Poker Strategy Articles & Study Guides
Free guides for micro and low-stakes players: preflop and postflop strategy, poker math and odds, tournaments and ICM, bankroll and downswings, the rules of less common variants, and what to expect the first time you play live. Most link to a free calculator so you can check the numbers with your own cards. New to the game? Start with the Poker 101 lessons.
Is Online Poker Rigged? The Actual Numbers
The arithmetic instead of a certification badge. Why it feels rigged (you see ~11x more hands per hour), exact figures for flush completion, suckouts and set-over-set, and how to test any site yourself.
Read articleWhat is a Good PFR?
A good PFR at 6-max online cash is 15-24%, the band our leak report applies to your hands. Where it comes from, what sits outside it, and the sample it needs.
What is a Good 3-Bet %?
A good 3-bet percentage is 5-10% at 6-max, and our curated ranges produce about 5.8%. How often to 3-bet by opener, and what a figure outside the band means.
Good Fold to 3-Bet %
A good fold to 3-bet is 45-65% at 6-max. Why folding most of an opening range is correct, what the pot geometry allows, and the sample it takes to know yours.
What is a Good C-Bet %?
A good flop c-bet percentage is 50-75% at 6-max. What the band assumes, why one number can hide two mistakes, and the folds each bet size needs to work.
Good Fold to C-Bet %
A good fold to flop c-bet is 35-60% at 6-max. How it compares with the defence the pot odds demand, and why folding more than that can still be right.
What is a Good Limp %?
The guideline limp band is 0-5%, and zero is a defensible figure. What limping costs, what happens to a limper, and the one spot where it is not a mistake.
What is a Good WTSD?
A good WTSD is 22-30% of the flops you see. What pushes it outside the band, why it has to be read with W$SD, and the sample it needs.
What is a Good W$SD?
A good W$SD is 48-56% of showdowns. Why winning over half of them is normal, what a figure above the band costs you, and why it is the slowest stat to settle.
What is a Good ROI?
15% to 30% is a solid tournament ROI and 5% to 15% a normal winning one. The bands, the field average, and the entries it takes to know yours.
What is a Good Win Rate?
bb/100 is the one stat on our report with no band, on purpose. Knowing yours takes about 154,000 hands to confirm 5 bb/100, and far longer live.
Split Pot Rules: When Two Players Have the Same Hand
Compare five cards from the top down, and the first difference takes it. Kickers, two flushes, the same straight, playing the board, why suits never decide a pot, and who gets the odd chip.
Does a Straight Wrap Around in Poker?
No: Q-K-A-2-3 is nothing. The ace plays high in Broadway or low in the wheel, never both and never round the corner. Six consecutive cards, short deck, and the around-the-corner house rule.
Poker Rebuy Rules: Rebuys vs Re-Entries vs Add-Ons
A rebuy buys chips, a re-entry buys a new seat, and an add-on is usually the cheapest chips of the night. When the period closes, whether to take one, and what it does to the structure.
Poker Rulings: Settling the Disputes That Stop Home Games
Acting out of turn, verbal declarations, who shows first, exposed cards, side pots, run it twice and the dead button: the standard ruling for each, and the three that need a house rule.
Heads-Up and 3-Handed Blinds: Who Posts What
Heads-up the button posts the small blind and acts first preflop, last afterwards. Betting order for two and three players, and where the button goes when someone busts.
First Time Playing Poker at a Casino: The Complete Walkthrough
Door to cashier: getting on the list, buying chips, posting blinds, what to do when you cannot cover a bet, whether you can leave after one hand, and the questions people are too embarrassed to ask.
Poker Downswing Odds: We Simulated 70 Billion Hands
Original data: 81% of 3bb/100 winners hit a 20+ buy-in downswing per 100k hands, median 40,000-hand breakeven stretches, and how often true winners are still losing after 100k hands. Free CSV.
Poker Hand Probabilities: The Odds of Every Hand (Exact)
Exact odds for every hand rank: a pair or better in 49.88% of 5-card hands and 82.59% by the river, royal flush 1 in 649,740. All 133,784,560 seven-card hands enumerated, no copied tables.
What is a Straddle in Poker?
A straddle is a voluntary blind that doubles the stakes. Rules, Mississippi/double variants, and the computed bankroll cost of a straddled game.
Odds of a Royal Flush
1 in 649,740 dealt five cards, 1 in 30,940 by the river in Hold'em. Both exact, plus how often anyone at the table actually sees one.
What is a Bomb Pot?
Everyone antes and the hand starts on the flop. Rules, double-board variants, and computed 8-way equities: even AA is only 38.7%.
What is ICM in Poker?
The Independent Chip Model with a worked 3-handed final table: the chip leader's 50% of chips is worth $383.93 of a $1,000 pool, not $500.
Run It Twice: Same EV, Half the Variance
Computed proof running it twice leaves EV identical and cuts variance by 51% in a standard flush-draw all-in.
Odds of Flopping a Set
11.76% with a pocket pair. All 19,600 flops enumerated: plain sets, boats, quads, and the set-mining break-even.
Odds of Pocket Aces
Dealt exactly 1 in 221, plus a computed table of AA's win rate vs 1-8 opponents, from 85.1% heads-up to 34.7% at a full table.
What is a Bounty in Poker?
PKO and mystery bounty formats with the chip-value formula: a $5 bounty in a $10 PKO is worth half a starting stack.
Odds of Flopping a Flush
0.84% with suited cards (exactly 165 of 19,600 flops), plus draw odds, by-river odds, and what suitedness is really worth.
What is a Freeroll?
Free tournaments with real prizes, and the honest arithmetic: a $200 freeroll with 2,000 entrants is worth $0.10 a seat.
Poker Downswings: How Big, How Long?
From 70 billion simulated hands: a 5bb/100 winner has a 67.7% chance of a 20-buy-in downswing per 100k hands.
What is Rakeback?
The rake refund explained with computed dollars: about $355/year back for a 15k-hands/month NL10 grinder at a typical 25% rate.
What is a Good VPIP?
20-26% at 6-max, 15-20% full ring. Benchmarks derived from real positional ranges, plus the VPIP/PFR gaps that separate winners from stations.
Odds of Flopping a Straight
1.31% for connectors, falling to 0.33% for three-gappers: the exact enumerated table, plus draw frequencies.
Can You Make a Living Playing Poker?
The honest math: at 5bb/100, $3,000/month takes 60,000 hands at NL100, plus the downswing data nobody budgets for.
How Many Hands Per Hour in Live Poker?
About 25-30 live vs ~320 four-tabling online, and what the 10x speed gap does to hourly rates and sample sizes.
What is a Satellite in Poker?
Tournaments that pay seats, not cash, including the computed bubble spot where folding pocket aces earns $125 more than calling.
Crazy Pineapple Poker: Rules & Discard Strategy
Three hole cards, discard one after the flop betting round. Full rules, the keep-two decision, and why Hold'em one-pair hands get downgraded.
2-7 Triple Draw: Lowball Explained
Five cards, three draws, lowest hand wins. Aces are high, and straights and flushes count against you. Rules, the 7-5-4-3-2 nuts, and snowing.
Irish Poker: The Hold'em–Omaha Hybrid
Four hole cards like Omaha, discard two after the flop, finish as Hold'em. Rules, the two-card discard decision, and PLO-style preflop adjustments.
Courchevel: 5-Card Omaha With an Exposed Flop Card
The first flop card is face up before preflop betting. Rules, door-card strategy, and how it differs from PLO.
5-Card PLO Strategy: Adjusting From 4-Card Omaha
Ten two-card combos per player instead of six: compressed equities, nut-or-fold drawing, and five concrete adjustments.
The 7-2 Game: Poker's Bluffing Side Bet
Win a pot with seven-deuce and the whole table pays a bounty. Rules, typical stakes, and real equity numbers from our own simulations.
Preflop Strategy: Which Hands to Play from Every Position
The foundation of winning poker. Position-by-position opening ranges (~13% UTG to ~45% BTN), the combo math behind range percentages, and simulated equity data.
Bankroll Management: The #1 Rule Most Players Ignore
The 30 buy-in rule backed by simulated downswing data, stop-loss discipline, shot-taking math, and when to move up or down stakes.
What Is Tilt and How to Control It
Tilt costs you more money than bad cards. Learn to recognize the signs of tilt, how to stop it, and when to quit your session.
How to Beat Micro-Stakes: NL2 to NL10 Guide
Micro-stakes strategy is different from high-stakes GTO play. Learn the exploitative adjustments that crush fish at the lowest levels.
C-Betting Strategy: When to Bet and When to Check the Flop
Continuation betting is the bread and butter of post-flop play. Learn which boards to c-bet, your sizing, and when to check back.
How to Use Poker Cheatsheets at the Table
Step-by-step guide to using our interactive cheatsheets. Memorization routines, position-first approach, and RTA compliance.
Choosing Your Play Style: TAG vs LAG vs NIT vs GTO
Which play style fits your game? Honest comparison of all four approaches with a recommended progression path for micro-stakes grinders.
What Beats a Flush in Poker?
Four hands beat a flush: full house, four of a kind, straight flush, royal flush. Plus the hands a flush beats and tie-breaker rules.
What is UTG in Poker? Position Explained
Under the Gun is the first to act preflop, three seats left of the dealer. The worst position at the table, and how to play it.
What Does Limp Mean in Poker?
Limping is calling the big blind without raising. Why it's a leak in modern poker, and what to do instead.
The Rule of 2 and 4
The fastest way to estimate poker equity: outs × 4 on the flop, × 2 on the turn. With common-draw cheat sheet.
Best Starting Hands in Texas Hold'em
Top 20 starting hands ranked by equity. AA is the strongest, followed by KK, QQ, AKs, JJ. Plus position notes and which hands to fold.
What is a 3-Bet in Poker?
A 3-bet is a re-raise of an opponent's preflop open. How to construct your 3-bet range, when to value vs bluff, and the most common mistakes.
How to Bluff in Poker
A bluff is a price, not a personality. How often it has to work at every bet size, which hands to pick, and why the answer is the number your opponent is using to defend.
How to Calculate Poker Equity
Your share of the pot if every card were dealt. Count it from outs, read it off the hand-vs-hand table, or simulate it, and why the heads-up number misleads you multiway.
How to Calculate Pot Odds
(Bet to call) ÷ (final pot) = required equity. Step-by-step examples, the rule of 2 and 4, and an outs chart for every common draw.
What is a Flush Draw?
9 outs, ~35% to hit by the river. The math, the equity, and how to play it on every street.
What is a Check-Raise?
Check first, opponent bets, you raise. Disguised aggression: when to use it for value, when to bluff.
How to Play Ace-King
AK wins ~65% vs random but misses the flop 67% of the time. Complete game plan for AKs and AKo.
What is a Fish in Poker?
How to spot weak players in 30 seconds and the table-selection mindset that 10x's win rate.
What is a Kicker in Poker?
The unpaired card that decides ties between same-rank hands. AK beats AQ when both pair the ace.
What is the Button in Poker?
Last to act on every postflop street. The most profitable seat at the table, and how to use it.
How Many Poker Hands Are There?
2,598,960 unique 5-card hands. 1,326 starting hand combos. 169 hand classes. The exact math.
What is VPIP in Poker?
Voluntarily Put $ In Pot: the stat that shows how tight a player is, and how to exploit it.
What is 3-Card Hold'em (Pineapple)?
Pineapple poker rules and equity differences. Use our free 3-card calculator to run odds for any 3-card variant.
What is Omaha Poker (PLO)?
Pot-Limit Omaha rules: 4 hole cards, must use exactly 2 + 3 board. Equity differences from Hold'em + strategy.
Hold'em vs Omaha vs Pineapple
Side-by-side comparison of the three main hole-card variants. Rules, equity, action profile, learning curve.
Is Poker Gambling or Skill?
Short-term variance, long-term skill. The honest answer with the studies that prove it.
How to Play Pocket Aces
85% vs random, but most players misplay them. Get max value, when to slow-play, when to fold.
What is a Continuation Bet (C-Bet)?
A flop bet from the preflop raiser. The most common postflop play: when, why, and how big.
What is a Straight in Poker?
Five cards in sequence. Beats trips, loses to a flush. Tie-breakers and how to play it.
What is a Freezeout Tournament?
One buy-in, no rebuys. The structure of every major tournament, and how it changes strategy.
How to Multi-Table in Online Poker
Done right: 4-6x hourly rate. Done wrong: bleeds your win rate. Step-by-step progression.
What is a Squeeze Play?
3-bet against an opener AND a caller. Squeeze the dead money: math, sizing, the right hands.
Cash Game Strategy: The Complete Guide (Live & Online)
Positional preflop ranges, the three numbers that decide your win rate (rake, win rate, bankroll), core postflop principles and game selection, online and live.
Live $1/$2 Strategy: How to Beat the Most Common Cash Game
Limped multiway pots, raising bigger, value betting relentlessly, the honest hourly-rate math at 25–30 hands per hour, and the live costs nobody budgets for.
Poker Tournament Strategy: A Stage-by-Stage MTT Guide
Early, middle, short-stack push/fold, the bubble and the final table, with computed ICM examples showing why doubling your chips is worth less than double.
Poker Bubble Strategy: Play the Money, Not the Cards
A call that needs 50% equity in chips needs 61.5% on a real bubble and 73% on a satellite bubble. How big, medium and short stacks should play it.
Final Table Strategy: ICM, Pay Jumps, and Making a Deal
Why 28.5% of the chips can be worth only 18.2% of the prize pool, how pay jumps change every all-in, and when an ICM chop beats a chip chop.
What Is a 4-Bet in Poker? Ranges, Sizing and the Math
The re-raise of a 3-bet: computed 4-bet ranges, the fold equity a 21bb 4-bet needs, why A5s is the standard bluff, and the equity needed to call a 5-bet.
Poker Stats Explained: What's a Good VPIP, PFR, 3-Bet %, AF & WTSD?
Every HUD stat with benchmark bands, what each one says about a player, and which combinations point to a leak.
Poker Tells: What Actually Works (and What's Overrated)
Why frequencies beat physical reads, the classic live tells, online timing and bet-sizing tells, and how to use any of it without inventing reads.
Poker Etiquette: The Rules Nobody Explains Until You Break Them
String bets, the one-chip rule, acting in turn, slow rolls, angle shooting, and the unwritten rules that keep a live or home game friendly.
How to Host a Poker Night: The Complete Checklist
Chips and buy-ins, blind structure, the tournament clock, payouts, house rules and settling up at the end, with a free calculator for every step.
Short Deck Poker (6+ Hold'em): Rules, Rankings & Computed Odds
Adjusted hand rankings with computed numbers: only 480 flushes against 1,728 full houses in a 36-card deck, AKs beating QQ 53.7%, and the rule of 3 and 6.