POKER FUNDAMENTALS

ESSENTIAL TOPICS FOR ALL PLAYERS

By

ALTON HARDIN

Copyright © 2015 Alton Hardin

Get free poker video training to become a better poker

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COPYRIGHT © 2015 No part of this eBook may be reproduced or transmitted in

any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,

including photocopying, recording or by any information

storage and retrieval system, without written permission

from the author.

DISCLAIMER The information contained within this eBook is strictly for

educational purposes. If you wish to apply ideas contained in

this eBook, you are taking full responsibility for your actions.

The author has made every effort to ensure the information

within this book was correct at time of publication. The

author does not assume and hereby disclaims any liability to

any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by

errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result

from accident, negligence, or any other cause.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR ALTON HARDIN is an educator,

poker coach, self-published &

best-selling author, and full-

time IT and Business

professional. He is the author of

the Amazon #1 best selling

poker book Essential Poker

Math.

Alton is also the founder of MicroGrinder.com, a free online

website dedicated to micro stakes poker players, where he

provides a wide array of free poker resources and poker

training, including poker courses, poker strategy articles, and

poker training video series.

Outside of poker, Alton is a full-time business and IT

professional, where he works in the field of cyber security.

He has earned two graduate degrees, an M.B.A. and M.S. in IT

Network Management; moreover, he currently holds

multiple IT industry certifications.

Learn more about Alton at http://www.amazon.com/Alton-

Hardin/e/B00UPY7PW2/

Visit www.MicroGrinder.com for additional poker learning

resources.

INTRODUCTION

WHY I WROTE THIS BOOK This poker book came to life for several different reasons.

After creating my first poker course on Udemy.com, I

realized that my students would benefit from supplemental

reading for the course. Moreover, I wanted to offer those

outside of my course a valuable poker resource to add to

their poker library.

You can sign-up for my 100% free Poker Fundamentals

Course on Udemy here:

https://www.udemy.com/pokerfundamentals/

Second, while there are numerous excellent poker books on

specific game-based strategy, I felt many overlooked some of

the basic overarching concepts that this book explores and

explains.

Last, I enjoy teaching, writing, and helping fellow poker

players. I hope you enjoy and find this book beneficial to

your poker game!

WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK Whether you have been playing poker for two weeks or

twenty years, this book is for you. This book is designed to

help solidify key, essential concepts that benefit all poker

players, regardless of the poker game they play.

The goal of this poker book is to provide you, as a student of

the game and a poker player, with essential fundamental

concepts that will help you improve your poker game. The

topics discussed in this book are overarching concepts that

apply to all variants of poker, whether you are playing No

Limit Texas Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha, Razz, Seven Card

Stud, or any other variant of poker.

In this book, I will not be talking about specific in-game

strategies for specific variants of poker; instead, I will be

discussing important topics that apply to all games of poker

that are essential to becoming and staying a long-term,

winning poker player:

The Current Landscape of Online Poker

Live versus Online Poker

Understanding and Embracing Variance

Managing Tilt

Poker Win Rates

Effective Bankroll Management

Multi-Tabling

Becoming a Student of the Game

Poker Player Resources

TABLE OF CONTENTS Your Bonus

About The Author

Introduction

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Current Landscape of Online Poker

Chapter 2. Live Versus Online Poker

Chapter 3. Understanding and Embracing Variance

Chapter 4. Managing Tilt

Chapter 5. Poker Win Rates

Chapter 6. Effective Bankroll Management

Chapter 7. Multi-Tabling

Chapter 8. Becoming a Student of the Game

Chapter 9. Poker Player Resources

Chapter 10. Next Steps

Additional Resources

One Last Thing…

CHAPTER 1. CURRENT LANDSCAPE OF

ONLINE POKER

INTRODUCTION The game of online poker has drastically changed over the

years, affected by the consequences of what all poker players

coined as “Black Friday”. What were once easier games to

beat have now become much more difficult to beat.

BLACK FRIDAY On April 15, 2011, the United States Department of Justice

seized PokerStars, UltimateBet, and FullTilt’s websites and

U.S. based financial assets. This was due to suspected

fraudulent activities, including bank fraud and money

laundering.

When this occurred, all US poker players were effectively

shut out from online poker, and this event was dubbed

“Black Friday” because the online poker lights went off and

stayed off on April 15, 2011 for a very long time in the United

States.

At that time, these three poker networks were some of the

largest and most popular online poker rooms in the world.

By shutting out and preventing US poker players from

playing online poker, Black Friday effectively caused the

demise of the US online poker player pool; moreover, it also

harmed the entire online poker ecosystem across the world.

The consequence of poker’s Black Friday was that many US-

based poker players, who relied on online poker as their sole

means of income, either quit online poker altogether or

moved out of the country. Additionally, recreational

gamblers, who played online poker for fun, were forced to

quit as well.

TODAY’S GAME As a consequence of Black Friday, online poker has become a

much tougher game to beat, even at the micro stakes.

Players, who once played mid-stakes games online, are now

finding that micro stakes games are just as tough as mid-

stakes games used to be before Black Friday. The reason for

this is because now a large percentage of the online player

pool is skilled opponents. There are still bad players, but not

nearly as many as there were before Black Friday.

Because there is now a much smaller percentage of bad

recreational poker players in the online poker player pool,

both poker site and table selection strategies are essential

tactics that all poker players should utilize to help maximize

their win rate. The reason is that certain poker sites cater to

recreational players while others do not, making certain

networks potentially more profitable than others. For

example, PokerStars is one of the more difficult poker sites

on which to play, because its player pool is composed largely

of skilled regular poker players. The Bodog poker network,

on the other hand, caters to recreational poker players, so it

can be much more profitable for skilled poker players.

ONLINE POKER IN THE UNITED STATES In regards to online poker within the United States, it is

slowly starting to make a return. Individual States, one-by-

one, are beginning to legalize and regulate online poker at

the State level, and this currently includes States, such as

New Jersey and Nevada. Residents that physically live in

these States are allowed to play in State-regulated, online

poker rooms. However, online poker across the entire United

States is nowhere near reality and will not be for quite some

time – if ever.

As of March, 2015, there is a push in the Federal Government

legislature to, once again, ban online poker throughout the

United States via restoration of America’s Wire Act. If passed,

this bill will reverse the Department of Justice’s December

2011 memorandum that stated the Wire Act should apply

solely to sports betting. This would, in effect, make all forms

of online betting and wagering, including online poker, illegal

in the United States. If passed, this bill will greatly hinder the

progress that has been started by the individual states that

are now regulating legalized online poker and move U.S.

online poker back to the dark ages.

CHAPTER 2. LIVE VERSUS ONLINE POKER

INTRODUCTION While poker is poker, online and live games differ drastically

in several different ways, which is what this chapter will

discuss.

PACE OF THE GAME Simply put, online poker is a much faster paced game than

live poker. Why is this? There are several different reasons.

LIVE POKER CONSIDERATIONS In live poker, we have to physically play the game, which

drastically slows it down. The dealer has to shuffle the deck,

cut the deck, and then deal the cards. Additionally, the dealer

has to manage the flow of the game by ensuring that bet sizes

are correct, raise sizes are correct, and players are playing

the game accordingly.

Additionally, players have to do the same. Players have to

physically look at their cards without revealing them to their

opponents. Players also have to physically place a bet by

putting their chips into the middle of the table past the bet

line. Finally, players can take long periods of time to think

about whether they want to bet, call, raise, or fold each hand.

All of these aspects of a live poker game make it a much

slower paced game than online poker. In a live poker game,

you will be lucky to play 35 hands per hour with a fast dealer,

but are more likely to be dealt 30 hands per hour on average.

ONLINE POKER CONSIDERATIONS Now, let's consider online poker. First of all, everything is

automated via a software interface. Cards are dealt within

seconds, and players can make pre-defined decisions before

it is their turn to act, such as to automatically fold or call a

bet.

Moreover, with each hand, all players have a predefined,

limited time bank to make their decisions at the online poker

table, which is typically between 15 and 30 seconds. If they

don't make their decision within that time period, their hand

is automatically folded – which drastically speeds up the

pace of the game.

In addition, when you play online poker, you have the option

to multi-table. Multi-tabling is the ability to play multiple

tables of poker at once. Personally, I play four tables at once

whenever I am playing online. And when I play online, I

typically see, at minimum, 50 hands per hour on each table

that I play. So by playing four tables online, I can play, at

minimum, 200 hands per hour, which is roughly 6 times as

many hands as I would be able to play in a live game.

OPPONENT SKILL LEVEL Online poker players tend to be much better than live poker

players at the lower limits; however, as you move up in

limits, you will find that the opponents you play against in

live poker are much better.

WHY ARE ONLINE POKER PLAYERS BETTER?

Mainly due to poker Black Friday. As the recreational poker

players left the online poker player pool, the better players

stayed. Unfortunately, many of the recreational poker

players have not returned to online poker, thereby making it

a much harder game to beat overall. Because the game is

much harder to beat now than it was before Black Friday,

most online poker players, even at the micro stakes, are

students of the game that have a strong fundamental

understanding of poker theory, strategies, and tactics. Most

online poker players are members of online poker training

sites, poker forums, and study groups.

Conversely, in live poker, especially at the lower limits, many

poker players are purely recreational gamblers. They are not

students of the game, like their online poker counterparts. If

we take a typical Las Vegas casino, such as Harrahs, a

majority of the players in the poker room are there to gamble

and have a good time. Many of them don't understand the

fundamental theory and strategies behind poker. They do not

study poker, like their online counterparts. They may have

read one or two books on poker in the past or have watched

the World Series of Poker (WSOP) or World Poker Tour

(WPT) on the television, but they are definitely not students

of the game and good poker players. This is fairly typical at

the lowest live cash game limits, such as $3-$6 limit and $1-

$2 no limit games. However, as you move up in live cash

games limits, your competition will become much better,

especially when you reach or surpass the $500 buy-in games.

Several members on my website, MicroGrinder.com, play

online micro stakes poker, typically, anywhere from $5-$25

buy-in games, and they are good online poker players. When

they go to their local casino and play live games, they play

and easily beat games with $200-$500 buy-ins. So if you are a

good online micro stakes player, you should be able to easily

beat most low stakes live poker games.

CHAPTER 3. UNDERSTANDING AND

EMBRACING VARIANCE

INTRODUCTION Many poker players have heard of variance, but many truly

don't understand it. This chapter will not only introduce you

to the concept of poker variance, but help you to understand

the importance of embracing it.

DEFINITION Poker variance is nothing more than the upswings and

downswings in poker. In other words, it is negative and

positive variance. Negative variance is when we are running

bad and cannot win a hand. Positive variance, on the other

hand, is when we are running good and can’t seem to lose.

IMPORTANCE So why is understanding and embracing variance so

important? Poker players, who don't understand why

upswings and downswings occur in poker, are more likely to

go on tilt. Going on tilt causes you to play badly, spew off

chips, and kill your bankroll, which is definitely something

we want to prevent.

NEGATIVE VARIANCE Negative variance occurs when we are on downswings. We

commonly call them cooler sessions, where we are getting

cold cards and we cannot win a hand. The downside of

negative variance to poker players, who don't understand

and embrace it, is it often leads them to play on tilt, which as

we know, causes us to spew off chips and kill our bankroll.

One important thing to note about negative variance is that

running bad doesn't always mean you're playing bad. We

cannot automatically assume we are playing bad when we

aren't winning. What we need to do is to further investigate

the way we played by doing a hand history analysis to

determine if we played a hand in an optimal fashion.

During my last online poker session, I went on a ravenous

negative variance downswing in a matter of 100 hands. In

this short time frame, I lost close to 4.5 buy-ins with pocket

queens, getting cracked four times and AK crushed by a bad

beat. I did not play these hands poorly, but suffered the

consequences of negative variance. Due to my understanding

of negative variance, I did not let it overly affect my game,

and by the end of my session, 300 hands later, I had

recovered almost 4 buy-ins.

POSITIVE VARIANCE On the other end of the spectrum is positive variance.

Positive variance is when we are running really well, we are

on major upswings and heater sessions, catching cards, and

we feel like we can’t lose a hand. Just like with negative

variance, there is a downside to positive variance. The

downside to positive variance is the invincible syndrome.

The invincible syndrome is when you feel you can't lose a

hand, and you end up overplaying cards in hands you

shouldn't have, which causes you to lose some of your

winnings and spew off chips you shouldn't have lost.

Just like with negative variance, positive variance and

running good don't always mean you are playing well. When

we are running well, we should also review the hands we

played. We should look at the hands in which we won big

pots and determine if we played these hands optimally. Just

because we sucked out on somebody or won a huge pot

doesn't mean we played it properly.

During my last visit to Las Vegas, I witness positive variance

at its greatest. I was playing spread limit at the Excalibur, and

a recreational poker player, who was a stereotypical loose

passive calling station, was catching cards like crazy. Over

the span of a few hours, I witnessed him win a majority of the

hands he played with numerous full houses, quads at least

three times, and an insane amount of suck outs, including

sucking out on my pocket queens by making trips sixes on

the river. He hit several high hand jackpots and simply could

not lose.

WHAT CAUSES VARIANCE So what causes a variance? Well, it's nothing other than the

randomness of the cards. In regards to if we are running

good or running bad, it's the luck of the draw of the cards. If

we are lucky, the cards that are dealt will be cards that are in

our favor, just like with my example about the Las Vegas

heater session. If we are unlucky, the cards that are dealt will

be bad for us and good for our opponents, we won’t hit our

draws, our big hands won’t hold up, and we’ll lose a lot of

hands and money.

HOW LONG DOES VARIANCE LAST? Statistically, variance becomes minimized over a long period

of time; moreover, we tend to experience variance in short

periods of time. However, it is not uncommon for people to

experience both positive and negative variance for prolonged

periods of time.

I most recently went on a 24,000 hand breakeven session,

where I ran really well for the first 12,000 hands, and then

for the next 12,000 hands, I could not seem to win a hand. I

have also read of poker pros, who have gone on 100,000

hand breakeven sessions, and even pros, who said they had a

losing year of poker. So with that said, the length of variance

can vary drastically, and we really never know how long it

will last. It will simply vary from person to person. So if you

are experiencing a prolonged downswing, definitely consider

that it is a consequence of negative variance, because it most

likely is if you are a good poker player.

SAMPLE SIZE AND VARIANCE To illustrate how sample size plays a huge role in variance, I

have completed a simple coin toss scenario, using an online

coin toss simulator. We can equate a simple coin toss to

poker by the stereotypical coin flip situation of AK versus a

pocket pair. While this poker coin flip situation is not a pure

50/50 scenario, it is close enough. So in the example below,

we can assume heads is AK and tails is QQ.

Below is a 15 coin flip example graph, where I completed 5

separate 15 coin flip samples and recorded the percentage

that heads and tails hit.

What you will notice with the 15 coin flip example is that

neither heads nor tails lands 50% of the time. In fact, there is

a large discrepancy between when heads and tails hits, with

either heads or tails landing 60-67%, and the other landing

33-40% of the time. This is variance. While we expect the

results to be close to 50/50, they often aren’t in small sample

sizes. We see the same thing in poker. While we expect QQ to

win close to 50% of the time against AK, it might lose four

out of five times in a variance downswing session.

Now, let’s look at a 150 coin flip example below. This sample

size is 10 times greater than the previous, and what we

notice is that we are getting results closer to a 50/50

expected result. We can see as we increase sample size, the

effect of variance is greatly diminished.

So what is the takeaway from this? It is simply that in small

sample sizes, we will see unexpected results. Such as in

poker, when we have AK versus QQ, and we expect QQ to win

approximately 55% of the time, and AK ends up winning 10

out of 15 times. However, if we do this scenario over a larger

sample size, we will start to see our expected results.

So when you are playing poker and see unexpected results,

such as your aces getting cracked by a set, two pair, flush, or

straight when you are all-in pre-flop, understand this is

short-term variance, and over the long run, your aces will

hold up as expected.

If you do not believe me, I implore you to analyze your poker

hand history, where you had QQ versus AK all-in pre-flop to

see if you were affected by short-term variance and

unexpected results. If you use poker tracking software, such

as Poker Tracker 4 or Hold’em Manager 2, this is very easy to

do.

So do not be deterred by unexpected results when you are

experiencing negative variance and are getting sucked out.

Understand that in the long-run, if you played the hand

correctly, and you were the statistical favorite, you will win

money in the long run.

DEALING WITH VARIANCE There are some simple strategies for dealing with variance.

The first strategy is simply to take a break when you're

running badly. When you're running badly, and you are

starting to feel as if you're becoming tilted, simply take a

break and stop playing poker. Remember that being tilted

can cause you to play bad and spew off chips, so by

preventing ourselves from playing on tilt, we save ourselves

from losing money that we would have lost if we played

tilted.

The second strategy is to not think you're invincible when

you are running really well. Remember that many players

can become susceptible to the invincibility syndrome when

they are running really well and experiencing positive

variance. Remember to not overplay cards and draws, but to

always play your best poker game, regardless of the results.

The last and most important strategy is simply to embrace

variance and don't let it affect your game.

EMBRACING VARIANCE If we understand what variance is, both positive and

negative, we are less likely to let it influence our poker game.

Those who understand variance also understand they have

no control over it, and it is amplified in the short-term and

minimized in the long-term. This is why so many great poker

players tell us not to be result-oriented in the short-term.

SHORT-TERM RESULTS ORIENTATION

We must remember that when we are playing poker, we

should not focus on the results in the short-term. Why is this?

Variance is magnified in the short-term, also, because the

concept behind playing good poker is to focus on making the

correct decisions, regardless of the outcome a particular

poker hand. In the short-term, we do not want to let the

result of certain hands, whether we won or lost a big hand,

affect us playing a hand properly in the future. Instead, we

want to focus on ensuring we played a hand correctly, based

upon analysis of the hands after the fact. If we play the hand

correctly, then the results do not matter.

When I went on my 4.5 buy-in downswing over 100 hands, I

did not let the results deter me. Instead, I played through it,

focusing on playing good poker, and I was able to get back

most of my losses unbelievably quickly in a single session

after being down a large amount.

SUMMING UP Remember that variance is an essential aspect of the game of

poker, and we must understand and embrace it. Also,

remember that the element of luck in poker causes short-

term variance. So, with that said, we should expect to

experience larger variance upswings and downswings in

small sample sizes.

Also, remember that losing in the short-term doesn't

necessarily mean you are playing badly. Conversely, winning

in the short-term doesn't mean you're playing well. Variance,

whether it is positive or negative, plays a major for role in

how well you do in a small sample size of hands.

Therefore, never rely on your short-term results to

determine if you are a winning or losing poker player.

Instead, focus on playing hands correctly and properly,

regardless of the outcome. Once you have a sample size of

around 50,000 hands or greater, you can look at your results

and win rate to determine how well you're doing.

CHAPTER 4. MANAGING TILT In this chapter, we are going talk about the concept of tilt,

because it derails many poker players’ careers and decimates

their bankrolls at the same time. Having sound strategies to

combat tilt is important to becoming and staying a successful

poker player.

DEFINITION So what is tilt? Tilt can be defined as an altered mental state,

specifically being angry or frustrated, when playing poker.

CONSEQUENCES OF TILT Tilt causes poker players to play poorly and make bad

decisions at the poker table that they normally wouldn't

make. This is due to their altered state of mind, which affects

their ability to think clearly and rationally. Tilt usually causes

poker players to lose money they shouldn't have lost by

playing hands they shouldn't have played and spew chips

they shouldn't have spewed off.

WHAT CAUSES TILT? The most common reason for going on tilt is taking a really

bad beat or losing a massive pot. However, there are several

other ways in which tilt can occur.

For example, losing multiple hands in a row, even if they are

small pots, can cause a poker player to go on tilt. Being dealt

cold cards for a long period of time can also cause a poker

player to go on tilt. Simply being annoyed by a particular

opponent at the table can also cause many poker players to

go on tilt. Last, factors outside of the poker game that are

affecting a poker player’s personal life can also cause tilt. So,

as you can see, there are many different factors that can

cause a person to go on tilt.

WE ALL TILT We all tilt. It is just a fact of human nature. Even the best of

the best poker pros in the world tilt. Phil Helmuth, an

excellent live tournament poker player, is known for his over

the top, televised tilting moments. When Phil Ivey lost over a

$1 million dollar hand to Tom Dwan with a straight over

straight playing 3-ways, he was most definitely tilted, and

you could see it in his eyes and facial expression. I have

greatly struggled with tilt in the past, and it has taken me

years to more easily overcome it. In poker, tilt and the

psychological aspect of the game is the hardest aspect for

most poker players to master. So do not be alarmed if you

tilt, because we all do to some extent.

STRATEGIES FOR COMBATING TILT Now that we know what tilt is and what causes it, we need to

develop strategies for managing it. In this section, I will talk

about several effective strategies for managing tilt that you

can implement into your poker game.

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE The first strategy is emotional intelligence. We need to

understand our own emotions and understand how they

affect our poker game. By developing emotional intelligence,

we allow ourselves to make proactive adjustments at the

poker table when we feel ourselves becoming tilted. This is

essential, because we need to know when we are becoming

tilted, so we can take proactive measures before we blow our

top and spew off chips due to playing on tilt.

TAKING A BREAK Taking a break is one of the most common strategies that

players utilize when they go on tilt. Moreover, it is one of the

best strategies we can implement as a poker player. When

you're feeling tilted, simply get up from the poker table and

take a break. Your break can be five minutes or five days; it

all depends on you. You should not return to the poker table

until you're no longer tilted, and you have your confidence

back as a poker player. Doing so will prevent you from

making costly tilted mistakes at the poker table.

DE-STRESSING TECHNIQUES It might be a good idea to have a technique for de-stressing

when you take a break from the poker table. For some

people, this can be as simple as having a stress ball to

squeeze to alleviate stress from tilt. For others, it might mean

smoking a cigarette, taking a walk, watching television,

exercising, or eating a meal. The key here is to find an activity

that best helps you alleviate your stress and tilt and have it

readily available when play poker. One really cool de-

stressing item that was available at Hooters Resort in Las

Vegas when they first opened their poker room years ago

was a punching bag in their poker room. If you took a bad

beat and got tilted, you could walk over to the punching bag

and hit it to alleviate your tilt and stress.

UNDERSTANDING & EMBRACING VARIANCE After reading the previous chapter on variance, you now

know that variance is inevitable in poker, whether it is

negative or positive variance. By understanding this, you

should not let bad beats and downswings affect your mental

game.

By understanding variance, you know it is out of your

control, and you should not allow it to affect your poker

game and the way you play. By understanding and embracing

variance, you will naturally decrease your likelihood of going

on tilt.

RESULTS-ORIENTATION We should also not be results-oriented in the short-term.

This means you should not worry about whether you're

winning or losing in a particular poker session. Rather, you

should focus on your poker game and ensure you are

implementing effective strategies and tactics in your playing

style. Being results-oriented in the short-term only leads you

to make mistakes at the table and go on tilt.

If I was results-oriented, I would have gotten irritated with

my recent 4.5 buy-in downswing that occurred in a matter of

approximately 15 minutes. When I used to struggle with tilt, I

probably would have cursed at my computer and quit my

session, feeling down and insecure about my poker game.

But now, understanding variance and being able to manage

my tilt, I do not let downswings like this negatively affect me

like they used to in the past. Yes, downswings are

disappointing, and they really do suck, but all we can do is

accept them and do our best to play through them, striving to

play our best poker game. So the next time you take a bad

beat, take it in stride and don’t dwell on it.

AVOIDING CAFFEINE & ALCOHOL While people really don't consider this factor, caffeine and

alcohol can easily cause poker players to go on tilt. Why is

this? For certain people, caffeine and alcohol can lead to

altered states of mind, which can cause you to more easily go

on tilt.

For example, if you are sensitive to caffeine, drinking too

much coffee or soda, before and during a poker session, can

cause nervousness and rushed decisions at the table.

Additionally, when we are in poker rooms in places, such as

Las Vegas, we often see players drink alcohol at the poker

table. It is never a good idea to be intoxicated while you're

playing poker, simply because you will make poor decisions

overall.

Remember, you don’t want to be the drunk at the poker table

if you are there to be a winning poker player. Don’t fall into

the trap of getting free drinks when you play poker, because

just like driving, alcohol will inhibit your ability to think

clearly and make correct decisions at the poker table. If you

are on vacation in Las Vegas and playing live poker for fun,

by all means, enjoy yourself and have some drinks on the

house, but just remember, you won’t be playing your best

poker by any means.

EXERCISING REGULARLY & EATING HEALTH Exercising and eating healthy are some simple strategies for

not only improving your poker game, but improving your

overall health and decreasing your stress. Exercise effectively

decreases stress by releasing endorphins in our bodies,

which improves both our physical and mental state of mind.

Many poker professionals adhere to strict exercise and diet

routines; so should you. Not only is eating a proper diet and

exercising good for your poker game, but by doing so, you

will ensure you live a longer and healthier life.

HAVING A POKER (WORK) LIFE BALANCE With everything in life, there needs to be balance. If you play

poker for a living or as a side income, you should not let

poker consume your entire life. Instead, you should have

balance in your poker life. Having a balanced lifestyle will

allow you to put poker into perspective and will also

minimize your chances of burning out, just like any other job.

Do not let poker consume your entire life. If you do, just like

with most things, you will most definitely burn out. Many

poker professionals and serious recreational players go

through periods when poker is no longer enjoyable for them,

and they quit the game. Lots of times, this is because poker

encompasses their entire life. If they are not playing poker,

they are studying poker – which can become an endless

grind.

Your goal, as a poker player, is to keep it enjoyable, because if

you no longer enjoy it, you’ll quit playing. Keep a balanced

lifestyle, have a social life and hobbies outside of the poker

world. It is as simple as that.

CHAPTER 5. POKER WIN RATES How do we determine how well we are doing over the long-

term when playing poker online? We use our win rate. This

chapter will discuss two specific online poker win rates that

are commonly used in online poker to gauge success, big

blinds per hundred (bb/100) for cash games, and return on

investment (ROI) for tournaments.

WHY SHOULD I TRACK MY WIN RATE? Some newer poker players may wonder why it is important

to track their win rate. They may think that because they're

winning money, they are doing okay, and there is no reason

or need to track their win rate.

The main reason all serious poker players should track their

win rate is because it is a metric in which we, as poker

players, can judge our long-term success in poker.

Additionally, it tells us how much we can expect to make

from poker over a long period of time. Last, our win rate will

tell us how well we are doing. If our win rate is too low, then

we know there are leaks in our game that we need to

improve. Conversely, if our win rate is very high, we may

consider moving up to the next level and playing at higher

stakes.

ONLINE CASH GAME WIN RATES In online cash games, the most common win rate is big blinds

per 100, which is noted by the acronym bb/100. Big blinds

per 100 is the number of big blinds (bb) won per every 100

hands you play.

This win rate metric is not commonly manually calculated,

but instead, automatically calculated and tracked by poker

tracking software suites, such as Poker Tracker 4, Holdem

Manager 2, and Free Poker Database.

WHAT IS A GOOD BB/100 WIN RATE? Below is a rough sketch of what is considered a good bb/100

win rate:

1 to 4 bb/100 is a good, solid win rate

5 to 9 bb/100 is an exceptional win rate

10+ bb/ 100 is absolutely crushing the game

As you can see in the list above, anything with a 1bb/100 or

greater win rate is considered a good win rate. In fact,

0bb/100 is okay, because it means you are not losing any

money.

ONLINE TOURNAMENT WIN RATES Online tournament poker uses an entirely different win rate

than online cash games. With online tournament poker,

whether you are playing multi-table tournaments (MTTs) or

sit and go tournaments (SnGs), the win rate metric

commonly used is return on investment (ROI).

The reason tournament poker uses a different win rate

metric than cash game poker is because your win rate in

tournament poker is independent of the amount of hands

you play and focuses solely on how much money you win per

tournament; therefore, we cannot rely on a metric, such as

bb/100, simply because it is based upon how many hands

you play and not the outcome of a poker tournament.

Your tournament ROI is the same measurement as an

investment ROI. It is the percentage rates of return that you

expect to earn on the average from your tournament buy-in.

For example, if your tournament buy-in is $100 and your ROI

is 25%, you expect to win $125 on average, over the long-

term for each $100 tournament you buy-in. This will give you

a $25 profit from each tournament, hence the 25% ROI.

WHAT IS A GOOD ROI WIN RATE? Below is a rough sketch of what is considered a good ROI win

rate:

10% is an okay win rate

20 to 30% is an exceptional win rate

30% or greater is phenomenal

WIN RATES & SAMPLE SIZE Sample size plays an important role in calculating accurate

win rates. In online cash game poker, many poker players

state that you should play, at minimum, 100,000 hands

before you can estimate an accurate long-term win rate.

However, for recreational and part-time cash poker players, I

recommend 50,000 hands as a starting point. In the online

tournament poker, it is recommended that you play

thousands of tournaments. However, for recreational part-

time tournament poker players, 100 tournaments is a good

starting point.

When you're just starting out playing poker online, whether

you decide to play cash games or tournaments, do not rely on

your win rates until you have a decent sample size. You will

see a lot of variance in your win rate. Lots of new poker

players fall into the trap of being short-term results-oriented,

where they run really good for a short period of time and

over-estimate their win rate at a particular stake.

If you run really well over a small sample size, say five

thousand hands, and you are up 15 buy-ins, don’t

automatically assume you are crushing the game. You may be

crushing the game, or you may just be on an extended heater.

To really know how well you are doing and what a long-term

sustainable win rate is for you, you really do need a very

large sample size of hands, at least 50,000 or more.

WIN RATES DECREASE AT HIGHER STAKES As you move up in stakes and play tougher and more skilled

opponents, naturally, your win rate will decrease. Why is

this? Simply because the higher the stakes you play, the

better the opposition. These players are less likely to make

costly errors that happen at the micro stakes. Moreover, you

will have a smaller skill advantage edge over your opponents

as you move up in stakes. You should expect that as you

move up from, let’s say, 10NL to 25NL, your opponents at the

higher stakes will be more skilled than the overall player

pool at 10NL. The regular players will make fewer mistakes

and will also pounce at any chance to attack your mistakes.

So do not be alarmed if you move up in stakes, and you see a

decrease in your win rate. In fact, you should expect it. But

this is perfectly okay. You don’t have to win at the same

bb/100 at a lower cash game stake or ROI for lower buy-in

tournaments, simply because the overall monetary amount is

higher. So even if your win rate decreases slightly, your

hourly rate will most likely still increase if you are playing

well.

CHAPTER 6. EFFECTIVE BANKROLL

MANAGEMENT Proper bankroll management is the foundation for all

successful poker players. In fact, many poker players have

gone broke because of poor bankroll management, which in

turn, hinders their financial means, poker progress, and

confidence at the poker table.

DEFINING A BANKROLL & BANKROLL MANAGEMENT A bankroll is nothing more than the amount of money you

have set aside to play poker. This is the money to be used

solely for the purpose of financing your poker career and

used for nothing else. For online poker, this is the amount of

money you deposit and keep online.

Bankroll management is a method in which a poker player

manages his or her bankroll. It is a combination of using a

proper bankroll size to determine not only what stakes a

player can currently afford to play, but also minimize the risk

of going bust.

IMPORTANCE OF BANKROLL MANAGEMENT The reason we need to have proper and effective bankroll

management is that it allows us to withstand variance

downswings. When we go on a very substantial variance

downswing and our bankroll is too small, we stand the risk of

losing our entire bankroll and having to start over from

scratch. Bankroll management is a simple concept; however,

lots of poker players neglect its importance and take shots at

higher stakes that their bankroll really cannot support if they

run bad. If you utilize proper bankroll management

strategies, you minimize your chance of going broke, so you

can think of it as a risk management strategy. The more

money with which you have to play, the more you can

withstand downswings and keep playing. The less you have,

the higher the risk you have of going broke.

RECOMMENDED BANKROLL SIZES Below are loose bankroll management size guidelines that

are suitable for most recreational online poker players.

Please remember that these are nothing more than

guidelines. Some poker coaches and authors will recommend

different bankroll management guidelines and sizes, but the

below guidelines are a very good starting point for any

online poker player.

ONLINE CASH GAMES From most online cash game poker players, it is

recommended to have a bankroll size of 20 to 40 buy-ins

(BIs) at your current stake. Below is a sample table of

recommended bankroll requirements for $2NL up to $25NL

micro stakes online games, where I recommend that you

have anywhere from 20 to 40 buy-ins at whatever stake you

currently are playing poker games. For those of you who

multi-table, the more tables you play, the higher your

bankroll requirement. For example, 20 buy-ins would easily

suffice for one or two tables, but you would need a drastically

larger bankroll for eight tables of multi-tabling poker online.

Buy-In Number of Buy-Ins Bankroll Requirement

$2NL 20 to 40 $40 to $80 $5NL 20 to 40 $100 to $200

$10NL 20 to 40 $200 to $400 $25NL 20 to 40 $500 to $1,000

ONLINE TOURNAMENT GAMES

For most online tournament poker players, it is

recommended that you have a bankroll size of 100 buy-ins

for the tournaments that you play. This is because variance is

much greater for tournaments than it is for cash games. In

tournament play, especially multi-table tournaments (MTTs),

you may play numerous tournaments without cashing, which

causes lots of variance in your bankroll. This is why a 100

buy-in bankroll is recommended. In tournaments, there is a

higher risk of having a 0% ROI on your money; however,

when you do cash, and if you make the final table, you will

see a gigantic ROI on your money.

TAKING SHOTS Taking shots is when you're ready to move up to higher

stakes, and it should be based upon the size of your current

bankroll. There are two basic rules to taking shots, which are

highlighted below:

1. Once you reach 20 buy-ins at the next level, you're

ready to take a shot and move up to the next level.

2. After you move up to the next level, if your bankroll

falls to 15 buy-ins, then you need to move back down

to the lower level.

SIMPLE TAKING SHOTS EXAMPLE If you start with $100 for a $5NL bankroll of 20 buy-ins, and

you build that bankroll up to $200, you now have 20 buy-ins

at $10NL. You're now ready to move up to $10NL; however,

if your bankroll ever falls back down to $150, which would

be 15 buy-ins at $10NL, you need to move back down to

$5NL until you build your bankroll back up to $200 to take

another shot at $10NL.

THE 1-TABLE INCREMENTAL APPROACH

Above is an example for those who wish to jump directly

from one stake to the next; however, there is also another

approach, called the incremental approach, which is suitable

for those with a very low risk tolerance level. With the

incremental approach, I recommend that once you are ready

to take a shot at the next level, you incrementally add one

table at the higher stake while still playing your current

stake. For example, if you regularly play four tables, then play

one table at the higher stake and three at your current stake.

As you become more accustomed and are comfortable

playing at the higher stakes, incrementally continue to add

one more table at a time at the higher stake until you are no

longer playing your lower stake.

There are a couple of key benefits to this approach to taking

shots. First, you are risking less of your bankroll, initially, so

if you initially run badly, the one table at the higher stake

won’t take a huge hit on your bankroll. Second, because

many players have trepidations and are naturally worried

and cautious when they move up stakes, incrementally

playing one table at the higher stake, concurrently with

tables at your current stake, helps ease the nervousness of

taking shots at higher stakes.

SETS GOALS & STICK TO THEM One thing that both I and MicroGrinder.com’s poker coach,

Reg, see and talk often about is that players often move down

too quickly after they take a shot at a higher stake. They don’t

plan ahead, set specific goals, and if they take a couple of bad

beats and run bad, they move back down too quickly. For

example, a player make decide to take a five buy-in shot at

the next higher stake, but he or she runs bad, gets coolered,

and loses three buy-ins in the first session and moves right

back down to the lower stake.

Doing so is a huge mistake. We have to understand variance

will occur. Sometimes, it will be on our side and jumpstart

our move to the higher stake by initially running good, and at

other times, it will do the exact opposite. If you run bad and

take some bad beats, don’t jump back down to the lower

stake too quickly. Instead, set specific goals for your

challenge to move up in stakes. If you set aside 5 or 10 buy-

ins, play those entire 5 or 10 buy-ins before you move back

down. You will be a better poker player for it.

BASIC TENETS OF BANKROLL MANAGEMENT There are three simple tenets of bankroll management that

all poker players should follow. These tenets are designed to

reduce your risk of ruin, so you never go broke. The tenets

are as follows:

1. Never play outside your financial means

2. Play stakes your bankroll can withstand

3. Focus on your goals

NEVER PLAY OUTSIDE YOUR FINANCIAL MEANS As not only a poker player, but as a responsible person, you

should never play outside of your financial means. If you

cannot afford to play a certain stake or level of poker, then

you should not be playing that game, period. Remember that

variance downswings are a fact of life in poker, and you don't

want to put yourself in a difficult spot where you will bust

your entire bankroll and cause financial harm to yourself

away from the poker table.

PLAY STAKES YOUR BANKROLL CAN WITHSTAND Additionally, always remember to play stakes that your

bankroll can withstand. Do not move up in stakes if your

bankroll cannot withstand a significant variance downswing;

if you do, you may find yourself going broke quickly. This is a

rule that many poker players have broken and have quickly

found themselves back at the lower stakes when they had a

variance downswing – drastically hindering their long-term

success. In poker, we want to make the best overall decisions

that enhance our likelihood of success, and while this

concept is often overlooked, proper bankroll management is

a strategy that can help maximize your change for success

and, at the same time, minimize your chance of going broke

in your poker career.

FOCUS ON YOUR GOALS Last, let your own personal goals dictate your bankroll

management needs. If you are a recreational player, who

plays for fun and has other sources of income, then a smaller

bankroll is okay, because if you do go broke, you can always

just reload. However, if you are using poker as a source of

income and you rely on your bankroll, then you should

strictly adhere to proper bankroll management guidelines to

minimize your chance of going broke.

CHAPTER 7. MULTI-TABLING Multi-tabling is a fairly common strategy that many serious

online poker players utilize to maximize their hourly win

rate. It is nothing more than playing multiple tables of poker

online at once. In fact, whenever I play online, I play four

tables at once, which can be seen in the image below.

For beginning poker players, multi-tabling four tables of

poker at once may seem like a daunting task, which it

definitely can be. I remember, when I first started multi-

tabling, 4 tables seemed an impossible task. Now, it feels

natural. In fact, it actually feels slow at times. On the flip side,

most professional and semi professional poker players will

play anywhere from 8 to 16 tables at once, which is much

greater than what most recreational players are able and

willing to multi-table.

PROS & CONS TO MULTI-TABLING There are upsides and downsides to multi-tabling in online

poker, and I'll talk about them in this section.

PROS TO MULTI-TABLING

The first obvious benefit to multi-tabling is that you increase

the amount of hands you can play per hour. For example, an

online poker player, who is multi-tabling eight tables at once,

can usually play around 480 hands per hour. If we compare

this to somebody who plays live poker, they are only playing

around 30 hands per hour. So an online professional poker

player, who is playing 8 tables at once, is playing roughly 16

times more hands per hour than a live poker player.

The second benefit to multi-tabling is there is simply less

boredom when you play. The downside to playing one table

at a time, such as when you play live, is there is a lot of

downtime between when you are actually playing a hand and

not playing. Multi-tabling effectively eliminates this, because

you are constantly playing a hand on several tables at once.

So when you multi-table, you are often faced with numerous,

simultaneous decisions.

The third benefit to multi-tabling is that it drastically reduces

the learning curve. Because you are playing so many more

hands than your live counterparts, you become more adept

at the game at a much faster pace. The reason is that there

are so many uniquely different situations in poker that it

takes a long time to actually be in these various situations.

However, when you play online and multi-table, you often

find yourself in uniquely different and difficult situations at

the poker table. It is not uncommon for professional poker

players to play upwards of 1 million hands per year. For a

live poker player to play 1 million hands, it would take him

or her approximately 4 years, playing 365 days per year, 24

hours per day. So it is quite astonishing that online

professional poker players, who multi-table, can play so

many hands in a single year.

The last benefits I want to discuss are bonus and rake back

benefits. Certain poker sites will offer bonuses based upon

certain requirements, which often require a substantial

amount of play at the tables. When you multi-table, you are

able to meet the requirements for these bonuses much faster

than if you played one table at a time. Rake back is when an

online poker provider gives you a portion of the rake that

you paid back to you over time. It is usually a fixed

percentage amount and varies greatly from one poker

network to the next. In fact, many poker networks are no

longer providing rake back bonuses. However, for those that

are, playing on them can be a great benefit if you multi-table.

For example, if a poker site offers a 10% rake back bonus and

you played and paid $5000 in rake, you would receive 10%

of that back, which would be $500. So it is highly

recommended to play on sites that offer rake back bonuses,

especially if you multi-table.

CONS TO MULTI-TABLING Now, let's talk about the downsides to multi-tabling. The first

downside to multi-tabling is that if you're multi-tabling a

large amount of tables at once, you will need a bigger

bankroll requirement. For example, a person, who is multi-

tabling 16 tables, will need a bankroll four times as large as a

player, who is multi-tabling four tables. So for some players,

multi-tabling such a large amount of tables may not be

financially feasible, because their bankroll cannot support it.

The second downside is the inability to focus on particular

hands. When we play only one or two tables at once, we

allow ourselves the ability to really focus on each hand and

make the most optimal decisions as each hand is played.

However, if we're multi-tabling 6 to 16 tables at once, we are

constantly scanning all the tables and making numerous

decisions at once with incomplete information. So many

times when poker players multi-table, it is easy to go into an

autopilot mode and focus on using standard lines for

common situations. The downside to playing standard lines

is that they are not as optimal as if you gave all your time and

attention to each particular hand you are playing.

The third and final downside I want to talk about is variance.

When we are playing so many tables at once, such as playing

hundreds of hands per an hour, short-term variance will be

magnified. For example, if you are running really badly on all

16 tables that you are playing in one hour, you may be down

16 buy-ins or more in a single hour. Contrast this to a live

poker player who is only playing one table, and in a cooler

session, you will be down approximately 15 more buy-ins

than your live counterpart.

STRATEGIES FOR MULTI-TABLING If you are new to multi-tabling, the strategy for implementing

multi-tabling to your poker game is quite simple. First, start

with two tables, and if you're uncomfortable with the speed

of the game multi-tabling two tables at once, simply don't

multi-table. If you are able to multi-table 2 tables at once,

then as your decisions begin to become second nature and

you are able to make decisions fairly quickly while playing

two tables at once, then you're ready to add a third table.

Simply follow this strategy and slowly add additional tables

over time, so long as you're comfortable with the speed of

the game and are not timing out on the tables because you're

playing too many tables at once. Last, always remember that

your bankroll needs to support your multi-tabling efforts. A

bankroll of 20 to 40 buy-ins will suffice for playing up to four

tables at once. If you decide to multi-table more than four

tables at once, then I highly recommend that you increase

your bankroll accordingly. For example, if you are eight

tabling, you should probably have anywhere from 40 to 80

buy-ins available in your bankroll.

CHAPTER 8. BECOMING A STUDENT OF

THE GAME If you want to be successful in poker, continually improve

your game, and move up in stakes, then you must be a

student of the game. Many players become comfortable

where they are and don't seek to improve their game past a

certain point. That's okay if that's your goal, but if you want

to be a highly successful poker player, you should seek to

continually become a better player by being a student of the

game.

IMPORTANCE? Being a student of the game is also important for other

reasons. First of all, poker is a constantly evolving game.

Strategies for both cash games and tournament play have

continually evolved over the years. Top poker players are

continually developing new strategies and tactics to

implement into their game. Currently, there is a big push for

poker players to understand the concept of game theory

optimal (GTO). This is one example of how the game has

evolved over the years.

If we don't stay abreast on the game and how it changes with

new strategies, theory, and tactics, then we, as poker players,

risk becoming irrelevant as the game and our opponents

evolve without us. Remember, as the game is evolving with

the players around it, it becomes more difficult to beat. So if

we don't seek to understand and implement new strategies

and tactics into our game, then we may no longer be able to

beat it in the future.

HOW TO BECOME A STUDENT OF THE GAME?

Becoming a student of the game is a fairly simple process,

which I'll talk about in detail in the next chapter; however,

here are some quick guidelines:

Dedicate time to improve your game

Study and learn off the tables

Perform hand history, database, and the finder

reviews

Read poker books and watch poker training video

series

Join a study group and consider getting a coach

Join relevant poker forums

Just like anything in life, we have to dedicate our time to

improve ourselves in whatever we do. We can use numerous

examples from cooking to snowboarding. Top chefs in the

world attend culinary school, train in multiple restaurants as

prep cooks and sous-chefs to help them attain their goal of

becoming an executive chief. Likewise, freestyle

snowboarders train off and on the mountain, in skate parks,

gyms, and gymnastics pits improving their skills and tricks.

Top chefs and world-class snowboarders put in thousands of

hours, honing their skillsets.

So if we want to become skilled poker players, we should do

the same. We need to study and learn the game both off and

on the table, utilizing all the resources available to us to

improve our poker game. It is not enough to read one poker

book, watch a few poker videos, and then grind away on the

tables. We need to set goals, attain them, and constantly

improve our poker game. Poker is an easy game to learn, but

takes years to master. In this section, I’ll talk briefly about the

resources and ways we, as poker players, can improve our

poker game and success at the poker table.

It is true that most serious online poker players play

hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of poker hands per

year – which drastically reduces their learning curve and

allows them to become better players. However, they also

spend numerous hours per week off the table studying and

learning the game of poker.

How do they do this? The perform hand history reviews,

where they review and analyze interesting and tough hands

they played in detail, breaking down every aspect of the hand

to determine if they played it in an optimal manner. They

analyze their entire database of millions of poker hands to

determine where leaks in their game exist, so they can fix

them. Serious poker players read as many poker books as

they can get their hands on, and they join poker video

training sites to learn from the top poker pros in the world.

Last, they join poker study groups, forums, and get poker

coaching.

As you can see, there are many ways you can improve your

poker game away from the poker table. The resources are

readily available, with many of them being free. You just

need to seek them out, set aside time to improve your poker

game, and become a better poker player. In the next chapter,

I’ll talk in detail about the resources available to you.

CHAPTER 9. POKER PLAYER RESOURCES In this chapter, we will discuss the poker player resources

that are out there and easily available for you to use to help

you to become a student of the game.

Those resources include:

Books

Video Training

Forums

Study Groups

Coaching

POKER BOOKS Since you're reading this book, you're well aware that poker

books are a great way to improve your game. So I definitely

recommend that you continue to read poker books to

improve your game. There are excellent poker books for all

aspects of the game, including poker math, poker theory,

poker psychology, poker tournament strategy, and poker

cash game strategy.

When you are looking to read new poker books, be sure to do

your homework and make sure the book you're reading is

relevant for today's game and does not include strategies

that are no longer relevant. To help you with some of the

guesswork, we at MicrGrinder.com have compiled a list of

recommended poker books, which we believe are excellent

books for today's poker game. Here is a link to those books:

MicroGrinder.com Recommended Poker Books.

Additionally, when you are looking to purchase a new poker

book, be sure the book is appropriate for your skill level.

Some poker books, such as this one, is designed for beginning

poker players, while other books, such as The Mathematics of

Poker by Bill Chen, are designed for more advanced players.

VIDEO TRAINING Another great way to improve your poker game is poker

video training series. There are numerous websites

dedicated to providing us, as poker players, excellent video

training poker series. There are websites dedicated to

tournament poker strategy, mid and high stakes poker

strategy, and low and micro stakes poker strategy.

Most, if not all, of these poker training video sites charge a

monthly subscription fee to access their video series. They

are all viewable streaming online, and some allow you to

download the videos directly to your computer or tablet.

Moreover, prices for these websites can vary from $10 per

month to upwards of $100 per month.

Some of the more popular websites are as follows:

RunItOnce.com

DeucesCracked.com

IveyLeague.com

CardRunners.com

GrinderSchool.com

PokerVIP.com

We, at MicroGrinder.com, also offer free video training on

our website, designed for micro stakes players. We

recommend that you check out our website and our video

series here or on our YouTube channel before you spend

money on sites such as the ones listed above.

FORUMS

Forums are also a great way to improve your game. On

forums, such as our forum on MicroGrinder.com, you can

interact with other poker players and ask questions to help

improve your game. For example, in our forum and many

others, there are dedicated hand history review sub-forums

where you can post hands that you played to get feedback

from other forum members. There are also sub-forums to

discuss general poker strategy and theory and many other

aspects of the game. There are many different poker forums

on the Internet, and you can simply find them by Googling

the term, poker forum.

STUDY GROUPS Study Groups are also an excellent way to improve your

game. Through poker forums, you can interact with other

members and create your own private study group. At

MicroGrinder.com, we have a dedicated Skype study group

for our active forum members. The great thing about having

a Skype study group is that you can interact in real time via

their instant messaging system. You can also perform sweat

sessions, which are when one player shares his screen via a

video call on Skype with another member of the study group.

During the sweat session, both players can discuss tactics

and strategy while watching one of the players play. I highly

recommend you find and become part of a Skype poker study

group.

COACHING The last poker player resource I want to talk about is poker

coaching. Poker coaching is a phenomenal way to drastically

improve your game; however, it is not for beginning poker

players, who are just starting out and have only been playing

the game for a week to a month. Instead, poker coaching is a

great way to improve your game if you have a strong,

fundamental understanding of the game, but you have leaks

in your game, and you are having difficulties improving. I

recommend poker coaching for all serious poker players,

whether you're playing at the micro stakes or higher stakes,

and you want to improve your game.

Poker coaching sessions vary. They can be in the form of

sweat sessions, hand histories, reviews, database and leak

finder analysis, theory discussion, poker psychology

discussion, or whatever else you want to discuss with your

poker coach. Also, poker coaching rates can vary drastically.

At the micro stakes, you can expect to pay anywhere from

$25-$50 per hour. As you move up in stakes, it is not

uncommon to see the top pros charge upwards of $400 per

hour.

At MicroGrinder.com, we offer low-cost micro stakes poker

coaching services. If you are micro stakes player, our coaches

offer hourly coaching from $35-$40 per hour. You can read

more about our poker coaching services here.

If you determine you want to seek poker coaching, I

recommend you do your due diligence by reading reviews

and testimonials from previous students, as well as

comparing prices from various coaches. You can find coaches

on poker forums, as well as poker video training sites.

CHAPTER 10. NEXT STEPS Congratulations, you made it to the end. We definitely

discussed a lot of different topics in this book, and I hope you

are able to take valuable information away from each section.

By now, you should have a stronger understanding of

important topics, such as poker variance, tilt, poker win

rates, effective bankroll management, and many other topics.

Moreover, you should be able to apply these topics,

strategies, and tactics in your poker game to help improve

your overall poker game.

WHAT’S NEXT? I recommend that beginning, inexperienced poker players

seek resources next. If you are a beginning poker player,

definitely soak up as much material as possible that is

available to you. Use the resources we discussed in the book

to improve your game.

If you are an experienced poker player, and you read this

book to freshen your knowledge in certain aspects of poker, I

definitely recommend you focus on areas where you have

identified leaks. Leak finding is a great way to move forward

and see what areas on which you need to next focus.

Last, remember, always be a student of the game and utilize

resources available to you. Thank you for reading my first

book on poker, and I wish you the best of luck at the tables.

Take care.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Find out more at http://www.MicroGrinder.com

Other Poker Books by Alton Hardin: Developing Poker Reads Kindle eBook

Udemy Courses:

Crush Online Micro Stakes Poker Course

Essential Poker Math for NLHE Course

Developing Poker Reads Course

FREE Poker Fundamentals Course

Facebook Group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/microgrinder/

YouTube Page:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Sbyk7qnsiKJRLt2Xy

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Twitter Feed: https://twitter.com/Micro_Grinder

ONE LAST THING… If you enjoyed this book and found it useful, I’d be very

grateful if you’d post a short review on Amazon. Your

support really does make a difference, and I read all of the

reviews, personally, so I can get your feedback and make this

book even better.

If you’d like to leave a review, all you need to do is click the

review link on this book’s page on Amazon here:

http://amazon.com/link (direct link to “Create-a-Review”

page on Amazon for book).

Thanks again for you support!