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So far Steve Blay has created 34 blog entries.

Top 10 Poker Training Sites for 2020

Poker Training sites come and go, but the best continue to up their game every year. Whenever we update this list, we find sites that have flourished, others that have reached new levels of sophistication, and yet others that have faded away. Once again in 2020, we’ve taken the time to review all these sites and compile a comprehensive list of sites that offer the best training materials for your buck.

We would like to emphasize that these are the opinions of the TestYourPoker.com team on these sites. The list is not necessarily in order, as different sites have different strengths and weaknesses.

June 9th, 2020|Uncategorized|Comments Off on Top 10 Poker Training Sites for 2020
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Omaha Poker Training: Your Next Challenge

Are you looking for a new poker challenge? Perhaps you have been sheltering in place for weeks and are looking for a new project. Or maybe you are happy with your NLH game and are ready for a new challenge. Omaha Poker Training (OPT) may be just what you are looking for. OPT combines the excellent training offered by Advanced Poker Training with the exciting game of Pot Limit Omaha.

OPT has all of the resources, videos, and articles you need to get up to speed with Pot Limit Omaha. Based on the same learning principles of learning through deep practice employed by APT, OPT offers 6 max, 9 max and Multi-Table Tournaments. Expert Advisors help you identify optimal play for any in-game situation. Finally, OPT offers live daily tournaments with other students as well. So you can learn and engage with your poker community at the same time.

Omaha Poker Training

If you’re new to the game, OPT has all the resources necessary to learn the game and practice as you learn. Select from five different game levels to test your skills against a range of opponents. If you are uncertain about what action to take pre-flop, click the Advice button and you’ll see into which category your hand falls, what your situation is, and what action is advised.  Expert players can examine their entire hand range, and their opponent’s ranges, with details on how every hand should be played.

Every hand you play is automatically saved to your own online database for you to review any time you want.  You can even RETRY a hand if you want to test out a different strategy.  OPT’s in-depth reports provide feedback on your strongest and weakest positions … and your play from pre-flop all the way through the river.

Cardplayer Magazine published a great interview about the development of OPT in its March issue. In it, founder Steve Blay talks about the development of PLO bots. Bot development was a real challenge for a game in which you are dealt four cards, but must play exactly two. With OPT, Steve also took on the task of developing GTO bots for the first time, in consultation with PLO experts such as Scott Clements and John Beauprez. If you’re interested in the article, you can read it here.

So let Omaha Poker Training become your next obsession. Whether you are learning PLO for the first time or just looking to brush up on your game. Read their articles, watch some instructional videos, and start training. You won’t regret it.

May 4th, 2020|Poker Training Tips|Comments Off on Omaha Poker Training: Your Next Challenge
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The 2019 WSOP is Coming Soon

It’s that time of year again. Dates are rolling out, games are being announced, and we are all getting excited. The 2019 WSOP (World Series of Poker) is on the horizon. What do we know now about what’s coming to Vegas this summer? More than you might imagine.

The 2019 WSOP will run from May 28th to July 16th at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino. This will be the 50th running of the WSOP, and there will be plenty of events to recognize this fact, including a $50,000 buy in event (get it?) at the start of festivities on May 31st. There will also be an anniversary gala, and an awards evening on June 29th.

The $10,000 NLH Main Event will start on July 3rd this year and crown a champion on the 16th. There have been a couple of changes to the Main Event this year, including a slight increase in chips from the usual 50,000 to 60,000. The 2019 WSOP Main Event will feature the now standard Big Blind Ante. Also, players will have longer to buy in this year. They have all the way to the beginning of Day 2 to lay their money down for the big game.

In case the Main Event is too traditional for you, the 2019 WSOP will also feature a $10,000 NLH short deck event. In addition to short deck, there will be plenty of other poker variants offered. There are omaha, heads up, 7 card stud, HORSE, 2-7 lowball, Razz, crazy 8s and other events for those who scorn the dominant NLH game.

The cheapest bracelet event offered at this summer’s WSOP will be the $400 Colossus. The Colossus begins June 26th. For your $400, you will receive 40,000 chips to play across 40 minute blind levels.

The Big 50 will be another relatively low cost event. In honor of the 50th running of the WSOP, the Big 50 offers 50,000 chips and 50 minute blinds for a mere $500 buy in. This event starts May 28th and features a rake-free first buy in. The Big 50 also comes with a $5 Million Guaranteed prize pool and a $1 Million guaranteed to the winner.

If, on the other hand,  you’re looking to drop some serious cash this summer, there will be twenty events priced at $10,000 or higher. These include a $10,000 Dealers Choice, a $25,000 PLO event, and the $50,000 poker players championship.

Whether you are planning a trip to Vegas this summer, or just gearing up to spend a lot of time watching PokerGo, the 2019 WSOP has plenty to offer.

January 21st, 2019|Live Events|Comments Off on The 2019 WSOP is Coming Soon
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Top 10 Poker Training Sites for 2018

Poker Training has become a big business since the first time we made a list of the top sites in 2009. Every year when we update this list, we find that new training sites have popped up online, and others have gone away. Once again in 2018, we have taken the time to review all these sites, and compile a comprehensive list of sites that offer the best training materials for your buck.

We would like to emphasize that these are the honest opinions of the TestYourPoker.com team on these sites. The list is not necessarily in order, as different sites have different strengths.

February 25th, 2018|Poker Training Tips|4 Comments
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Top 10 Poker Forums for 2018

Let’s face it, we could read poker forums all day. There are so many of them now, but some are definitely better than others. All of the forums listed in this article are active and have high quality posts and advice. Our recommendation for poker improvement would be to join one or two of these forums and become an active member. You will gain much more as an active poster than as a constant lurker.

February 24th, 2018|Poker Training Tips|3 Comments
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Top 10 Cardrooms for Live Poker Tournaments – 2016

The following list is comprised of the casinos / cardrooms with the best live poker tournaments in the U.S., either based on high payouts or frequency of tournaments. We don’t have any affiliation with any of these places, we just like playing at them. We tried to include a wide variety of destinations, so as not to limit you to one place. So, what are you waiting for – pack your bags and head to the some of the best poker rooms in the USA! We have provided links to the tournament page, when possible, for each of these casinos.

March 7th, 2016|Poker Training Tips|Comments Off on Top 10 Cardrooms for Live Poker Tournaments – 2016
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Top 5 Poker Blogs for 2016

Most serious poker players read blogs at one time or another. It’s hard to avoid them if you spend any significant amount of time online reading about poker. But some blogs are definitely better than others. All of the blogs listed in this article are active and have high quality posts.
It’s important to note that we are not affiliated with any of these blogs, and these rankings are just based on the opinions of our team here at www.testyourpoker.com. There are plenty of blogs that we read, but these are the ones that really stood out to us. If you have a personal favorite that we’ve missed, feel free to comment about it.

January 31st, 2016|Poker Training Tips|1 Comment
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How to Train for the WSOP Main Event or Other Live Tournaments

The World Series of Poker has started up again, and we are quickly approaching the Main Event. Many players will participate in the WSOP Main Event this year, but few will leave with more money than they came with. The question is, what separates the winners from the losers? In poker, it’s tough to pinpoint any one factor, but here are some tips to help give you the best chance to win a big live tournament.

July 2nd, 2015|Poker Training Tips|Comments Off on How to Train for the WSOP Main Event or Other Live Tournaments
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The Best Poker Training Program – A Strategic Approach

No one would ever consider running a business without a strategy. Well, some people do it, but they probably aren’t in business very long. The same can be said for poker. Many people decide to play poker without any strategy for getting better, but they probably lose their money rather quickly. To take this a step farther, many people embark on a poker training agenda with the intent of improving, but very few approach their poker training with any strategy. I believe that this is a critical mistake.

The first step in devising an appropriate poker training plan is doing a Big-Picture Analysis of your long-term goals and the steps that it will take to reach them. The bigger your goal, the more time it will take. The farther along you are to accomplishing your goal, the less time it will take. The program I am going to suggest today is directed primarily at beginning and intermediate poker players, but many aspects of it are useful for advanced players also.

January 18th, 2015|General, Poker Training Tips|Comments Off on The Best Poker Training Program – A Strategic Approach
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Bovada Anonymous Poker for U.S. Players

Bovada is the leading online poker room for U.S. players, and it is also the only site with 100% anonymous poker. Over the past several years it has grown to become the most trusted site in terms of reliable payments to U.S. players.  So what is anonymous poker and how can you use it to your advantage?

April 3rd, 2014|General|1 Comment
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