strategySep 28, 2026
Hold’em Lesson 09/20: Someone Raised Before You
Learn what changes when another player raises first: the price to call, the players still behind you, and the difference between folding, calling and raising again.
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Strategy
Visual, practical lessons on decisions, probabilities, live play and bankroll discipline.
strategySep 28, 2026
When a Smaller River Bet Earns More: Count Calls, Not Just Chips
Compare two river value-bet sizes using a concrete hand, blocked combinations and the number of worse calls each size keeps. Find where the preferred size changes.
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strategySep 21, 2026
Top Set Facing a Flop Raise: Call or Build the Pot?
With pocket jacks on J-T-4, compare calling a flop raise with reraising: pot accounting, opponent ranges and a plan for the remaining stacks.
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strategySep 21, 2026
Hold’em Lesson 08/20: Be the First to Raise
Learn an open raise, say the total clearly, and follow folds, calls and reraises. One simple quiz turns an eight-chip raise into big blinds.
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strategySep 20, 2026
Hold’em Lesson 07/20: Same Cards, Different Seat
The same king-jack plays differently from an early seat and the button. Learn position with six-seat pictures and one simple quiz.
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strategySep 20, 2026
The Turn Semi-Bluff Test: A Flush Draw Is Not a Reason to Shove
Facing an 8 BB turn lead with A♠ J♠, should you call or shove? Follow a 30 BB hand and test the fold equity your semi-bluff really needs.
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strategySep 19, 2026
Hold’em Lesson 05/20: Your Stack, the Pot and Big Blinds
Learn where chips belong, count their value, follow one hand without double-counting bets, and convert a stack into big blinds with step-by-step pictures.
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strategySep 18, 2026
When Your River Bet Gets Raised: Count the Bluffs Before You Call
Follow a heads-up river check-raise with top pair, calculate the calling price, and test how many bluff combinations the opponent needs.
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strategySep 18, 2026
Hold’em Lesson 06/20: Your First Decision Starts with Two Cards
Learn to recognise pocket pairs, suited cards and connected cards, then try three illustrated quizzes on starting hands, flushes and kickers.
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strategySep 18, 2026
Hold’em Lesson 04/20: Find the Button, Follow the Action
Learn what the dealer button and blinds mean, who acts first before and after the flop, and why your seat changes the information available to you.
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strategySep 17, 2026
Hold’em Lesson 03/20: Check, Call, Bet, Raise or Fold?
Learn the five basic poker actions with one practice hand, seven step-by-step table diagrams, chip counts and six reveal-answer questions.
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strategySep 14, 2026
Hold’em Lesson 02/20: Hand Rankings, Kickers and Your Best Five Cards
Learn poker hand rankings from zero with card pictures: compare kickers, full houses and shared-board ties, then practise with hidden-answer quizzes.
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strategySep 14, 2026
The Short All-In Trap: When Can You Raise Again?
A 4BB shove and a 5BB shove can give you different legal options. Follow one live hand through the raise threshold, pot accounting and isolation decision.
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strategySep 13, 2026
The Rake Margin: When a Profitable-Looking River Call Turns Negative
A worked cash-game hand shows why the amount you actually receive matters. Compare a 3BB river call before and after an explicitly hypothetical fee.
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strategySep 13, 2026
Why a Missed Flush Draw Can Be a Bad River Bluff
A 35BB river pot and a 26BB bluff show why missed spades can block the folds you need. Follow the card-removal model and the 42.62% threshold.
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strategySep 11, 2026
Top Pair on the River: Who Actually Calls with Worse?
A king-queen river hand shows when a thin value bet beats checking, with full pot accounting, two range models and the danger of ignoring raises.
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strategySep 10, 2026
Hold’em Lesson 01/20: How a Poker Hand Works, Step by Step
Start Texas Hold’em from zero: discover the 52-card deck, private and community cards, four illustrated stages, hand rankings and choosing five cards from seven.
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strategySep 10, 2026
An Overpair Is Not a Stack-Off Contract: Queens in a Three-Bet Pot
Should queens bet or check in a three-bet pot? Follow a 100BB hand, turn SPR and a 32.5% call threshold to separate pot odds from range assumptions.
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strategySep 9, 2026
The 35% Flush-Draw Trap: Does Your Call Buy One Card or Two?
A nine-out flush draw hits by the river about 35% of the time—but a flop call may buy only the turn. Learn the difference with clear pot-odds examples.
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strategySep 9, 2026
Set Mining Is Not Just 8-to-1: When a Small Pocket Pair Is Actually Worth a Call
Pocket pairs flop a set or better only 11.8% of the time. Learn how effective stacks, position, opponent range and tournament pressure decide whether a set-mining call is profitable.
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strategySep 9, 2026
The 18BB Reshove Test: How Much Fold Equity Does A5s Need?
A live MTT A5-suited reshove broken down with exact pot math, called-equity assumptions, blocker logic, big-blind risk and a practical jam-or-fold checklist.
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strategySep 8, 2026
The 2BB C-Bet Test: How Much Fold Equity Does a Flop Bluff Need?
A live MTT hand compares a 4K and 8.5K bluff into 13K, calculating break-even folds, turn SPR, and why the smaller c-bet often wins.
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strategySep 7, 2026
When 15 Outs Are Not 15: Calling a Turn Bet with a Combo Draw
A live tournament combo-draw breakdown showing how pot odds, dirty outs, ranges and SPR turn an apparent 15-out call into a close decision.
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strategySep 4, 2026
Facing a River Overbet: When Is Your Bluff-Catcher Really Good Enough?
A live tournament hand breakdown of a 150% river overbet: calculate 37.5% pot odds, build value and bluff ranges, use blockers, and make the right call.
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strategySep 3, 2026
Top Pair in a 3-Way Pot: A Live Tournament Bet-Sizing Breakdown
A concrete live tournament hand shows how multiway ranges, bet size and SPR change the value of top pair—and why a small flop bet often beats a large one.
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strategySep 1, 2026
Chips Are Not Cash: A Practical First Guide to ICM on the Bubble
Why can a profitable chip decision still cost tournament equity? Learn how ICM changes risk near the bubble, final table and satellite ticket line.
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strategyAug 29, 2026
Your Stack Is Not 50,000: Learn to Think in Big Blinds
A practical guide to converting tournament chips into big blinds, understanding the cost of each orbit, and changing your plan as your stack moves from deep to critical.
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strategyAug 24, 2026
Pocket Aces Preflop: How Often Do They Actually Win?
Pocket aces are the best starting hand in Hold’em—but they are not invincible. See how their preflop equity changes as more opponents enter the pot.
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strategyAug 23, 2026
Your First Live Tournament: What to Know Before You Sit Down
A practical guide to tournament structures, registration, budgeting and live-table etiquette—so your first event feels organized instead of intimidating.
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strategyAug 22, 2026
Live Tournament Budgeting: The Buy-In Is Only the Beginning
A realistic tournament budget includes entries, re-entries, transport, food and time. Here is how to set the limit before emotion takes over.
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