When we’re starting out in poker, when we’re trying to put together a consistent and respectable win rate, money is something we usually don’t have in surplus.
This episode is not just for the scraping-by set, it’s for anyone who’s questioned the value of paying for poker strategy help. Be it books, websites, videos, or coaching, not everyone is sure of the return on investment when purchasing products and services to improve their game.
We can’t blame you! So we dedicated a whole podcast to how to stretch your poker study budget to the max, and find the best tools and resources to advance your game and keep your “study rake” low.
This episode featured a lot of links, so let’s jump right in:
How do I learn poker for free?
Yes, but without investing in improving your game, it will be difficult to go beyond being a break-even player. The money may end up being negligible compared to the time you have to invest?
Paid Software
These are the paid tools SplitSuit recommends as indispensable:
- For online players: PokerTracker 4 ($59.99-$99.99)
- Flopzilla ($35)
Free Poker Strategy Articles
We’re not going to surprise you by jumping right into Red Chip’s free articles, right? We didn’t think so. Here you go:
- How to Learn Poker for Free
- What is Range Advantage?
- Long Ball is Better than Small Ball Poker
- A Quick Way to Think About Flop Texture
(Editor’s note: Since this podcast was broadcast, our free strategy articles have expanded into a powerful library. Check it out here.)
We’d also highly recommend The Poker Bank, which is an encyclopedia of free information. It’s incredibly well organized and in-depth, and a great place to begin your poker study.
Our third recommended free article resource is FlopTurnRiver.com‘s strategy section. It’s a well-organized collection of easy-reading articles.
And finally, a wide range of articles from a wide range of authors can be found at the 2+2 Concept of the Week thread. It’s a little old, but the concepts are still fresh and relevant. You’ll enjoy lots of great in-depth advice from great players and teachers, with commentary.
Free Poker Strategy Videos
Poker videos are the #1 resource we suggest to get better.
Again, here The Poker Bank excels with its exhaustive collection of free poker strategy videos on YouTube. Over 200 videos live on the site, with new content weekly. The Poker Quick Plays playlist is a fantastic place to start.
Gripsed is going to be your go-to guy for tournament strategy. His YouTube Channel is bursting at the seams with free videos on every topic imaginable. We definitely recommend subscribing.
Our final shout out is to Drag the Bar, who make exemplary “sweat the coach”-style poker strategy videos. These were, until recently, only available to paid premium members of the site. They’re now free, and the value is unbelievable for getting inside the mind of a coach. Great for Twitch fans who want something more strategy-wise.
Free Poker Strategy Forums
Don’t cringe! All forums are not created equal, and certain forums seem to have ruined the reputation for all poker forums.
You can’t go it alone in poker and expect to excel. Poker forums are a hugely important part of becoming better at poker. The big forums are:
Remember though, each one of these forums has its own unique ethos. Don’t expect to have the red carpet rolled out for you, especially in the more elitist, hostile communities. In fact, you can almost guarantee a trolling or two as a new member of some of these forums.
That’s why we really suggest our Red Chip Poker forums. They’re troll-free, friendly, and welcoming to all.
Remember, you get what you give in the forum. If you’re not responding to other people, you won’t get a massive response for your posts. Be a part of the community to get the most out of it.
Free Software
Equilab – Full equity and post-flop analysis. (View SplitSuit’s “How to Use Equilab” video)
We also recommend spreadsheets as a way to geek out and gain more insight into strategy. You can download our free poker EV spreadsheet to get a taste of the power of computational tables. We’ve also got one that calculates the math for squeeze plays. You can use Google Sheets to build yours for free.
A Note on Time
We wrap up by reminding everyone that time is of the essence. It’s not something you can buy more of. And there’s only one way to get the top-level content that will make you a better player very quickly, vs scrapping together lots of free resources. Pay for the best strategy content. It’s what practically every other successful poker player is doing.
