DECISION POINT: You are in the middle stages of a daily tournament with over 50% of the field still remaining and 500/1,000 blinds with a 1,000 big blind ante. Most players at your table have 20-40BBs and you are relatively new to the table with no significant reads on your opponents. From Under the Gun you make the standard 2.2x open raise to 2,200 with J♥J♦. Players in Middle Position, Hijack, and Button all call. The flop comes 9♥8♦8♠ and action is on you.

What do you do here?

PRO ANSWER: We are playing in a daily tournament at a local casino. It is the middle stages of the tournament with just over 50% of the field remaining. Most of the players at our table have 20-40 big blinds and we are relatively new to this table with no significant reads. The blinds are 500/1,000 with a 1,000 big blind ante.

We are dealt J♥J♦ UTG and make a standard open to 2,200 chips. The player to our immediate left calls, as do the Hijack and the Button. Everyone folds and we go four ways to the flop.

The flop is 9♥8♦8♠. Playing multiway pots out of position can be extremely tricky. With a SPR (stack to pot ratio) of around 2 and holding an overpair, it’s going to be very difficult to get away from our hand without some sort of significant action from multiple players still left to act behind us. When deciding if we should c-bet or check, it is important to think of what our entire range wants to do in this spot.

The default range from UTG consists mostly of bigger overcards and overpairs, and while we do have some 77/A9s/A8s type hands as well, the overcards and overpairs will make up the majority of hands. Our opponents are much more likely to have condensed ranges that connect with this board in some way. For that reason, most of our range prefers to check in this spot.

Many players mistake checking for weakness or giving up here, and that’s simply not true. Depending on how the action unfolds behind us there are several options to continue including check-raise, check-call, or check-fold if multiple opponents go all-in before it’s back around to us. By checking, we allow our opponents to take stabs at the pot with hands they otherwise might fold to a bet, such as 66/55 or even some ace-high hands.

Our hand does benefit from protection, so if we were to lead at all in this spot, hands like JJ/TT/A9s would make the most sense. We become very easy to play against if we bet all of our made hands and check all of our misses, and our range is made up of far more overcards and misses than big hands and overpairs.

Checking is the best play.

If you’re a fan of nonstop poker action in an award winning hotel casino where you can split time between fine dining, line dancing, and some time at the pool, then you need to get to Choctaw Casino & Resort in Durant, OK right now. Join Team LearnWPT as we head back On Tour for the televised $3,800 World Poker Tour® Choctaw Championship Event featuring 50K in starting chips plus a massive $2 Million Guaranteed prize pool.

The 2024 WPT Choctaw Championship Event drew some of the best rounders on the planet and the prize pool swelled to over $2.1 Million. After a long final table battle, world-class player James Mackey captured the $361,600 first prize and his 2nd WPT Main Tour Title in the same event!

This year the Choctaw Festival returns featuring a huge new slate of exciting tournaments, epic schedule of satellites, and huge guarantees leading up to the highly anticipated WPT Main Tour Championship Event.

Do you have dreams of making the televised final table and sharing the stage with Vince, Lynn, and Tony but don’t quite have the bankroll? Good news - there are plenty of chances to parlay a small buy-in into a life changing score, and you’ll definitely want to take advantage of the Championship Event satellites starting as low as $130!

Get Championship Ready With LearnWPT

Team LearnWPT is here to give the tools and strategy you need to win your seat to the $3,800 WPT Choctaw Championship. Check out the strategies in this blog and you’ll be ready to jump in the action.

➧ Get In on the Action
➧ Satellite Keys and Basics
➧ Test Your Satellite Skills
➧ Understanding ICM at the Final Table
➧ Play Solved GTO Final Table Hands
➧ Launch Your Poker Game and Save 50%

Get an edge on your competition with poker strategies from proven winners and prepare to dominate the felt!

#TheCupAwaits 🏆

Get In on the Action at Choctaw ...

The 2025 Choctaw Casino & Resort Durant festival begins April 16th with the $250 buy-in $100K GTD "Kick-Off" and features some can't miss events including the $300K GTD $500 buy-in “Gargantuan“ on the 24th and the $600 buy-in $150K GTD “Choctaw Classic” on the 19th.

In addition to the satellites to the $3,800 WPT Choctaw Championship even starting as low as $130, you can also potentially parlay a low buy-in of $250 into a WPT package through Super Satellites that awards winners a seat to the $10,400 WPT World Championship in Vegas. There are also plenty of lower buy-in events scheduled nightly so you don’t have to stretch your bankroll to get to experience the fun and excitement of playing in a World Poker Tour event!

📅 Festival Dates:
Start: Wednesday, April 16, 2025
End: Monday, May 5, 2025
Click here for the full Festival schedule

Day 1 of the Televised Championship Event begins Thursday, May 1st with three starting flights and allows for unlimited re-entry until the start of level 9 on Day 1A-Day 1C - Click here for the structure.

📅 WPT Championship Event Schedule:
➧ Day 1A: Thursday, May 1, 2025 starting at 11 am CDT
➧ Day 1B: Friday, May 2, 2025 starting at 11 am CDT
➧ Day 1C: Saturday, May 3, 2025 starting at 11 am CDT
➧ Day 2: Sunday, May 4, 2025 starting at 11am CDT
➧ Day 3: Monday, May 5, 2025 starting at 11am CDT
➧ Final Table: Friday, May 30, 2025*

The $3,800 Championship event offers 50K in starting chips and the player's favorite WPT structure providing plenty of chances to chip up and build a final table stack.

*The final table of 6 will be played and filmed for television by the World Poker Tour at the HyperX Las Vegas at Luxor on May 30, 2025.

Should You Play a 🛰️ Satellite Differently?

Satellite poker tournaments are a great way to parlay 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, and yes, you’ll need to make some adjustments that may seem strange compared to standard tournament strategy.

Approaching satellite play with the same strategy used in a regular poker tournament will often result in busting out when you would otherwise have a seat to the target tournament locked up.

Watch this Strategy Episode from LearnWPT Instructor Nick Binger as he discusses the key adjustments you need to make when playing Satellite Poker Tournaments.

Need Help Closing The Deal?

In this LearnWPT Strategy Episode get invaluable perspective from a Pro as Nick Binger reviews several key hands from a Satellite to highlight the unique adjustments during the endgame.

These strategy concepts could help you avoid busting on the bubble and secure your seat to the WPT Choctaw Championship!

The Keys 🗝️ to Satellite Play

• Everyone gets paid the same prize
• Make sure you know the rules of the Satellite you are playing and how to secure your seat
• Satellites can be played a number of ways, from traditional freezeout, to milestone, to shootout format
• No incentive to build a large stack once you are likely to win a seat
• As the probability of winning 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

Test Your Satellite Skills!

You are playing a Mega Satellite to the $2 Million guaranteed WPT Choctaw Championship with blinds at 50/100 and a 100 big blind ante. You are in the Small Blind with Q♠Q♥ and 4,600 chips (46BBs). An Early Position player limps, a visibly frustrated player in the MP2 seat makes it 300, and the Button flat calls.

Action is on you, what do you do here?

Click here to get a detailed analysis of this hand from Team LearnWPT and learn more strategy behind the correct plays.

How Should You Adjust at a Final Table?

Strategy adjustments for various tournament stages must consider the impact of ICM (Independent Chip Model) and the specific factors in play at your table. When there are different stack sizes and a huge gap in pay between 1st and 9th place, making the most profitable decisions can seem daunting.

When you are the chip leader at a Final Table it’s also crucial to understand how dramatic ICM will affect your opponent’s strategy, and when you can use ruthless aggression to punish your foes on the way to victory. In both cases, the key to making better decisions with ICM in play starts with adjusting first-in hand ranges.

Watch this LearnWPT.com Strategy Episode as Nick breaks down ranges and adjustments across stack sizes and describes how you should be approaching these spots at your next Final Table.

Playing Medium Pairs at A Final Table

Medium strength pocket pairs are a common source of frustration at the poker table for many players. Often with this hand category we are faced with difficult decisions to continue on many board textures, and can be challenged to make the right play when facing aggressive action.

At a Final Table when pay jumps are a big factor, it’s even more crucial to understand the correct strategy with medium pairs in order to avoid massive ICM blunders.

Here’s a breakdown from LearnWPT Instructor Johan Schultz-Pedersen featuring pocket 8s at a Final Table to illustrate just how much ICM should affect your decisions in these spots.

Are You GTO Final Table Ready?

Picture yourself as one of 6 remaining players at the Final Table of the $3,800 WPT Choctaw Championship event. How do you play your 30 Big Blind stack against a call from a tough chip leader with two short stacks in play and the Mike Sexton Champions Cup on the line?

Play FREE solved hands from the WPT GTO Trainer to see firsthand how preflop ranges affect your decisions at the Final Table.

Here are some tips when practicing with the WPT GTO Trainer:

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

Members can practice more hands from this scenario anytime by playing the 30BB Button Open Vs 70BB Big Blind Call WPT GTO Trainer Final Table pack! Not a Member? Join for just $5 your first month to play more WPT GTO Trainer scenarios like this.

At the Final Table Remember To...

• Play to avoid busting out to the chip leader
• You will check and call more often than bet or raise
• You still need some bluffs in your range to prevent the chip leader from exploiting you
• Almost never lead out from the Big Blind after calling preflop
• Don’t be afraid to fold marginal hands against big bets that could set up an all-in situation on a future street
• When facing an aggressive chip leader, you should often trap by check-calling with your big made hands

Launch Your Poker Game and SAVE 50%

Get your poker game ready for success with The LearnWPT Launch No-Limit Hold'em Tournament Course and get 50% off with promotion code VEGAS50 at checkout. This course is the PERFECT way to level up your tournament skills with the WPT Champions and WSOP Bracelet winners on Team LearnWPT.

Why are we so confident that Launch will help your game?

In 2024 not only did we see epic success from 2 Instructors who taught the LearnWPT Launch Course, we also saw 2 students grab a WSOP Bracelet and 2 WSOP Circuit Rings (in 1 week!) after attending.

In short - We’ve got the results to prove it!

With LearnWPT Launch you’ll get a highly structured upgrade to your tournament poker strategy from proven winners who are also expert teachers. The four sessions include more than 10 hours of lecture and in-depth hand examples to help align your game fast.

➧ Early Stage Play with Johan Schultz-Pedersen
➧ Responding to Aggression with Eric Lynch
➧ Turn and River Play with Michael Gagliano
➧ ICM and Bubble Play with Tony Dunst

In addition to the in-depth lecture sessions LearnWPT Launch includes 30 strategy videos from our expansive library to supplement your training, downloadable range charts, poker hand quizzes after each section, and 20 WPT GTO Trainer packs for you to play, train, and drill hands based on the strategies you are learning. You’ll also have direct access to a private strategy Discord channel to ask questions to your coaches.

➧ Lifetime Access to the Course Videos and Tools
➧ No hidden fees, LearnWPT.com Membership not required

Start the course NOW to prepare for the WSOP, WPT Championship, or any tournament that you are planning on playing!

Have FUN, Good Luck, and Good Playing!

Will we see you on the felt during the WPT Choctaw Festival? If you see Team LearnWPT stop and say Hi 👋!

Check the LearnWPT calendar to follow Team LearnWPT On Tour as we travel the globe to play WPT Events.

Let us know if you are in the action during the WPT Choctaw Championship Event or side events on the Festival schedule!

Follow and tag us on social media to share your pic with members of Team LearnWPT, show off your chip stack, or celebrate a deep run.

X @LearnWPT | Facebook @learnwpt | Instagram @learn_wpt

We love to hear how LearnWPT Students are doing and we can’t wait to share your success at the poker table!

Good luck and good playing,
-Team LearnWPT

We hope you enjoyed these free strategies and tips from Team LearnWPT! Subscribe 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.

DECISION POINT: In a live daily tournament with blinds at 1,000/2,000 and a 2,000 big blind ante you are the effective stack at the table with 36K (18BBs). You’ve observed the field as being very passive with many players limping. The action starts with a limp from UTG followed by calls from MP2 and the Cutoff. The Button folds and the Small Blind completes. Action is on you in the Big Blind with 8♥8♣.

What do you do here?

PRO ANSWER: We are playing a daily live tournament with a very passive field with lots of limping. The blinds are 1,000/2,000 with a 2,000 big blind ante. Most of the stacks are around 100K and we are the shortest with 36K to start the hand.

We are dealt 8♥8♣ in the Big Blind. The action starts with a limp from UTG followed by calls from MP2 and the Cutoff. The Button folds, the Small Blind completes and action is on us with a middle pocket pair and 10K in the pot before we act. There is no real “GTO” solution for this spot because our opponents aren’t supposed to have limping ranges from early position, so we have to fall back on range analysis and what we know about each opponent to make the best decision.

Any time we can potentially add 20-25% to our stack uncontested by moving all-in, we should at least consider shoving all-in as a potential option. In this particular situation, we also have a very solid hand that is likely favored over our opponents’ ranges and has reasonable equity even when called. It is very unlikely that anyone is calling preflop with a very strong range aside from potentially UTG, so the most important range to consider is that of the UTG limper.

In many live games we will see players limping in from all positions and a wide range using hands they “want to see a flop with”. This limping range typically includes Ax combinations, hands with two broadway cards, pocket pairs, and suited connectors.

Against this range we would be way ahead and our hand would easily warrant moving all-in. There some opponents who may be a little more sophisticated and will limp with big hands to trap, particularly at tables where there is a lot of preflop raising occurring. If we had specific information on the UTG player’s potential to limp with strong hands as well this decision becomes much easier.

The last step is to consider the overall table dynamics. Is this a table where we are able to pick up chips easily through winning uncontested pots? Since we are currently the shortest stack at the table the answer is likely no, however if we are likely to take down uncontested pots with a decent frequency in future orbits checking becomes the preferred option.

Most players aren’t capable of limping with a truly balanced range, and there are only a few combinations of big hands available to begin with. Consequently, players who employ a limping strategy in early position can easily start including too many hands in their limping ranges. Without a specific read that the UTG player limps infrequently and does so with strong hands, the ability to add over 25% to our stack by winning an uncontested pot when we move all-in is far too enticing to worry about the few times they are trapping with a big hand.

Moving all-in is the best play.

Who's up for a Showdown in Hollywood? The poker world is ready to gather together once again at everyone’s favorite East Coast poker destination - the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, FL for the $3,500 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship Event. There's no better combo than South Florida weather and the chance to make the TV Final Table and be crowned the next WPT Champion!

This action packed poker festival boasts an epic schedule of huge guaranteed events featuring a wide range of buy-in levels and game types. Whether you're a first-timer or a seasoned grinder, there's a chance for everyone to become a Champion.

There are also tons of ways to win your seat directly into the massive $3 Million Guaranteed prize pool Championship event, with daily satellites to the $3,500 buy-in event starting on March 24th. The Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood consistently produces massive prize pools and incredible life-changing final table payouts, and there's no doubt that this year's edition will once again break records.

The 2024 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship Event drew some of the best rounders on the planet and the prize pool swelled to nearly $6 Million! After maintaining his impressive chip lead that began on Day 2 and coming into the Final Table 2nd in chips, Josh Reichard captured the $839,300 first prize and had his name engraved onto the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup alongside a prestigious list of World Poker Tour Champions.

Want the Cup? Get Aggression!

What single trait is shared by almost every player whose name is etched on the Mike Sexton Champions Cup?

If you guessed that they are willing to stay aggressive and put their opponents to tough decisions, you’d be right. These masters of the game know when to shift gears and exploit weaknesses and they don't need to have good cards to push the action.

Team LearnWPT is here to show you specific plays that will add aggression to your game and build a fierce presence at the table. Watch these free videos from proven crushers and you’ll learn to identify more spots to make aggressive moves that won't break your game. Get the insight on how these pros pull the trigger more often in close spots, and get on the path toward the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship!

➧ Get In on the Action
➧ Maintaining Aggression
➧ Fold Less, Float More
➧ Bluffing with LuckyChewy
➧ Get Ready for Final Table
➧ Our Most Important Tip

Get In on the Showdown ...

The 2025 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Festival kicks off on Wednesday, March 19th with the $400 Deepstack $1,000,000 guaranteed opener. There are plenty of lower buy-in events including a $600 Deepstack $2M GTD event on March 26th, and a ton of satellites into the Championship Event, so you don’t have to stretch your poker bankroll to join the fun!

📅 Poker Showdown Festival Dates:
Start: Wednesday, March 19, 2025
End: Tuesday, April 8, 2025
Click here for the full Festival schedule
Follow the live updates for action from all the events

The headlining WPT Poker Showdown Championship event begins Friday, April 4th with two starting flights and unlimited reentry through the start of level 9 - Click for the tournament structure.

📅 WPT Championship Event Schedule:
Day 1A: Friday, April 4, 2025 starting at 11 a.m. EDT
Day 1B: Saturday, April 5, 2025 starting at 11 a.m. EDT
Day 2: Sunday, April 6, 2025 starting at 12 p.m. EDT
Day 3: Monday, April 7, 2025 starting at 12 p.m. EDT
Day 4: Tuesday, April 8, 2025 starting at 12 p.m. EDT
Day 5: The Final Table of 6 will be played and filmed for television at the HyperX Las Vegas at Luxor in May

AJo at the $10K WPT Final Table - Your Move?

Maintaining aggression in the face of big pay jumps under the bright lights of the World Poker Tour Final Table can be a daunting task. It feels like every decision is magnified and one wrong move could end your dream run...

In this LearnWPT Strategy Episode Nick Binger breaks down a pivotal hand from the $10K buy-in WPT Seminole Hard Rock Finale. Learn how calculated aggression can frustrate a skilled opponent and create fold equity in a tough ICM spot vs the chip leader.

Fold Less, Float More!

Tired of playing against THAT player who always seems to be dragging pots with preflop raises and constant continuation bets? Take away their equity advantage and turn aggression on its heels with the Float.

Tune in to this Strategy Episode as Nick gives you step-by-step guidelines to identify the best situations to Float vs a frequent c-bettor. Utilize the power of position to turn aggression around on your opponents and add Floating to your game plan.

Bluffing With LuckyChewy

To build huge stacks and be in contention for a World Poker Tour Title, you will almost certainly need to pull off a few bluffs along the way.

You simply won't get enough good cards to keep up the pace with the rising blinds and antes, and when you do flop a big hand it won't always hold up. In this Strategy Episode LearnWPT Instructor and poker legend Andrew "LuckyChewy" Lichtenberger walks through his thought process when overbet bluffing the river.

Get Your Game Final Table Ready 🏆

To make sure you are prepared to shine for the cameras and show off your skills, we’ve got some essential strategy adjustments 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.

Most poker players aren’t prepared for the sudden increase in intensity caused by playing in front of an audience with 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.

Tips To 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

Not a LearnWPT Member? Join for just $5 your first month to get more Final Table strategy.

Can You Stay Aggressive at The Final Table?

You are at the $3,500 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Final Table. You min-raise 2BBs on the Button with a 30BB stack and the Big Blind with 50BBs calls. Click below to play a free Final Table sample pack of this spot from the WPT GTO Trainer to see firsthand how decisions change at the final table.

Here are some tips when practicing with the WPT GTO Trainer:

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

Members can practice more hands from this scenario and get expert feedback from the LearnWPT Pros on their play with the 30BB Button Open Vs 50BB Big Blind Call WPT GTO Trainer pack!

Not a LearnWPT Member? Join for just $5 your first month to play more hands using the WPT GTO Trainer.

Have FUN, Good Luck, and Good Playing!

Will we see you on the felt during the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Festival? If you see Team LearnWPT stop and say Hi 👋!

Check the LearnWPT calendar to follow Team LearnWPT On Tour as we travel the globe to play WPT Events.

Let us know if you are in the action during the WPT Poker Showdown Championship Event or side events on the Festival schedule!

Follow and tag us on social media to share your pic with members of Team LearnWPT, show off your chip stack, or celebrate a deep run.

Facebook @learnwpt | Instagram @learn_wpt | X @LearnWPT

We love to hear how LearnWPT Students are doing and we can’t wait to share your success at the poker table!

Good luck and good playing,
-Team LearnWPT

We hope you enjoyed these free strategies and tips from Team LearnWPT! Subscribe 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.

DECISION POINT: You are in the early stages of a daily online tournament with blinds at 10/20 and no ante. Play has been very active and loose with most stacks at the table near the 2,500 starting stack. The UTG player limps, UTG+1 raises to 90, and action folds around to you on the Button with A♦A♠. You reraise to 320, the Big Blind calls, and both Early Position players call. On the Q♠J♣T♦ flop it checks around to the UTG+1 player who goes all-in for 2,205.

Action is on you, what do you do here?

PRO ANSWER: We are playing in the early stages of a daily online tournament. The play has been pretty active and loose so far and most players are still near their 2,500 starting stack. The blinds are 10/20 with no ante. Theoretically, with no ante everyone should be playing tighter ranges, however we’ve observed several opponents playing ranges wider than they should given the situation.

We are dealt A♦A♠ on the Button. The UTG player limps for 20, UTG+1 makes it 90 chips, and everyone else folds to us. Our hand definitely prefers to raise and not allow multiple players to see the flop cheaply. A standard reraise is usually 3x the initial raise plus an additional amount to account for previous callers. In this case that would be a total raise of around 290 chips. Given that this table has been playing pretty loose we opt to make it a little larger and raise to 320. Even with the increased raise size we still get calls from the Big Blind, UTG, and UTG+1.

On the Q♠J♣T♦ flop both the Big Blind and UTG check and UTG+1 moves all-in for a huge overbet of 2,205 chips. The first step to deciding how to respond to this shove is to put our opponent on a hand range. Considering the preflop action and the fact that we hold two cards that are ace blockers, it’s very unlikely anyone has AK.

Additionally if the UTG+1 player had AK they would likely want to check and try to induce a bet rather than just move all-in. This makes UTG+1’s range much more likely to include several pair + flush draw hands as well as some two-pair hands. It’s possible they might play some pairs including TT-QQ this way as well, although those hands are strong enough we would expect them to check the flop at least some portion of the time. Taking these factors into account, if our opponent has a hand range of KTs+, QTs+, JTs, QQ-TT we are still over 43% against that range.

Our hand has a lot of equity and will be the best hand on the flop a fair portion of the time. The times we don’t have the best hand on the flop we still have a lot of equity versus even the hands that are currently ahead. We have solid outs including four kings that can make the nuts plus several other cards that improve our hand against two-pair and we can still make a set of aces. If we believe UTG+1 would ever overbet with a draw such as A9s/T9s or would potentially shove the flop with a pair and big draw such as KK, our equity goes up to nearly 47%.

Since this is early in the tournament and there is very little ICM pressure we should make decisions that are very close to Chip Expected Value. While we do have to factor in the slight chance that UTG or the Big Blind could be slowplaying a big hand, there shouldn’t be many big hands aside from 98s in their ranges considering the preflop action. We have to call 2,205 to win 3,495 meaning we only need 40% equity to continue.

If the table was super soft or we had some specific read that the UTG+1 player would just never make this huge overshove on the flop without 2-pair or better, we could fold. Since the table has been observed to be playing very loose and splashy, we simply have too much equity to fold pocket aces with so much money already in the pot.

We can expect to have the best hand reasonably often, and even when behind on the flop we have plenty of outs to improve.

Calling is the best play.

DECISION POINT: ​You are in fast structured $200 daily with 300/500 blinds and a 500 big blind ante. You have reads on the Button, who is a known regular in these tournaments and is an aggressive player, and the Small Blind who has been very tight thus far. You are the shortest stack with 25BBs and the majority of the rest of the table is in the 50BB range. Everyone folds to the Button who raises to 1200, the Small Blind folds, and action is on you in the Big Blind with pocket sevens.

What do you do here?

PRO ANSWER: We are in the early stages of a $200 buy-in daily live tournament with blinds at 300/500 blinds and 500 big blind ante. Our table reads are that Button is a known regular in these tournaments who is aggressive and the Small Blind has been very tight thus far. The tournament is fast structured with 20 minute levels and the blinds are going to increase next hand. We are the shortest stack with 25 big blinds and most of the rest of the table is in the 50 big blind range. We are dealt pocket sevens in the Big Blind. Everyone folds to the Button who raises to 1200, the Small Blind folds, and action is on us.

A standard Button player in this spot would be opening somewhere in the neighborhood of 35% of total hands, however in this situation we are not against a standard Button player. We are against an aggressive player and there is a tight player in the Small Blind, which expands the Button’s range even wider.

Pocket sevens is extremely far ahead of our opponent’s range. This means folding is out of the question and makes a passive play like calling, while still +EV, not the best play. The choice is really between raising to a smaller amount, such as 7.5BBs, or just moving all-in.

One potential issue with raising smaller is that our hand plays somewhat poorly out of position, with the potential for overcards on the flop. A very aggressive player also might think they still have preflop fold equity, and move all-in with hands like K9s that have significant equity against us, but would likely fold to an all-in.

Additionally, hands such as 22-66 might call a shove and allow us to get all our money in as a huge favorite, while some of those hands might just call the smaller raise preflop and sometimes fold postflop.

If we use a solver to see how to approach this situation against a GTO player, the conclusion is similar. Calling is +EV but only has a positive expectation of just under 1000 chips. Raising a small size has an expectation of around 1300 chips, and moving all-in of nearly 1500.

These differences may seem small, but they assume that we (and our opponents) will play perfectly both preflop and postflop. They also assume our opponent is opening a GTO range, and we’ve established they are opening much wider than that.

Moving all-in is the best play.

During a poker tournament have you ever...

• Started off red hot, then hid behind your stack hoping to limp into the money when a known Pro gets moved to your direct left
• Taken a bad beat and immediately started complaining, maybe even slamming your hand on the table
• Been short stacked late in a tournament and call off with a hand that you likely know is behind, but you’re tired and "ready to gamble"
• Gone "blank" in a big pot making a costly mistake because your heart was beating so fast you hear it in your head

Sound Familiar?

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DECISION POINT: You are playing Day 2 of the WPT World Championship and blinds are 3,000/6,000 with a 6,000 big blind ante. It's early in the day and there is still approximately 50% of the field remaining. The average stack at your table is around 40BBs except for the Button who has 100BBs. You raise to 12,000 from UTG with J♠J♣. A Middle Position player calls, the Cutoff calls, the Button reraises to 60,000, and action is back on you.

What do you do here?

PRO ANSWER: We are playing early on Day 2 of the WPT World Championship event. We still have around 50% of the field remaining and the blinds are 3,000/6,000 with a 6,000 big blind ante. We have just under 40 big blinds, as does most of the table except the Button who has 100 big blinds. We are dealt pocket jacks Under the Gun and make a standard open for this level to 12,000 chips (2BBs). Two players in Middle Position call the open and action folds to the Button who reraises to 60,000. Everyone else folds and the action is on us.

Much of our decision in this spot comes down to our assessment of the Button and whether they are capable of making a move with a wider range. If we assume that they are a skilled and studied opponent then they definitely should be showing up with some A5s/KTs type of squeeze semi-bluffs in this situation in addition to stronger hands. Based on that assumed range this is a slam dunk shove with pocket jacks. Taking a closer look at this hand using a solver, the result shows it’s a pretty clear +EV move to shove here against a GTO opponent.

During situations at the table like this in real-time it’s useful to ask “Does our opponent ever have a hand here that we dominate?”, such as TT or AJ in this instance.

If the answer is yes, we have a very compelling reason to continue with all the likely dead money in the pot since the middle position stacks are unlikely to have hands they can continue with here. If the answer is no and we believe the Button is raising a tighter range to include only premium pairs such as AA-JJ plus AK and AQ, then we could consider exploitatively folding.

In the $10K buy-in WPT World Championship event, most of our opponents are likely to be more than capable of including some semi-bluffs in their 3-bet squeezing range here, making our hand a fairly trivial all-in. Using the framework of asking ourselves the question “Does my opponent ever have hands I dominate?” will help us exploitatively adjust in the event that we do run into an opponent who has an extremely narrow range in this situation.

Moving all-in is the best play.

DECISION POINT: You are dealt J♠T♠ in the middle stages of a large field tournament with blinds at 400/800 and a 800 big blind ante. Action folds to you in the MP2 seat and you raise to 2,000, the Small Blind and Big Blind call. Your opponents check the A♣Q♣5♦ flop, you c-bet 3,000, and only the Small Blind calls. On the 5♣ turn your opponent checks and action is on you.

What do you do here?

PRO ANSWER: We are in the middle stages of a large field poker tournament. The blinds are 400/800 with an 800 big blind ante. The two players who are first to act fold and we are dealt JsTs in MP2.

Our standard opening hand range in Middle Position includes all suited broadway combos so our suited JT is good for a raise here first-in. At this stage in the tournament with the big blind ante in play and most stacks are below 50 big blinds, we can start to decrease the standard opening raise size. In later stages sizing as small a minimum raise can be acceptable, however in this case we raise to 2.5BBs or 2,000 chips. Action folds to the Blinds who both call.

The Big Blind is getting an excellent price to call, so it is reasonable to assume a wide calling range. In the case of the Small Blind, this calling range should be much more narrow. They should be reraising with strong hands and mostly calling with a narrow hand range that includes several medium strength combos including 88-JJ and AJ/AT as well as suited broadway hands, but none of the bigger hands like AQ+/QQ+. A calling range with these characteristics is often referred to as a condensed range.

The flop is AcQc5d and the Blinds check. We did flop some equity with an inside straight draw here, but most importantly we have a huge range advantage. Our opponents should very rarely show up with premium hands like AA/QQ/AQ here, and they can have the occasional 55/A5s. With all the strong combinations in our range this is a great spot for a continuation bet. There are multiple players in the pot and a flop that favors our range. Large c-bet sizing is not required, as our opponents will likely act based on absolute hand strength in this situation and are unlikely to continue with a wide range of hands from out of position. We elect to continuation bet 3,000 into the 6,800 pot and only the Small Blind calls.

The Small Blind’s calling range can still contain 55 but also AJo/ATo, plus some smaller suited aces such as A9s/A8s at a lower frequency. Flush draws and several Qx combos as well as KJs/KTs/JTs are also part of this range, although we block some of the KJs/JTs combos. The turn is the 5c and the Small Blind checks.

It would be easy for us to give up in this spot. The Small Blind’s range does contain some flushes, however if we really dig deep into this range it also contains some Ax and Qx combos with weak kickers that are now counterfeited. In addition, since most of their Qx combos are likely to include spades and the Qc is on the board, the remaining possible combos of Qx hands in the Small Blind’s range are less likely to contain a club.

Recognizing this condensed range is very important as the 5c is a good card for us to bluff against all their non-flush hands. Most of the Ax combos in the Small Blind's range are just hoping to chop at this point and the Qx combos are now reduced to bluff catchers. Some of the AJ/AT combos in the SB's range contain the Jc/Tc with some frequency (not in this specific case given our hand) and the ones that don’t will have a harder time calling. While our opponent does sometimes have a flush here and we feel foolish when they jam on us with their big hands, our range has AA/QQ/AQ and flush combos as well. This means this particular card will be just as scary for the Small Blind, if not more so, than it is for our range on the turn.

This is a great spot to fire a second bullet as a bluff. A bet size of half pot puts plenty of pressure on our opponent and creates additional leverage through the threat of an appropriately sized all-in river shove.

Betting half pot (6,400) is the best play.

DECISION POINT: You are playing a Milestone Satellite to the WPT® World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas with blinds at 50/100 and a 100 big blind ante. You are in the Small Blind with Q♠Q♥ and 4,600 chips (46BBs). An Early Position player limps, a visibly frustrated player in the MP2 seat makes it 300, the Button flat calls, and action is on you.

What do you do here?

PRO ANSWER: We are in the second level of a Milestone Satellite into the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas. The blinds are 50/100 with a 100 big blind ante and we have 4,600 chips in the Small Blind with Q♠Q♥. MP2 has been active and recently frustrated by some tough spots, even tossing his cards aggressively toward the dealer in one instance. The UTG player limps and everyone folds to MP2 who makes it 300. The Hijack and Cutoff fold, the Button flat calls, and action is on us.

Queens are well ahead of MP2’s and Button’s ranges which makes folding out of the question. Calling is likely profitable but we’d be most likely to take a flop 4-ways, which can be quite problematic for a hand that is likely to make one-pair in a multiway pot. So in this instance if we are favoring a raise, what is the best size to use in this spot given our positional disadvantage?

The standard raise in this situation is 3x the initial raise plus any call amounts. In this scenario that works out to 900 + 300 + 100 or 1300 chips. Given our positional disadvantage, using a slightly larger raise size in the 1400-1500 chip range would be standard. The issue with adjusting to larger sizing to accommodate for the positional disadvantage is that we have committed one third of our stack.

That could remove any illusion of fold equity our opponents have and inadvertently force them to play better versus our hand by not bluffing against us. If we bet a little smaller, for example a sizing of around 1150, we create the illusion of fold equity if MP2 or the other 2 opponents want to shove. The smaller sizing also creates a really good price for a squeeze with some of our bluffs here to ensure balanced range with other hands in this same spot.

If the table was quite soft there is also merit to just moving all-in preflop. This would not be the default play, but if you’re at a soft table where chips are coming easy, moving all-in can sometimes induce some light calls from smaller pairs hoping to be racing against AK. The shoving line, while also a little lower variance, is at the expense of some EV as opponent calling ranges vs the large shove size will be more narrow.

Reraising small to 1,150 is the best play.