Ready for your championship run? LearnWPT is here to help with a free, six-part tournament preparation series designed to sharpen your skills and boost your confidence before the cards are in the air.

In this blog we are focusing on Postflop Strategy.

In any given hand of tournament poker the community cards (flop, turn, and river) can change equities dramatically and quickly force difficult decisions for your entire chip stack. Accurate assessment of ranges for each opponent based on position and how they enter the pot preflop play a vital role in your approach to postflop play. Recognizing the different types of board textures and analyzing how each changes the likely actions of your opponent is crucial for maximizing value on your big hands and avoiding costly mistakes deep in tournaments. Let's get started ...

Postflop Strategy Warm-Up Session

If you’re planning to make a deep run in a WPT Championship or WSOP event (or both!), making sure your postflop strategy is strong and adaptable is crucial. There will be many deep-stacked spots postflop where you'll be facing tough decisions and potentially have your tournament life in the balance.

In this 90 minute session from our tournament warm-up series, LearnWPT Instructors Eric "Rizen" Lynch and Michael "Gags30" Gagliano are all about getting you geared up to attack flops with properly sized c-bets, identify spots to float aggressive opponents, and give you the tools to make huge laydowns and big hero calls when the pressure is on. Gags and Rizen also discuss how to approach tough opponents and break down exploitative adjustments to max value when you have the skill edge.

💡Member tip: Watch all previous study sessions anytime from the Webinar Dashboard.

Have Postflop Strategy questions? LearnWPT Members can talk directly to the LearnWPT Pros in our Ask a Pro Discord!

C-Betting Vs Tough Opponents

Whether in a cash game or tournament, continuation betting is a key part of postflop strategy. A strong default c-betting strategy will put most players on the defensive and result in winning many uncontested pots.

However, as you face more skilled opponents additional factors must be considered to ensure your c-bets are profitable. When facing tougher opponents, you’ll need to upgrade your approach and adjust how frequently you fire again on the flop after raising first-in.

Watch this Strategy Episode as Nick Binger explains how equity advantage, nut advantage, and your perceived range help you decide when to c-bet against tough opponents. Plus, Nick outlines the common spots vs tough opponents that are the most challenging.

Not a LearnWPT Member? Join now for just $5 your first month and watch more Strategy Episodes on playing draws and postflop play.

Playing Draws Effectively

Deeper effective stacks and championship blind levels means that you will be playing speculative cards at a higher frequency and flopping your share of draws. With skilled opponents and a reentry available, the frequency with which your opponents are likely to be taking chances with this category of hands also greatly increases.

Having a default process for determining pot odds and hand equity in real-time eliminates the anxiety around poker math. Add these simple rules for calculating outs and equity and quickly determine the pot odds you need to be profitable with a draw in any situation.

Watch this Strategy Episode as LearnWPT Instructor Nick Binger gives you the key factors to consider when playing draws, including playing from both in position and out of position pots.

💡Note: Members must be logged in to view the Strategy Episode.

Applying Pressure With Draws

Since you’ll be raising first-in with speculative combos at a higher frequency when deepstacked, it stands to reason that you’ll also be playing draws as the aggressor far more often.

While the math behind making your draws may be the same on the surface, there are several additional layers that dictate your strategy when leading the betting after flopping a draw.

Watch this Strategy Episode as Nick takes a deeper dive into the strategy behind playing draws aggressively, including how a paired board can actually increase our hand's equity.

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Not a LearnWPT Member? Join now for just $5 your first month for more Strategy Episodes and downloadable tools.

🧮️ Time for a Math Lesson

Understanding Odds and Outs is a vital component to playing draws effectively. Here are some quick shortcuts to use on the felt when calculating Odds and Outs to simplify playing draws.

Outs - Rule of 2 and Rule of 4:

Rule of 2: Percentage of Hitting on the Next Card = Number of Outs * 2
➧ Example: 8 Outs * 2 = 16% Chance

Rule of 4: (Calling an all-in on the flop with 2+ cards to come only) Percentage of Hitting Next Card on Turn/River = Number of Outs * 4
➧ Example: 12 Outs * 4 = 48% Chance

When you have more than 8 Outs: Subtract number of outs over 8 from your Chance of Hitting
➧ Example: 12 Outs * 4 = 48% Chance of Hitting
➧ Example: 12 Outs - 8 = Adjustment of 4
➧ Example: 48% - 4 = 44% Chance of Hitting

Pot Odds - Rules of Thumb:

➧ When facing a pot sized bet the pot odds are always 2:1
➧ When facing a half pot sized bet the pot odds are always 3:1
➧ You can always round numbers to simplify
➧ Compare Pot Odds vs Hand Odds. If Pot Odds are more favorable it is a profitable situation.

For more on poker Outs, Pot Odds, and Implied Odds check out...

• Episode 37 Outs \ au̇tz \ noun: Any card that needs to come on the flop, turn, or river in order to improve your hand
• Episode 39 Pot Odds \ pät ˈädz \ noun: A ratio comparing the size of the pot to the size of the bet
• Episode 41 Implied Odds \ im-plī ˈädz \ noun: A ratio showing the relationship between the expected size of a pot and size of a bet

Equity Advantage & Nut Advantage

What is Equity in Poker? Equity is defined as the share of the pot that is yours based on the odds that you will win the pot at that point in play. Equity can and often does change from street to street.

A solid understanding of equity helps you identify spots where you are ahead or behind, enabling you to make the best betting decisions.

In this Strategy Episode Nick Binger introduces the concepts of Equity and Advantage and Nut Advantage. Tune in as Nick describes these concepts in detail and reveals how key tenants of the LearnWPT game plan naturally account for them.

💡Note: Members must be logged in to view the Strategy Episode.

Quick Tips For Equity Vs Nut Advantage:

• Equity Advantage: When a given hand range has more equity vs an opponent hand range. The preflop aggressor will have the Equity Advantage in most cases
• Nut Advantage: When a hand range has more combinations of cards that make the best possible hand on a given board vs an opponent's hand range.

Good luck and good playing,
-Team LearnWPT