearnWPT Strategy Episodes on this subject to get comfortable with poker math and keep in mind the fundamentals of pot odds at all times.

Check out Episode number 41 and Episode number 39 for more about this topic and others we are discussing in this article.

Implied Odds

Now that you have the basics on determining pot Odds and Outs, we can introduce another key concept of poker math, Implied Odds.

Implied Odds are an important factor when determining profitable preflop calling, including only calling with speculative type hands for less than 5% of the effective stack in a multi-way pot.

We are investing a small amount now with the expectation of being able to win a larger amount later. And that's at the heart of implied odds.

💡Implied odds are basically when we're not getting the correct direct pot odds to call the current bet, however, if we call now we anticipate winning more chips on future streets.

We are hoping to make up for the fact that we're not getting the right direct odds right now in exchange for the possibility of winning more chips think we can win more in the future.

When it comes to using implied odds for decisions on the flop and turn, it's crucial to understand when you are getting them. A few factors can help you determine whether or not you are getting implied odds in a specific situation:

💡Look at chip stacks. You need to ensure that there are additional chips to win on a future street to make up the difference. If your opponents are all-in or nearly all-in, then you may not be able to win enough chips to make up for calling without proper odds on previous streets. As a general rule of thumb, the deeper chip stacks are, the easier it is to win additional chips on a future street and more likely you have implied odds.

💡Look at the position. Because you are last to act, you are going to be winning more on average from in position than out of position. Of course, like in every rule, there are a few exceptions but it's rare to have an advantage from out of position. Once you have a position, it's easier to extract more chips from your opponent on future streets. That means that your implied odds go up when you're in position and go down when you're at a position.

💡Look at the number of opponents. The more opponents that you have in hand, the more likely you are to get paid off. When you have just one opponent, they often just fold if you take aggressive action. So if you hit you're draw on a future street against one opponent, many times they'll just check and fold. In the case of multiple opponents, you're much more likely to get paid off as the likelihood that one of your opponents will have a hand that they will continue with increases. The more opponents you have to postflop, the better your implied odds are with your draw.

💡Estimate your opponent's range of hands. Ask yourself how likely your opponent is to have a good hand or a premium hand. For example, if an opponent had raised in an early position at the table, then you're more likely to extract chips from that opponent post-flop after you hit your draw. That is because their range is comprised more of premium hands and they are much more likely to have a hand to pay you off with. When an opponent raises from an early position or otherwise indicates they have a narrow range of hands or premium hand, then your implied odds go up. It will be much easier on average to win chips from an early position opponent when you hit your draw.

💡Look at how disguised your draws are. It is well known that some draws are more evident than others. The most obvious draws tend to be flush draws, and you can spot flush draws on the flop fairly easily. More disguised would be the straight draws. Your implied odds tend to go up as you get more disguised with your draws. While straight draws have one fewer out than flush draws (eight vs nine outs), they actually have better implied odds because the straight draw is often more hidden.

Now that you’ve learned how to determine the 2 most critical components of poker math (Outs and Pot Odds) it is time to practice!

Stay focused on practicing counting your outs, looking at your pot odds, calculating your hand odds, and analyzing whether you have implied odds. Review episodes multiple times and remember, practice makes it perfect!

Our goal with LearnWPT is to empower players to ask questions, help them stay focused on the key factors that affect play, and provide answers from winning professionals through a solid game plan.

We’ve helped players from around the world from all experience and skill levels, and we can help you fix leaks fast and learn new strategies that can help you have more fun playing poker.

The World Poker Tour's 20th Season Is in Full Swing!

Our next stop is Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, FL this April for the $3,500 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship. Join this massive field of professional and recreational players sure to flock to Florida to test their skills and compete for the title of the next WPT Champion - including Team LearnWPT.

The huge $3 Million Guaranteed prize pool is destined to attract a record-shattering number of players and a life-changing first prize (ICU Nurse Brek Schutten claimed $1.2 million and a WPT Title in May).

LearnWPT Prepares You for the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown!

Think you have what it takes to navigate a tough tournament field and have your name etched on the Mike Sexton Champions Cup?

LearnWPT is here with some free expert strategy and tips to help get your game in shape and get you ready to have fun and crush the competition at WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown 🏆.

🎸 Get In on the Action
🎸 Satellite Your Way In
🎸 Play Better Poker with LearnWPT
🎸 Train with LuckyChewy
🎸 On Tour with LearnWPT
🎸 Deepstack Strategy
🎸 The Most Important Tip

Get In on the Action ...

The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, FL is welcoming players back to their amazing resort and tournament venue with a full festival of poker action starting on March 24th. Kicking off the festival on the 24th is a $400 multi-flight $500K Guaranteed deepstack tournament and a ton of satellites into the Main Event!

This action packed series is capped off with Day 1A of the $3Million Guaranteed WPT Main Tour Event on April 8th. Re-entry Format - Day 1B on April 9th - Click for more information.

📅 Main Event Schedule:

Day 1A: Friday, April 8, 2022 starting at 11 a.m. ET
Day 1B: Saturday, April 9, 2022 starting at 11 a.m. ET (Registration will remain open until the start of Level 9)
Day 2: Sunday, April 10, 2022 starting at 12 p.m. ET
Day 3: Monday, April 11, 2022 starting at 12 p.m. ET
Day 4: Tuesday, April 12, 2022 starting at 12 p.m. ET
Final Table: Filmed for TV and will take place on May 25, 2022 at HyperX Esports Arena Las Vegas

The super deep championship structure for this $3,500 event offers plenty of chances to outwit and outplay your opponents. Get ready to battle with the best and play for your share of the massive $3M Guaranteed prize pool.

🛰️ Satellite Tips to Help Win Your Way Into the Main Event

Satellite poker tournaments are a great way to play a larger buy-in event at a lower price so you don’t need to have big bucks to be in contention for a game-changing score. The Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Festival has plenty of chances for you to win your way in the WPT Championship. See the full Festival Schedule here.

LearnWPT Instructors Andrew "LuckyChewy" Lichtenberger and Katie Stone have a few key tips to help increase your edge.

Keys 🗝️ to Satellite Play

• Everyone gets paid the same prize
• No incentive to build a large stack once you are likely to win a seat
• As the probability of winning a win a seat goes up, your ranges in all spots tighten up
• There are times in a satellite poker tournament when players should never continue against an all-in
• Satellites are the only form of poker where it can be correct to fold pocket Aces preflop
• Pay very close attention to stack sizes and level changes!
• Often in the satellite endgame 10BBs may be a big stack that is guaranteed to win a seat

Use the strategies below to sharpen your focus and who knows, maybe you’ll turn a few bucks into a huge payday.

📽️ Play Better Poker With LearnWPT Live Stream at Seminole Hard Rock

Before the WPT Main Event, LearnWPT Instructor and Host Katie Stone will be talking poker strategy with special guest 2010-2019 World Poker Tour® Player of the Decade, winner of 4 WPT Main Tour Titles (the most in WPT history), and BetMGM Brand Ambassador Darren Elias, LIVE from Seminole Hard Rock on twitch.tv/learnwpt!

Check out this behind-the-scenes look at the recent Play Better Poker with LearnWPT stream with Tony Dunst from the HyperX Arena ...

Watch Katie & Tony's full conversation and previous Play Better Poker with LearnWPT streams on LearnWPT.com by clicking here.

Join us for the next Play Better Poker with LearnWPT Stream LIVE April 7th at 10am ET (7am PT) on twitch.tv/learnwpt!

Train With LuckyChewy Before the Event 🐐

The April 2nd-3rd LearnWPT Live at Hard Rock Tournament Strategy Workshop at Seminole Hard Rock was a HUGE success! During the 2-Day Interactive Workshop students were given access to proven techniques to help get them ready to take down the Mike Sexton Champions Cup 🏆 (and we had some fun too).

During a LearnWPT Live Workshop Instructors take turns being your coach and guide during Interactive Lab Sessions as they play simulated hands in a live tournament setting to practice the concepts just learned and give you direct feedback on your play.

Ready to join us Live? View the current schedule and sign up to get alerts when new events are added.

We look forward to seeing you at our next event!

5️⃣Tips for Deepstack Poker Tournament Play

While On Tour at WPTDeepStacks Championship at Thunder Valley Casino Resort Katie Stone and Tony Dunst took a break from the action to talk about some common mistakes they see players make when playing in deepstacked poker tournaments.

The early stages of a championship poker tournament with super deep structures like you find on the World Poker Tour require a specific strategy shift. It’s not uncommon for the average stack to equal 100 times the current big blind level or more during the first few hours in the tournament and you should focus on some strategic adjustments for these situations.

Anytime you find yourself in a deepstack poker tournament situation remember these 5 Strategies for deepstacked play:

➧ Strategy Tip #1 - Adjust your First-In Ranges
➧ Strategy Tip #2 - Be Cautious with 1-Pair Hands
➧ Strategy Tip #3 - Don’t Call too Loose Preflop
➧ Strategy Tip #4 - Attack Limpers
➧ Strategy Tip #5 - Use Board Texture as Your Guide

Join Team LearnWPT On Tour at Hard Rock

Are you playing the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown? Stop and say Hi 👋 to the LearnWPT Team!

Michael "Gags30" Gagliano, LuckyChewy, Brian Altman, Katie Stone, Tony Dunst, and Adrian Naggy will be on site and in the action for the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship!

Follow the Main Event action on WPT.com or on Twitter at @WPTlive.

Check out this LearnWPT Strategy Episode preview from 3x World Poker Tour Champion, Season XVIII WPT Player of the Year, and LearnWPT Instructor Brian Altman as he breaks down a hand played On Tour recently at the WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open.

Read more about Brian's accomplishments here.

Good Luck and Have FUN!

If you are playing in the WPT Poker Showdown and want to celebrate a victory or deep run with your poker family, email the LearnWPT Team to keep us updated. Also make sure to follow and tag us on Twitter @learnwpt, Facebook, or Instagram to share your success.

Good luck and good playing,
-Team LearnWPT

We hope you enjoyed these free strategies and tips from Team LearnWPT! Subscribe below for more FREE poker content.

Have Questions about LearnWPT? Send an email to our Support Team at [email protected] or click the red CONTACT US button.

LearnWPT is honored to welcome Darren "The End Boss" Elias LIVE as the next guest for Play Better Poker!📺

Want to start playing better poker?

LearnWPT, the Official Poker Education Platform of the World Poker Tour®, is excited to announce a brand new episode of Play Better Poker with LearnWPT featuring Katie Stone and the all-time record holder for most WPT Main Tour wins Darren Elias starting at 10:00AM ET on April 7th LIVE from Seminole Hard Rock Hotel in Hollywood, FL!

Kickstart your poker game with an exclusive inside look into the mind of one of the greatest poker players in the WPT Universe. You'll have unparalleled access to hear directly from top players and power up your game plan with valuable tips and strategies!

Catch all of the action and be sure to RSVP for this amazing live show ↘️

Join the most successful poker players in the game as they share their secrets for Playing Better Poker! 🎙️

Watch this fast-paced online talk show including in-depth interviews with the top poker players in the WPT Universe, and discover how they learn and improve at poker through study tips and unique techniques featuring exclusive LearnWPT training tools and content.

Do you have 30 minutes to start Playing Better Poker? 🂡

With 15 years of experience as a professional poker player, LearnWPT Instructor Katie Stone is your personal guide for building a poker study routine and improving your game. You will not only be able to ask specific questions about your game and how to improve but also to get expert insight from some of the greatest in the game on how they consistently improve at poker, all while having fun!

Joining Katie LIVE from Seminole Hard Rock Hotel in Hollywood, FL on the next Play Better Poker with LearnWPT is 2010-2019 World Poker Tour® Player of the Decade, winner of 4 WPT Main Tour Titles (the most in WPT history), and BetMGM Ambassador - Darren Elias!

Sharpen your pencil ✏️ because it's time to take notes and ask questions to get answers from Katie and Darren - email your questions to [email protected].

Tune In to Hear Katie & Darren Talk About:

🡆 How elite players study to separate from the field in tournament poker.

🡆 The challenges of raising a family as a professional poker player.

🡆 What it takes to sustain a consistent level of excellence over time.

We know how difficult it can be to learn poker on your own, so we’re inviting you to study with Team LearnWPT!

Play Better Poker is designed to provide a place for poker players of all skill and experience levels to learn together! We'll teach you easy-to-use strategies to study and improve at Texas Hold’em, while also giving you unprecedented access to the mindset and approach to learning used by pro poker players. But don't worry - LearnWPT is a safe place to start your journey as a poker player, and we know that everyone learns at their own pace.

Submit questions before each show by emailing [email protected] and get the answer live. For more information and updates for the next show make sure you bookmark learnwpt.com/playbetterpoker and check back often.

Meet Katie’s Guest All-Time World Poker Tour® and 4x Champion- Darren Elias!

To say Darren Elias crushes World Poker Tour® events is an understatement of the decade.

Darren, a New Jersey resident, is the all-time WPT leader in wins, final tables, and cashes. Throughout his 15-year career Darren has demonstrated unbelievable consistency in performance and dominance whenever he is on the felt.

From preliminary events to high rollers, Darren’s incredible track record includes victories all across the globe with over $15M dollars in lifetime cashes between live and online poker. A high-stakes Pro with the ability to make optimal strategic decisions under pressure, Darren is one of the most admired, respected, and feared players in the game today.

In Season XIII, Darren Elias won his first World Poker Tour title at Borgata in what was the fourth-largest WPT field in history at that time, beating a field of 1,226 entries to win $843,744 in 1st prize money with a prize pool of over $3.9 million. Elias defeated Kane Kalas on the final hand of play, etching his name on the Mike Sexton Champion’s Cup for the first time.

Directly following his breakthrough win at Borgata, “The End Boss” as he is known by peers and rivals on the virtual and live felt, became the first player to win 2 WPT Titles back to back in the same season with a victory at WPT Caribbean. World Poker Tour wins 3 and 4 came for Elias at WPT Fallsview in Season XV and the WPT Bobby Baldwin Classic in Season XVI.

While he seems to thrive on the big stage of the WPT Final Table set, Elias is no stranger to success in other venues and tournament series. To date Darren has amassed an impressive $9.5M in career live earnings, with over $4M coming from his success on the World Poker Tour. When he’s not dominating the felt in main event and high rollers tournaments across the globe, Darren can be found playing online where he is a BetMGM Brand Ambassador.

🏆Check Out Darren's Winner's Interview and Witness "The End Boss" Announcement to the Poker World:

Meet Your Host Katie Stone

Katie Stone began her gaming career as a child in chess, and later on while in college she pioneered chess camps for kids across the country. She is a professional poker player and a staunch advocate with a focus on growing the game of poker. Katie is also a major proponent of using the decision-making skills and lessons learned in poker as a means to better navigate challenges and improve performance at work and in daily life. Throughout her 15 years long career as a poker professional, Katie has been constantly searching for new methods to master her poker skills and help other players Play Better Poker.

As an Instructor for Team LearnWPT Katie delivers expert strategy and a unique perspective on learning poker to the LearnWPT Membership. Her accolades in poker include being a 2x WSOP Circuit Ring Winner and $1.2 million combined live and online tournament earnings. In addition to her role as a LearnWPT Instructor, Katie is also a Content Producer and Commentator for LearnWPT.

Her front-row seat to the explosion of online poker and the evolution of poker study makes Katie a uniquely qualified resource for cash game and tournament strategies, detailed hand analysis, online vs live strategies, decision making in real-time at the table, adjusting for known opponent tendencies, using your feedback loop for improvement, as well as learning what it takes to succeed as a pro.

Have an Inside Look at Katie’s Quest to Play Better Poker:

Join Katie and Darren for an enlightening discussion about what it takes to sustain a consistent level of excellence over time, find out how elite players study to separate from the field in tournament poker, and discover the challenges of raising a family as a professional poker player.

Play Better Poker is designed to provide a place for poker players of all skill and experience levels to learn together and have fun! We'll teach you easy-to-use strategies to study and improve your poker game, while also giving you unprecedented access to the mindset and approach to learning used by professional players.

Whether you’re a new, returning, or already well-seasoned player – Play Better Poker is here to help and get you started learning valuable poker tips in a fast and fun 30 minute LIVE poker strategy show. Join us!

...

Watch LIVE with WPT Commentator & Champion, High-Stakes Pro Tony Dunst! 📺

LearnWPT, the Official Poker Education Platform of the World Poker Tour®, proudly presents Play Better Poker with Instructors Katie Stone and Tony Dunst starting at 12:00 PM PT on March 14th LIVE from the HyperX Arena in Las Vegas!

If your goal is to kickstart your poker game, then look no further. You'll have unparalleled access to hear directly from top players and get valuable strategies to improve your game plan!

Catch all of the action and be sure to RSVP for this amazing live show ↘️

Listen as the most successful poker players in the game share their secrets about how to Play Better Poker! 🎙️

Watch this fast-paced online talk show including in-depth interviews with the top poker players in the WPT Universe, and discover how they learn and improve at poker through study tips and unique techniques featuring exclusive LearnWPT training tools and content.

Do you have 30 minutes to start Playing Better Poker? 🂡

With 15 years of experience as a professional poker player, LearnWPT Instructor Katie Stone is your personal guide for building a poker study routine and improving your game. You will not only be able to ask specific questions about your game and how to improve but also to get expert insight from some of the greatest in the game on how they consistently improve at poker, all while having fun!

Joining Katie LIVE from HyperX Arena in Las Vegas on the next Play Better Poker is Champion of the Season XII Caribbean Main Event, WPT Commentator, and member of Team LearnWPT - Tony Dunst!

Sharpen your pencil ✏️ because it's time to take notes and ask questions to get answers from Katie and Tony - email your questions to [email protected].

Tune In to Hear Katie & Tony Talk About:

🡆 The importance of committing to a study routine for improvement.

🡆 Why building a poker network is vital to success at the highest levels.

🡆 Balancing the demands of travel and work while staying on top of your game.

We know how difficult it can be to learn poker on your own, so we’re inviting you to study with Team LearnWPT!

Play Better Poker is designed to provide a place for poker players of all skill and experience levels to learn together! We'll teach you easy-to-use strategies to study and improve at Texas Hold’em, while also giving you unprecedented access to the mindset and approach to learning used by pro poker players. But don't worry - LearnWPT is a safe place to start your journey as a poker player, and we know that everyone learns at their own pace.

Submit questions before each show by emailing [email protected] and get the answer live. For more information and updates for the next show make sure you bookmark learnwpt.com/playbetterpoker and check back often.

Meet Your Host Katie Stone

Katie Stone began her gaming career as a child in chess, and later on while in college she pioneered chess camps for kids across the country. She is a professional poker player and a staunch advocate with a focus on growing the game of poker. Katie is also a major proponent of using the decision-making skills and lessons learned in poker as a means to better navigate challenges and improve performance at work and in daily life. Throughout her 15 years long career as a poker professional, Katie has been constantly searching for new methods to master her poker skills and help other players Play Better Poker.

As an Instructor for Team LearnWPT Katie delivers expert strategy and a unique perspective on learning poker to the LearnWPT Membership. Her accolades in poker include being a 2x WSOP Circuit Ring Winner and $1.2 million combined live and online tournament earnings. In addition to her role as a LearnWPT Instructor, Katie is also a Content Producer and Commentator for LearnWPT.

Her front-row seat to the explosion of online poker and the evolution of poker study makes Katie a uniquely qualified resource for cash game and tournament strategies, detailed hand analysis, online vs live strategies, decision making in real-time at the table, adjusting for known opponent tendencies, using your feedback loop for improvement, as well as learning what it takes to succeed as a pro.

Have an Inside Look at Katie’s Quest to Play Better Poker:

Meet Katie’s Guest LearnWPT Instructor, WPT Commentator & Champion- Tony Dunst!

Tony Dunst is one of the original online poker professionals who helped usher in the poker boom and who cultivated his experience and natural talent into an eloquently presented yet appropriately witty style that has captivated poker fans for over a decade.

A high-stakes pro and one of the most unique personalities in the poker industry, Tony joined the World Poker Tour as host of the WPT Raw Deal segment and spent seven seasons analyzing some of the most pivotal hands from WPT events.

Through these segments, the poker world was introduced to a whole new method of hand analysis as used by professional players, in an entertaining and engaging manner.

When Mike Sexton announced his retirement from the WPT commentary booth, it was only natural for Tony to be promoted into the role starting with Season XVI.

Tony's rise as a force on the live poker scene coincided with his breakout performances each week on new episodes of the World Poker Tour, and his success was launched on a familiar felt.

Tony was able to etch his name on the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup in Season XII, winning WPT Caribbean. Not long after in 2016 Tony added another marquee title to his poker resume when he won a WSOP gold bracelet. Tony won his second WSOP bracelet in 2020 and his first WSOP Circuit Ring in 2021 adding to his long list of accomplishments.

In addition to being widely recognized for his prowess as an expert poker player and commentator, he has written articles on dozens of topics both within and outside of poker. With his candor and over-sized personality, Tony quickly developed a loyal following of fans, who are often rewarded with his well-informed and lightening-quick takes via his social media platforms and during WPT broadcasts.https://learnwpt.com/learn/episodes/?page=1&video=tony-dunst-notes-and-tendencies

As a member of Team LearnWPT, Tony continues to share his proven poker tips and tricks through Strategy Episodes, Webinars, and interactive Live Workshops.

Check Out The Top 10 Online Poker Tells From Tony Dunst:

...

Join Katie and Tony for an enlightening discussion about the importance of committing to a study routine, find out why building a poker network is vital to success, and discover how these pros balance the demands of travel and work while staying on top of your game.

Play Better Poker is the perfect opportunity for you to get started on your poker learning journey in a fun and engaging way. Join us for a fascinating conversation with one of the most unique personalities in the poker industry and the WPT Universe, Tony Dunst. Watch for valuable strategies that will help improve your play and help you have more fun at the table!

There is no time like the present to start making changes in your poker game. You'll learn strategies from a legendary player and pick up tips that will help you improve quickly!

Whether you’re a new, returning, or already well-seasoned player – Play Better Poker is here to help and get you started learning valuable poker tips in a fast and fun 30 minute LIVE poker strategy show. Join us!

Subscribe below to receive FREE poker strategy content, quizzes, downloadable tools, and more.

A♠A♥ vs a Flop Check-Raise

In this cash game scenario a UTG+2 player calls, you raise from the hijack seat with A♠A♥, it folds around to UTG+2 who calls your raise. The flop comes 2♥6♦9♠, the UTG+2 player checks, you bet, and UTG+2 check-raises.

🡆Would you fold, call or reraise?

A♦A♥ on the River

In a Tournament, you are dealt A♦A♥ in an early position and you raise. It folds around to the Big Blind who calls. The Flop comes Q♣Q♥5♠. The Big Blind checks, you bet, and the Big Blind calls. The Turn is the T♦. The Big Blind checks and you check behind. The River is the Q♠. The Big Blind checks, you bet, and the Big Blind raises All-In.

🡆What do you do here?

Trip Aces vs a River Bet

In a Tournament, the UTG player raises preflop, MP2 calls, you call with A♣5♣ and the other players fold. The flop comes A♥A♦4♣. UTG and MP2 check and you bet. UTG calls and MP2 folds. The turn is the K♦. UTG checks, you bet, and UTG calls. The river is the Q♠, and UTG shoves all-in.

🡆Action is on you, what do you do?

Set of A♠A♣ vs a Check-Raise

In a Cash Game, UTG+1 calls and so does UTG+2, both Middle Position players, and the Hijack. You are in the Cutoff seat with A♠A♣. You raise and it folds around to MP1 who calls. All other players fold and it’s heads up to the flop, which comes K♦A♦7♦. MP1 checks and you bet. MP1 raises. Facing this raise from MP1, what is your play?

🡆Do you fold, call, raise or go all-in?

When playing a poker hand, it's very important to look at all the hands in your range and not just the hand you hold. Pocket aces are the strongest hand in the game preflop, however sometimes it’s pretty obvious that your hand is behind postflop and you need to be present and engaged enough to know when you are beat and fold.

Understanding and mastering strategies such as fundamental 1-Pair Betting Lines, Relative Hand Strength Postflop, and Pot Odds, will give you the opportunities to exert skill edge against your opponents and play your aces effectively.

The concept of betting lines is crucial to understanding your overall game plan.

A betting line is the plan of actions taken across multiple streets, the blueprint of how to play various types of hands. If you have good betting lines that you use in your game plan, you shouldn't think street by street or find yourself on the turn without a plan for the hand.

With 1-Pair hands, specifically a top pair or an over pair, it's important to know when to continuation bet postflop, up against a single opponent and when to take a cautious approach. If you are just focused on the specific hand you hold and not on the situation, you may end up trying to get three streets of value where it's not profitable and find yourself up against much better hands by the time there's a showdown at the river.

Relative hand strength refers to your hand strength changing based on the situation, so your goal should be to start seeing poker situationally and pay attention to the number of opponents that saw the flop with you.

Number of opponents is key to relative hand strength because the more players that see the flop, the stronger the average hand at showdown. You should also pay attention to how coordinated that flop is, for example how many draws are present, how close together and rank those cards are.

Board texture will influence how likely it is that anybody has hit the flop. It’s also very important to note how position can change from preflop to postflop, where from the blinds for example, you can start the hand as last to act preflop but have to act first after the flop.

Stack depth is another crucial factor that you need to consider in every hand that you play, as the deeper the stacks are, the better hand you need to get all your chips in the middle.

Tying all these concepts together, in every single hand that you play postflop you should pay attention to estimate of opponent hand ranges based on actions taken. Note how your opponents played the hand thus far and what type of hand ranges would you put a reasonable opponent on that took those actions.

Lastly, when deciding whether to continue in a hand it’s essential to look at the Pot odds you are being offered in a hand to determine appropriate risk/reward.

Pot odds refers to how much is already in the pot for you to win versus how much you risk in order to win it, or in other words how much is already in the pot compared to how much you have to call in order to continue in the hand. As a quick reference you can always remember that you are facing a one pot-sized bet, the pot odds are 2 to 1, and if the bet is half-pot sized, your pot odds are 3 to 1.

We hope you enjoy these hands and that the strategies you learn will have you singing instead of crying the next time you are dealt the mighty pocket aces.

🗣️🎶 You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table. There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done 🎶

(Sorry we got carried away....)

Keep on practicing!
-LearnWPT

PS: a Membership with LearnWPT is the easiest and fastest way to add more levels of complexity and nuance to your game. Members have access to over 150+ scenarios like this to practice their decision-making skills!