DECISION POINT: You have late registered for a daily tournament with a fast structure. The blinds are 250/500 with a 500 big blind ante. It folds to you in MP1 with 9♥9♣ and you raise first-in to 1,000. Action folds to the Big Blind who just calls. The flop comes 7♣6♣5♥ and your opponent bets 1,000. Action is on you. What do you do here?

PRO ANSWER: We have just entered a daily tournament with a fast structure and are jumping in a few levels after the start. The blinds are 250/500 with a 500 big blind ante. We are dealt 9♥9♣ in MP1 with our 10,000 starting stack. Everyone folds to us, and since pocket nines are a part of our first-in hand range from this position, we open to 1,000 chips. Everyone folds except the Big Blind, who just calls.

The flop is 7♣6♣5♥ and our opponent leads for 1,000 chips. Unlike our recent decision from a cash game session, this is a spot where a good opponent should be doing some leading based on theory. This board does connect well with a Big Blind defense calling range, but they have many hands that benefit from protection, and this is a board we won’t be expected to continuation bet often.

The Big Blind’s range should include a lot of 1-pair hands, especially those that have some sort of straight and/or flush draw to provide some backup equity. They will also lead with some overcard combinations that include flush draws, both backdoor and direct, as well as some 2-pair hands for balance. When we look at this situation closely, the Big Blind should be leading with around 50% of their range on this board.

From our perspective, we have an overpair with an inside straight draw and a stack to pot ratio (SPR) of around 3. This is not a spot we would ever be looking to fold our hand, so the main question we have to ask is if we should just call or raise. When considering the potential leading range for the Big Blind as discussed above, we can assume:

• We are well ahead of most of their 1-pair hands
• We still have significant equity against many of their 2-pair hands
• Many of their overcards have significant equity against us

It is important to consider that if we were to raise now, many of their hands that we are well ahead of will call, while many of the overcard combos that have significant equity against us will fold (with the exception of direct flush draws using both hole cards). When our opponent will continue against aggression with hands such as 74s but folds hands such as JhTh or KcTh, that is a huge win for us.

Raising is the best play.

If you have never played a hand of poker, start here.

No-Limit Texas Hold'em is the most widely played form of poker in the world. You see it on TV, at the World Series of Poker, on the World Poker Tour, and in most cardrooms and home games.

It is also a game you can learn the rules of in about twenty minutes.

That is what this page is for.

Below is a free video that walks you through the basics from start to finish, plus a written reference you can come back to any time. You’ll learn how a hand plays out, what beats what, your options when the action is on you, and a few simple rules to guide your play. No experience required. No account required.

If you already know the basics, unlock The 5 Keys Of Poker here. Free.

Start Here: The Quick Start Video

In this video, Fearless River instructor and 2x WSOP Bracelet winner Nick Binger covers everything you need to sit down and play:

• Poker hand rankings so you always know what beats what
• How the betting works, including proper technique so you do not give away information
• Handling your cards and chips at a live table
• Which cards to play at the start of each hand

Watch it before you play, then use the sections below as a reference.

🤔 What Does That Term Mean?

Run into a word you don't recognize? Poker has a lot of unique vocabulary, and nobody expects you to know every term right away. Click the magnifying glass 🔍 in the menu at the top of any page and type in the term.

You will get the plain-language definition, plus links to Fearless River strategy videos and tools that cover it. Here is what a sample search looks like for Big Blind. Try it with position, button, or any other term as you read on.

How a Hand of No-Limit Hold'em Is Played

Every hand follows the same rhythm. Once you have seen it a few times, it becomes automatic.

1. The blinds are posted. A dealer button marks one player at the table and moves one seat clockwise after every hand. The two players to the direct left of the button are required to put chips in the pot before the cards are dealt; these are called the small blind and big blind. The small blind is normally half the amount of the big blind. The amount is based on the blind level in tournaments or betting limit in cash games. The blinds are used to entice play.
2. You get two cards. Every player is dealt two cards face down. These are your hole cards. Only you see them and you need to protect them from other players' view. Never show your cards unless instructed by the dealer.
3. Preflop betting. Action always starts to the left of the big blind and moves clockwise. Each player folds, calls, or raises.
4. The flop. Three community cards are dealt face up in the middle of the table. All players still in the hand share community cards to make their best five-card hand. Another round of betting follows.
5. The turn. A fourth community card is dealt. Another round of betting follows.
6. The river. A fifth and final community card is dealt. One last round of betting.
7. Showdown: When two or more players are still in the hand after the final round of betting, the winner is determined by shown cards. The best five-card hand, using any combination of your two hole cards and the five community cards, takes the pot, and the dealer pushes it to that player. The last player who bet or raised turns their cards over first, then the rest follow in clockwise order.

There are two ways to take down a pot. Either you have the best hand at showdown or you bet and everyone else folds. You do not need the best hand to take the pot if everyone else folds.

Pro Tip: You are never required to show a losing hand. If you know you are beaten, you can muck, which means handing your cards to the dealer face down and giving up your claim to the pot.

Poker Hand Rankings: What Beats What

This is the one thing worth memorizing before you play. Hand rankings apply to every decision you make, and they never change.

A few things that trip up new players:

• Suits do not rank against each other. A flush in spades does not beat a flush in hearts. The highest-ranking card in the flush decides it.
• You make your best five-card hand out of seven. Your two hole cards plus the five community cards give you seven to choose from, and only the best five count. That can mean using both of your cards, one of them, or neither. When your best five-card hand consists solely of the five community cards on the board, you are said to be "playing the board". If no player has a hand that can beat the board, the pot is split among the players involved.
• An Ace can be high or low. A-K-Q-J-10 is the highest straight. A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest (known as a wheel).

Your Options When the Action Is on You

Every decision in poker comes down to one of these actions:

• Check: To defer your action to the next player in the hand. Only possible if nobody has bet ahead of you on that street.
• Bet: To voluntarily place money in the pot.
• Call: To match the amount of someone else's bet, rather than choosing to raise or fold.
• Raise: To increase the current bet. The amount of your raise must be at least the size of the last bet or raise. Example: If it is 100 to you, the smallest raise is to 200. If someone has already raised from 100 to 300, the smallest reraise is to 500, not 600. Multiple raises can occur in a given betting round.
• Fold: The action of surrendering your cards. Players who fold at any point before showdown are not eligible to win any portion of the pot and cannot re-enter the hand.
• All-in: A bet that commits your entire chip stack to the pot. This action can take place during any betting round. If you go all-in and no one calls your bet, you win the pot without needing to reveal your hand. However, if someone does call, you must win the hand at showdown to claim the pot. It is important to note that once you declare an all-in bet, you cannot retract it.

Two habits worth building from day one:

➧ Announce your action before you touch your chips. Verbal declarations are binding, so saying "raise" or "call" out loud protects you from misconstrued hand action.

➧ Put your chips out in one clean motion. Reaching back to your stack for a second handful after your chips have crossed the line can be ruled a call instead of a raise. Also known as a string bet.

Where You Sit Changes Everything

This is the first real strategy concept, and it is the one that separates new players from everyone else faster than any other.

Position in poker means where you sit relative to the dealer button. The later you act in a hand, the more information you have when it is your turn. The player on the button acts last on every betting round after the flop, which makes it the best seat at the table.

Quick tips to remember:

• Early Position = play fewer hands
• Middle Position = play more hands
• Late Position = play even more hands

Always count backwards from the button to figure out where you are sitting. Later into your study we'll show you which hands you should enter the pot with depending on your seat position.

What Comes Next: The 5 Keys of Poker

Once you know the rules and basic game flow, poker stops being a memory test and starts being a decision-making game. Most new players get overwhelmed with what to do next because they think every hand feels like a brand-new problem with no obvious answer.

That's not the case. Experienced players are not memorizing thousands of situations. They are filtering every decision through a small set of core factors. We call them the 5 Keys:

1. Position: Why acting last is the single biggest advantage in poker.
2. First-In Hand Ranges: Which hands to raise with from each seat and how to adjust.
3. Board Texture: How different types of flops, turns, and rivers affect your next move.
4. Number of Opponents: Why multiway pots (pots with more than 1 opponent) require completely different thinking.
5. Effective Stack Size: When stack depth calls for aggression and when it calls for control.

Get these five concepts right and you have a repeatable process for almost every decision you will face, from your first hand preflop to a river bet.

The 5 Keys training is free. You get five strategy videos, the First-In Hand Range charts download, poker quizzes, and training hands. No credit card, and you can unsubscribe any time.

Pro Tip: To build mental muscle memory for these concepts in real time, focus on the 5 Keys even when you are not in the hand. Watch what gets shown down, and you will start seeing patterns immediately.

Five Mistakes Almost Every New Player Makes

1. Playing too many hands. Most starting hands are not worth playing. Folding is not passive; it is a decision.
2. Calling first-in instead of raising. If a hand is good enough to put chips in with, it is usually good enough to raise with. Calling gives your opponents cheap chances to outdraw you.
3. Changing bet sizes based on hand strength. Raising to 600 with aces and 400 with nines makes you easy to read. Stay consistent.
4. Chasing every draw. Not every flush or straight draw is worth paying for. The rank of your flush cards, the size of the pot and the size of the bet decide that, not hope.
5. Judging decisions by results. A good decision can lose the pot, and a bad one can take it down. Results in a single hand tell you almost nothing. Focus on the process.

Build a Study Routine from Day One

Improving at poker is not about playing more hands. It is about reviewing the hands you already played. The simplest version costs nothing: when you face a tough decision, write it down. Pen and paper is fine to start. What matters is capturing the same details every time so you can spot patterns later.

Here is a simple checklist of 8 questions for tracking a hand:

1. ☐ What was my seat position at the table?
2. ☐ What were the seat positions of my opponents?
3. ☐ What was my chip stack to start the hand?
4. ☐ What were the chip stacks of my opponents to start the hand?
5. ☐ What were my 2 cards, specific rank and suit?
6. ☐ What were the community cards, specific rank and suit?
7. ☐ What were the specific actions in the hand? Which player opened the betting?
8. ☐ Did my opponents show down their hand, and if so, what were the specific cards?

When you are ready to move past pen and paper, the Fearless River Hand Input Tool (HIT) lets you enter hands from your phone, replay them, and share them with our pros for feedback.

One rule when you review: focus on the range of hands your opponent could have had instead of putting them on a specific hand (like pocket jacks). Use the first-in hand range charts from the 5 Keys to guide you. Trying to put your opponent on a single hand is the fastest way to talk yourself into a bad decision.

Common Questions from New Players

Q: Do I need to memorize hand rankings before I play?
A: Yes, and it takes less time than you think. Hand rankings are the one thing that never change and you need instantly at the table. Download the free chart above and give it ten minutes.

Q: How much money do I need to start?
A: Start at the smallest stakes you can find, or play free games online while the rules sink in. There is no reason to risk money you care about while you are still learning the mechanics. Home games with your friends are also a great way to get started.

Q: Is poker mostly luck?
A: Over a single hand, luck decides a lot. Over the course of hundreds of hands, the quality of your decisions ultimately determines the outcome. That is the entire reason studying works and why you see the best players in the world constantly at the final table.

Q: Is Fearless River for beginners or experienced players?
A: Both. Our content is filterable by skill level: Foundation, Intermediate, and Advanced. You can train at the level that matches your game and skill level.

Q: Where should I start after this page?
A: The free 5 Keys training. It picks up exactly where this guide ends.

Ready to Keep Going?

We built Fearless River to make improving at poker as simple as possible, on your time and your terms. Small, consistent effort over time is the thing that separates students of the game from everyone else. Not talent.

➧ Start free. The 5 Keys training gives you five strategy videos, First-In Hand Range charts, and poker quizzes to test what you have learned.

➧ Ready for the full library? A Fearless River membership gets you 550+ strategy videos from WSOP Bracelet winners and WPT Champions, the GTO Trainer, live monthly study sessions, and the Ask a Pro Discord where you get your hands reviewed directly from our pros.

Your first month is $5. No contracts. Cancel anytime.

No matter how you choose to use Fearless River, there is a path for you to learn, improve, and have fun on your own time and your own terms.

Good luck and good playing,
– Team Fearless River

Have questions? Email our support team at [email protected] or click the 'Contact Us' button and they will be happy to help.

If yes, THANK YOU and congratulations on taking another step in improving your game! If not, let's change that today.

So, what exactly is HIT?

The Hand Input Tool (HIT) is a Fearless River feature that allows members to capture, replay, and share real hands they've played and receive analysis and feedback from the Fearless River pros.

See below for info, hints, and the benefits of this powerful feature:

Getting Started:

Log in and access HIT from the top navigation bar or via the mobile menu. For more instructions, watch the "Show Me How It Works" video on the HIT Dashboard or review Episode 226: Hand Input Tool (HIT).

Recording your hand:
➧ To begin, click the red ENTER A HAND NOW button.
➧ Enter the game specifics:

• Select Cash or Tournament
• Enter the Blinds Amount
• Select the type of Ante and enter the amount
• Enter the number of Players Seated
• Click the NEXT button to record the action

➧ Follow the onscreen prompts to record the hand information.
➧ Shortcuts when entering hole card information for quicker recording.

• Type the first letter or number of the card value and suit versus clicking each option to select your card. Example:
  • Type "a" + "c" to select A♣ or type "2" + "d" to select 2♦
• Use the +/- keys to increase/decrease values or click your cursor into the field box and manually type the value.
  

Helpful Hint: Click the EXIT SESSION button in the top right-hand corner of the screen to stop the hand at a specific point for analysis before getting to showdown.

Receiving Feedback:

Members can submit their recorded HIT hands to the Fearless River pros for analysis of their play and get answers to questions about a specific move or strategy using the Ask a Pro Discord channel.

Sending your hand in for feedback:

➧ Once finished recording your hand, the action will replay, and a pop-up will appear noting options for your hand.
➧ After replaying the hand, click the ASK A PRO button.
➧ You’ll automatically be directed to the #ask-a-pro Discord channel, and your HIT hand will be immediately posted.
➧ Type your question to Team Fearless River about the hand.

That's it! The Fearless River Pros will provide feedback shortly.

Don't have a Discord account? Click here to get started.

HIT Helpful Hints:

Our goal is to make HIT an easy-to-use and personal experience. Be sure to share with us any suggestions.

Did you know you can:

➧ Update the name of a hand by clicking the NL Cash or NL Tourney fields in the top center of the screen.
➧ Change the name/nickname of a player and their chip stack by clicking their position tile - PLAYER NAME and CHIP STACK fields.
➧ Replay, delete, or edit hands you've saved from your HAND LIBRARY by clicking the thumbnail image or vertical ellipsis.
➧ Shortcuts when reviewing the replay of a hand for quick navigation.

• Pause/Restart Action = Space Bar
• Show Hole Cards = "H" Key
• Move Action Forward/Backward = Right/Left Arrow Keys
• Toggle Stacks Between Big Blinds/Chips = "B" Key
• Toggle Between Player and Position Names = "A" Key

The habit of recording hands you've played, followed by analysis (and feedback), creates a positive feedback loop for improvement, which allows you to find (and fix) leaks faster while learning to make better decisions at the table.

We are excited to provide this invaluable tool for our members to help create that loop and to provide them with helpful feedback.

Thanks for being a part of Fearless River!

If you have any questions or need assistance contact our support team at [email protected].

We created Fearless River Poker Training to make it as easy as possible for anyone to improve their poker game, on their own time and their own terms. And we've made it easy to improve your No-Limit Texas Hold'em game with our Membership Tier Levels.

Choose the Membership Tier to best fit your budget, schedule, and skill level (upgrade or cancel at any time).

When upgrading your current Subscription Plan to a higher Membership Tier, a prorated credit from your existing plan will be applied to your new plan. You will never lose value by upgrading.

No matter which tier you choose, you'll always have access to:

• Strategy Episodes: The entire on-demand library of 550+ videos
• Ask A Pro Discord: Get hands reviewed and questions answered
• Live Study Sessions: Real-time strategy sessions
• Hand Input Tool (HIT): Record, save, and analyze played hands
• Member Download Area: Charts, manuals, and guides to study
• Practice Scenarios: Review decision points from real hands

Each tier below builds on this foundation with more GTO Trainer access, event savings, and exclusive features.

Start for $5 for your first 30 days, then $29/month (or $288/year).

The $5 First Month Membership helps new members fix nagging leaks and craft their own game while learning fundamental strategies. Filter for Foundations, Intermediate, or Advanced curriculum and tailor your training to the areas that need improving the most.

• All Membership Features, plus:
• 48 GTO Trainer Scenarios, covering Cash Game, Multi Table Tournament, Small Stakes, Final Table, and Heads Up spots

At the end of your $5 First Month Membership you will automatically upgrade and unlock full Silver membership benefits including discounts on Live Workshops and new in-depth strategy content.

New to Fearless River? Start at Silver for just $5.
Already a member? Upgrade anytime to Gold, Platinum, or a yearly plan from your My Acount page.

$59/month or $588/year.

• All Membership Features, plus:
• 63 GTO Trainer Scenarios, covering Cash Game, Multi Table Tournament, Small Stakes, Final Table, and Heads Up spots (Yearly members get 3 bonus scenarios)
• Preferred Pricing on Live Events:
  3-Day/2-Day Workshops: Save $500 (yearly members) or $200 (monthly members)

Already a member? This upgrades your current plan. New to Fearless River? Start at Silver for just $5.

$99/month or $996/year.

• All Membership Features, plus:
• Unlimited access to all 140+ GTO Trainer Scenarios, covering Cash Game, Multi Table Tournament, Small Stakes, Final Table, and Heads Up spots
• Platinum Exclusive: Dynamic Drilling Packs, train from multiple positions within a scenario
• Preferred Pricing on Live Events:
  3-Day/2-Day Workshops: Save up to $1,000 (yearly members) or $600 (monthly members)
  Virtual Workshops: Save $400 (yearly members)
• Bonus: Early access to new features and live training events

Already a member? This upgrades your current plan. New to Fearless River? Start at Silver for just $5.

We've made it easy for you to watch, train, discuss, study, and improve with these exclusive Fearless River Membership Features:

GTO Trainer: Play solved GTO spots online and as often as you like while getting real-time feedback on your trouble spots. The GTO Trainer is laser focused on plugging your leaks and training you for peak performance by allowing you to choose the specific situations that give you the most trouble.

Strategy Episodes: Videos in short, easy to digest segments (usually 10-15 minutes) that focus on introducing and reinforcing specific aspects of the game plan. Sort Episodes by cash or tournament, concept, learning path, Instructor, last watched, and more.

Ask A Pro: Ask any of your poker questions and submit hands that you played to get rapid answers from your Instructors. The Fearless River Discord is a safe place to discuss concepts and strategy with your Instructors and fellow Members.

Live Study Sessions: The best way to improve your poker game is to step away from the table and spend time studying hands and discussing strategy. Join live sessions with your Instructors to dig into a specific concept or strategy each month for real-time discussion.

Hand Input Tool (HIT): Hand recording and analysis will make you a better and tougher poker player. Use HIT to record, save, share, and analyze played hands. You can also submit hands you've played for analysis from the Fearless River Instructors.

Member Download Area: View and download any of the hand range charts, manuals, and guides we’ve discussed in Strategy Episodes to study off the felt.

Practice Scenarios: Review and practice poker hand decision scenarios in one place. Pick cash or tournament hands, then see how your Instructors played it.

Preferred Pricing on Training Events: Members receive deep discounts for every Live and Digital Training Event, from single workshops to multi-day live events.

Our team of instructors is made up of WSOP bracelet winners, WPT champions, and seasoned professionals who've spent years studying, playing, and teaching the game at the highest level, and now bring that experience directly to you.

Brian Altman: 4x WPT Champion, WSOP Bracelet Winner, 5x WSOP Circuit Ring Winner, and the Season XVIII Player of the Year

Nick Binger: 2x WSOP Bracelet Winner, founder and lead Instructor for Fearless River, over 15 years coaching experience

Tony Dunst: 3x WSOP Bracelet Winner, WPT Champion, 3x WSOP Circuit Ring Winner, and Commentator for the World Poker Tour

Michael "Gags30" Gagliano: 4x WSOP Bracelet Winner, BetMGM Poker Ambassador, and 2026 WSOP Main Event finalist

Andrew "LuckyChewy" Lichtenberger: WSOP Bracelet Winner, WPT Alpha 8 Champion, and 9x PGT Champion

Eric "Rizen" Lynch: Acclaimed author with 3 major WSOP Final Tables and over 300 final tables across online and live events

Adrian Naggy: Fearless River COO and avid tournament grinder with over 15,000 tournaments played in the last decade

Johan Schultz-Pedersen: WSOP Bracelet Winner, talented GTO strategist, and rising star in the poker world

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Have Questions about Fearless River Poker? Email our Support Team at [email protected] and we'll be happy to assist you.

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Team Fearless River

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DECISION POINT: You’re playing a $1,500 regional tournament main event at a local card room that brings serious recreational players and pros. The play at your table has been aggressive with a lot of players firing multiple streets and few hands going to showdown. Blinds are 250/500 with a 500 big blind ante and you have a 20,000 chip stack. The opponent in UTG+1, who is an accomplished player, opens to 1,100 and everyone folds to you on the Button with J♦T♦. You call and the flop comes J♠J♥8♠. The early position opponent c-bets 1,200 and the action is on you. What's your move here?

PRO ANSWER: We're playing in a regional tournament at our local card room. It's a $1,500 main event that tends to draws in a lot of serious recreational players as well as pros from around the region. The action at our table has been a bit on the aggressive side, with lots of players capable of firing multiple barrels and few hands going to showdown.

The blinds are 250/500 with a 500 big blind ante, and we have 20,000 chips to start the hand. We are on the Button and are dealt J♦T♦. The UTG player folds and the opponent in UTG+1, who we recognize as an accomplished player and WSOP Bracelet winner, opens to 1,100 chips. Everyone else folds.

This is a great spot to call as part of an overall Button defense strategy. Our hand plays extremely well postflop with positional advantage, giving us a big edge at this stack depth against players who are capable of firing multiple barrels.

Both Blinds fold and the flop is J♠J♥8♠. The UTG+1 player comes out firing 1,200 chips, or just over one third of the pot. This is a flop where the early position raiser has a significant range advantage, and we can expect them to be betting nearly their entire range. We flopped a very strong hand and have a decision to make. Should we slow play our three of a kind or play it faster by raising now?

In this case, we are in position and against a single opponent. They should be continuation betting with a very wide range of hands, including plenty of overcard combinations that might not call a raise on the flop but could easily put more chips in the pot if they hit something like an ace or a king on the turn. UTG+1’s c-bet bluffing range could also easily continue bluffing on a lot of turn cards.

Many players immediately see the flush and straight draw cards on this board and become passive for fear of getting drawn out on. While that is the case, flush draws make up a very small portion of our opponent’s overall range, and we block a key straightening card by holding the Td in our hand. Additionally, if we raise it is difficult to get called by many worse hands. An early position raising range is unlikely to have many worse Jx combos than our JTs, and while UTG+1 does have some AA/KK/QQ hands, even those might proceed with caution when we raise the flop.

When we pause to consider the specific opponent, table tendencies, our position, the stack depth, and how both our ranges interact with this board, our best chance to win a big pot and maximize EV in this spot is to slow play and just call.

Calling is the best play.

DECISION POINT: You’re playing a daily tournament and late registration is still open. The blinds are 250/500 with a 500 big blind ante. A player in Middle Position raises first-in to 1,100 and it folds to you in the Small Blind with J♠J♣. You 3-bet to 4,000, the Big Blind folds, and the original raiser calls. The flop comes 9♥6♠6♣ and action is on you. What do you do here?

PRO ANSWER: We're playing in a daily tournament. Late registration is still open and the blinds are 250/500 with a 500 big blind ante. We are dealt J♠J♣ in the Small Blind and the action folds to MP2 who opens to 1,100 chips. Everyone else folds and action is on us.

Out of the Small Blind we prefer to reraise with a linear range, meaning that we will be reraising for value with hands that are ahead of our opponent’s range. Our opponent in Middle Position should be opening with around 25% of total hands as the first-in raiser.

Our jacks are well ahead of that range, so they would be a part of a linear 3-betting range. Typical 3-bet sizing will be around 3x the opening raise size, but since we will be out of position the remainder of the hand, we want to reraise a bit larger to make up for the positional disadvantage. We elect to make it 4,000 chips and our opponent calls.

The flop is 9♥6♠6♣ and action is on us. As the preflop 3-bettor we have a large range advantage on this flop and have all the big overpairs in our range. MP2’s range consists mostly of bigger suited cards and middle pairs, most of which don’t connect very well with this board. Since we have such a tremendous range advantage, it is ideal to c-bet with our entire range.

Typically, we utilize a smaller bet size when c-betting our entire range. However, this situation is unique. The stack to pot ratio (SPR) is just under two. With so much money in the pot in relation to our stack, some hands in our range start to really benefit from protection.

In this case, our really strong hands like AA/KK and semi-bluffs, such as AKo/AQo type hands, prefer to bet around 25% of the pot. Our more vulnerable hands, like TT/JJ and A9s, want to bet a larger sizing of around 50% of the pot in order to protect against many of the potential overcards that connect with MP2’s range.

Betting half of the pot is the best play.

DECISION POINT: You are in the early stages of a daily tournament and you don’t have any significant reads on your tablemates, with the exception that most have been showing down reasonable hands. The blinds are 200/400 with a 400 big blind ante and you have 20,000 chips to start the hand. The action folds to you in the Cutoff with 7♥7♣, you open to 1,000, and only the Big Blind calls. Your opponent checks the K♣5♥2♦ flop, you c-bet 900, and they call. On the 3♣ turn, the Big Blind leads out for 1,500. Action is on you, what do you do here?

PRO ANSWER: We are in the earlier stages of a daily tournament with blinds of 200/400 and a 400 big blind ante. Most of the players have been showing down reasonable hands when we’ve had the opportunity to see them, and we haven’t developed any significant reads to this point in the session.

With 20,000 chips to start the hand in the Cutoff and 7♥7♣ we make a standard raise to 1,000 chips, and everyone folds to the Big Blind who just calls. The flop is K♣5♥2♦ and the Big Blind checks to us. This is a board where the preflop raiser from the Cutoff will have a significant range advantage and we will frequently continuation bet with our entire range. In game we make the preferred choice and bet 900 into the 2,600 pot, and the Big Blind just calls.

The turn is the 3♣ and surprisingly, our opponent leads for 1,500. When an opponent takes a line where they lead into the aggressor on the turn, there are often one of several factors at play.

First, the Big Blind will often lead the turn when picking up additional equity, which in this case would mostly be flush draws but does include some Ax, 6x, and 4x hands.

Second, they could have turned two-pair or better with hands including A4, K3, 33, 53, and 32s, and are trying to build a pot fearing we may not fire again on this board texture. Lastly, this turn lead may be intended to to deny equity since we are betting such a wide range on the flop. Many of the 5x combos in the Big Blind’s range benefit greatly from generating folds from some of our random overcards such QJo that still have significant equity.

Given these assumptions, the Big Blind’s leading range likely consists of some draws, some bigger hands, and some medium-strength hands looking to clear out equity. Our pocket sevens are doing fairly well against that range. However, there is little reason to raise as our opponent is likely to fold medium-strength hands we dominate, continue with the hands that dominate us, and proceed with draws only if getting the correct price.

Calling is the best play.

DECISION POINT: You are in the early stages of a multi-day tournament at the World Series of Poker with late registration and reentry still available. Most players have around 50 big blinds but you’ve worked your stack up to 100BBs. The action folds around to you in the Cutoff with A♠T♠ and you make a standard raise to 1,000. The Button, who is an accomplished Pro and has a 105BB stack, calls and the Blinds fold. The flop comes Q♣5♠4♥ and action is on you.

What do you do here?

PRO ANSWER: We are playing a multi-day event at the World Series of Poker. The tournament is in the early stages with late registration still open and players are allowed to reenter. Most players have around 50 big blinds but we’ve managed to work our stack up to 100BBs. The Button is a very studied Pro. The blinds are 200/400 with a 400 big blind ante and we are dealt A♠T♠ in the Cutoff. The action folds to us and we make a standard raise to 1,000. The Button decides to call and both Blinds fold. The flop is Q♣5♠4♥ and we are first to act.

The primary driver of continuation betting frequency on the flop is range advantage. Many players make the mistake of assuming that just because we are the preflop raiser, we have a range advantage on dry boards such as this one. Position is a key factor to consider in c-betting spots, and had we raised in Early Position instead of the Cutoff we certainly would have a range advantage on this board. However, in this specific situation we have a wide uncapped range and our opponent has a significantly narrower range that is capped and condensed.

Reviewing this spot in a solver after the hand we see that the Button actually defends with less than half as many hand combinations as we raise with from the Cutoff (215 vs 450) and has a slight range advantage (51% vs 49%) on the flop before any action takes place.

This happens most frequently in Cutoff opens vs Button call and Small Blind vs Big Blind scenarios. When facing skilled and aggressive players in these situations who are capable of utilizing their position appropriately, we should check the flop quite frequently. In fact, based on the solver results the Cutoff checks with the entire range around 85% of the time. It’s very important to note that checking here doesn’t mean giving up. We should be checking some of our big hands to protect our checking range and add some check-raising with some strong value hands and bluffs such A2s/A3s on this particular board. Check-calling on the flop also makes up a portion of our strategy, particularly against smaller bet sizes.

If our opponent on the Button was a more passive recreational player in this spot the strategy would change significantly. There would be more merit to betting because a passive opponent would likely be calling preflop with a much wider range, negating the range advantage a more narrow and condensed range has on this board, and they would be far less likely to float and raise the flop with the appropriate tendencies to discourage us from continuation betting.

Against tougher players it’s very important to recognize these spots as high frequency checks or we will quickly bleed chips to good players who utilize position well.

Checking is the best play.

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DECISION POINT: You are in the middle stages of a daily tournament with over 50% of the field still remaining and 500/1,000 blinds with a 1,000 big blind ante. Most players at your table have 20-40BBs and you are relatively new to the table with no significant reads on your opponents. From Under the Gun you make the standard 2.2x open raise to 2,200 with J♥J♦. Players in Middle Position, Hijack, and Button all call. The flop comes 9♥8♦8♠ and action is on you.

What do you do here?

PRO ANSWER: We are playing in a daily tournament at a local casino. It is the middle stages of the tournament with just over 50% of the field remaining. Most of the players at our table have 20-40 big blinds and we are relatively new to this table with no significant reads. The blinds are 500/1,000 with a 1,000 big blind ante.

We are dealt J♥J♦ UTG and make a standard open to 2,200 chips. The player to our immediate left calls, as do the Hijack and the Button. Everyone folds and we go four ways to the flop.

The flop is 9♥8♦8♠. Playing multiway pots out of position can be extremely tricky. With a SPR (stack to pot ratio) of around 2 and holding an overpair, it’s going to be very difficult to get away from our hand without some sort of significant action from multiple players still left to act behind us. When deciding if we should c-bet or check, it is important to think of what our entire range wants to do in this spot.

The default range from UTG consists mostly of bigger overcards and overpairs, and while we do have some 77/A9s/A8s type hands as well, the overcards and overpairs will make up the majority of hands. Our opponents are much more likely to have condensed ranges that connect with this board in some way. For that reason, most of our range prefers to check in this spot.

Many players mistake checking for weakness or giving up here, and that’s simply not true. Depending on how the action unfolds behind us there are several options to continue including check-raise, check-call, or check-fold if multiple opponents go all-in before it’s back around to us. By checking, we allow our opponents to take stabs at the pot with hands they otherwise might fold to a bet, such as 66/55 or even some ace-high hands.

Our hand does benefit from protection, so if we were to lead at all in this spot, hands like JJ/TT/A9s would make the most sense. We become very easy to play against if we bet all of our made hands and check all of our misses, and our range is made up of far more overcards and misses than big hands and overpairs.

Checking is the best play.