In the final chapter we review the Ten Biggest Keys for Winning at Poker that have been covered in the course.

If you have not yet read Day 30 and watched the video for Day 30 - take a few minutes now to do that and then come back here to discuss it:

Ten Biggest Keys for Winning at Poker

Congratulations on completing the CardsChat Poker Course! We hope you did well on the final quiz. Don't forget to request your badge.

We reviewed the top 10 tips and if you have any questions about any of these concepts or the course overall this is the place to ask them.

A huge thanks to Collin and Katie for creating this course for CardsChat - let us know if you would like to see more of these!

I only had enough time to watch this video in a bite size piece so my comments relate to the beginning portion of this video; I don't get the quiz hand where 72s was "pressuring." If this were a big money event and you were firing at me then I would seriously considering firing back..more so if I was able to assess that you were a skilled player. I understand the need for such plays but the % success against a showdown are awful. This is one concept I will be re-visiting. Of the first four questions posed, the two 2 part questions I think..I was only able to get one part right. I will most likely go over this entire video at least 2X to try to understand what I didn't get on the first try and why.
I did better at the CC Poker Stars free roll today relative to yesterday's performance despite having the Poker Stars server keep me out of the game for about 15/20 minutes and I had another final table finish somewhere else. During these games I took some screen shots of specific plays to analyse them here but at a later time when I can post them properly.
Again, that play with the 72s seems risky at best. Regarding many of the "weak" bets that you suggest jumping all over, I use these like an angler fish. The weak bet is dangled out there and then I eat up whatever swims up to it.

Just out of curiosity, as I was looking for tonight's missing CC free roll on ACR, I noticed this free roll. Is this yours? If not, it would be a great idea for everyone who has taken the course to have such a free roll entry as a grand prize. The CC free rolls on the different sites are also great venues to engage the mods and members to "show by example" in their own backyard, how to play better.

Impressions up to but not including hand #17:
The 96s hand that you won would have been against someone like myself..lurking in the weeds just waiting to pounce after putting out some bait.
The 98s really brought to my attention how important it is to know the numbers that are running through the hand..outs..etc..where I am weak.
For T3s combo, I always reference hands like this to the computer average and ask myself where I stand. As the board texture changes so does my comparative measure between what I hold and what the Q7 becomes. The hand range of the opponent(s) is also assessed.
Regarding the AJ, this can be a money maker or trouble maker and I try to use it in spots I'm familiar with and fold as necessary. I never considered the correlation between rebuys and shoves (relative to the buy-in cost) as a value I could calculate even though in the penny ante buy-in's this is expected. As the hand progressed I expected this person to be holding a straight.
The A7s hand vs the chip bully was an expected move. Had the bully made a larger bet the shove would not have been so clear to me.
With J2u, I preferred Katie's move with the call. In my opinion, you should give the opponent something..which could be perceived as a weakness when you knew you were going to shove all along.
With QJs, I would have just called to bring in more $$ into the pot, the opportunity to improve is great so with every improvement more $$ into the pot..but if the tide goes the other way and another suite or small cards of another suite show then I fold. Your successes speak for themselves and you won the pot so could you please tell me if this is a worthy or unworthy method relative to your approach? I wish there was a way to run simulations to compare..is there? or can this be calculated directly with calculus? One of my favorite books is "The Theory of Blackjack" by Griffin..can some poker questions be treated in an analogous manner..like the above?
Regarding the 85s check shove..isn't this risky? What if the opponent completed a flush with the free card (or better stated, what are the odds of an opponent completing a flush or giving them a draw..and hope)? My approach has been to never give a free ride and to do so only if my hand will improve the most if I hit the right cards.
I stopped at hand #17 but up to this point, does my thinking process seem reasonable or am I a disaster in the making? I'll end my feedback at this point and just reference something Katie said regarding internet connections...this happened today during the CC Poker Stars game and I'll caption it as "Is it bad? Yes, it's bad!"

Well..finished the course but I flunked out (sorry).
About the hands:
22: I agree with the shove because the opponent must make a decision preflop..blind. If this person has stats on me and knows I will play QK, AJ..all-in then they may go all-in if they have a pair. If they know I won't play the above cards hard but will play my pairs (bet size correlated to pair size) and this person has a small pair (this is almost getting graphic now..) like 33, 44..then they may not push with a small pair. Against seasoned players even a pure bluff has a good chance here.
AK: depending upon the stakes I would probably have called. Then based on subsequent bets (if the opponent matched his chances of winning with the board) I probably would have folded because they would have bet out. The worst I could finish is 3rd and I'm still alive and within reach of first place. Shoving with AK is good but it's blind and if anything is known about the other person's bet sizing for bluffs, hand ranges, made hands..etc..then this should be taken advantage of. You can shove all-in at any point. I've been burned by garbage hands many times which could possibly have been avoided. Again a simulation or direct calculation comparing the two scenarios in the long run would help my understanding of such situations based on all available information and plausible inference.

Thank you Katie and Collin (and CC!) for an upbeat and informative course! I've only gone through the video portion and now will use the book to go over the material again. I'll be referencing some of my other texts (I provided HughdHat (mod) with a screen shot of these books) and becoming more adept with the software I have and can access. To close,
if you have access to a copy of Penn Jullette's and Mickey Lynn's book "How to Cheat your Friends at Poker", one of my favorite quotes is on p.64, midway down.."Don't get lulled into thinking the...."

Cheers.

Thanks Polytarp!

And sorry to hear you didn't pass the first time, but we'd definitely encourage you to review any sections you need and try again

We'll definitely check out that book recommendation.

Just finished this game where the all-in had AKu and flopped an Ace..where I obviously went all-in. Although I didn't do well in the course, I think I must have picked up a few things. I don't know if anyone else from CC was in this game (the visible tagged players were from prior satellite encounters) nor do I know if any of your horses were in this game Collin (I resurrected my dusty account at pokerstrategy.com as part of my resource base) but I know I could have played more intelligently. Is there a way of inferring who is using tracking software and not during a game? I used PT4 sparingly (you'll note I'm using it here) and instead focused on who would tangle with who and their relative bet sizing. Here is a screenshot of my grand exit:

I don't know where the "attachments icon" exists when a post is edited so I must post anew unfortunately. Here is the post I referred to earlier regarding poker books (and other gambling books which are in closet). I did have your SNG book (and others) Collin but they were lost due to moves from one place to another. Papers by Zadeh, Billings and others did survive. I also have a small online library where your coursebook will find its place with Yardley and company.

the theme of the "Blind War" is not disclosed?

thanks for the course. It was very informative.

Awesome bookshelf Polytarp!

Magistrant, Blind-Vs-Blind battles are discussed in different ways in the course like the section on playing the big blind as well as floating. If you have more questions on it, let us know, and glad you enjoyed the course!

I expected this to be a separate topic. We do not notice the “Blind War” until 3-4 players remain in the SNG. Although this topic is disclosed in your book: Strategy for SNG.

Originally Posted by Коллин Мошман

Магистрант, Блайнды против Блайндов обсуждаются по-разному в курсе, как в разделе о том, как играть на большом блайнде и плавать. Если у вас есть дополнительные вопросы, дайте нам знать, и рад, что вам понравился курс!

Originally Posted by Collin Moshman

Awesome bookshelf Polytarp!

.. If you have more questions on it, let us know, and glad you enjoyed the course!

Thank you .. Epstein's book is my favourite..you may also like Steven Finch's two texts (http://www.mit.edu/~sfinch/)
Your course is the starting point to which I'm adding more material and building a context that I will be drawing from to play in specific games. For example, playing the Poker Stars Sunday Million MTT will not be the same as playing their weekend free rolls.

My question concerns fold equity, in the 3rd video by Kevin Desmond onward from the 50 minute point to about the 60 minute he derives a rule of thumb with calculus and underscores it with clips from a major tournament. This is my approach as well, to distill and simplify then validate from observations in the wild. Could you suggest specific replays from Poker Stars or elsewhere where,in aggregate, fold equity evaluations are validated and where someone at a major final table was completely oblivious to them?

Here is a link to a quick bio of Desmond and why he chose to instruct that course. What were some of your motivations for becoming a coach/teacher?

https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/sloan-school-of-management/15-s50-poker-theory-and-analytics-january-iap-2015/instructor-insights/instructor-background-and-motivation-for-teaching-the-course/

Thank you for the beautiful course.
I made it to the end and passed the first time.

I have learned a lot from this course and now it's on me to bring it in practice.

I definitely have to adjust my playing style so that I play much more aggressively. I also have to make some adjustments to which hands I play so that I don't get stuck halfway through the tournament with too little chips.

That's awesome, congrats MrFladder!

Poly, if you go to the Event Replays section of the Stars lobby, you'll see lots of situations where people mis-estimate fold equity. I think that's definitely an important thing to look out for and I also love the final table replays.

Originally Posted by Collin Moshman

Poly, if you go to the Event Replays section of the Stars lobby, you'll see lots of situations where people mis-estimate fold equity. I think that's definitely an important thing to look out for and I also love the final table replays.

Which Event Replay's would you suggest I review and which do you think would be beyond my present ability to understand properly? With a $22 ticket that I won via the $4 Spin games I was able to finish 171st in today's SCOOP -43-L from a field of about 20k players; Since I have other things to tend to tomorrow I had to cap it at today's 9hr. mark. Your's and Katie's course is a major reason why this uptick happened.
How would you characterize the difficulty in navigating through this $22 field relative to a $109 field and above?

Originally Posted by MrFladder

Thank you for the beautiful course.
I made it to the end and passed the first time.

I have learned a lot from this course and now it's on me to bring it in practice.

I definitely have to adjust my playing style so that I play much more aggressively. I also have to make some adjustments to which hands I play so that I don't get stuck halfway through the tournament with too little chips.

It is great to hear you are learning so much! How did you find out about this course?

Originally Posted by Debi

It is great to hear you are learning so much! How did you find out about this course?

I saw the course when I was browsing this forum last week.

And because I knew myself that I find it difficult to get beyond the minimum prize money in a tournament, I found this very interesting.

Well, that was a long video! Phew!

But I did it! I passed - yay

Only got a B because one of the two-part questions I got 1 part wrong which, if I had managed both I would have been A :-( Still, I did much better than I thought I would. Was a bit worried about math stuff coming up (lol) but it wasn't too bad, the scariest was the Equity which threw me for a moment and I had a bit of brain freeze, then I remembered that's the list I'd been memorising (odds and percentages)! So I got it after all (but I only got the 25.5%, not the 26.1).

The ranges question I had to do twice. The way you worded it "with how this villain has played up until this point" or something very like that. I thought you meant, before the river! When I started to listen to the answer, I realised you meant including the river pot bet, so I paused again and had to think about it all anew. But I got it, although I did add TT to the list.

But great news! Full of all this new learning and dying to try it out on something a little more exciting than freerolls, I entered a $1 rebuy tournament on 888 and finished 5th!!!!!!!!!!!

I did not have to rebuy and as soon as I reached the top table my internet went down - took me ages and a computer restart to get back in the game expecting not to be there any more despite being in 4th place when I got kicked off. I came back to find I was still in and the short stack, still 7 players (out of 9) but I used a few of the tips I'd learned from your course to build my chips back up and survive till 2 other players eventually went out before me (thank you for those lessons!) then got unlucky on a hand where I called allin (pressured by chip leader of course), but I had the hand - until..... of course, the dreaded river!

Still, I was thrilled with my $20.11 5th place win and am sure lot of it was done with the help of your course and its amazing content. Thank you, thank you, thank you.... I am now on my way to building back up that bankroll that I lost (I've learned that 6-handed cash does not suit me ; I think I'll stick to tournaments for now, it's where my strengths lie).

Here's to more wins the in the future ... I'll keep you posted.

Thanks for this awesome course Katie and Colin,I didn't think you could teach this old dog any new tricks but to my surprise you did,I'm a stubborn old goat who needed to be slapped up the side of the head with this,since reading the course I have had great results and I don't think its been by accident,1st at CC SB Mtt,1st at CC Intertops Mtt,1st at CC P.S Mtt,2nd at CC P.S Mtt,1st in $1 Omaha zoom Mtt.5th in a $1 6 handed Mtt (800 players)1st in my CC league game,plus a couple of sit n go wins,All I can say is thank you,thank you,thank you,and this from a real old guy who hated school 50 years ago

Originally Posted by Polytarp

Which Event Replay's would you suggest I review and which do you think would be beyond my present ability to understand properly? With a $22 ticket that I won via the $4 Spin games I was able to finish 171st in today's SCOOP -43-L from a field of about 20k players; Since I have other things to tend to tomorrow I had to cap it at today's 9hr. mark. Your's and Katie's course is a major reason why this uptick happened.
How would you characterize the difficulty in navigating through this $22 field relative to a $109 field and above?

Any replays that interest you The $22's are quite a bit softer than the $109s that have a lot more regs -- there's a significant skill difference between online mid and high-stakes games.

Originally Posted by cferdi

Well, that was a long video! Phew!

But I did it! I passed - yay

Only got a B because one of the two-part questions I got 1 part wrong which, if I had managed both I would have been A :-( Still, I did much better than I thought I would. Was a bit worried about math stuff coming up (lol) but it wasn't too bad, the scariest was the Equity which threw me for a moment and I had a bit of brain freeze, then I remembered that's the list I'd been memorising (odds and percentages)! So I got it after all (but I only got the 25.5%, not the 26.1).

The ranges question I had to do twice. The way you worded it "with how this villain has played up until this point" or something very like that. I thought you meant, before the river! When I started to listen to the answer, I realised you meant including the river pot bet, so I paused again and had to think about it all anew. But I got it, although I did add TT to the list.

But great news! Full of all this new learning and dying to try it out on something a little more exciting than freerolls, I entered a $1 rebuy tournament on 888 and finished 5th!!!!!!!!!!!

I did not have to rebuy and as soon as I reached the top table my internet went down - took me ages and a computer restart to get back in the game expecting not to be there any more despite being in 4th place when I got kicked off. I came back to find I was still in and the short stack, still 7 players (out of 9) but I used a few of the tips I'd learned from your course to build my chips back up and survive till 2 other players eventually went out before me (thank you for those lessons!) then got unlucky on a hand where I called allin (pressured by chip leader of course), but I had the hand - until..... of course, the dreaded river!

Still, I was thrilled with my $20.11 5th place win and am sure lot of it was done with the help of your course and its amazing content. Thank you, thank you, thank you.... I am now on my way to building back up that bankroll that I lost (I've learned that 6-handed cash does not suit me ; I think I'll stick to tournaments for now, it's where my strengths lie).

Here's to more wins the in the future ... I'll keep you posted.

Congrats Cferdi, please keep us posted!

Originally Posted by frank174

Thanks for this awesome course Katie and Colin,I didn't think you could teach this old dog any new tricks but to my surprise you did,I'm a stubborn old goat who needed to be slapped up the side of the head with this,since reading the course I have had great results and I don't think its been by accident,1st at CC SB Mtt,1st at CC Intertops Mtt,1st at CC P.S Mtt,2nd at CC P.S Mtt,1st in $1 Omaha zoom Mtt.5th in a $1 6 handed Mtt (800 players)1st in my CC league game,plus a couple of sit n go wins,All I can say is thank you,thank you,thank you,and this from a real old guy who hated school 50 years ago

Thanks Frank, and congrats! I also didn't like school very much so we are in the same boat there, learning poker is a lot more fun

The biggest key to becoming a good poker player is to be in constant preparation, these types of courses help a lot in preparing a successful player, I really liked everything I have read in this course

Originally Posted by MrFladder

Thank you for the beautiful course.
I made it to the end and passed the first time.

I have learned a lot from this course and now it's on me to bring it in practice.

I definitely have to adjust my playing style so that I play much more aggressively. I also have to make some adjustments to which hands I play so that I don't get stuck halfway through the tournament with too little chips.

+1

This was a good course. By the way, my "final" score was 13 "regular" questions correct, plus the 1 "extra credit" correct (13+1=14) for barely getting into the "A range" with 14 correct. However, I also got "a cookie" for the Stop n' Go answer at 40:30 (yes, I've used this play and it really is THAT satisfying) and on our final question with the pocket deuces, I jokingly said "ship it" before the question came up, then I listened to the question - and said, yup - sticking with my answer

Originally Posted by mackmasterss

The biggest key to becoming a good poker player is to be in constant preparation, these types of courses help a lot in preparing a successful player, I really liked everything I have read in this course

Glad to hear it thanks!

Originally Posted by Phoenix Wright

+1

This was a good course. By the way, my "final" score was 13 "regular" questions correct, plus the 1 "extra credit" correct (13+1=14) for barely getting into the "A range" with 14 correct. However, I also got "a cookie" for the Stop n' Go answer at 40:30 (yes, I've used this play and it really is THAT satisfying) and on our final question with the pocket deuces, I jokingly said "ship it" before the question came up, then I listened to the question - and said, yup - sticking with my answer

Congrats on completing the course! I'm glad to hear that you find Stop n' Gos as satisfying as I do--I swear that the rare instances where I get someone to fold getting like 100-1 it is as exciting to me as winning an MTT

I am very happy to have had the opportunity to participate in this excellent beginner course sponsored by Cardschat.com.

I am grateful to the excellent teachers Collin Moshman and Katie Dozier who taught the course with incredible quality and good humor so that we can take this long course to the end (after all there were more than 150 book pages and 30 long videos).

I took the course in the best way, pausing the videos, using the calculator and burning the neurons, because that way the armor of the winners is forged.

I am convinced that this is a first step in a long partnership with this site, because in addition to providing extensive content, it also provides us with free practice with its freerolls.

Thank you and you can count on me in the next missions.

Originally Posted by jeanpierre1279

I am very happy to have had the opportunity to participate in this excellent beginner course sponsored by Cardschat.com.

I am grateful to the excellent teachers Collin Moshman and Katie Dozier who taught the course with incredible quality and good humor so that we can take this long course to the end (after all there were more than 150 book pages and 30 long videos).

I took the course in the best way, pausing the videos, using the calculator and burning the neurons, because that way the armor of the winners is forged.

I am convinced that this is a first step in a long partnership with this site, because in addition to providing extensive content, it also provides us with free practice with its freerolls.

Thank you and you can count on me in the next missions.

We're so glad to hear that Jeanpierre, congrats!!

Thanks again to Collin and Katie for the course, as well as the Cardschat team. I just recently started studying again and realized that if you dont, you get left behind.

Originally Posted by Collin Moshman

Any replays that interest you The $22's are quite a bit softer than the $109s that have a lot more regs -- there's a significant skill difference between online mid and high-stakes games.

If I am playing theoretically optimal and correct poker within every freeroll I enter, will I be a winning player? If so, can I calculate an expected average ITM placement and the playing time required to achieve specific financial metrics?
Here's a link to 2+2 where Malmuth and Sklansky weigh in on a comment by Acevedo: https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/15/poker-theory/ninth-best-player-1751489/
I found this thesis which addresses a question I asked you regarding ICM models:
https://docplayer.org/127583385-Evaluation-of-equity-models-for-tournament-poker.html
Here's a link (containing other good links) which intersects with the above:
https://www.reddit.com/r/MachineLearning/comments/ceece3/ama_we_are_noam_brown_and_tuomas_sandholm/

I'm now using a dual screen system where I can play 2-10 MTT's on five different poker sites and am transferring player specific notes from my HP Touchsmart to this (dated) 32G Asus home brew computer which I've re-purposed. I'm going through the course discussions on a regular basis along with re-visiting material in your pdf book. Here is a recent post of mine where your opinion would be greatly appreciated since this is the direction I'm "tacking into."
https://www.cardschat.com/showpost5607032-post50.html

Any feedback that you or Katie could provide regarding any aspect of this post will certainly help my games. To close, here's a link to Negreanu's site where he describes his "perfect" tournament.
https://danielnegreanu.com/my-perfect-poker-tournament/

Originally Posted by Polytarp

If I am playing theoretically optimal and correct poker within every freeroll I enter, will I be a winning player? If so, can I calculate an expected average ITM placement and the playing time required to achieve specific financial metrics?
Here's a link to 2+2 where Malmuth and Sklansky weigh in on a comment by Acevedo: https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/15/poker-theory/ninth-best-player-1751489/
I found this thesis which addresses a question I asked you regarding ICM models:
https://docplayer.org/127583385-Evaluation-of-equity-models-for-tournament-poker.html
Here's a link (containing other good links) which intersects with the above:
https://www.reddit.com/r/MachineLearning/comments/ceece3/ama_we_are_noam_brown_and_tuomas_sandholm/

I'm now using a dual screen system where I can play 2-10 MTT's on five different poker sites and am transferring player specific notes from my HP Touchsmart to this (dated) 32G Asus home brew computer which I've re-purposed. I'm going through the course discussions on a regular basis along with re-visiting material in your pdf book. Here is a recent post of mine where your opinion would be greatly appreciated since this is the direction I'm "tacking into."
https://www.cardschat.com/showpost5607032-post50.html

Any feedback that you or Katie could provide regarding any aspect of this post will certainly help my games. To close, here's a link to Negreanu's site where he describes his "perfect" tournament.
https://danielnegreanu.com/my-perfect-poker-tournament/

Yes, you should definitely win playing good/optimal poker. The simulators we talk about in the bankroll section should help you come up with estimates for ITM and how long it will take to reach different financial metrics. Hope that helps and thanks for the links!

The lesson is over!

Finished Day #30 (and read the Bonus Day #31).

Personally, I decided to take this course very seriously.

It was an interesting, well-written and well-structured course for complete beginners in the game, as well as for players who play the game for some time, but for whatever reason they are losing players. The authors have put the fundamentals of SnG/MTT play in a smooth, nice-to-read manner, and I enjoyed it quite much.

Plus for the course, the quiz questions.

1. Continuous study.
2. Good (the best possile, to be honest) table selection (I've leveled up this factor, as the second most important factor for winning in poker. I've always underestimated this, but now it's a matter of paramount importance for me).
3. Value betting.
4. Push/Fold strategy.
5. Aggression

My top-5 tips for me in that order.

Time to put these concepts into play!




PS.: a break for the weekend. I left the Grand Final Quiz for the next week. I will make another one re-read of the course on some concepts I want to study again, and then I will complete the final quiz. It's the "test" that will show how good students we were....

Originally Posted by Luvart

The lesson is over!

Finished Day #30 (and read the Bonus Day #31).

Personally, I decided to take this course very seriously.

It was an interesting, well-written and well-structured course for complete beginners in the game, as well as for players who play the game for some time, but for whatever reason they are losing players. The authors have put the fundamentals of SnG/MTT play in a smooth, nice-to-read manner, and I enjoyed it quite much.

Plus for the course, the quiz questions.

1. Continuous study.
2. Good (the best possile, to be honest) table selection (I've leveled up this factor, as the second most important factor for winning in poker. I've always underestimated this, but now it's a matter of paramount importance for me).
3. Value betting.
4. Push/Fold strategy.
5. Aggression

My top-5 tips for me in that order.

Time to put these concepts into play!




PS.: a break for the weekend. I left the Grand Final Quiz for the next week. I will make another one re-read of the course on some concepts I want to study again, and then I will complete the final quiz. It's the "test" that will show how good students we were....

Luvart, I want to say thanks for your excellent posts in these threads giving your thoughts, feedback, and answers to the quiz questions. I'm impressed with how well you've done and wish you good luck in the final exam next week! Let us know how it goes, I'm sure you'll do great

Hello CCers,


This course has been absolutely wonderful. I learnt a lot and intend to put it in use at the table.

Response to video questions:

Hand 1: 98s

I have been the victim of many beats early in the tourney because 3 x BB in not much and stacks are still deep. I would still go aheas and bet 60 bucks there and continue aggression if I hit the flop hard and cool down otherwise.

Post flop, I do not have much showdown value and need double gutshot draws so I will bet like I have the world here; 3/4 to full pot. If villain calls, I check it down and fold to aggression.

Hand 2: QJo

On the river, I check and give villain a chance to bluff. I will call any bet made and shrug my shoulders if he has a flush.

Hand 3: 72s

I fold. I will not get clever here since from experience people are still willing to play for stacks on the bubble.

If I have to give and answer post flop, it is to c-bet on the larger side and try to take the pot down here. I have nothing to hope for.

Hand 4: KQo

I bet half the pot post flop and check on later streets, intending to keep the sizing if my hand improves on a later street.

Hand 5: 96s

I would call here and take a flop. A nice up and down straight draw here and I do not want villain to see another card here but expect a bet so with go with a pot bet raise if he bets after my check.

Hand 6: 98s

I say 12 outs here; 9 hearts and three 7's.

Using the 4-2 rule, 12 x 2 = 24 %

Facing a half pot bet, I would call with the present odds but very tempting to bite the bullet and shove since I do not expect another bet from villain if I hit. This may be the only way to get villain to fold or double up in this tournament.

Hand 7: T3s

I would call to take a flop and hope to connect well.

Post flop villain does not appear to have connected and I opt to call and see if a Jack of heart come in on the turn. After that nice turn card, I believe the winds are in our favour and would through out a nice pot sized bet here.

Hand 8: Q7o

I would not double barrel here after villain called my c-bet.

Hand 9: AJo

I would shove here since it is pretty hard to imagine villain with pocket A's, Q's or K's. That would be sick.

Range for villain in that spot TT+, T9o+.

Hand 10: A7s

Never call here - shove of fold with that stack.

Hand 11: J9o

Shove here.

Hand 12: J2o

Suppose to shove any two but not my cup of tea - fold here.

Hand 13: QJs

Shove here.

Hand 14: 85s

Call and hope for a great flop.

Donk shove on that flop. Top pair and good draws.

Hand 15: KQo

Shove here.

Hand 16: K6o

I would go for the steal here; 3 x BB

Hand 17: KJs

Standard 3 x BB pre-flop.

Effective stack is 523.4 K

Shove post flop.

Hand 18: AQo

Shove and hope for the best. Expect AK+ and TT+. Quite the toss up here.

Hand 19: 22

A disgusting shove here - hoping that villain folds!

Hand 20: AKs

Insta-shove and hope no sick joke.


Good to get to the finish line. Thanks for a great course guys. Definitely made a difference in my knowledge of the game.

I did get an A, but I lost the J2o hand. And still I am not convinced it was a correct play, regardless that it won. I probably have a lot to learn still.

Originally Posted by redboy23

Hello CCers,


This course has been absolutely wonderful. I learnt a lot and intend to put it in use at the table.

Response to video questions:

Hand 1: 98s

I have been the victim of many beats early in the tourney because 3 x BB in not much and stacks are still deep. I would still go aheas and bet 60 bucks there and continue aggression if I hit the flop hard and cool down otherwise.

Post flop, I do not have much showdown value and need double gutshot draws so I will bet like I have the world here; 3/4 to full pot. If villain calls, I check it down and fold to aggression.

Hand 2: QJo

On the river, I check and give villain a chance to bluff. I will call any bet made and shrug my shoulders if he has a flush.

Hand 3: 72s

I fold. I will not get clever here since from experience people are still willing to play for stacks on the bubble.

If I have to give and answer post flop, it is to c-bet on the larger side and try to take the pot down here. I have nothing to hope for.

Hand 4: KQo

I bet half the pot post flop and check on later streets, intending to keep the sizing if my hand improves on a later street.

Hand 5: 96s

I would call here and take a flop. A nice up and down straight draw here and I do not want villain to see another card here but expect a bet so with go with a pot bet raise if he bets after my check.

Hand 6: 98s

I say 12 outs here; 9 hearts and three 7's.

Using the 4-2 rule, 12 x 2 = 24 %

Facing a half pot bet, I would call with the present odds but very tempting to bite the bullet and shove since I do not expect another bet from villain if I hit. This may be the only way to get villain to fold or double up in this tournament.

Hand 7: T3s

I would call to take a flop and hope to connect well.

Post flop villain does not appear to have connected and I opt to call and see if a Jack of heart come in on the turn. After that nice turn card, I believe the winds are in our favour and would through out a nice pot sized bet here.

Hand 8: Q7o

I would not double barrel here after villain called my c-bet.

Hand 9: AJo

I would shove here since it is pretty hard to imagine villain with pocket A's, Q's or K's. That would be sick.

Range for villain in that spot TT+, T9o+.

Hand 10: A7s

Never call here - shove of fold with that stack.

Hand 11: J9o

Shove here.

Hand 12: J2o

Suppose to shove any two but not my cup of tea - fold here.

Hand 13: QJs

Shove here.

Hand 14: 85s

Call and hope for a great flop.

Donk shove on that flop. Top pair and good draws.

Hand 15: KQo

Shove here.

Hand 16: K6o

I would go for the steal here; 3 x BB

Hand 17: KJs

Standard 3 x BB pre-flop.

Effective stack is 523.4 K

Shove post flop.

Hand 18: AQo

Shove and hope for the best. Expect AK+ and TT+. Quite the toss up here.

Hand 19: 22

A disgusting shove here - hoping that villain folds!

Hand 20: AKs

Insta-shove and hope no sick joke.


Good to get to the finish line. Thanks for a great course guys. Definitely made a difference in my knowledge of the game.

Way to go Redboy, and congrats on finishing the course! Thanks too for your great posts and comments in the daily threads along the way

Originally Posted by Collin Moshman

Way to go Redboy, and congrats on finishing the course! Thanks too for your great posts and comments in the daily threads along the way

You guys did an awesome job.

I took a look at my Pokerstars activity for May and realized that the goal of the book was accomplished!

I am a winning player after 30 days.

Based on my analysis, I have to focus on improving at the the ring tables and avoid the .55 & 1.10 tourneys.

Any insights from the attached?



*Just realized the 1.10 MTT difference should be -4.92 and my overall Profit/Loss = $13.28

Originally Posted by redboy23

You guys did an awesome job.

I took a look at my Pokerstars activity for May and realized that the goal of the book was accomplished!

I am a winning player after 30 days.

Based on my analysis, I have to focus on improving at the the ring tables and avoid the .55 & 1.10 tourneys.

Any insights from the attached?



*Just realized the 1.10 MTT difference should be -4.92 and my overall Profit/Loss = $13.28

Congrats on completing the course and on the profitable month, Redboy! Thanks for sharing this My only insight would be that I wouldn’t actually avoid the .55 and 1.10 tourneys based on those results; I’d want more of a sample first , probably of at least a few months at that volume. They will be swingier than the SNGs so it will take longer to get a statistically significant sample as you probably know.

Way to go!!!

I have to give the answers of the Grand Final Quiz as I promised.

Not good overall, especially on the second part.

8 correct answers and 7 wrong answers, so I barely passed the minimum.....

3 wrong answers in the first part, and 4 wrong answers in the second part.

I have to study much more.

It was a good test.

Missed a bunch of subquestions, so I had to to mark the whole answer to the question as wrong.

Some hands were quite interesting, such as the pocket deuces at the last question. I answered "raise".

Also, on the question no. 10, I answered "fold". I kept the "shove" option of course, but my thought was to make the call with the A7s with the intention to shove on most flops.

I'm thinking to start playing some SnGs, as I rarely play them the last years. We will see.....

Anyway, I enjoyed hugely the whole thing.

What matters is keep studying and studying.

Originally Posted by Luvart

Anyway, I enjoyed hugely the whole thing.

What matters is keep studying and studying.

Thanks very much and you’re so right about studying being so important. Well done on completing the course; congratulations!

I liked all lectures but this last one was very educational because it brought everything together. My only question is about the AJo hand where we got a full house on the river. I know the basic equation for EV and I agree that a shove is more profitable than a min-raise, but doesn't a high raise more likely induce a call from villain than a shove? I mean that paired board should immediately alarm villain to the possibility of a full house and therefore not call a shove, but he may well call a high raise. So can we factor into EV the *likelihood* of villain calling if that's the right way to put it?

When I accidentally stumbled on this course when I was visiting the CC site, I liked the interactive nature of it. For every lesson, I read the book then watch the video and then come to read the corresponding thread here where I can see other students' comments and more importantly ask any questions that Katie and Collin happily answered. This last feature is what distinguishes this course from other free options. I think it's the best starting point for anyone embarking on a serious study of this complex but beautiful game.

Thank you very much CC and the great teaching couple Katie and Collin for this invaluable course. I am surprised at how much I have learned in the last three weeks. You should go further and make a more advanced course, even a paid one. I feel much more confident to tackle intermediate books on poker now.Screenshot_20200616-073106.jpg

Originally Posted by Tux97

I liked all lectures but this last one was very educational because it brought everything together. My only question is about the AJo hand where we got a full house on the river. I know the basic equation for EV and I agree that a shove is more profitable than a min-raise, but doesn't a high raise more likely induce a call from villain than a shove? I mean that paired board should immediately alarm villain to the possibility of a full house and therefore not call a shove, but he may well call a high raise. So can we factor into EV the *likelihood* of villain calling if that's the right way to put it?

When I accidentally stumbled on this course when I was visiting the CC site, I liked the interactive nature of it. For every lesson, I read the book then watch the video and then come to read the corresponding thread here where I can see other students' comments and more importantly ask any questions that Katie and Collin happily answered. This last feature is what distinguishes this course from other free options. I think it's the best starting point for anyone embarking on a serious study of this complex but beautiful game.

Thank you very much CC and the great teaching couple Katie and Collin for this invaluable course. I am surprised at how much I have learned in the last three weeks. You should go further and make a more advanced course, even a paid one. I feel much more confident to tackle intermediate books on poker now.

Thanks so much for the nice words Tux, and congrats on completing the course!

The EV here is:

EV = Raise-Size x Opponent Call Probability

Based on that, we generally want to increase the one factor we have direct control over which is the raise-size. But of course, like you point out, that doesn't always mean we should over-bet shove our strong hands because we might heavily lower the call probability (and also become too predictable).

So you're absolutely right that a raise bigger than the min but smaller than a shove maximizes EV here. We just wanted to convey here that jamming definitely beats min-raising.


Congrats again and we hope to continue hearing from you as you keep furthering your poker journey

Learning to play this game an endless journey? Every year, the ways of the game are transformed and you need to adapt all the time.
I do not understand the hand #2 QJo vs Q9o My answer was a check back river. What is the best hand fold, and what is the worst hand call when we push? I think villain call with better hand and fold with worse hand but SPR<1 and sometime hand doesn't matter.
And hand # 3 is a good bluff, but which hand are we representing here. I think a hand with an ace high. My answer was a check fold. ICM presure on the bubble works on us.
Is this a big mistake?
Thanks for the great course, Katie and Collin.

Thanks for this course, it was very enlightening! The hand reviews were very helpful, and the way you explained your thinking really helped me understand the concepts.
The ebook is so well written and I love the layout - really pleasant to read, clean design.
I'll be coming back to this course and book to further cement my knowledge.

Originally Posted by lollipopas

Thanks for this course, it was very enlightening! The hand reviews were very helpful, and the way you explained your thinking really helped me understand the concepts.
The ebook is so well written and I love the layout - really pleasant to read, clean design.
I'll be coming back to this course and book to further cement my knowledge.

Thanks Lolli, we really appreciate these kind words and are so glad you enjoyed the course!

And all of the formatting was done by the CardsChat team btw, you are 100% right that they did an amazing job with this

Please keep us posted on your poker journey, we wish you the best of luck!

Originally Posted by Coinuss

Learning to play this game an endless journey? Every year, the ways of the game are transformed and you need to adapt all the time.
I do not understand the hand #2 QJo vs Q9o My answer was a check back river. What is the best hand fold, and what is the worst hand call when we push? I think villain call with better hand and fold with worse hand but SPR<1 and sometime hand doesn't matter.
And hand # 3 is a good bluff, but which hand are we representing here. I think a hand with an ace high. My answer was a check fold. ICM presure on the bubble works on us.
Is this a big mistake?
Thanks for the great course, Katie and Collin.

Definitely Coinuss, very important to keep adapting!

Hand #2: No better hand will fold, we're only trying to get worse hands to call including the worse straight as well as bluff-catchers like two-pair. Remember that your opponent might always decide you're bluffing and call you with a weak hand. Additionally, it's very tough for him to have a better hand here. So on balance, you will make more money from him calling with weak hands than the occasional time he has a flush or the nut straight.

Hand #3: With 72s, our c-bet can definitely rep an overpair, a good hand with a 9 like A9o or T9s, or even just decent hands that might not fold to aggression like ace-high. Apply pressure as the big stack facing the mid stack!

Hope that helps and thanks for the nice words

"Study something with each session you play."
I've done it but I stopped doing it and I see that I need to do it again. It makes a lot of difference. Thanks for these tips.

Originally Posted by deyvsonflp

"Study something with each session you play."
I've done it but I stopped doing it and I see that I need to do it again. It makes a lot of difference. Thanks for these tips.

I think it's def an important habit to have and to help ourselves remember that playing itself is like an ultimate version of studying

Thanks for all of this great free content! I appreciate how well this book was laid out and the short to-the-point chapters. For this particular chapter I would also consider bankroll management as a 'top ten' success factor, but that might be implied in the 'game selection'.

Originally Posted by johnnylawford

Thanks for all of this great free content! I appreciate how well this book was laid out and the short to-the-point chapters. For this particular chapter I would also consider bankroll management as a 'top ten' success factor, but that might be implied in the 'game selection'.

You're welcome Johnny, thanks for posting in the threads with great feedback and questions for us.

I agree that BRM definitely competes for top-10 status, maybe we should have made it a top 11 list so we could include bankroll without removing others on the list. But then again, top 11 doesn't have quite the same ring to it Either way, you're totally right on the importance of BRM!

Just finished the curse and wanted to say thank you for making such an amazing tool for beginners like me.

I basically just started out playing the game 2-3 weeks ago and was so glad when i found this course. Especially the 2 tests were really good to get a realistic view of how well you understood main concepts/lessons.
And despite passing both on first try (yaya, humble brag ) it was super helpful to find out the concepts i may didnt really grasp yet or the questions i needed way too long to come up with a good answer and which are now put up to review and read/watch again.

So, once again: Huge Thank you for creating this course - and even for free. I am not sure i am ready to stand the variance of Tournaments yet, but even aside from MTTs i learned a ton and it feels great to have a deeper understanding of many important concepts and ideas

Originally Posted by Cecret

Just finished the curse and wanted to say thank you for making such an amazing tool for beginners like me.

I basically just started out playing the game 2-3 weeks ago and was so glad when i found this course. Especially the 2 tests were really good to get a realistic view of how well you understood main concepts/lessons.
And despite passing both on first try (yaya, humble brag ) it was super helpful to find out the concepts i may didnt really grasp yet or the questions i needed way too long to come up with a good answer and which are now put up to review and read/watch again.

So, once again: Huge Thank you for creating this course - and even for free. I am not sure i am ready to stand the variance of Tournaments yet, but even aside from MTTs i learned a ton and it feels great to have a deeper understanding of many important concepts and ideas

Congrats on passing the course Cecret! It sounds like you did a great job passing both tests on the first try and absorbing the info. We really appreciate these nice words and hope you'll keep us posted on how things go