DECISION POINT: You are currently eight-handed in the middle stages of a major weekend online tournament with blinds at 500/1,000 and a 1,000 big blind ante. Most of the stacks at the table have around 50BBs and 75% of the field is still in play. The UTG player raises to 2,000 and it folds to you in the Small Blind with Q♥Q♦. You reraise to 9,000, the Big Blind folds, and the original raiser calls. The flop comes 6♦4♣3♠ and action is on you.

What do you do here?

PRO ANSWER: We are in the early to middle stages of a major weekend online tournament. Most of the stacks at the table, including us, have around 50 big blinds. Around 75% of the field is still playing. The blinds are 500/1,000 with a 1,000 big blind ante. We are dealt QhQd in the Small Blind with eight players at the table. The UTG player opens to 2,000 and the action folds around to us.

While this raise came from an opponent seated Under the Gun, this opening range should still be as wide as 18-20% of overall hands when using a small opening raise size and with a big blind ante in play. Our specific hand pocket queens is well ahead of that range. Due to being out of position we are heavily incentivized to push our equity edge preflop by reraising rather than taking a passive line and playing out of position postflop with relatively deep stacks. We choose to reraise to 9,000 chips, the Big Blind folds, and the original UTG raiser calls.

The flop is 6d4c3s and with a stack to pot ratio (SPR) of around 2, our pocket queens are very strong and we are near the top of our range, so folding should not be a consideration at any point in the hand. Given that is the case our main concern here is finding the best way to get money into the pot against their range. When the UTG player just calls our preflop raise, their range is usually condensed to pairs as well as some suited aces and suited broadway hands. Although AK might just call sometimes preflop, many players would just move all-in preflop with that hand so we can discount it from our range assessment. This means that when we’re ahead our opponent is likely drawing to somewhere between 2-3 outs, the exception being the times they specifically have combinations of A5s and 55.

The big temptation that many players have here is that they want to bet big and just get the hand over with.

If we really think about UTG’s range our hand isn’t that vulnerable when we’re ahead on this flop. You’re not likely to make big hands at a high frequency in any given tournament, so it’s vital that we’re able to maximize our value when spots like this do occur. If we bet big here our opponent may continue with some of their overpairs, however most of their defending range will be composed of hands that are drawing super thin on this flop such as JTs/ATs.

Consulting the output from a GTO solver for this spot, we see that the preferred line actually checks with our hand at a high frequency here to induce a stab from the portion of UTG’s range that just contains overcards. In addition to checking the solver recommends sometimes betting with a mix of sizing between 25-50% pot. Using a sizing any larger than half pot will likely force our opponent to play closer to “perfect”, by folding all their hands that have little equity against us and only continuing with their strongest holdings.

In real-world games our decision in this spot will be influenced by any tendencies we’ve observed from our opponents.

If we have observed that the UTG player might aggressively take a stab at the pot if we check, this is a great place to play our hand a bit deceptive and check the flop. Against more passive opponents it’s crucial to start betting now and to choose a small sizing that will allow UTG to continue with hands we are dominating.

Both checking and betting small are the best plays.

DECISION POINT: You are on the bubble of a major multi-day tournament with blinds at 1,000/2,000 and a 2,000 big blind ante. You have 9♠9♣ in Middle Position and a 40BB stack. Most of the table has you covered except for the UTG+1 player and there are multiple shorter stacks at other tables. The UTG+1 player has a 30BB stack and raises to 4,500 (2.25BBs).

Action is on you, what do you do here?

PRO ANSWER: We are on the bubble of a major multi-day tournament. We have 40 big blinds and most of the table has us covered. There are multiple shorter stacks at other tables. The blinds are 1,000/2,000 with a 2,000 big blind ante. We are dealt 9s9c in MP1. UTG folds and the UTG+1 player makes it 4,500.

If this were earlier in the tournament where we were thinking about ChipEV only, pocket nines can easily continue here by both calling and reraising. The output from a solver for this spot without any real money considerations in play recommends a mix of calling and raising both with pocket nines, largely favoring calling. We can call UTG+1’s raise in that situation with as low as pocket 7s and still be profitable.

Once we start to factor in the ICM (Independent Chip Model) implications of being on the bubble our range starts to tighten up significantly. This adjustment is especially critical given many of the stacks still to act at the table cover us. In a situation where there is tremendous ICM pressure at play it would be a disaster if we were to commit a significant portion of our remaining stack only to run into a player behind us willing to put in a lot of chips.

As you approach significant payout jumps the value of survival increases significantly. This means the big stacks can play quite aggressively and leverage their ability to threaten the shorter stacks. Consequently, medium and smaller stacks often have to play much tighter. If we were facing a UTG+1 open on 40BBs with pocket 9s in the pre-bubble stages of a tournament it would correct to continue 100% of the time.

On the bubble we would need at least pocket tens to continue, and even then we only show very marginal expected value in this situation in the long run.

Folding is the best play.

It’s easy to perform badly for a long time. Anyone can do that. Your A-game, however, is taxing. You’re utilizing recently learned skills and that requires more effort.

Even though performing at an A-game level feels, at times, natural and easy, I can assure you that experience doesn’t reflect the fact that your A-game uses a lot of mental energy and requires endurance to sustain.

While improving your mental endurance can be helpful in a variety of ways, with the World Series of Poker (WSOP) coming up, I want the poker players out there to pay special attention to this blog. Poker tournaments are intense and you need a reservoir of energy to be able to access the knowledge and skills you’ve worked on more recently, including progress in your mental game. This is especially true in the late stages of a tournament where the big money is on the line. The last thing you want is to falter down the stretch because you’re tired.

Of course, mental endurance is key in other fields. For many traders, endurance is a concept that isn’t discussed much but is still significant. This is especially true for newer traders who have yet to condition themselves to the intensity of the live market, which is very different from a typical 9-5 job. More experienced traders tend to underestimate the impact of burnout and don’t realize that strengthening endurance is key to minimizing or avoiding burnout altogether.

Mental endurance is also relevant for golfers, including me, who are trying to improve their games. But the WSOP only comes once a year and I’m going to focus my examples and advice here on tournament poker.

One of the reasons mental endurance is key is because, for all of us, the only thing guaranteed every day is the C-game.

C-game relies mainly on your unconscious. Decisions come automatically and there is no deep thinking involved. Thinking is your mind working and if it’s working, it’s burning energy. If you have to think a lot and think deeply to perform well, it’s an indication of the lack of mastery or automation of knowledge and skills. I’m not saying that’s bad, I’m simply outlining the facts.

Your A-game, on the other hand, requires effort, preparation, and the right conditions. A-game is earned, not expected. Understanding the demands of what is actually required to be able to sustain your A-game for longer periods of time can help you unlock that performance more often.

To be at your best more often, you want to expand the amount of time where you are operating in that optimal state. You need endurance. You want to be capable of making high-level decisions when you need to or, at a minimum, solid ones that are part of your B-game and don’t fall into C-game.

Decisions that require thinking burn more energy than standard decisions made automatically. Training knowledge to a deep level, on the other hand, not only builds capacity but preserves energy.

Habits and routines are energy-efficient. With a limit to how much you can think about at any one point in time, the more of your skills that are automated, or mastered to the level of Unconscious Competence, the better able you are to make quick, and accurate, decisions while burning less mental energy.

When your knowledge is part of your Unconscious Competence, performance becomes more instinctual. To be clear, I’m not saying to automate your decisions, I’m saying that by automating more of the knowledge that feeds into your decisions you preserve mental energy.

With that in mind, when preparing for the WSOP it’s important to know when to stop learning new things. There is often a tendency to want to do everything and check all the boxes, but you have to work/study with an eye towards the big moments. If you cram too much information in your head right before the series starts, you risk not having access to that knowledge readily available because of pressure, and you’ll burn more energy trying to get to it.

Cramming puts you in a compromised position from both an execution and endurance standpoint. While it can be hard to selectively choose to not try to improve areas of your game that you “theoretically” could, your ability to access that information is not guaranteed. So figure out when you’re going to stop actively learning new things, and hold yourself to it.

Of course, after that point and during the series, you can make small adjustments, because they can be easily integrated into your game. But you will play far better going in with a knowledge base that you know is solid and reliable vs. cramming for the WSOP like it’s a test in school. And let’s get real, you never took a test in school where the exam lasted 12 hours a day, and sometimes for several days in a row! So why would you approach the biggest tournament series of the year that way?

Now is the perfect opportunity to build mental endurance for the WSOP and the process is similar to the process of increasing physical endurance. As an example, if you want to run a marathon, you are not going to just show up to the race without having built a capacity to run long distances. And you likely aren’t going to start your first training run at 20 miles and build from there.

While the analogy isn’t perfect, we can use the general framework of steadily ramping up your endurance to give us ideas on how to do it in poker. Here are a few ideas that have helped clients:

• Make a realistic assessment of where you are today. For example, look at your average volume in a series like the WSOP or in years past, the prevalence and severity of mental game problems, and what your ideal WSOP schedule looks like.
• Between now and a week or two before your WSOP starts, create a training plan where you look to steadily increase your volume or duration of play, either online or live. The idea is to understand where your limit is and then push it a little more.
• To help you build endurance while playing well, use injecting logic statements and strategic reminders to help ensure you retain emotional stability and quality decision making as you push.
• Increase steadily over time. While it’s hard to be exact about how much to increase your play, I think a reasonable goal is 10% at a time. Be wary of pushing too hard and burning out instead of increasing capacity.
• We still have some time before WSOP and it’s a good opportunity to treat smaller poker events in the lead-up as a good tune-up for what’s been working tactically and an opportunity to build some mental endurance.

At the end of the day, if you want to perform at a high level, you have to fight for it. If it was easy, everyone would do it and there would be no reward.

I hope you final table a big event and that when you get there you have more energy than normal, and you can see how your opponents are tired and more vulnerable to tilt and mistakes from fatigue. This, of course, doesn’t mean you’re going to take down the title, but in a game like poker, you’ll take every advantage you can find.

If you want more content like this to help you prepare for the WSOP, including improving focus, reducing tilt, and getting in the zone more often, check out The Mental Game of Poker 2 and my video series The Mental Game Tune Up for Tournament Poker.

-Jared Tendler

For more insight and stories from Jared visit his blog at https://jaredtendler.com/blog/

Analysis of Mental Game strategy is as important as any poker technique you can master which is why top poker players trust Jared Tendler to help maintain focus & bring their A-game to the table.

Jared's Mental Game Tune Up for Tournament Poker video series is a step-by-step guide to prepare your mental game for sustained success and get you ready for the WSOP, WPT® World Championships, or a series at your local card room.

This step-by-step guide to preparing your mental game for sustained success during a tournament series includes:

• 8 specific training modules with 34 video lessons
• Downloadable worksheets to personalize your training
• A private community forum
• Review quizzes to reinforce your learning!

Find out why the world’s best poker players trust Jared to help them maintain focus and bring their A-Game to the table more consistently. Unlock a hidden edge in your poker game, and start working towards unshakable confidence at the table today.

DECISION POINT: You are in the middle stages of a multi-table Tournament where blinds are 500/1,000 with a 1,000 big blind ante. Stacks at the table are between 30-50BBs and you have 50BBs. You’ve observed the players on the Button and in the Blinds to be solid opponents. Action folds to you in the Cutoff with Q♠T♠ and you raise to 2,300. The Button 3-Bets to 6,900 and both of the Blinds fold.

Action is back on you, what do you do here?

PRO ANSWER: We are playing the middle stages of a multi-table Tournament. The blinds are 500/1,000 with a 1,000 big blind ante. The Button, Small Blind, and Big Blind are solid players with a good understanding of poker theory. We have 50,000 chips and most of the other stacks around the table have between 30-50 big blinds.

We are dealt QsTs in the Cutoff and action folds to us. We make a standard opening raise to 2,300 and the Button to our immediate left reraises to 6,900. Both the Small Blind and Big Blind fold and action is back on us.

Against skilled and aggressive players it is very important that we are able defend reraises of our first-in opens with an appropriate frequency. In this scenario the Button 3-bet 6,900 to win our initial 2,300 raise amount plus the additional 2,500 in the pot. Since they risked 6,900 to win 4,800 if we defend any less than around 40% of the time (4800/6900) our opponent can profit by reraising with any two cards. Using our estimated equity in the pot as a shortcut to govern how often we need to continue against aggressive action in a specific scenario is often referred to as minimum defense frequency.

The best combinations for us to defend against reraises include hands that realize their equity well out of position. This means that in addition to some of the more obvious candidates like big pairs , Ace-King, and Ace-Queen that will continue by calling or 4-betting, we need to fill out the rest of our range with other hands that don’t favor a 4-bet such as pairs and some of our best suited hands. Our specific hand QTs is one of the better candidates to defend in this spot, with GTO response charts recommending we continue against a Button 3-bet with as low as Q8s.

In game, if we have a read that our opponent is not 3-betting an appropriate range and is instead using a much narrower one, we could make an exploitative adjustment in this spot by folding. Against skilled and aggressive opponents we must defend a certain percentage of the time to avoid being exploited, and QTs falls firmly into the preferred 3-bet defense range in this spot.

Calling is the best play.

DECISION POINT: You just sat down at a live $5/$10 cash game with $1000 effective stacks and are dealt A♠3♠ in the Big Blind. Everyone folds to the Button who raises to $25, the Small Blind folds, and you call. You check the 7♥3♦2♣ flop and your opponent c-bets $35.

Action is on you, what do you do here?

PRO ANSWER: We are playing a live $5/$10 cash game with $1000 effective stacks and have just recently sat down so we have no relevant reads on the table. Everyone folds to the Button who raises to $25, the Small Blind folds and action is on us with As3s in the Big Blind.

Reraising preflop is certainly valid as a part of a polarized 3-betting strategy, however this hand falls more firmly into the category of a call. The output from a Game Theory Optimal solver prefers to 3-bet A5s, and A4s a portion of the time, leaving A3s and A2s as the suited wheel combinations that prefer calling in this scenario. When analyzing this strategy it’s important to note that 3-betting these hands as a bluff too frequently would imbalance our range.

If we chose to include A3s as part of our overall 3-betting strategy in this instance it could be acceptable, as long as we used some sort of suit or clock randomization technique to maintain appropriate balance. In situations where we have specific reads on an opponent, such as they will call 3-bets frequently but often fold to aggression postflop, we could widen our 3-betting range to include A3s.

In this instance we elect to call and the flop is 7h3d2c. While leading on some low card boards that favor a calling range over the Button’s raising range is a valid play, the default play in this defense calling scenario from the Big Blind is check to the preflop raiser. We do check, and the Button continuation bets $35.

Our pair of 3s is likely to be the best hand on the flop a vast majority of the time and folding to a standard c-bet in spot would be a huge mistake against skilled opponents. Both check-raising and calling have a positive expectation. Right away we can see that check-raising is problematic as our range doesn’t contain many combos that can check-raise for value when we are deep stacked. If a pair of threes is in our check-raising range here, it’s very easy for our range to contain too many weak hands and allow a good opponent to counter by calling or 3-betting more frequently.

We don’t have a backdoor flush draw and our straight draw can only be completed if 4 cards to a straight are showing on the board, so it is not very well disguised. Considering the specific factors in this hand as a whole, calling is the preferred play in this scenario.

Taking this line will likely require some difficult turn decisions where we sometimes may need to call on the turn with 3rd pair, however we show a positive expectation in the long run, especially vs skilled and aggressive opponents.

Calling 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 2023 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 Jared Jaffe captured the $400,740 first prize and his 2nd WPT Main Tour Title

This year the Choctaw Festival returns featuring a huge slate of new 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 on site on May 2nd!) and you’ll be ready to jump in the action.

➧ Get In on the Action
➧ Win a FREE $500 Satellite Seat
➧ Satellite Keys and Basics
➧ Test Your Satellite Skills
➧ Understanding ICM at the Final Table
➧ Play Solved GTO Final Table Hands
➧ Launch Your Poker Game This Summer!

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

#TheCupAwaits 🏆

Get In on the Action ...

The 2024 Choctaw Casino & Resort Durant festival kicked off on April 17th with the $300 Monster Stack $50K GTD opener and features some can't miss events including the $100K GTD $130 buy-in “Gargantuan“ on the 18th and the $400 buy-in $200K GTD “Choctaw Classic” event on the 25th.

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 $14,100 WPT package satellite that awards winners a seat to the $10,400 WPT World Championship in Vegas this December. There are also lower buy-in events scheduled nightly so you don’t have to stretch your poker bankroll to get to experience the fun and excitement of playing in a World Poker Tour event!

📅 Festival Dates:
Start: Wednesday, April 17, 2024
End: Monday, May 6, 2023
Click here for the full Festival schedule

Day 2 of the Televised Championship Event begins Friday, May 3rd with two starting flights and allows for unlimited re-entry until the start of level 9 on Day 1A and Day 1B - Click here for the structure.

📅 WPT Championship Event Schedule:
➧ Day 1A: Friday, May 3, 2024 starting at 11 am CDT
➧ Day 1B: Saturday, May 4, 2024 starting at 11 am CDT
➧ Day 2: Sunday, May 5, 2024 starting at 11am CDT
➧ Day 3: Monday, May 6, 2024 starting at 11am CDT
➧ Final Table: Thursday, May 30, 2024*

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.

Win a FREE $500 Satellite Seat and Train With Team LearnWPT - May 2nd!

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 you’ll need to make some adjustments that may seem strange compared to standard tournament strategy.

To help get you ready for the WPT Choctaw Championship Event we're inviting you to join Team LearnWPT Instructors Eric "Rizen" Lynch and Adrian Naggy for a FREE 30 minute introduction to Satellite Strategy Workshop LIVE at 12PM CDT on May 2nd prior to the start of the Championship Event Satellites.

You’ll get specific examples of how to change up your play to take advantage of the unique factors in a satellite, including how to adjust for each stage of the tournament, surviving as the shortstack, monitoring stacks and other tables, and navigating the bubble.

The Workshop is free to all and will be held in the Willow Room (located in the Conference Area next to The Grand Theater) on May 2nd at 12PM CDT - look for the LearnWPT banners!

Immediately following the FREE strategy session, we’ll go down to the tournament floor in the Grand Arena and play in an exclusive freeroll satellite for attendees with 1st prize awarding a $500 seat to the 4PM Mega Satellite to the WPT Choctaw Championship!*

➧ Save your seat by registering below or clicking here

*Entry limited to attendees of the Free LearnWPT Satellite Strategy Workshop on May 2, 2024 at 12PM CDT. Attendees must register prior to the start of Satellite. First Prize in the LearnWPT Freeroll Satellite awards one (1) seat to the $500 Mega Satellite to the WPT Choctaw Championship Event on May 2, 2024 at 4PM CDT. First Prize is only valid for the $500 Mega Satellite to the WPT Choctaw Championship Event on May 2, 2024 at 4PM CDT. First Prize non-transferable and not redeemable for cash value.

P.S. After the Workshop jump into the $500 Mega Satellite at 4 pm or the $250 Super Satellites at 6 pm and 9pm to win your seat into the $3,800 WPT Choctaw Championship Event.

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

Should You Play a 🛰️ Satellite Differently?

YES YOU SHOULD!

Approaching satellite play with the same strategy used in a regular poker tournament will often result in you busting 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, the Button flat calls, and action is on you.

What do you do here?

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

Final Table ICM Pressure on Preflop Ranges

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

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.

LearnWPT Launch Digital Strategy Workshop!

Join Team LearnWPT for the upcoming LearnWPT Launch Digital Tournament Strategy Workshop to get your game ready for the Summer Tournament Series - all from the comfort of home!

LearnWPT Launch is an interactive Workshop that consists of 4 Digital Training Sessions conducted over a span of 2 Weeks (starting May 14th). Each Session is highly structured and designed to deliver the maximum impact to your game over 8 Immersive Hours of Instruction with Team LearnWPT.

PLUS attendees have a seat in a private Tournament hosted on ClubWPT.com* to win a $2,500 WPT Prime Championship Passport!

LearnWPT Launch is your chance to train directly with Tony Dunst, Eric "Rizen" Lynch, Michael "Gags30" Gagliano, and Johan Schultz-Pedersen on your time and from the comfort of your home.

With a combined resume including a WPT Championship, 5 World Series of Poker Bracelets, 3 WSOP Circuit rings, best selling author, over 3 decades of coaching experience, plus countless other high profile final tables and huge scores, Team LearnWPT has the tools and knowledge to make this your best summer on the felt yet.

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 $2/$5 cash game you’ve just moved to a new table and have no specific reads. The action folds to you in Middle Position with K♣K♦ and you open with a raise to $15. Everyone folds to the Big Blind who calls. Your opponent checks the A♠Q♠9♦ flop, you continuation bet $25 and get called. The Big Blind leads $40 on the 2♥ turn and action is on you.

What do you do here?

PRO ANSWER: We are playing in a live $2/$5 cash game. We are new to the table with no reads and the effective stacks are 100BBs. We raise first-in to $15 with KcKd in MP2 (often referred to as the Lojack) and everyone folds to the Big Blind who is the only caller.

The flop is AsQs9d and the Big Blind checks. This is a flop where we have a tremendous range advantage as the preflop raiser. It is unlikely our opponent has AK/AQ or premium pairs such as AA/QQ, as they would reraise those hands preflop at a high frequency. We on the other hand can have all those premium combinations plus other types of hands in our middle position raising range such as 99, A9s, and Q9s.

If we were to consider a checking range on this flop it should favor some of the weaker Ax hands and KK, however defaulting to continuation betting our entire range in this spot is favorable. Taking a closer look we can analyze this hand with a solver which confirms our assumption of a mix between checking and betting with KK specifically, with the overwhelming majority of the remaining combinations preferring to continuation bet this flop.

We bet $25 and the Big Blind calls. The turn is the 2h and the Big Blind leads into us for $40. This strategy of check/calling the flop and then leading the turn is typically only utilized by the Big Blind when an equity changing card falls on the turn. In the case of this specific flop the 2h shouldn’t really change anything.

Reviewing the recommended actions for our opponent based on a solver, the only hand the Big Blind is supposed to have that could potentially lead here is 5s4s. Against human opponents on draw heavy flops like this one, certain opponents may call the flop then lead with medium strength hands on a “safe” card that doesn’t complete draws on the turn when they believe they could be ahead.

While that perceived leading range does include some Ax type hands, it also contains many Qx and 9x combos that might be attempting to buy a cheap showdown as well. Considering the Big Blind’s range as a whole and how it interacts with this board, our pocket Kings have far too much equity to fold getting nearly 4:1.

Calling is the best play.

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DECISION POINT: In a live $1/$2 game it folds to the Cutoff player who raises to $5. You reraise to $15 from the Button with K♣Q♣ and only the Cutoff calls. The flop is K♥T♣3♠ and your c-bet of $16 gets called. The turn is the K♦ and the Cutoff checks. You bet $32, your opponent check-raises to $96, and action is on you.

What do you do here?

PRO ANSWER: In a $1/$2 cash game we are dealt KQs on the Button. Action folds around to the Cutoff who raises to $5. Our specific hand is an excellent candidate to reraise on the Button here, as it is ahead of Cutoff’s likely hand range and plays very well heads up in position. We reraise to $15 and the Cutoff is the only caller.

The flop is KhTc3s and the Cutoff checks. We flop top pair with a good kicker and a backdoor flush and straight draw. This flop also significantly favors the preflop raiser’s range over the preflop caller’s range so this is an excellent spot to continuation bet. Given our range advantage and our hand’s lack of vulnerability since we block QJ which is the most significant drawing hand here, a purely game theory optimal (GTO) strategy would have us c-betting closer to ⅓ pot. We elect to use a slightly larger sizing of $16, or closer to half pot, and our opponent flat calls.

The turn is the Kd giving us three of a kind and the Cutoff checks again. AK is likely not a significant part of Villain’s range here as most players would have reraised preflop, so we’re well ahead of many of their hands and really only behind KTs/TT/33 that they may have played the hand this way. We bet $32 and the Cutoff check-raises to $96.

Now, realistically the most likely hands that beat us here are KTs (2 combinations remaining), plus TT and 33 (3 combinations each). Based on these assumptions that means we are currently behind 8 of the combinations in the Cutoff’s likely range. Our opponent could also be doing this with a hand like KJ (8 combinations).

Although realistically they may only play the suited versions here, slow played pocket AA (6 combinations), the remaining KQ hands we don’t hold (3 combinations), and the occasional bluff. We can discount some of the KJ combinations given the Cutoff is unlikely to play all the offsuit versions. Additionally we can discount some AA combinations as they would elect to reraise preflop with some frequency. This decision is actually much closer than it appears on the surface, even though we have 3 of a kind and a strong kicker.

Since our hand is very close when up against the Cutoff’s value raising range here, if we continue it is very important to allow our opponent to keep bluffing with AJ/AQ/QJ type hands in their range.

If we go all-in here the Cutoff may fold some bluffs that they would potentially shove the river with if we continue by calling the check-raise, costing us value. When we’re behind in this situation our opponent is unlikely to fold to aggression if we do take that round.

Trip Kings is too strong to fold in this spot, so proceeding in a way which allows our opponent to get the rest of their money in with the widest range possible is best.We should call this check-raise on the turn, with the plan of calling any bet on the river as well.

Calling is the best play.

Our goal for 2023 was to create new ways to help LearnWPT Members improve their poker game, learn, and have fun!

We accomplished that goal by adding new game-elevating features, advanced content, additional ways to interact with our Pros, and more. All with the help of feedback from YOU.

Here’s a Recap of the Best From 2023:

We changed the way LearnWPT Members learn, study, and analyze their stats... all from YOUR Personalized Training Dashboard!

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The achievements and accolades earned by LearnWPT Students and Instructors on the felt were on full display in 2023 🏆

Whether it's outlasting over 10,000 players in the WPT Prime Championship, huge multi-million dollar scores, WSOP Bracelet wins, deep runs on the EPT, and multiple WPT Final tables, the LearnWPT Family has a lot to celebrate.

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• 🥇 Tammy Abraham Won Her 1st WSOP Bracelet!
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It’s no coincidence that the Instructors from Team LearnWPT have had a stellar 2023. Their love for poker and commitment to staying on top of the game shows in every Strategy Episode, Live Workshop, and response on the Ask A Pro Forum.

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• WPT World Championship Final Table
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CONGRATULATIONS and continued success to everyone in 2024!

Most Watched Strategy Episodes:

1. EP537: Johan Schultz - Train and Explain BTN Vs BB
2. EP541: Tournament Series Prep with Johan, Tony, and Chewy
3. EP538: Tony Dunst - Poker Priorities and Motivations
4. EP305: Nick Binger - First-In Hand Ranges: Tournaments
5. EP442: GTO Train & Explain - Middle Position Vs Button Call
   

Most Voted Poker Quiz Hands:

1. A♥K♥ Preflop Vs a Limp & Raise
2. Pocket Eights Facing an All-In
3. J♠T♠ in Middle Position
4. J♦J♠ Preflop Facing a 3-Bet
5. Q♦Q♠ Facing a Flop Check-Raise

Most Played WPT GTO Trainer Packs:

1. Big Blind Call Vs Button Open - Tournament
2. Big Blind 4x 3-Bet Vs MP2 Open - Tournament
3. 3-Bet Defense OOP Vs Button 3x - Dynamic MTT
4. 30BB Button Open Vs 70BB Big Blind Call - Final Table
5. Big Blind 3x 3-Bet Vs Small Blind Open - Cash Game

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Once again Team LearnWPT was out in full force providing in-person poker education and training to Students of all skill levels!

The LearnWPT Instructors traveled the country to conduct several Workshop events from free satellite strategy seminars to interactive multi-day training events with lab sessions to kick off the WPT World Championships at Wynn Poker.

We learn so much from interacting with Students and look forward to training with everyone in person in the new year.

We’ve been truly fortunate to have your support and look forward to sharing another year full of passion for poker with you.

To all of our current, former, and future Members - THANK YOU for a great 2023 and for being a part of LearnWPT!

The LearnWPT Development Team is hard at work on several Enhanced Features and we look forward to helping your game grow in 2024.

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