Blog: Smart Poker Study

I want to help you achieve your 2021 poker goals. The new year is always an opportunity to make some important changes in your life and to strive for new things that are important to you. This post will help you do exactly that within your poker journey. Maybe you’ve played poker for years and you’ve finally decided to take this game seriously...

It's the 12 Days of Christmas… Merry Christmas! My first gift to you, a new podcast episode every day through Christmas Day. Give 'em a listen below. My second gift to you…...

My son is 10 years old now and it’s special to watch him grow up. He reminds me of myself, in particular how he gets obsessed with certain toys and games. Back in my day it was action figures and Nintendo. For him it’s Rubik’s Cubes and Minecraft. He’s bright, intelligent, competitive, and highly motivated to succeed. When he doesn’t win or...

I'm about to give you 10 quick and critical strategies and actions steps that will take you from a losing to a winning player. These are the 10 modules within the Quick Wins Poker course which is the first course in The Poker Forge. I'll give you the most important strategy to take away from each module and a 3-day action step to...

A few weeks ago, listener Sherri Cook sent me this question about understanding tournament players: I’m loving your podcast, Sky. I just subscribed and now I’m going through your back catalog and learning a ton. I love playing cash games where I can use my long history with opponents against them. I play with many players online day after day, and this gives...

For Black Friday 2020 and the first time ever, you can have Lifetime Membership to the Poker Forge for only $297. This is the deal you've been waiting for to finally pull the trigger and join the best online poker training site that guides you through your poker journey step-by-step. I know you're tired of trying to piecemeal your education together through random...

This page will teach you all you need to know to begin an enjoyable, profitable and rewarding online poker journey. You're about to learn: The benefits of pursuing an online poker journey The 5 steps to start with bonuses and rakeback What software is a MUST for better performance and studies How it's possible to make $$$ everyday with online poker The simplest...

Announcement! Smart Poker Study will begin holding monthly $50 Guaranteed tournaments on Americas Cardroom starting on October 21st at 8pm EST! Click here for SPS Tournament details and updates so you...

If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun. – Katherine Hepburn Stealing from the cookie jar before dinner was fun and satisfying, right? Running red lights when it’s safe to do so (like when there aren’t any other cars around) saves time, it’s exciting and it’s better than waiting for green. Here's a poker example:...

By Eelis Pärssinen of Beasts of Poker Every weekend, players from all over the world login to their favorite poker site to play tournaments. Some achieve a life-changing score by winning big, and some get excitement well worth their money spent on buy-ins. There are entertaining Twitch streamers, replays of major live events with hole cards shown and a great selection of live...

Motivation, confidence and having an “I got this” mindset will help you become the poker player (and person) you want to be. Listen to Podcast #309: Motivation, Confidence & Mindset: If They Can Do It, I Can Do It! We can often be daunted by the prospect of trying something new. In terms of poker: Transitioning from MTT’s to cash games Finally losing...

As a recreational player, “peak poker” for me is getting the occasional opportunity to play in Las Vegas. Whether it’s a couple hours’ drive or half a world away by plane, that scene of arriving in the desert and walking into one of the city’s famed poker rooms to mix it up is something that’s whet the appetites of pretty much every casual...

I have goals of improving my “hard” poker skills. "Hard" skills are the in- game strategies of poker: cbet bluffing, board recognition, hand reading, bet sizing, etc. I also have goals of improving my “soft” poker skills. These are mental aspects like always being in control of my emotions, not forcing the action, avoiding tilt and displaying patience. “Soft” might sound unimportant, but these...

Playing with a positive EV mindset means you're always thinking about your options and going with the most profitable one. Your opponents don't do this! They only think about their hand and the board, and they often call or cbet by default. You don't do anything by default because you're always weighing the profitability of your options and you place them on the...

The audio from this episode is taken from a video called "Listen to What They're Telling You" in the Finding the Fold Course within the Poker Forge. I truly believe that your opponent's actions tell you what they have 99% of the time. This video teaches you to pay attention to what their actions say about their range of hands. If you listen...

Fortnite is an online video game that combines a 1st person shooter with building elements like found in Minecraft (another online game). If you’ve played classic first-person shooters like Doom or Goldeneye, it’s like that but you can also build walls and stairs and roofs to protect yourself from your enemies. The most common way to play is called Battle Royale where...

I’m going to help you learn to use a heads up display with my stripped-down, simplified KISS HUD for online poker. It's called the KISS HUD because I'm a huge fan of the KISS Principle: Keep It Simple, Stupid! This 10-element HUD makes it easy to avoid overwhelm while learning to use a HUD to exploit your opponents. The 10 Elements of the...

What are polarized ranges? How do I go from LIVE to online poker? What the heck is the PFR/VPIP Ratio? I'm answering your 🔥 burning 🔥 poker questions. Listen to episode #296: Q&A on Polarized Ranges, LIVE to Online Transition and the PFR/VPIP Ratio 1st Question: Polarized Ranges Hello, Sky. Just wanted to ask if you have ever done a podcast episode...

There are many powerful HUD statistics available that can make your life easier and offer you a way to exploit other players better than ever before. One such set of statistics are the Vs Hero stats within Holdem Manager*. These stats show how a particular opponent is playing specifically against you. *Tadas is a proponent of Holdem Manager whereas I don't use it....

I'm sharing answers to your 🔥 burning 🔥 poker questions that will get you taking action with purpose (and not playing robotic poker) both on- and off- the-felt to improve your skills. Listen to episode #292: Q&A on Profitable Poker, In-game Hand Reading, Robotic Play and Anonymous Players 1st Q: Playing Profitable Poker I’m struggling to play more profitably. I have a 1bb/100...