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.

Over the next 2 months Team LearnWPT is hosting Poker Study Sessions for Members to get their game ready to dominate the 2023 WPT® World Championship Festival at Wynn Las Vegas.

For each poker Study Session we'll provide Members with a curriculum that focuses on specific concepts and habits essential for tournament success and our 4th Study Session is focused on Postflop Strategy!

➊ First, watch the selected Episodes, play the WPT GTO Trainer pack, and write down any questions you have.
➋ Then join Team LearnWPT LIVE on Wednesday, November 1st at 6PM ET / 3PM PT to discuss the study session topics and to get answers to your questions.

Let's Get Started...

Study Session 4: Postflop Strategy

If you’re planning to make a deep run in the $5M GTD WPT Prime Championship or $40M GTD WPT World Championship (or both!), making sure your postflop strategy is strong and adaptable is crucial. There will be many deep-stacked spots postflop where you will be facing tough decisions and potentially have your tournament life in the balance.

Our next Study Session is 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. We’ll discuss how to approach tough opponents and break down exploitative adjustments to max value when you have a skill edge.

Save the Date: Live Session November 1st

Join Eric "Rizen" Lynch and Michael "Gags30" Gagliano for a LIVE Study Session on Wednesday, November 1st at 6PM ET | 3PM PT

Make sure you watch the selected Strategy Episodes, practice the suggested WPT GTO Trainer pack, and write down any questions you have. Join Rizen & Gags on November 1st to discuss the study session topics and to get answers to your questions.

🤔 Send us your questions to [email protected] about postflop strategies and we’ll answer them during the Live Study Session.

Thanks to everyone who joined the Live Study Session!

Did you miss it? No worries! Members can rewatch the Study Sessions anytime on the Webinars Dashboard.

Playing Draws

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.

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 equity.

🧮️ 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 with 2 or more cards to come only) Percentage of Hitting Next Card on Turn/River = Number of Outs * 4
➧ Example: 12 Outs * 4 = 48% Chance

Adjustment over 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

Have a Strategy question? Email them to [email protected] and we’ll answer them during the November 1st Live Study Session.

Equity Advantage & Nut Advantage

What is Equity in Poker? The share of the pot that is yours based on the odds that you will win the pot at that point in play. Equity changes 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 in

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.

Not a Member? Join for just $5 your first month to watch the full Episodes and attend the LIVE Study Session.

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 opponents 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.

Have a Strategy question? Email them to [email protected] and we’ll answer them during the November 1st Live Study Session.

Practice Your C-Betting Skills!

Visit your WPT GTO Trainer Dashboard and use the Refine Search to Filter by "Open Raise" under Situation. Want to be even more specific? Filter by Game Type, Hero Position, and Stack Sizes!

Practice, practice, practice. This is how the best poker players in the world continue to improve. Make it a goal to play at least 25 hands per day (takes about 10 minutes) and use the LearnWPT Membership Features to help implement what you are learning. Use the concepts learned in the C-Betting Episode to determine the Ideal Action!

Helpful Tip: Click the ☆ symbol next to the name of a pack you like! Starred packs will be sorted at the top of your WPT GTO Trainer Dashboard in the YOUR FAVORITES section.

Put Your Postflop Skills to the Test!

You are in the $5 Million Guaranteed WPT® Prime World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas. You open raise from Middle Position to 2.5BBs with a 50BB Stack and it folds to the Big Blind who calls. Now what’s your plan on the flop??

Put your skills to the test with the WPT GTO Trainer and play 5 GTO solved hands from this situation. After playing get your score and a breakdown of the correct moves from Team LearnWPT!

LearnWPT Members can practice more hands from this scenario by playing the MP2 Open Vs Big Blind Call WPT GTO Trainer pack!

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

Not a Member? Join for just $5 your first month to play more WPT GTO Trainer scenarios like this.

Review Previous Poker Study Sessions Here!

A huge THANK YOU to every Student who’s joined us for the WPT World Championship Study Sessions.

You can rewatch any of the sessions right now by clicking the links below or on the Webinars Dashboard.

☑ Study Session 1: Mental Game and Endurance
☑ Study Session 2: Preflop Strategy
☑ Study Session 3: Defense Strategy
☑ Study Session 4: Postflop Considerations
☑ Study Session 5: ICM, Bubble, and Satellite Strategy
☑ Study Session 6: Exploits and Intuition

We’re in the home stretch now! Make sure to submit any questions or hands on trouble spots to Ask a Pro and we’ll get you ready to conquer Vegas.

Good luck and good playing,
-Team LearnWPT

Improve Your Game With Team LearnWPT

Whether you are brand-new to poker training or you’re an experienced student this is your chance to learn from world-class professional poker players in a friendly community using state of the art tools.

You must be a LearnWPT Member to access and join the WPT® World Championship Study Sessions and becoming a member is easy! Click the red JOIN NOW button to get started.

As a Member you'll immediately gain access to LearnWPT Training and WPT GTO Trainer packs, featuring 500+ Strategy Videos, Downloadable Tools (and more).

You'll also get alerts and links to the Study Session curriculum and Webinar dates.

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