1. Poker Teaching Sites
2. Poker Sites For Us Players
3. Poker Teaching Sites Online
4. Free Poker Sites
5. 10 Best Free Poker Sites

What separates a fish from a regular? What separates a regular from a shark? And what separates a shark from Phil Ivey?

Okay, in the case of the latter, it’s probably something genetic, but the other two questions have a much simpler answer: Hard work.

Without any introductions, let's jump to The List of 12 Best Poker Tools and Poker Software! Holdem Manager 3 or Poker Tracker 4. Tracking poker software is necessary for everyone who is playing seriously. Right now poker is all about having information on your opponents and these programs do the job in the best possible way. Enter any casino, and the biggest bets are always on the baccarat tables. With online casinos, Poker Teaching Sites players can enjoy the same level of excitement on live dealer baccarat games. Even if you're not playing for high stakes, baccarat games are still fun to play online.

Poker, like any other complex game of strategy, involves making the maximum number of “correct” decisions based on the information you have available.

Unlike most other complex games of strategy, however, poker challenges its players by hiding the majority of the data that they’d ordinarily base their decisions on. Add variance into the equation and you’re sitting with a game that’s almost impossible to predict.

That’s why decisions in poker are rarely described as either “right” or “wrong”, but rather whether they have positive or negative expected value (also referred to as +EV and -EV)

There are so many factors that determine whether a play is +EV and it often comes down to a subjective interpretation of the hand. There isn’t one definitive resource that will tell you with exact authority whether you made the right decision or not.

That’s why constantly studying and training is the most important aspect of becoming a winning player. Fortunately for us, we live in the age of information and the internet has made finding excellent resources for getting better at poker extremely easy.

So, with that in mind, we’ve put together a list of eight resources that we feel are the ideal places for online poker players to learn how to constantly improve their skill levels.

Deuces Cracked

With more than 3,500 videos presented by a friendly and extremely helpful community of professionals, Deuces Cracked is one of the most popular training sites available for online players.

While the site covers a wide range of game types and stakes, the majority of videos are focused on catering for the micro-stakes No Limit Hold’em market.

In addition to the many one-off videos added by community members on a regular basis, the site also features a number of video “series” which consist of many installments that tackle larger topics.

The most popular of these series is an eight-part epic titled “Eightfold Path to Poker Enlightenment” presented by Tommy Angelo and Wayne Lively. This particular series has received widespread acclaim and is regarded as a landmark in online poker training.

Access to Deuces Cracked is currently priced at $29 per month.

PokerStrategy.com

7.9 million poker enthusiasts can’t be wrong, right? Boasting one of the largest memberships of all the poker sites we reviewed, PokerStrategy.com is easily one of the most popular online training resources.

Unlike the majority of its competitors, PokerStrategy.com is a free resource, offering users not only unrestricted access its entire knowledge base, but also a $50 instant bankroll that you can deposit at several of the major poker rooms.

This risk-free introduction to the world of online poker has resulted in Pokerstrategy.com attracting a less experienced audience, meaning that much of their material focuses on turning new players into winning players.

PokerStrategy.com’s video catalogue may not be as comprehensive as Deuces Cracked, but these have more of a “classroom” feel to better cater to their target market’s needs.

The site also offers a vast collection of strategy articles and tutorials, all aimed at helping the new player succeed. In addition, it also boasts one of the most vibrant and helpful communities all too keen to get involved in discussing hands, sessions and other aspects related to becoming a better player.

Advanced Poker Training

This unique site features an array of sophisticated tools that emulates a poker setting, provides context-sensitive guidance, and analyzes your play to point out strengths and weaknesses.

The foundation of their product is simulation software that allows the player to play up to 500 hands per hour against highly-sophisticated bots programmed to test every aspect of your game.

Their trademarked rating programs perform a real-time evaluation of your play and provides an astonishingly deep set of data that helps you identify where you need improvement.

The site’s reliance on artificial intelligence may be a concern for some, but the immersive, gamified approach to coaching may well be a big draw for others who prefer to learn while playing.

Advanced poker training will set you back $29.90 per month

Bluefire Poker

If you’re looking for a training site that has more of a quality-over-quantity approach, Bluefire Poker is the one for you – especially if you’re a high-stakes 6-max No Limit Hold’em player.

The video content at Bluefire Poker is of an exceptionally high standard. With its relatively small roster of producers – lead by site founder and online poker legend Phil Gaflond – the site is able to better curate its output and ensure that members don’t have to sift through hours of content before finding something of real value to them.

Another reason why Bluefire Poker may the best training option for you is if you’re already an experienced player looking to learn more advanced strategy and techniques.

Bluefire Poker prizes content above all, meaning that they have spent little time cultivating a community. Consider signing up if you’re mainly looking to get advanced insight from the best roster of online video producers available.

Membership costs $29.99 per month and a $99 initiation fee.

Two Plus Two Forums

Two Plus Two is one of the originals – a genuine authority in the world of poker training – and has been around since the heydey of online poker.

One of the first online communities to embrace peer-driven hand analysis, Two Plus Two thrives on discussion. The site boasts more than 400,000 members, a large portion of whom actively participate in the seemingly endless number of hand analyses posted on an hourly basis.

More than any of the other sites mentioned here, the value a member will derive from Two Plus Two is proportionate to becoming involved. Sure, you can lurk on the edges and read what other members have to say about each others’ play, but the real magic happens when you get involved.

The Two Plus Two forums are free to join.

Tournament Poker Edge

Not many training sites have as narrow a focus as Tournament Poker Edge, with the site eschewing conventions of covering a large range of game types and focusing solely on multi-table tournaments.

Aside from the typical training material you’d find at a training site, Tournament Poker Edge also offers a structured training curriculum that takes members on an a well planned educational journey.

This product, named TPE University, allows you to consume training content applicable to your level of skill and experience and helps you assess whether you are ready to progress to a new level of training.

As can be expected of a training site with a narrower focus, the quality of content at Tournament Poker Edge is of a very high caliber, with the likes of Casey “bigdogpckt5s” Jarzabek, Charles “Hagbard Celine” Sizemore, and Ryan “HITTHEPANDA” Franklin among their regular contributors.

Tournament Poker Edge will set you back $23.95 per month.

Jonathan Little’s Weekly Poker Hand Podcast

Jonathan Little’s website offers several training resources in the form of educational videos, blog posts, and book reviews, but few of these are as insightful as the terrific weekly hand analysis he does in the form of a podcast and video.

All online poker players know that the majority of the time that you spend “studying” should involve your analyzing big hands and getting other players’ input on your choices.

Well, few people are as gifted at diving deep into his own thought process as Jonathan Little.

In this weekly series, you can expect to hear insightful and candid commentary on his and his opponents’ play, with his discussions on one hand sometimes exceeding the 12-minute mark. So don’t expect your standard, superficial analysis here.

Best of all, this resource is entirely free to everyone.

Cardrunners

Cardrunners is without a doubt one of the most respected platforms for teaching players the techniques needed to move on from the from the traps of playing standard, tight aggressive, ABC poker.

The site’s approach to teaching – and the quality of its content – has also seen it gain favour amongst some of the world’s top professional players as a resource for constant improvement.

Their enormous roster of contributors reads like a “who’s who” of the online poker world, with the likes of Brian Townsend, Taylor Caby, Brian Hastings, and Andrew Wiggins frequently adding to the already-sizeable knowledge base.

An aspect that sets Cardrunners apart from its competition is the quality of their No Limit Hold’em Heads Up training content. This game format has become increasingly popular, especially at the higher stake levels, and no training site covers it as well as they do.

Cardrunners’ Gold membership comes in at a cost of $27.99 per month and there is also a one-off fee of $99.00.

SitnGoGrinders

Another training site that caters for a niche audience – albeit a very large one – SitnGoGrinders aims to help players interested in dominating this popular game format.

The site has a broad focus within the scope of Sit and Go’s (SNGs), offering a medium-sized pool of videos that cover all the most popular types of tournaments.

To reflect it’s more precise, narrow scope, SitnGoGrinders has adopted an innovative pricing model, opting not to bill members on a monthly basis, but rather offer collections of themed videos (called “packs”) at set prices coming in at around $40 – $60 per pack.

Poker Teaching Sites

Grinding SNGs is one of the most popular ways for poker players to grow their bankroll and few other sites offer the wealth of specialist information than these guys do. This site is an absolute must if SNGs are your game.

Bonus: Poker Copilot

Reviewing, analyzing, and discussing an isolated hand that included many interesting decision points is certainly one of the most effective ways to learn.

Poker Sites For Us Players

Doing so also has the most obvious impact on your bankroll since winning more and losing fewer big hands is one of the main goals of improving your game.

It’s easy to overlook the importance of analyzing your play in hands that didn’t have a memorable pot, you are playing hundreds of them in a session, after all.

To best assess these types of hands, Poker Copilot offers a feature called Leak Detection. This sophisticated functionality analyzes all of the hands that you have played in a session and points out small, typically invisible flaws that will cost you money in the long run.

Poker Copilot will analyze your gameplay and help you answer the following questions:

• Are you showing enough pre-flop aggression from each position?
• Do you attempt to steal the blinds regularly enough and how successful are you at it?
• Do you loosen up your game as you move closer to the dealer position?
• Are you profitable enough with pocket pairs?
• Are you showing adequate profitability with suited connectors?

Conclusion

Many of these resources may come at quite a high price, but don’t let this put you off! We’ve found that paying for your education can often be a very helpful motivator for taking the process a little more seriously.

As with most things in life, the reward you get out of learning is proportionate to the investment you make in it.

Whether it be financial, time, or effort, you get what you put in and this applies doubly when it comes to improving your poker game.

If you genuinely commit to making the most of these resources, respect the material, and trust the educational process, you are guaranteed to become a better player and show profit in the long run.

So choose which one of the above options work best for you and pour yourself into the experience of getting better.

See you at the tables!

Training to Be a Pro But Need Help

Hey, there, fledgling poker player! So you’re tired of not winning at the tables, you’re looking to improve your game, and you’ve heard a lot about these online poker training sites? Lots of your opponents seem to be subscribing to them and improving their games. Can joining one or several of these sites improve your game as well? And if so, which sites give you the best bang for your buck? Below are a few of the best and most well-known poker training sites on the market today, and what each of them has to offer.

For a quick start we have also put together some basic tips to playing poker to help you get on your path to becoming a poker professional, or just saving a couple bucks.

DEUCESCRACKED

A top-tier site for those players seeking ways to improve their cash-game play. DeucesCracked’s videos are better edited than many of the site’s competitors, and with a library now in excess of 1,200 videos, there’s plenty to choose from. Cash-game action is the site’s focus, though tournament play and other poker variants in addition to Texas Hold’em also receive some attention.

Site instructors include noted online pros Emil “whitelime” Patel, Joe Tall, Vanessa Selbst (female pro), Ariel Schneller and many others.

Poker Teaching Sites Online

See more details about Deuces Cracked and if its worth it.

Free Poker Sites

CARDRUNNERS

By consensus CardRunners is the largest of all online poker training sites, having also merged with former competitor StoxPoker. CardRunners serves up an extensive library of thousands of poker training videos, with a heavy focus on cash-game play. The site’s professional tutors include Cole South, Michael “timex” McDonald, Brian “sbrugby” Hastings, Taylor “greenplastic” Caby and many others. Many of these players were the original high stakes players in online poker whom moved onto the business side. The massive library needs better organization, but the overall quality of the videos are among the best in this category.

See more details about Cardrunners and if its worth it.

POKERXFACTOR

While many of the training sites listed here focus primarily on cash-game play, PokerXFactor’s focus is on tournament action instead. Led by the legendary online duo of Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy and Eric “Sheets” Haber (who are also among the largest backers of other players in the industry), the site also includes instructional offerings from Kevin “BeL0WaB0Ve” Saul, Eric “Rizen” Lynch, Scott “BigRissky” Clements and many others. The site offers a library of several hundred videos, and includes an interactive hand-history viewer allowing members to review and share their own questionable or interesting plays.

Here is the full review of PokerXfactor’s tournament training site.

BLUEFIREPOKER

BlueFirePoker is one of the best sites for cash game strategy and videos. The site has a massive list of professional players including Niman “Samoleus” Kenkre, Martin Fournier Giguere (a/k/a “Giggy”) and others in assembling one of the most impressive catalog of videos to date. The guys that run that coach on the site have some interesting reads that most pros follow, plus a forum where professionals discuss hands with players. The price of training will run you $30 a month and they whack you with a $100 upfront initiation fee as well. It’s worth it when you’re getting tips from Phil Galfond, arguably one of the most consistently recognized high stakes pro.

Read more about Bluefire the training site.

GRINDER SCHOOL

10 Best Free Poker Sites

More geared to beginning and intermediate players, Grinder School is a newer site centered on several hundred videos that emphasize the core concepts of basic play, with a target audience of micro-, low- and mid-stakes players. The site offers both cash-game and tournament tutorials but focuses heavily on NLHE action, though other games and topics are showing signs of receiving attention. I think this will be a great site for when the US is legalized for the average player. Cost is only $20 and there is no beginning initiation fee but you get what you pay for. I wouldn’t personally use them but their library of videos is greater than 1000 comparable to similar training sites…

Read our full review about our featured best site for low stakes training.

POKERSTARS POKER SCHOOL (POKER SCHOOL ONLINE/PSO)

Several of the largest poker sites now offer their own basic tutorial packages, free of charge, with PokerStars among the sites doing so. Stars’ PSO offerings are free (account registration required), though they are geared toward beginners; intermediate and advanced players won’t pick up much new here. Still, the groundwork covered here is a solid start for playing poker. Please note that PokerStars now owns Full Tilt Poker Academy, but they are two separate entities. The problem with poker sites offering their own training is that it dwindles the experience for casual players and is usually not in their best interest, thus the ‘basic information’ you get for free.

You can read more on the Pokerstars School here.

Conclusion

The above-listed training sites are some of the best online but depending on your skill level, stakes, bankroll, and preferred game type, the best site for your game can wildly differ. Most sites allow players a free trial, or at least, the ability to view their video library and lessons before signing up. Take advantage of this and be sure to look for information that will suit your skill level. For my money, DeucesCracked is the best training site for poker players of all stakes.

Author:Joseph Falchetti (twitter)
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