My new Fundamentals of Game Theory course is a series of lessons to introduce you, step by step, to fundamental game theory concepts and help you apply them to real world poker situations. This course is not about trying to memorize and implement solver solutions in your actual play; it’s about studying solutions in order to learn the core principles of optimal play, so that you can recognize and exploit opponents who play sub-optimally.

There’s no predefined starting point. I’ve created a series of scaffolded lessons that start from zero and build up to analyzing a full solver solution for a common flop situation. Where we start in that progression will depend on how comfortable you already are game theoretical concepts.

Every session is built around a toy game or scenario that you’ll attempt to analyze and interpret for yourself and then discuss with me over Skype. All lessons can be completed with any GTO solver, though I’m best prepared to help you with either CREV or Pio. The first few lessons can even be completed with the free version of PioSolver.

For questions, more information, or to sign up, please comment here or write andrew (at) thinkingpoker (dot) net.

Many of you are familiar with my videos on Tournament Poker Edge. Video training sites like TPE offer a tremendous amount of knowledge for a very low price, and I’ve been a member of many over the course of my career.

The real barrier to learning everything you need to know from subscription-based sites isn’t cost, it’s time. There are so many great videos out there that it’s hard to know which ones will best meet your needs, and it’s a real bummer to spend your valuable time watching one that doesn’t address your needs or is just plain bad.

These personalized videos offer the best of both worlds. Like subscription-based sites, they’re a lot cheaper than one-on-one coaching, but they’re a far more efficient use of your time because they are tailored specifically to your needs.

To learn more or to commission a personalized video, please visit https://www.thinkingpoker.net/coaching/poker-coaching-programs/custom-video-review/.

Here’s a full-length sample of what I can offer. It’s an actual video that I created for one of my students. Whether or not you have any interest in commissioning a video for yourself, I hope you’ll find it valuable!

This is nearly two hours of free strategy content! If you find it helpful, you can find many more of my poker strategy videos on Tournament Poker Edge, and you can even procure some one-on-one coaching for yourself!

I’ll also add that this video (and many of my coaching sessions) was made with the help of two free and very useful programs. I replayed Andre’s hand history in Universal Replayer and shared my screen with him using join.me.

The program is designed for no-limit hold ’em players currently playing at the $1/$2 or $2/$5 level who would like to improve their win-rates and/or move up to bigger games. If you’re already successful at $5/$10 or above, I may be able to help you as well, but we should talk about at first, so email me and then we’ll go from there.

For $900, ordinarily the cost of six hours of coaching, you get seven hours of one-on-one coaching plus some other valuable goodies:

• Free! Diagnostic (1 hour): We begin with a detailed analysis of the game(s) in which you play regularly to determine who plays there, how do they play, who gives you the most trouble, and who makes the biggest mistakes. The session concludes with a discussion of commonly encountered situations designed to assess how you currently think about the game and where you have the most room for improvement.
• Hand Reading (2 hours): Practice my simple but effective hand reading technique and tailor it to the players in your game. Poker is easy when you know what your opponents have!
• Maximizing Value (2 hours): Improve your winrate by raking bigger pots when you have the best hand. Learn how to build big pots when you have the nuts and squeeze extra bets out of thin value hands.
• Attacking Weakness (2 hours): Bluffing is an underappreciated tool in loose games. Contrary to popular wisdom, big bluffs can be extremely profitable in these games. Learn how to analyze your opponents’ mannerisms and betting patterns for weakness and how to push them out of the pot.
• Free! Video Integration: The Crushing Live Cash Games course builds on material presented in my Tournament Poker Edge videos. You get three months of free access to those videos, enabling our sessions to be tightly focused on how to adapt and apply these skills in the games you play.
• Free! Independent Study: After each session, you’ll receive a list of recommended reading, viewing, and exercises to expand your knowledge of the content, apply it at the tables, and prepare for the next session.

If you’d like to sign up or discuss the program and your particular needs further, please get in touch!

Oh and if you’re a tournament player, there’s a discount for you too.

These seminars are pre-scheduled, small-group discussions focused on the most common mistakes and skills gaps that I see in my NLHE tournament students. Each two-hour seminar costs $150 per person and is capped at five participants, to enable individualized attention and opportunities for everyone to ask questions and participate in discussions. The content is prepared and the discussion facilitated by me- it’s like an interactive poker video! Best of all, this is my second time offering a seminar on this topic, meaning that the material has been revised and refined with experience and feedback from past participants.

Please note this is an Intermediate to Advanced seminar. In other words, even relatively advanced players will benefit from this unique take on how to think about extracting value, but the pacing will be such that intermediate players can follow along comfortably. We will assume that you’re comfortable visualizing both your own and other players’ ranges and thinking about how your actions will influence those ranges. The seminar will help you practice and refine these techniques, providing mental shortcuts and a thorough process for determining the most profitable way to play strong hands in a variety of contexts.

To register, please e-mail andrew@thinkingpoker.net with subject line “Maximizing Value”. If you have questions, please post them here, as others may be wondering the same things. And if you have suggestions for future seminar topics, please post them here as well!

I got an IM yesterday from a student who’s worked with me for a few months. He is originally from Paris, and though he now lives in Manhattan, he played this hand at a French casino while visiting his mother for the holidays. It couldn’t be a better example of what I’m trying to help my students achieve, and I am really proud both of this student and of the progress he has made:

[12/22/2011 8:38:16 PM] Student: dedicated a call to you tonight!
[12/22/2011 8:38:44 PM] Foucault: i’m intrigued
[12/22/2011 8:39:02 PM] Student: haha, ok, 6max french tournament.
[12/22/2011 8:39:24 PM] Student: 400/800/75
[12/22/2011 8:39:29 PM] Student: i have 36k
[12/22/2011 8:39:40 PM] Student: huge stack to my right has around 70k
[12/22/2011 8:40:22 PM] Student: the previous hand was me and him BvB and I shoved on his cbet with an open ender. he folded very frustrated saying “next time you’re getting called.”
[12/22/2011 8:40:32 PM] Student: type of guy who if things don’t go his way, you’re a bad player.
[12/22/2011 8:40:49 PM] Student: so the following hand he opens to 2400 in the CO and I have A8ss in the btn.
[12/22/2011 8:41:08 PM] Student: pretty sure that a 3bet would get be very little respect and woudl lack fold euiqty, i decided to flat.
[12/22/2011 8:41:15 PM] Student: flop comes K5K
[12/22/2011 8:41:27 PM] Student: and he bets 1400 into 6000
[12/22/2011 8:42:14 PM] Student: his range in the co is too wide to put him on a K right away but I don’t think raising him here is going to achieve much.
[12/22/2011 8:42:30 PM] Student: and i’m getting obv getting a good price so I peel one.
[12/22/2011 8:42:39 PM] Student: turn a 7d
[12/22/2011 8:43:09 PM] Student: he now bets around 8500 into 9k.
[12/22/2011 8:43:44 PM] Student: i have 30k behind roughly and start to think about his line and how it doesn’t make sense for him to do this with a K.
[12/22/2011 8:44:23 PM] Student: the small bet on flop and huge bet on turn seems fishy so I decide to call assuming i’m good and ready to call or check back a lot of rivers.
[12/22/2011 8:44:52 PM] Student: river 10h and he shoves.
[12/22/2011 8:45:15 PM] Student: i tanked for about 5 mins. eventually deciding that he either had a full house/AK or air.
[12/22/2011 8:45:57 PM] Student: I think he checks all his PP, all his 10 (J10, Q10..etc…)
[12/22/2011 8:46:10 PM] Student: obviously values his K10 but i don’t think that big.
[12/22/2011 8:46:28 PM] Student: and certainly doesn’t value a pair of 7’s or 5’s. not good enough.
[12/22/2011 8:46:53 PM] Student: So I call and he inta mucks.
[12/22/2011 8:47:04 PM] Foucault: did you show?
[12/22/2011 8:47:11 PM] Student: i did
[12/22/2011 8:47:13 PM] Foucault: you have to
[12/22/2011 8:47:14 PM] Foucault: that is so badass
[12/22/2011 8:47:21 PM] Student: i thought he was gonna kill me.
He finished 15th in the tournament after shoving A7 into AQ, which I’m sure was disappointing for him. Still, calls like these are their own reward. You can tell just from this snippet of conversation how sophisticated his thought process was and how excited he was to make the right play when it required something as courageous as calling three barrels for his whole stack with no pair. Hands like these you remember for the rest of your career.

Tres bien!

Thinking Poker Tournament Seminars are pre-scheduled, small-group discussions focused on the most common mistakes and skills gaps that I see in my NLHE tournament students. Each two-hour seminar costs $150 per person and is capped at five participants, to enable individualized attention and opportunities for everyone to ask questions and participate in discussions. The content is prepared and the discussion facilitated by me- it’s like an interactive poker video!

Participants will learn how about alternatives to the continuation bet, how to deal with donk bets, when to slowplay, and how correct flop play varies with stack and pot size. My Flop Fundamentals video series will be required viewing in advance of the seminar, because everything we discuss will build on those concepts while getting more in-depth and sophisticated. Playing common flop spots well is essential to tournament success, so you don’t want to miss this seminar!

To register, please e-mail andrew(at) thinkingpoker (dot) net with subject line “Advanced Flop Fundamentals”. If you have questions, please post them here, as others may be wondering the same things. Also please leave a comment if there’s a topic you’re interested in or a time that would be better for you- there’s plenty of flexibility to accommodate everyone, I just need to know what you want to see!

PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 320 Tournament, 300/600 Blinds 60 Ante (9 handed) – PokerStars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG (t18593)
UTG+1 (t57136)
MP1 (t20999)
MP2 (t33621)
MP3 (t39979)
CO (t23378)
Button (t20626)
Hero (SB) (t31712)
BB (t17235)

Hero’s M: 22.02

Preflop: Hero is SB with 3, A
3 folds, MP2 calls t600, MP3 calls t600, 2 folds, Hero calls t300, BB checks

Flop: (t2940) 8, 5, 9 (4 players)
Hero checks, BB checks, MP2 checks, MP3 checks

Turn: (t2940) Q (4 players)
Hero bets t2805, 3 folds

Total pot: t2940

Results:
Hero didn’t show 3, A.
Outcome: Hero won t2940

Of course this principle has implications when you’re on the other side of the equation as well:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $4.00 BB (6 handed) – PokerStars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (Button) ($444.85)
SB ($400)
BB ($390.60)
UTG ($742.60)
MP ($557.25)
CO ($791.90)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 10, A
2 folds, CO calls $4, Hero bets $16, SB calls $14, 2 folds

Flop: ($40) 8, 2, 6 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($40) A (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $24.50, SB raises to $82, Hero calls $57.50

River: ($204) 8 (2 players)
SB bets $151, Hero calls $151

Total pot: $506 | Rake: $3

Results:
Hero had 10, A (two pair, Aces and eights).
SB had 5, 5 (two pair, eights and fives).
Outcome: Hero won $503

Want to learn cool tricks like this? Sign up for the next Thinking Poker seminar, which addresses the always difficult Playing Out of Position.

Thinking Poker Tournament Seminars are pre-scheduled, small-group discussions focused on the most common mistakes and skills gaps that I see in my NLHE tournament students. Each two-hour seminar costs $150 per person and is capped at five participants, to enable individualized attention and opportunities for everyone to ask questions and participate in discussions. The content is prepared and the discussion facilitated by me- it’s like an interactive poker video!

Participants will learn how to defend their blinds against late and early position raisers, how to deal with post-flop aggression, and how to pull-off the ever-vexing donk bet. In addition to the seminar itself, all participants receive a syllabus of recommended study materials to help prepare for the session and apply newly acquired skills in their future play.

To register, please e-mail andrew(at) thinkingpoker (dot) net with subject line “Playing Out of Position”. If you have questions, please post them here, as others may be wondering the same things. Also please leave a comment if there’s a topic you’re interested in or a time that would be better for you- there’s plenty of flexibility to accommodate everyone, I just need to know what you want to see!

These seminars are pre-scheduled, small-group discussions focused on the most common mistakes and skills gaps that I see in my NLHE tournament students. Each two-hour seminar costs $150 per person and is capped at five participants, to enable individualized attention and opportunities for everyone to ask questions and participate in discussions. The content is prepared and the discussion facilitated by me- it’s like an interactive poker video!

Participants will learn how to identify a capped range, how to set-up a multi-barrel bluff, how to choose the best hands for bluffing, and how to size bluffs for maximum profitability. In addition to the seminar itself, all participants receive a syllabus of recommended study materials to help prepare for the session and apply newly acquired skills in their future play.

To register, please e-mail andrew(at) thinkingpoker (dot) net with subject line “Big Bluffs”. If you have questions, please post them here, as others may be wondering the same things. Also please leave a comment if there’s a topic you’re interested in or a time that would be better for you- there’s plenty of flexibility to accommodate everyone, I just need to know what you want to see!

Edit: Fixed the subject line for the e-mail.

The first seminar will focus on Maximizing Value and will take place on Wednesday, November 9 from 3-5 PM Eastern (New York) time. Participants will learn when to slowplay, how to build a pot with monster hands, and how to squeeze thin value out of marginal hands. In addition to the seminar itself, all participants receive a syllabus of recommended study materials to help prepare for the session and apply newly acquired skills in their future play.

To register, please e-mail andrew(at) thinkingpoker (dot) net with subject line “Maximizing Value”. If you have questions, please post them here, as others may be wondering the same things. We’ll be updating the Coaching section of the website soon with more information about these seminars, but I wanted to get the word out about the first one right away so that you’d have time to clear your schedule!

My only regret is with regard to the last question they asked me, about discussing a current controversy. I paused for a long time trying to choose something good, and then I got self-conscious about how long it was taking and just started talking without really organizing my thoughts. Turns out they edited out the pause anyway, so I wish I’d just taken my time and given a more well thought out response. You can find a more thorough explanation of my take on the ethics of endorsing a certain disreputable site on the premier edition of the Poker Ethicist.

Check me out and please let me know what you think. You should really listen to the whole show, but my interview starts when they return from the break around the 50-minute mark.

I recently posted about Setting Effective New Year’s Resolutions for Poker Success. Today, I’m going to start sharing my poker-related resolutions.

Goal 1: Make Some Money

Dolla dolla bills, y’all.

Average At Least 20 Hours of Poker Each Week

This is a step up from last year, but I can do it. I’m going to cut myself some slack on a few other fronts (not that I hit those goals last year) to hopefully free up some more time for actually playing this silly game.

I’m also going to be more flexible about the types of games I can play. One thing I want to do is learn some new games, so as long as I’m playing, I’m not going to worry about which game or how big. There’s really no danger of me not playing enough NLHE to earn a solid living.

Average At Least 5 Hours of Coaching Each Week

I didn’t do it last year, but I want to try again. I make more money playing than I do coaching, but it’s something I enjoy. I’ve made some friends through coaching (hi guys), and it’s nice to occasionally be in a cooperative relationship with another poker player rather than always being out to take everyone’s money. I guess I could go the Stoxtrader route and do both, but that’s not my style.

I’ve started scheduling coaching sessions in two-hour blocks, which I’ve found to be a better use of both my and my students’ time. Five hours a week means two sessions each week plus the prep and follow-up that goes along with them. Actually that would be closer to six hours, so I’m giving myself a little wiggle room here. Two sessions per week shouldn’t be that hard, though.

Towards this end, I’ve begun offering discounts for students who purchase multi-session poker coaching packages. This was something I was opposed to doing for a while, but it’s something that a lot of people ask for, and it should keep my coaching load more predictable. If you’ve been thinking about coaching, check out the new poker coaching offerings and drop me a line.

Produce At Least 4 Videos Per Month for Poker Savvy Plus

Poker Savvy Plus is a great place to work. They give me a lot of freedom to make videos that I believe will be interesting and helpful, and they are very supportive. The community there is great, and I want to start participating more actively in the forums so that I can get to know people and what they are looking for in their videos. To keep things fresh, I also want to start innovating some new types of videos and soliciting suggestions for videos more actively.

Read more in Part 2: Publish!

This is especially important in one-on-one poker coaching, because it is a highly critical process. That is, I teach by criticizing, hopefully in a very constructive way, the play and thought processes of my students. Unlike my experiences teaching debate, where I was often dealing with audiences who would be the first to admit that they had virtually no prior knowledge of what I was teaching and so no pre-conceived notions to cling to or defend, when coaching poker I am dealing in a subject in which my students are already well-versed. My job is not to teach them something entirely new so much as to refine and in some cases correct things they already know or think they know.

It is difficult for anyone, no matter how open-minded and confident, to handle criticism. Even when students understand and agree with my critique of a hand, they sometimes feel the need to explain or defend themselves anyway, as if to say, “OK, yes, I see now that that is best, but I guess what I was thinking at the time was….” This is a perfectly understandable reaction and, if anything, a failing on my part.

I take my coaching very seriously, I care about the development of my students, and I believe I am always a good coach. I do my best to listen, to explain myself clearly, to answer questions patiently, and to guide without being heavy-handed. But there are a lot of good coaches out there, I’m sure.

When I am at my best, when I am offering great coaching, I am helping my students to circumvent their natural resistance to criticism and to re-thinking. I am creating an atmosphere that is conducive to open-mindedness and creativity. New ideas and information come across as eye-opening rather than threatening. Ideally, this is role I believe a coach ought to occupy, that of the guide rather than the advocate.

“But the 26-year-old Brokos’ real passion isn’t poker. It’s coaching inner-city schoolkids in the art of debate. When he couldn’t get a paying job in education pursuing his interest in forensics, he used his poker winnings to support himself while he started the Boston Debate League, which has grown from three schools in 2005 to eight. Impressed with Brokos’ bootstrap work, the city school system provided funding for a full-time executive director to run the league, but Brokos continues to donate his time several days a week — with poker remaining as his means of support.”

I should clarify that technically, the Boston Public Schools (BPS) is not providing the full-time executive director. He’s solely an employee of the Boston Debate League (BDL), which is an independent 501(c)3 non-profit organization that raises funds from individuals and public foundations (no poker tournaments yet). BPS does, however, provide stipends for teachers who coach debate, food and supplies for participating students, and train fare to help low-income students attend BDL events. Still pretty sweet to get this kind of national attention though!