Best Poker Training Site For Beginners
888 Poker is our #1 recommended poker site for beginner poker players, as well as. As a result, if you type in “Poker” into any app store, you will be bombarded with several hundred options. Trying to filter out the games and finding the top training apps could prove to be a fruitless task. There’s a thriving sub-sector within the poker industry, offering all levels of training and assistance for your game. So you are searching for the best poker training site. And one that works fast and won’t waste your time or money. But there are a lot of options and you aren’t sure which to go with The truth is that there are at least 103 poker training sites live on the internet right now. Some of these sites.
Most of the best poker training available nowadays (taught by world class pros) is on poker training sites or through coaching which of course is not going to be free.
However, for beginners just getting started in poker I believe that there are a number of good free poker training options these days. And I am going to cover them all in this article.
1. Best Free Poker Training 2020 - Massive Profit at the Micros
Poker Training Practice. Poker Hands Trainer Best Hand Trainer Playing a Draw. Easy exercises for beginners and advanced for serious poker players. Beginners learn to recognize the different poker hands and experienced players learn advanced hand reading based on different playing styles.
The best free poker training in my opinion, especially for beginners, is without a doubt still my free poker guide, Massive Profit at the Micros.
This 50 page poker 'cheat sheet' teaches you all of the basics of how to win at poker at the lower stakes in particular.
I walk you step by step how to:
- Know what hands to play from all positions at the table
- When to bet, raise and bluff
- How to read their hand
- The best poker sites to play on
- How to finally stop tilting
- How to consistently make $500-$1000 a months at the micro stakes
People ask me all the time why I give away all this information completely for free.
Best Live Poker Training Sites
And I guess firstly, the answer is that it probably won't remain free forever.Poker For Beginners Pdf
However, I know that a lot of poker beginners read my articles here on my website. And I want to make it as easy as possible for them to get started without having to invest large amounts of money in expensive poker training.
I also have some of the best results in online poker history at the lower stakes and I want to help others struggling at these limits to start turning a profit.
'Massive Profit at the Micros' has now been read by over 100k people and if you are struggling to win at poker at the lowest stakes, reading this free poker training guide will help you finally start winning.
Because that is really the whole point of this free little poker book.
Massive Profit at the Micros won't teach you how to become a poker pro. And it won't turn you into some high stakes crusher overnight either.
This free little poker 'cheat sheet' is instead intended for those who are playing at the lowest stakes and still can't figure out how to win consistently. Follow the strategies in this guide and you will start winning.
It's that simple.
You can go get your copy of my free poker training guide Massive Profit at the Micros, right here.
2. Best Free Poker Training 2020 - YouTube and Twitch
I think some of the absolute best free poker training these days is available on YouTube and Twitch. Because basically you get to watch professional poker players walk you through hands or even play live.
With YouTube in particular there is tons of great free poker training. Once again, I would recommend my own YouTube channel first especially if you play the micro stakes.
I put out brand new poker strategy videos every single week. My 4 part series in particular called 'How to Crush the Micros' has been extremely popular.
Make sure you are subscribed to my poker YouTube channel so you never miss a video.
What if you play higher stakes poker games though? Well, a poker YouTube channel that I find myself watching a lot lately is No Limit Gaming.
This poker YouTube channel features some of the very best online poker players in the world showing you exactly how they crush mid and high stakes games.
This video above for example features some of the best online pros in the world such as Steffen 'Go0se.core!' Sontheimer, 'LLinusLLove' and others at nosebleed stakes ($50/$100).
It is very rare to get such high level free poker training without having to pay expensive membership fees on a poker training site.
As for Twitch, there are countless full time streamers these days who basically play every day and live stream the entire thing.
Not all of them are professionals of course but it is still a good idea to check out some of the up and comers who are trying to beat the lower stakes games just like you.
Probably the most famous poker Twitch streamer these days is Lex 'RaSZi' Veldhuis. I often find myself binge watching his Twitch poker channel.
I would highly recommend checking him out! Tell him BlackRain79 sent you :)
3. Best Free Poker Training 2020 - Poker Forums and Reddit
Now I know I have been a little bit critical of poker forums and Reddit in the past. And I still think they are too often plagued by negative trolls and time wasting off-topic discussions.
However, I think there is still some good value in a few poker forums out there in particular. And poker forums of course are pretty much always free!
The #1 poker forum that I always recommend is CardsChat.
The reason why is because CardsChat has built up a nice sized community of mostly low stakes poker players trying to get better at the game and help each other.
You can post your poker hands or questions on CardsChat and usually get many helpful answers.
Now, people often ask me why I don't have a poker forum myself.
Well, the truth is that I actually do have a poker forum! Yes that is me by the way above answering questions on my poker forum.
However, the big difference between my poker forum (and pretty much every other one out there) is that mine is private and not open to the general public.
This allows me to make sure that I limit the amount of users only to those who are serious about improving their poker game and helping others in a positive way.
You can feel free to post your poker hand histories or you poker questions on my poker forum and you will get a reply often from myself personally or the other pros and semi-pros who post on there.
As for Reddit, I honestly have never been much of a big Reddit user but I do think there is some good poker strategy discussion for the most part in the main poker subreddit which is r/poker.
4. Best Free Poker Training 2020 - Poker Strategy Websites
Some of the best free poker training these days is on poker strategy websites like the one you are looking at right now,
blackrain79.com.I have written over 700 poker strategy articles for this website now covering how to beat the micro stakes games in particular. And yes, they are all free and they always will be!
For a complete list of all my most popular poker strategy articles in recent years (beginner intermediate, advanced and pro), click here.
There are several other quality free poker strategy websites out there though that I would recommend reading as well.
I often find myself reading the poker strategy articles over at Upswing Poker for instance. Upswing is well known as having some of the best poker courses available in the world today. I have actually reviewed several of them and I regularly recommend them.
However, many people do not know that Upswing also produces lots of high quality and totally free poker strategy articles on a regular basis. I have actually even written poker strategy articles for Upswing in the past myself and probably will again in the future.
The last poker strategy website that I recommend is also one where I am a regular contributor. This is the biggest poker news website in the world, pokernews.com
I write a monthly article for this website and they have a whole host of other high level professional poker players writing regular strategy articles as well.
5. Best Free Poker Training 2020 - Poker Podcasts
The final free poker training that I recommend is poker podcasts. Many people are surprised to learn that there are many high quality poker podcasts out there these days not only featuring interviews with world class pros, but also in depth poker strategy lessons.
If you have a long commute to work or you tend to workout a lot at the gym like I do, this the perfect way to improve your poker skills at the same time.
I am almost always listening to podcasts while working out. Two birds one stone right?
For example, I would recommend checking out Smart Poker Study. I was actually a guest on this poker strategy podcast on episode #162.
Sky Matsuhashi (the host of Smart Poker Study) creates high quality poker lessons to help you improve your poker game. He talks about small stakes poker most frequently.
Another good poker podcast that I would recommend is The PostFlop Poker podcast. Again, this is another excellent poker strategy podcast that will help you with your game.
I was also a guest on this podcast on episode #49.
The final poker podcast that I would recommend is probably the most famous one in the world. And that is Joe Ingram's The Poker Life podcast.
While not specifically educational in nature, Joe regularly interviews some of the very best poker players in the world. And this gives you a deep insight into what it takes to get to this level of the game.
You can go listen to The Poker Life Podcast right here.
Most of these poker podcasts by the way can be downloaded directly on Spotify or on the podcast app on your smartphone.
You can almost always find all of these poker podcasts on YouTube as well. Joe Ingram for example posts all of his interviews (with video as well) on his Youtube channel.
Final Thoughts
So there you have my list of the best free poker training for 2020. The truth is that high quality poker training does not need to cost you an arm and a leg.
Now of course yes, the very best elite level poker training available these days is often behind a paywall (it isn't free). But this really shouldn't be a huge shocker to anyone.
Information is power in poker and usually the best poker professionals in the world are not going to give that away for free.
If you want my list of the best advanced poker training available today, I have also written an article for that.
But there is also lots of great free poker training options out there these days for beginners in particular, my free poker strategy book for example.You can also find tons of good high level poker strategy discussion on YouTube and Twitch streams, poker forums, poker strategy websites and poker podcasts.
Make sure you let me know in the comments below what you think the best free poker training is these days.
Lastly, if you want to know how I became a poker pro and poker writer traveling the world, make sure you grab a copy of my free poker cheat sheet.
What separates a fish from a regular? What separates a regular from a shark? And what separates a shark from Phil Ivey?
Okay, in the case of the latter, it’s probably something genetic, but the other two questions have a much simpler answer: Hard work.
Poker, like any other complex game of strategy, involves making the maximum number of “correct” decisions based on the information you have available.
Unlike most other complex games of strategy, however, poker challenges its players by hiding the majority of the data that they’d ordinarily base their decisions on. Add variance into the equation and you’re sitting with a game that’s almost impossible to predict.
That’s why decisions in poker are rarely described as either “right” or “wrong”, but rather whether they have positive or negative expected value (also referred to as +EV and -EV)
There are so many factors that determine whether a play is +EV and it often comes down to a subjective interpretation of the hand. There isn’t one definitive resource that will tell you with exact authority whether you made the right decision or not.
That’s why constantly studying and training is the most important aspect of becoming a winning player. Fortunately for us, we live in the age of information and the internet has made finding excellent resources for getting better at poker extremely easy.
So, with that in mind, we’ve put together a list of eight resources that we feel are the ideal places for online poker players to learn how to constantly improve their skill levels.
Deuces Cracked
With more than 3,500 videos presented by a friendly and extremely helpful community of professionals, Deuces Cracked is one of the most popular training sites available for online players.
While the site covers a wide range of game types and stakes, the majority of videos are focused on catering for the micro-stakes No Limit Hold’em market.
In addition to the many one-off videos added by community members on a regular basis, the site also features a number of video “series” which consist of many installments that tackle larger topics.
The most popular of these series is an eight-part epic titled “Eightfold Path to Poker Enlightenment” presented by Tommy Angelo and Wayne Lively. This particular series has received widespread acclaim and is regarded as a landmark in online poker training.
Access to Deuces Cracked is currently priced at $29 per month.
PokerStrategy.com
7.9 million poker enthusiasts can’t be wrong, right? Boasting one of the largest memberships of all the poker sites we reviewed, PokerStrategy.com is easily one of the most popular online training resources.
Unlike the majority of its competitors, PokerStrategy.com is a free resource, offering users not only unrestricted access its entire knowledge base, but also a $50 instant bankroll that you can deposit at several of the major poker rooms.
This risk-free introduction to the world of online poker has resulted in Pokerstrategy.com attracting a less experienced audience, meaning that much of their material focuses on turning new players into winning players.
PokerStrategy.com’s video catalogue may not be as comprehensive as Deuces Cracked, but these have more of a “classroom” feel to better cater to their target market’s needs.
The site also offers a vast collection of strategy articles and tutorials, all aimed at helping the new player succeed. In addition, it also boasts one of the most vibrant and helpful communities all too keen to get involved in discussing hands, sessions and other aspects related to becoming a better player.
Advanced Poker Training
This unique site features an array of sophisticated tools that emulates a poker setting, provides context-sensitive guidance, and analyzes your play to point out strengths and weaknesses.
The foundation of their product is simulation software that allows the player to play up to 500 hands per hour against highly-sophisticated bots programmed to test every aspect of your game.
Their trademarked rating programs perform a real-time evaluation of your play and provides an astonishingly deep set of data that helps you identify where you need improvement.
The site’s reliance on artificial intelligence may be a concern for some, but the immersive, gamified approach to coaching may well be a big draw for others who prefer to learn while playing.
Advanced poker training will set you back $29.90 per month
Bluefire Poker
If you’re looking for a training site that has more of a quality-over-quantity approach, Bluefire Poker is the one for you – especially if you’re a high-stakes 6-max No Limit Hold’em player.
The video content at Bluefire Poker is of an exceptionally high standard. With its relatively small roster of producers – lead by site founder and online poker legend Phil Gaflond – the site is able to better curate its output and ensure that members don’t have to sift through hours of content before finding something of real value to them.
Another reason why Bluefire Poker may the best training option for you is if you’re already an experienced player looking to learn more advanced strategy and techniques.
Bluefire Poker prizes content above all, meaning that they have spent little time cultivating a community. Consider signing up if you’re mainly looking to get advanced insight from the best roster of online video producers available.
Membership costs $29.99 per month and a $99 initiation fee.
Two Plus Two Forums
Two Plus Two is one of the originals – a genuine authority in the world of poker training – and has been around since the heydey of online poker.
One of the first online communities to embrace peer-driven hand analysis, Two Plus Two thrives on discussion. The site boasts more than 400,000 members, a large portion of whom actively participate in the seemingly endless number of hand analyses posted on an hourly basis.
More than any of the other sites mentioned here, the value a member will derive from Two Plus Two is proportionate to becoming involved. Sure, you can lurk on the edges and read what other members have to say about each others’ play, but the real magic happens when you get involved.
The Two Plus Two forums are free to join.
Tournament Poker Edge
Not many training sites have as narrow a focus as Tournament Poker Edge, with the site eschewing conventions of covering a large range of game types and focusing solely on multi-table tournaments.
Aside from the typical training material you’d find at a training site, Tournament Poker Edge also offers a structured training curriculum that takes members on an a well planned educational journey.
This product, named TPE University, allows you to consume training content applicable to your level of skill and experience and helps you assess whether you are ready to progress to a new level of training.
As can be expected of a training site with a narrower focus, the quality of content at Tournament Poker Edge is of a very high caliber, with the likes of Casey “bigdogpckt5s” Jarzabek, Charles “Hagbard Celine” Sizemore, and Ryan “HITTHEPANDA” Franklin among their regular contributors.
Tournament Poker Edge will set you back $23.95 per month.
Jonathan Little’s Weekly Poker Hand Podcast
Jonathan Little’s website offers several training resources in the form of educational videos, blog posts, and book reviews, but few of these are as insightful as the terrific weekly hand analysis he does in the form of a podcast and video.
All online poker players know that the majority of the time that you spend “studying” should involve your analyzing big hands and getting other players’ input on your choices.
Well, few people are as gifted at diving deep into his own thought process as Jonathan Little.
In this weekly series, you can expect to hear insightful and candid commentary on his and his opponents’ play, with his discussions on one hand sometimes exceeding the 12-minute mark. So don’t expect your standard, superficial analysis here.
Best of all, this resource is entirely free to everyone.
Cardrunners
Poker Games For Beginners
Cardrunners is without a doubt one of the most respected platforms for teaching players the techniques needed to move on from the from the traps of playing standard, tight aggressive, ABC poker.
The site’s approach to teaching – and the quality of its content – has also seen it gain favour amongst some of the world’s top professional players as a resource for constant improvement.
Their enormous roster of contributors reads like a “who’s who” of the online poker world, with the likes of Brian Townsend, Taylor Caby, Brian Hastings, and Andrew Wiggins frequently adding to the already-sizeable knowledge base.
An aspect that sets Cardrunners apart from its competition is the quality of their No Limit Hold’em Heads Up training content. This game format has become increasingly popular, especially at the higher stake levels, and no training site covers it as well as they do.
Cardrunners’ Gold membership comes in at a cost of $27.99 per month and there is also a one-off fee of $99.00.
SitnGoGrinders
Another training site that caters for a niche audience – albeit a very large one – SitnGoGrinders aims to help players interested in dominating this popular game format.
The site has a broad focus within the scope of Sit and Go’s (SNGs), offering a medium-sized pool of videos that cover all the most popular types of tournaments.
To reflect it’s more precise, narrow scope, SitnGoGrinders has adopted an innovative pricing model, opting not to bill members on a monthly basis, but rather offer collections of themed videos (called “packs”) at set prices coming in at around $40 – $60 per pack.
Grinding SNGs is one of the most popular ways for poker players to grow their bankroll and few other sites offer the wealth of specialist information than these guys do. This site is an absolute must if SNGs are your game.
Bonus: Poker Copilot
Reviewing, analyzing, and discussing an isolated hand that included many interesting decision points is certainly one of the most effective ways to learn.
Doing so also has the most obvious impact on your bankroll since winning more and losing fewer big hands is one of the main goals of improving your game.
It’s easy to overlook the importance of analyzing your play in hands that didn’t have a memorable pot, you are playing hundreds of them in a session, after all.
To best assess these types of hands, Poker Copilot offers a feature called Leak Detection. This sophisticated functionality analyzes all of the hands that you have played in a session and points out small, typically invisible flaws that will cost you money in the long run.
Poker Copilot will analyze your gameplay and help you answer the following questions:
- Are you showing enough pre-flop aggression from each position?
- Do you attempt to steal the blinds regularly enough and how successful are you at it?
- Do you loosen up your game as you move closer to the dealer position?
- Are you profitable enough with pocket pairs?
- Are you showing adequate profitability with suited connectors?
Conclusion
Many of these resources may come at quite a high price, but don’t let this put you off! We’ve found that paying for your education can often be a very helpful motivator for taking the process a little more seriously.
As with most things in life, the reward you get out of learning is proportionate to the investment you make in it.
Whether it be financial, time, or effort, you get what you put in and this applies doubly when it comes to improving your poker game.
If you genuinely commit to making the most of these resources, respect the material, and trust the educational process, you are guaranteed to become a better player and show profit in the long run.
So choose which one of the above options work best for you and pour yourself into the experience of getting better.
See you at the tables!