Gareth James
@gazelligpoker
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SCOOP champ & 2x published author | Helping poker players level up their game at . Tweets/threads about MTT strategy & training.
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Pinned Tweet
Just had a call with a millionaire poker player and came away seriously impressed.
He shared with me how he made his fortune:
1. 4.30 AM wakeup
2. Cold showers
3. Gratitude journal
4. Meditate
5. Won $1.2m playing slots
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1K
I don't want to scare you, but there are 1,755 strategically different flops.
Thankfully, you can group them together to make them easier to learn, like this:
1. ABB
2. ABx
3. Axy
4. 2 broadways
5. BBB
6. K/Q+2
7. J/T+2
8. J/T connected
9. Low connected
10. Low unconnected
11.
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You wanna know just HOW BAD that shove is with 88?
Let's find out
[🧵}
😲 WOW! 😲
Nearly 200 big blinds get in the middle before the flop between Daniel Weinman (
@notontilt09
) and Adam Walton.
And we are now heads up for the title in the 2023
@WSOP
Main Event.
📺 - Watch Live Here:
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There are 19,600 possible flops, 1,755 of which are strategically different.
Here's how I group them to make them easier to learn the heuristics:
1. ABB
2. ABx
3. Axy
4. 2 broadways
5. BBB
6. K/Q+2
7. J/T+2
8. J/T connected
9. Low connected
10. Low unconnected
11. Paired
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Many players in low and midstakes don't 3-bet anywhere near enough and the weighting towards value hands is more than it should be.
Let's say you open 99 in EP to 2bb and the player to your immediate left 3-bets to 5.58bb.
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I don't know much about live reads, but I'm never calling when the guy starts singing and dancing.
The Rat Man gets the cheese 🧀
Petros Karadimos busts in 3rd place for €294,620
📺 :
@PokerStarsLIVE
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👉Do you play online MTTs?👈
I'm looking for 5 recreational MTT players who want to learn the right way to train and study so they can CRUSH the second half of 2023.
Is that you?
313
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There are 49 different turn cards (47 if you discount the 2 cards in your hand).
Here's how I group them to learn turn strategies quicker:
1. Ace
2. Overcard
3. Flush completer
4. Straight completer
5. Pair
6. Blank
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Core single raised spots every tournament poker player needs to master:
1. LJ vs BB
2. BTN vs BB
3. LJ vs BTN
4. CO vs BTN
5. SB raise, BB calls
6. BB raises SB limp, SB calls
If you can understand and execute the strategies in these spots well, filling in the blanks is easy.
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The top 5 flop textures you should study:
1. Paired boards (e.g. KKT or 855)
2. King or Queen high boards with two low cards (e.g. K82 or Q76)
3. 2 broadway boards (e.g. KQ6 or QT8)
4. Jack or Ten high boards with two low cards (e.g. J32 or T64)
5. ABx boards (e.g. AK3 or AJ6)
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It folds to you in the SB with TT and about 12.6bb. Do you limp, raise or jam?
[Poll and thread below]
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83o... not a raise preflop
96o... not a check raise on this flop
83o... probably not a jam on the flop
96o... probably not a call vs the jam
Gonna go back to grinding the $55 Mini Bounty HR now.
The 2024
@WSOP
Main Event Champion is Jonathan Tamayo 🔥🔥🔥
@driverseati
takes home $10,000,000 and the Main Event Bracelet!
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Most of the amateur players I work with start off folding too much and not 3-betting enough in the BB facing a BTN open.
At 30bb BB vs BTN in a Chip EV world, facing a minraise, you should:
Fold: 11.9%
Call: 69.5%
3-bet: 10.2%
Jam: 8.4%
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Sometimes you just need to not take yourself too seriously and do a photoshoot with your SCOOP trophy! Thanks
@PokerStars
🙏
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A donk bet is when a player bets into the aggressor from the previous street.
And it's not just for donkeys...
Here are 5 spots when it's okay to donk bet on the flop:
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Facing a SB limp, you should raise 40-45% of hands from the BB.
Here's an example at 30bb:
Red = jam (3.1%)
Yellow = check back (57.9%)
Brown = raise to 3.5bb (39%)
39% raise + 3.1% jam = 42.1% total raise frequency.
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A cool little hack for understanding c-betting frequency from OOP as the PFR:
- The closer you are to the caller, the less you should c-bet (e.g. EP vs MP or CO vs BTN)
- The further you are away from the caller, the more you should c-bet (e.g. EP vs BTN or MP vs CO)
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One of the biggest mistakes I see and hear from recreational players is:
"But I have a pair, I can't fold to one bet" and "What about minimum defence frequency?"
I'm going to explain why it's right to fold in this spot:
A thread [🧵]
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These 4 powerful check raise strategies are guaranteed to make you a better poker player [🧵]
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There are 19,600 possible flops, 1,755 of which are strategically different.
Here's how I group them to make things easier to learn:
1. ABB
2. ABx
3. Axy
4. 2 broadways
5. BBB
6. K/Q+2
7. J/T+2
8. J/T connected
9. Low connected
10. Low unconnected
11. Paired
12. Monotone
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AQo looks like a nice hand... until you get 3-bet.
You open off 60bb from EP to 2.3bb and the HJ 3-bets to 6.9bb.
In cEV AQo is a marginal continue (see 1st pic).
At 50% left, it becomes a pure fold (see 2nd pic).
White = Fold
Yellow = Call
Brown = 4-bet
Red = Jam
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You need 5 hobbies:
1. Makes you money
2. Keeps you in shape
3. Keeps you creative
4. Helps you build knowledge
5. Evolves your mindset
Do you agree?
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The Wildest GTO Strategy You Probably Haven't Heard Of Yet (And How to Defend Against It)
100bb effective. The BTN opens to 2.26bb, you 3-bet to 10.41bb from the SB with Ah Jc and the BTN calls.
The flop comes Jd Td 2c.
The answer? 👇[🧵]
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Value to bluff ratios (on the river)
The number of value hand combinations versus the number of bluff hand combinations in a river betting range based on the bet size.
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If your opponent doesn't 3-bet enough, you need to fold more preflop.
If they don't attack you from the BB, then limp more hands from the SB.
If they're not capable of triple barrel bluffing, then fold more on the river.
It sounds simple, but you've got do it.
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Using the Kelly Criterion with a 5% ROI and 75-runners, you'd need a $55m bankroll to fire the $250k at the
@WSOP
.
How many of the entrants have a roll that big do you think?
And what's the average percentage they have to sell in order to play it?
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Geometric bet sizing
A bet size that you can use on all remaining streets so that you have the same % of the pot back on the river.
2e = 2 equal bets
3e = 3 equal bets
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Every good tournament poker player should know how to play a shortstack on a final table.
Here are 3 mistakes to avoid:
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I watched the entire SCOOP $109 final table and identified over 30 mistakes.
A common one is playing a shortstack:
1. Opening too wide
2. 3-bet jamming too wide vs EP
3. Open jamming too wide
This thread will show you how to avoid
#2
[🧵]
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👉 Do you play online MTTs? 👈
I'm looking for 5 recreational MTT players who want to learn the right way to train and study so they can CRUSH the end of 2023 and set themselves up for 2024.
Is that you?
Quick note: You must play online, this programme isn't for live players.
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How do you tell your friends & family you're a poker player when they don't understand it's not the same as blackjack and roulette? 🤔
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Most successful poker players I know:
- aren’t maths whizzes
- don’t have degrees or masters
- don’t come from money
They are just regular ol’ people with a heavy bias for action.
Take one action step this weekend.
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Who remembers the stop & go?
The idea was to call preflop OOP and then donk jam the flop.
What other outdated concepts are making a comeback now that the ideas are supported by solvers?
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Most of the recreational players I work with don't attack SB limps enough from the BB when they start.
When the SB limps, you should raise/jam 40-45% of hands.
e.g. 60bb
> Check: 56.6%
> Raise to 3.5bb: 43.4%
Don't let the SB see a cheap flop!
Attack. Attack. Attack
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Want to quickly know the geometric bet size by SPR?
I got you 👇
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👉 Do you play online MTTs? 👈
I'm looking for 5 recreational MTT players who want to learn the right way to train and study so they can CRUSH the final quarter of 2023.
Is that you?
99
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Play MTTs? Short on time?
Drill these single raised pot spots:
1. LJ vs BB
2. BTN vs BB
3. LJ vs BTN
4. CO vs BTN
5. SB raise, BB calls
6. BB raises SB limp, SB calls
If you can understand and execute the strategies in these spots well, filling in the blanks is easy.
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It's impossible to master every single postflop spot.
But here are the 3 core single-raised spots that every tournament poker player needs to master:
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3 reasons why you should fold this spot on a final table:
1. The opener is raising from EP.
2. They have ~37bb and is choosing to raise despite having 4 players left to act who cover them.
3. If you 3-bet jam, there are still 6 players who can wake up with a better hand.
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Final table of the SCOOP $109 Main Event 2023.
The chip leader opens to 2.3bb and you're in the big blind with TT.
You are currently 5 of 7 with ~38bb, there is one stack a bit shorter than you and another with only 11.6bb.
What do you do? (And why?)
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These 4 powerful check raise strategies are guaranteed to make you a better poker player:
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(Raise) size matters.
The BTN (92bb) opens 3x. The SB folds and it's on you in the BB (37bb).
If you follow the "40bb" chart you'd only fold ~17% of hands (1st pic), but that was made with a 2.3x raise size.
Facing the bigger raise size, you need to fold a lot more, ~41%.
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Poker will EXPOSE all of your personal flaws.
Because in order to grow your bankroll, you must grow personally.
“What’s stopping the growth?”
100% it’s the person that's looking back at you in the mirror.
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There are 49 different turn cards (47 if you discount the 2 cards in your hand).
Here's how I group them to learn turn strategies quicker:
1. Ace
2. Overcard
3. Flush completer
4. Straight completer
5. Pair
6. Blank
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Turn strategy can be simplified by grouping turn cards together.
Here's how I do it:
1. Ace
2. Overcard
3. Flush completer
4. Straight completer
5. Pair
6. Blank
Much easier than trying to learn the strategies for all 49 different turn cards.
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Struggling with playing OOP as the PFR? Here's a cool hack I use:
- The closer you are to the caller, the less you should c-bet (e.g. EP vs MP or CO vs BTN)
- The further you are away from the caller, the more you should c-bet (e.g. EP vs BTN or MP vs CO)
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2nd in the $400 6-Max at Planet Hollywood for $16,575!!!
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A check raise presents a tough decision for the in position player and that's why it's such a powerful line, especially on paired boards where it's tough for either player to have a very strong hand.
Here's how to defend against a x/r on paired boards:
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Harrington on Hold 'em: the first book I ever read on tournament poker strategy.
What was yours?
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The ultimate poker study hack:
Schedule 30 minutes every day to work on fixing your biggest leak. Do this every single day. No exceptions.
Watch what happens.
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There's probably only one poker player who I really admire...
Stephen Chidwick
Maybe because he's also British or maybe because he's just really really good at poker.
Which professional poker player do you admire the most and why do you like them?
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In the excitement of a 5bet shove with K6s, it seems nobody picked up on the fact that Lena's raise size isn't big enough to be legitimate raise...
Kim's 3bet is 7.2m more, so Lena's minimum 4bet needs to be 19m, not 18m.
Quick maths.
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What are value to bluff ratios?
A: The number of value hand combinations versus the number of bluff hand combinations in a river betting range based on the bet size.
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4 rules for playing against c-bets OOP in the BB in SRPs:
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Unpopular opinion:
Poker training is about identifying leaks and fixing them.
Not watching a Twitch stream.
✍🏼 Do you agree?
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I've coached 200+ poker players in the last 18 months.
AMA.
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WCOOP 88-H $3K NLHE Spot
Str8$$$Homey (Sam Greenwood) opens to 2.2bb in the HJ and it folds to you in the SB with AKs.
What do you do, and why?
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Escape the micros in no time with these 6 tips:
1. Overfold to 3-bets
2. Value bet relentlessly
3. Raise more from late position
4. Encourage the weaker players to VPIP
5. Fold your bluff catchers vs the triple barrel
6. Pay attention to hands that go to showdown
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The most successful poker players I've met:
- don't excel in Math(s)
- lack fancy degrees
- didn't inherit their money
They're just everyday folks like you and me who love taking action.
Take a step forward this weekend.
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Postflop solvers have taught us many things, like:
> c-betting small IP vs the BB
> using a big bet on a blank turn
> how the chip leader gets to donk bet more frequently after defending the BB OOP on a FT.
Now we can add:
> jamming for 4x pot as a c-bet in a 3-bet pot
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Unpopular opinion: solvers haven't ruined poker—they just revealed how awful we always were at this game.
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5 of My Favourite Software Tools to Improve Your Tournament Poker Game in 2024:
Postflop solver: PIOSolver
Trainer: DTO Poker Trainer
In-game software: StarsCaption
Tracking software: PokerTracker 4
Preflop solver: Holdem Resources Calculator
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This thread will make you better at facing check raised on paired boards [🧵]:
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CO vs BB single raised pot, 28.5bb effective
The BB check calls your 25% c-bet on the flop.
The BB checks again on the turn.
Do you value bet or check? (Bonus points for reasoning)
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4 Rules for Playing Against C-bets Out of Position in the Big Blind in Single Raised Pots:
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Just because you're getting better odds, doesn't mean you should defend more facing a raise and a call in the Big Blind.
Here's BB vs CO raise at 30bb (left) and BB vs CO raise and BTN call at 30bb (right).
Red = jam
Brown = 3-bet
Yellow = call
White = fold
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I invited 10 of my best students to a SCOOP Bootcamp this weekend where we focused on dedicated training sessions focusing on the fundamentals followed by a big Sunday grind...
Then one of the guys finished 2nd in the Sunday Warm-Up for $13.8k.
What a weekend?! 🔥🏆
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The best tip I heard for memorising 3-bet ranges:
Don't.
Instead, think about what your entire continuing range looks like. Then put hands in different buckets:
> 3-bets for value
> Calls
> 3-bet bluffs
You'll often find the bluffs come just outside the calls.
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⌛️1 hour of focused poker study is better than 10 hours of aimlessly watching Twitch or training videos.
Agree or disagree?
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Comparing BB defence strategies facing different preflop raise sizes
vs 2bb (49.5% opening range):
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5 hours into the $55 Sunday Marathon, already ITM.
You 3-bet AJo in the CO vs MP, ~35bb effective, and MP calls.
You cbet 25% on J94fd and the MP calls.
The turn is the Qd and it goes x/x.
The river is the 3h.
MP checks. What do you do (and why)?
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There are 49 different turn cards (47 if you discount the 2 cards in your hand).
Here's how I group them:
1. Ace
2. Overcard
3. Flush completer
4. Straight completer
5. Pair
6. Blank
And here's how to study blank turn cards in MTTs:
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The 6 Core Single Raised Pots every MTT poker player needs to master:
1. LJ vs BB
2. BTN vs BB
3. LJ vs BTN
4. CO vs BTN
5. SB raise, BB calls
6. BB raises SB limp, SB calls
Understand and execute these strategies well & you should develop great intuition for other spots.
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To celebrate this year’s release of my new book, ‘Purposeful Practice for Poker’ with
@DrTriciaCardner
, I’d like to give away 5 copies to a lucky few. Just retweet this message and I’ll pick 5 names at random to receive a copy of the ebook edition.
Retweet ✅
Follow ✅
Win ❓
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Here are 5 times when donk betting is a thing in MTTs:
1) SB in a single raised pot
2) SB in a limp/call spot BvB
3) BB in a single raised pot OOP
4) SB multiway in a single raised pot
5) OOP in a 3-bet pot as the preflop caller
And yet I bet you've never donked in all of them!
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👉Do you play online MTTs?👈
I'm looking for 5 recreational MTT players who want to learn the right way to train and study so they can CRUSH 2024.
Is that you?
40
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The CO opens and you call in the BB.
The flop comes K63fd, you check and the CO bets ~25% pot. What should you do, and why?
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The best poker training advice I could ever give: Just show up.
Show up consistently.
Show up more than you don't.
Show up when you don't want to.
Show up for the whole of 2024 and watch your poker game improve.
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Let's analyse this hand from the $25k WCOOP 4-handed.
The BTN (big chipleader) opens to 2bb and the SB jams for 12.6bb.
Analysis [🧵]:
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My advice for part-time poker players:
> Acknowledge your limits.
> Focus on controllable factors.
> Limited volume may challenge confidence. Accept it.
Control study time, table count, working on your areas for improvement & fitness routine.
Focus on what you can control. 💪
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If you aren't studying yet, start studying anything.
• ICM
• PKOs
• Preflop ranges
• Postflop strategies
• Why you can't fold to that m**** who just 3-bet you for the 18th time
The first step is getting started.
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There are 19,600 possible flops, 1,755 of which are strategically different.
Thankfully, we can group them together to make them easier to learn.
Here's how I do it:
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When someone uses your pic as their PokerStars image, does that mean you've made it?
(Not asking for Leonardo di Caprio or Yuri Dzivielevski)
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I saved 50 screenshots during my session yesterday.
Then I spent 5 minutes organising them so I've got a clear focus next time I study:
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Back in 2019 I inhaled the book "Atomic Habits" by James Clear.
4 years later, it still remains my favourite book on building great habits and breaking bad ones.
Here are 15 killer lessons any poker player should read:
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6 Tips to Escape the Micros
Many amateur poker players find themselves stuck at the microstakes, struggling to make progress.
If that's you, fear not [🧵]:
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"Champions are great at the basics."
The longer I work as a poker coach, the more I realise how important this is.
You don't need advanced strategies.
Identify the fundamentals, commit to improve on them every day, and do this for a long time.
Get back to basics.
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I don't know you, but you probably don't check raise enough after defending your big blind.
Want to check raise more? Start with paired boards.
They have the highest frequency of check raises:
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My 2 favourite YouTube channels for hole cards up replays:
1. bCp - Poker Replays
2. Kalipoker TV - Poker Replays
Check them out and then spend time learning final table strategy from the best players in the world.
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This thread will make you better at playing the turn IP against the BB 💪:
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