The best poker training sites include multimedia content like video guides, articles, expert insights, and simulations. Without further ado, let’s look at the top 6 best poker training sites!
PokerNews Staff
- You can also find here poker player profiles, tournament poker results, poker rules, poker strategy articles, poker magazines, poker tools and poker training resources. Ever wonder who is the best.
- It’s truly the most fun of all the poker training sites because you are actually playing poker instead of watching videos. Also, their rates are lower than most other sites. Deuces Cracked – This is an online training site that has a group or “community” training feel to it – like a poker education. Another long-established site with over 3000 videos, podcasts, blogs, and regular updates.
- About OmahaPlanet.com OmahaPlanet.com is a resource guide dedicated to the Omaha variant of poker. As you navigate our pages you’ll find comprehensive coverage of all Omaha games including Pot Limit Omaha (PLO), Omaha Hi-Lo, Fixed Limit Omaha and Omaha tournaments.If you’re a fan of the game, we have many resources available such as Omaha strategy and reviews of the best Omaha poker sites.
- If you want the best online four-card poker action available to Americans, Australians, and others in unregulated markets, then let us lend you a hand. Our list of the top online PLO poker sites will inform you of where to find bustling Pot Limit Omaha games on the internet.
For many years, players who were serious about learning the best poker strategies and increasing their likelihood for success relied on experience alone to better their games. The poker rules, they knew. It was 'trial and error' one hand at a time, with the lessons potentially being costly depending on just how many errors were made during those trials.
The rise of poker strategy books and magazines eventually provided another means for players to learn about the game in between their time at the tables, enabling them to learn not only which were the better poker hands to play and odds and probabilities to know, but to become acquainted with advanced concepts like the importance of position, table dynamics, image and player types, and other concepts mastered by those already versed in the game.
The advent of the internet brought about a couple of other important developments as far as learning poker strategy was concerned. The introduction of online poker in the late 1990s and its quick explosion in popularity during the 2000s made it possible for many more to play poker for real money — including in the privacy of their homes — than had been the case before.
The rise of online poker in turn also helped fuel the growth of poker sites designed to provide poker strategy advice online via articles, discussion forums, and instructional videos.
Today there's a multitude of online options for players looking to up their games, whether you're an occasional player of low buy-in tournaments in your local casino, or a full-time grinder looking to be an online poker pro. Online training sites first emerged during the 'boom' years more than a decade ago, with some still going strong today and others have emerged to earn a place among the best poker training sites available at present.
What follows is a list of five of the more popular poker training sites available today for those looking not just to review fundamentals or learn a few tips to help them in their home game, but those seriously wanting to become full-time, professional poker players. These aren't reviews, but summaries of each site's offerings. All provide introductory content for no charge to give new visitors a sense of what they offer.
Run It Once
Phil Galfond's coaching site Run It Once has been up and running since 2012 and describes itself as 'the world's leading poker strategy community.' Those curious to check it out can do so for free just by getting an account which provides full access to the site's strategy forum where members post hand histories, discuss concepts and theories, and talk anything else poker. On top of that, all members can check out these three free Elite Videos.
But it is the site's huge and constantly expanding library of video content geared toward players of all stakes and games that distinguishes 'RIO' from other instructional sites.
Plo Poker Rules
Those willing to invest can choose between two tiers of membership — 'Essential' (low stakes) and 'Elite' (high stakes). Joining 'Essential' costs $24.99/month and gives users access to five new 'Essential' videos per week and the 1,500-plus video Essential Library.
'Elite' members get all of that, plus nine more 'Elite' videos each week, as well as the nearly 2,400-video Elite library at a cost of $99.99/month. Galfond describes 'Essential' as geared toward games with stakes under 500NL, with 'Elite' directed toward 500NL and up.
The line-up of professional players forming the 'Run It Once Pro Roster' who have made instructional videos for the site is impressive, comprised of more than 100 different players including Galfond, Ben Sulsky, Jason Koon, James Obst, Daniel Dvoress, Christopher Kruk, George Danzer, Sam Grafton, Jennifer Shahade, Brian Rast, Fedor Holz, Stephen Chidwick, Tommy Angelo, and Ola Amundsgard, just to name a few.
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Upswing Poker
One of the newer poker training sites getting a lot of attention thanks in part to the high profile of founder Doug Polk, is Upswing Poker. Launched in 2015, Polk and Ryan Fee head a list of pros contributing to the site's numerous poker coaching products.
Upswing Poker provides at no cost eight 'preflop raise charts' designed to improve starting hand selection and strategy (and win rates), a list of 20 'secret' poker rules when playing three-bet pots, and another list of 20 rules for playing flush draws. For a discounted price of $7, they offer the 'Postflop Game Plan' that uses videos to help players learn how to categorize poker hands profitably.
Those offerings are both designed to encourage players to join the 'Poker Training Lab,' a.k.a. the 'Upswing Poker Lab,' which allows access to to the 'complete Poker Training Library' of learning modules, videos, and hand charts, as well as access to the site's Facebook group. To join the Upswing Poker Lab requires a $49/month subscription plus an initial $99 sign-up fee, or users can get a discount by subscribing for six months ($299) or one year ($499).
Those willing to spend more have additional options under the site's 'Advanced Poker Training' heading, including Polk's own 'Advanced Heads-Up Mastery' course, a 'Tournament Master Class' taught by Polk and Pratyush Buddiga, a course in 'Mixed Game Mastery' from Jake Abdalla, and another 'Elite Cash Game Mastery' course by Andres Artinano. There's also a separate 'PLO Lab' available as well catering to pot-limit Omaha players. These courses require a one-time fee ranging from $299 up to $999.
Advanced Poker Training
First launched by brothers Allen and Steve Blay in 2007, Advanced Poker Training has evolved into a well-established training site that offers users a somewhat different and potentially more immersive experience than do most sites.
At the heart of APT is its 'Poker Training Game' that allows players to play online against sophisticated 'virtual' opponents in cash games (full ring, six-max., or heads-up) and tournaments (SNGs, MTTs, and 'final table'-only). The multi-table tournaments are the most popular among users and can be customized in a variety of ways — you can even play an MTT against 8,000 opponents.
The site also features interesting 'Beat the Pro' challenges that involve watching a video concerning a particular topic, playing 'challenge hands' against computerized opponents, then watching a replay of the hands you played with audio commentary by pros like Scott Clements, Jonathan Little, Mike Caro, Scotty Nguyen, David Williams, and Lauren Kling and others explaining how they would have played the same hands. There's also the 'Combat Trainer' providing repeated drills of common scenarios.
There's a lot more on APT as well — instructional videos (including ones featuring the last two WSOP Main Event champs Qui Nguyen and Scott Blumstein), various tools, games for mobile devices designed to improve poker knowledge, a blog, a poker forum, and more. There are even periodic 'live' tournaments in which APT members can play against one another on the site. Also useful, every hand played on APT is saved and thus available for later review and to be used to produce weekly reports and other data.
Creating an account on APT is free, and allows access to some of the beginning level Poker Training Games. Full membership is $39.97/month, though that price can be cut in half to $19.97/month for those signing up for a year.
Tournament Poker Edge
Started in 2010, Tournament Poker Edge is a little different from other sites in that it focuses exclusively on multi-table tournaments.
The site features over 1,000 training videos, with at least four new videos produced each week. Members additionally have access to pro blogs and strategy articles and the member forums. There is also 'Tournament Poker Edge University,' a full 'curriculum' of videos, articles, podcasts, and quizzes designed to help players find trouble spots in their games and improve.
For the last seven-plus years, the site has also hosted a popular MTT strategy podcast available for free to anyone, which, combined with other free content on the site, provides players a way to sample what TPE has to offer before subscribing.
More than 30 pros are currently listed as contributors on the site, among them Casey Jarzabek, Ben Warrington, Andrew Brokos, Daryl Jace, Collin Moshman, Justin Ouimette, Mike Leah, Jamie Kerstetter, and Alexander Fitzgerald.
Plo Poker
The site has no signup fee and offers a free trial to newcomers. Those who choose to subscribe can do so for $39.95/month, $99.95/quarter, or $299.95/year.
Red Chip Poker
Started in 2013 by poker pros/coaches James Sweeney, Doug Hull, Ed Miller, and Christian Soto, Red Chip Poker offers players a variety of instruction in both cash games and tournaments.
The full PRO membership ($50/month) offers a 7-day free trial and provides access to hundreds of training videos made by a variety of coaches, with new content created every week. PRO membership also includes unlimited access to the site's 'Crash Courses' and 'CORE' poker course, with those also available as options for players looking to spend a little less to get started.
![Plo Plo](/uploads/1/2/5/2/125226107/975890046.jpg)
There's a 'Live $1/$2 NL Crash Course' focusing on low-stakes cash games and another 'MTT Crash Course' devoted to tournaments, each of which cost $39.95. Purchasers get unlimited access to training videos, podcasts, and articles on the chosen format (cash or tourneys), plus the ability to participate in the site's forum.
Meanwhile, the 'CORE' poker course represents a unique and inexpensive way for players to try out the site without spending much at all. The CORE course includes over 100 lessons covering everything from 'basic building blocks' like value betting and pot odds to 'advanced concepts' like triple-barreling and multi-street planning.
CORE lessons vary in length, often containing a video plus exercises and quizzes with users able to earn 'achievement badges' to mark their progress. The site estimates CORE contains around 75 hours' worth of study and costs $5 per week.
As is the case with the other sites on this list, there is a lot of free content available over at Red Chip Poker as well, including videos, podcasts, and articles. Players are encouraged to check out each site and sample what it has to offer first before signing up.
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Omaha hold’em, often called simply Omaha, is an exciting poker game that is strikingly similar to Texas hold’em, although it does have a number of differences to set it apart.
Unlike Texas hold’em, a game in which the preferred betting structure is no-limit, the most popular betting structure of Omaha games is pot-limit. Games of this type are referred to as pot-limit Omaha, abbreviated as PLO poker.
The first major difference you’ll instantly be aware of when playing PLO poker instead of hold’em is that each player is dealt exactly four hole cards instead of two. However, players don’t use all four hole cards to make a hand because they can only use two of them. In fact, players must use exactly two of their hole cards along with three of the community cards to make a five-card poker hand.
For example, if a player holds — a strong starting hand in pot-limit Omaha — and the five community cards read , the player does not hold a flush despite holding the . Neither does the player have a Broadway straight. The player actually only has a pair of kings with an ace-kicker. This may seem a little confusing when you first sit in a PLO game, but it quickly becomes second nature.
What is PLO?
Main Differences Between PLO Poker and Texas Hold’em
Besides starting with four hole cards rather than two, there are a few more differences between PLO poker and Texas hold’em. One such difference is that preflop hands in pot-limit Omaha run much closer in terms of equity than they do in hold’em. In hold’em, a hand such as is an 82.36% favorite over before the flop, but in PLO poker a hand such as will only beat 59.84% of the time.
This closeness in preflop hand strength is one factor leading to players playing more hands, seeing more flops, and PLO being more of a drawing game than hold’em is, which in turn creates larger pots with the majority of the chips often going into the pot after the flop is dealt.
Another key difference is the fact you generally need a stronger hand at showdown to win at pot-limit Omaha than you would in a Texas hold’em game. In hold’em, it is not uncommon to win a hand with two pair or even a single pair, but in PLO poker these hands are rarely the best by the river.
The other significant difference between pot-limit Omaha and no-limit Texas hold’em is the betting structure. In no-limit hold’em, players can bet any amount they wish, up to the size of their stack. PLO, however, is “pot-limit,” meaning players can only bet the total size of the pot including their call.
Imagine a PLO poker hand that is contested between two players. The pot has $100 in it, which means the maximum the first player can bet is $100. When it is the second player’s turn to act, that player can only bet a maximum of $400. This is worked out by adding the initial size of the pot ($100), plus the size of the opponent’s bet ($100), plus the second player’s call of the first bet ($100). This equals $300, which when added to the $100 call makes the maximum bet $400.
While this can be confusing until you are used to playing the game regularly, when playing PLO online you can simply click the “pot” button and the software figures out the correct amount for you. In a live PLO game, if you announce “pot” before betting the size of the pot, the dealer will assist with the calculations.
Basic Pot-Limit Omaha Strategy
Pot-limit Omaha is a complex game, which makes it difficult to come up with the perfect strategy for playing it. However, there are a number of pointers that you can remember that can form the basis for a solid PLO strategy:
- Be patient with your starting hand selection. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that any four cards are worth playing.
- A bare pair of aces isn’t as good as in hold’em. Two aces can help form a strong preflop hand in PLO poker, but unless they improve on the flop you’re unlikely to win the pot, especially in a multi-way contested pot.
- There is less bluffing in PLO poker. While bluffing does occur, it’s less prevalent in most players’ PLO strategy than happens in hold’em; a show of strength in PLO is likely to be a strong hand.
- Draw to the nuts. Although there are times when you can play a weaker draw aggressively, drawing to the nuts is the best idea.
- Stop thinking like a hold’em player. Many PLO players come from a no-limit hold’em background and play the game as such. They’ll overvalue one-pair and two-pair hands, as well as open-ended straight draws (with eight outs). The latter is particularly problematic, since in PLO it is possible to have “wrap” draws with up to 20 outs with the perfect hole card and community card combination!
A Crazy PLO Hand in Action
Best Starting Hands in PLO Poker
Like other variants of poker, PLO success begins with solid starting hand selection. The very best PLO players in the world play a wide range of hands, but those new to the game should stick to hands that are stronger and therefore easier to play.
The best PLO poker starting hands are those that have a big pair in them and some connectedness that allows them to improve preflop. Ideally, your hands will be what is known as “double-suited,” meaning you have the chance to flop two different flush draws. E.g., is a nice double-suited starting hand with a big pair.
Computer simulations show that double-suited is the best pot-limit Omaha starting hand. Flopping a set with this hand means you’ll always have top set, while any flush draw will be to the nuts. Other strong hands containing a pair of aces include and , while double-suited run-down holdings such as are also very playable.
Final Considerations
As you have probably gathered, PLO is an exciting game that creates big pots, and sees players make big hands regularly. As great as this is, the big thing you need to consider is playing PLO requires a larger bankroll than hold’em variants mostly because of the closeness in strength of hands both preflop and postflop. It’s common to not have more than 60% equity on the flop against a single opponent, which can and does lead to some crazy swings! When you run good at PLO, you usually run very good, but the flipside is also true.
Best Plo Poker Training Sites
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