Matt Affleck

Today I am going to write about one of the more famous hands in poker. We will look back at the famous hand 10 years later and see what decisions I may have changed. I am going to discuss my thought process in the AA v JJ hand versus Jon Duhamel during the 2010 main … Duhamel Read More » The post...

Today’s article I want to write about the process and journey of a poker player. Being a poker player, or at least a successful high level one, involves many things outside just sitting down at the table and playing. This process involves countless hours of study, warm up routines, cool down routines, reviewing play among …...

In todays articles I want to discuss unintuitive situations for check raise bluffs when defending from the BB. It is no myth that players under check- raise and this stems from the inability to identify these unintuitive 3 bet bluffing hands. Today we will discuss some of these hands and properties they possess. Incorporating these hands …...

A lot of poker players study without a purpose. They sit and watch a poker video mindlessly while scrolling twitter and barely paying attention. Today, I want to talk about studying poker with a purpose. I want you to have a clear focus and goal with your study session and transition that information into your … Study...

In today’s article, I want to talk about how to approach a bankroll for small stakes poker and things you need to pay attention to. In this article, I want to discuss what I would do with a $5,000-$10,000 bankroll. I choose this article and bankroll numbers because I feel there is a large population …...

Recently I played in the World Poker Tour Lucky Hearts Poker Open at the Seminole Hard Rock in South Florida. In this event, a shot clock is added to the tournament one table before reaching the money. In today’s article, I want to discuss the merits of the shot clock, ways to improve the system, … Shot...

In today’s article, I want to discuss developing a reliable framework to use when facing aggression on the river. The river is different than other decisions in poker as we have the most complete information. We have now gathered information from preflop, the flop, the turn and now river actions. In my own game, I …...

Today I will be starting a series of articles developing frameworks for making good decisions at the poker table. These frameworks should help you in developing your decision-making process at the poker table. Think of these frameworks as a checklist of things you should be considering when making a decision. Once ingrained into your game, …...

While recording content recently for PokerCoaching.com, I started the practice of recording my sessions online while playing. I do this in hopes of catching a final table run live on camera, or to review my play later as WSOP.com does not allow the use of tracking software. I was debating whether I should do commentary …...

For people that deal with money, poker players may have the worst personal finances of any profession. I too have been included in this category for many years, but have recently made changes in hoping to improve my personal finance routine in poker. Today, I am going to discuss a few things that will hopefully …...

When I recently asked for topics to write on Twitter, the topic of button limping was brought up. Button limping is something that is becoming more common from strong players. It is a strategy that is often frowned upon many because it portrays weakness, but in the right spots, open limping can increase the EV … Open...

One of the common questions I get asked about being a professional poker player is what is my schedule like? People want to know about the glamourous lifestyle and travels of my life. To be frank, the reality of my career is probably not far off of someone elses working a normal job. I pride …...

Knowing how to navigate multiway pots is an extremely important tool of any MTT player. Especially at lower stakes, multi way pots are quite normal as players have expanded calling ranges. These spots however often go unstudied due to the complexity of the math behind these situations. Current GTO solves focus on heads up situations …...

The middle stages of the tournament is where there begins to be a separation of stacks between players. The blinds have grown bigger, the pots are larger, and players should have solid reads on their opponents. All these factors lead to big swings in chip stacks in the middle stages of the tournament. This article …...

Today I am going to talk about one of the mental issues that I am working the hardest on in my poker play, impulse plays. Impulse plays are hard to describe, some may call them something different, for me, its any play I make, and immediately regret and wish I could take back. This is … Impulse Plays Read More » The...

Today's article comes from a twitter question asked by one of my followers. This player wanted advice on how to build a bankroll from $1,000. This is a common question as this is a reasonable amount of money to scrape up for a starter bankroll. First, with a bankroll of this size, you must have … If I...

After a deep run in a tournament, it is common, or should be common, practice to do a hand history review of the tournament. Essentially, this is a check-up on your game to find any major leak and spend extra time on decisions you are unsure of. This doesn’t even have to be a deep … How to...

I am often asked what are the strategies that pros use to build big stacks early on in tournaments. Many players believe that it is some secret strategy that pros use to build huge stacks in tournaments. First, variance is a big part of getting a big stack. Anyone that has doubled up early in …...

Between PokerCoaching.com and my 1/1 private clients, I have dedicated a good portion of my time to coaching over the past few months. I don’t think it is a coincidence that I have also seen an uptick in my play and overall confidence rise in my poker game over that time. Coaching forces me to …...

Today I want to discuss a topic that is often misunderstood, especially by weak players and those who are superstitious. I’ll preface this article by stating I am no psychologist and everything I write today is from my experience and discussions with Jared Tendler, a highly regarded mental performance coach. This article idea stemmed from …...