Mark Warner

The third primary component to hand reading is part of so-called “level-3” and above poker thought, or “reverse reading.” This is the process of determining which range and line the Villain is putting us on during the play of a hand. At low-stakes poker games, level-3 hand reading isn’t very important. This is because the majority of players at those stakes are not...

The second key goal of hand reading is determining what the Villain is trying to accomplish with their cards in the current hand situation. We call this intention—and how they go about trying to accomplish it—their “line.” We may, for instance, have determined that an opponent has predominantly small and medium pocket pairs in their current range. One type of opponent may treat...

Without question, the most important aspect of hand reading is determining which cards our opponent (a/k/a “the Villain” in a hand) likely holds. But there’s a key distinction to understand: when hand reading, we don’t actually attempt to put the Villain on a specific two-card combination, like A♠-K♥ or 7♣-8♣. It is essentially impossible to be this precise in poker. Instead, our goal...

I wrote a guest post for the Smart Poker Study website on the dangers of HUDs:...

"Occasionally, you need to just turn off all the technology and GTO and HUDs and software and all the other damn crap, and just play some real poker." -Dave "Memphis Mojo" Smith TL;DR Executive Summary: Using a Head-up Display (HUD) can have harmful effects on your poker game in the long-run. Players who multi-table online with HUDs typically can...

“You need to look for spots where you don’t force yourself into a bad situation... ...You need to think about how a hand is going to play out, in all situations, before you make a raise.” -- Jonathan Little You must think ahead before you finalize a decision. This...

“Decisions, decisions, decisions. Poker players talk about this all the time. It’s so important, yeah, yeah, yeah. But most people I play with don’t have a clue what this means, let alone how to make those good decisions. They wouldn’t recognize a good line to take if it bit them on the rear end.”...

“Bet sizing is an art, but its canvas in the mathematics of Expected Value.” -- Valentin Tejera Imagine that we’re on the river and have the mortal nuts. The effective stacks are roughly twice the size of the pot, so there is plenty of maneuvering room vis-à-vis...

“[A common] mistake [is] in not thinking ahead. Every time you make a decision in poker, you should be thinking ahead about what happens next. When you raise preflop, you should have a good idea how you will respond if somebody reraises, and what you will do on various flops. When you bet the flop, you should already be thinking about how...

“Beginners often think that calling is a compromise between raising and folding. It’s not.” -- Andrew Brokos, Thinking Poker Someone opens for a raise in early position. You’re in middle position and look down at two pretty face cards, or maybe a couple of medium...

“To construct a proper bet sizing strategy, you want to start by structuring your bets not based on the strength of your hand, but rather how strong your range is relative to your opponents.” -- Alec Torelli, Conscious Poker The texture of the board, combined with...

“Skilled poker players know exactly why they are betting and what they are trying to accomplish.” -- Donovan Panone, Pokerology Okay, we’ve chose a line. Now we need to implement it, and the first step to this is to remember your why. Ask yourself why are you...

“There is not, repeat, not a magic one size fits all way to learn to win at poker. Nor is there a single magic step by step roadmap of things to study. Sorry, mate. Poker is too big and you are too different from me to learn it the same way as me.” -- Professional High-Stakes...

“You need to understand that everything you do at the poker table conveys information.” -- Daniel Negreanu Poker is a game built upon making decisions that are based on incomplete information. As such, the person who gathers the most accurate information—...

“What’s a good fold? A good fold is one that saves you money… …A penny saved is a penny earned in life and business, and it’s also true in poker.” -- Sky Matsuhashi, Smart Poker Study TL;DR Executive Summary:Struggling poker players often...

The Situation:We are in an online 9-handed $0.25/0.50 NLHE cash game. Everyone has about $50 to start the hand. We’re in early position (EP) with A♥-A♠. The under-the-gun (UTG) player limps into the pot for $0.50. We raise to $2.50 Two players in middle position (MP) call, and the original UTG player also calls. ...

“We do not rise to the level of our goals. We fall to the level of our systems.” -- James Clear TL;DR Executive Summary:Poker is complex, with doses of both luck and skill built into its structure. Little if anything can be done about the...

The Situation:We’re in a tough $5/$10 No-Limit cash game at a Las Vegas casino. Everyone starts this hand with approximately $1,000 stacks. A relatively unknown villain in the under-the-gun (UTG) seat open-raises to $40. Another villain in a middle position (MP) seat calls, and we also call in the cut-off, holding 7♦-7♥. Everyone else folds and we go to the flop with...

“My poker history is I’m 65 years old and have played poker since the age of seven. I’ve played in casinos and tournaments and high-stakes cash games and thousands of kitchen table games. I’ve written books and magazine articles and blog posts on the subject. And the funny thing is that after all that time and effort I only know one real...

The Situation:We’re in a loose-aggressive 6-max $50NL online cash game. Everyone has ~$50 stacks. We are in late position with A♠-K♠. A loose- aggressive player in the under-the-gun (UTG) seat open-raises to $2. We re- raise to $6, and the villain calls. The flop is 3♠-4♠-9♦. The villain checks and we bet $9 into the pot. The villain check-raises us all-in....