Poker Articles

So you've completed your General Poker Education classes and you want to begin work on an advanced degree in Tournament Play? This isn't as easy as getting lucky and scoring a huge win in the WSOP or taking down a Sunday Major and being off and running. If you are going to treat this as a career, and call yourself a "professional," then you need to be prepared to maintain a win rate over the long haul and you need to find ways to stay in action between those rare big scores.

We're not here to prepare you to win the World Series of Poker, only the gods of chance can offer that. We survive as a school because of our high job placement rate and the success of our students. This means we teach all aspects of being a serious tournament player and approaching the game from a logical perspective. It's not as much fun as just playing satellites into big live events and some major online tournaments waiting for your big break, but it's a lot more likely to support your family and help you build up a bankroll.

REQUIRED CLASSES

Tournament Bankroll Management - General bankroll stuff and Kelly numbers. Our faculty here at Poker College have seen far too many talented tournament players put out of action because of bad bankroll management. Many of these players now have backers who take half of their profits, simply because the backer is able to manage money and the player is not. To succeed in the world of tournament poker, proper bankroll management is an absolute necessity, and to that end the student will study bankroll management as it pertains to tournament poker and write up a complete list of required bankroll numbers. These numbers will include a list of numbers for moving up based on bankroll size and ROI as well as numbers for moving down when the invariable downswings occur.

Required reading for this class includes tournament bankroll management advice in as many online poker forums as possible, as well as rereading the section on bankroll management in Professional Poker by Mark Blade. Reading each article on bankroll management in the PocketFives Poker Strategy Archives is also recommended. A complete bankroll management plan is also required for graduation and this plan must be submitted for peer review in the Poker Discussion forum. This plan must not only include the necessary numbers, but also the methods by which they will be followed and solutions to any psychological hurdles that have prevented the player from following good bankroll management principles in the past.

Income and Expectations in Tournament Play - In this class the student will prepare themselves for making a living playing online tournaments by developing realistic expectations and goals. Research, talking to working pros on forums or in-person, and looking at user-compiled statistics should allow the student to develop and understanding of what kind of income can be expected at various buy-in levels and with different amounts of skill. When combined with knowledge from the Tournament Bankroll Management class, the student will have reasonable expectations of income based on bankroll growth and expected Return On Investment.

Basic Tournament Play - In this class the student will be exposed to all the basics of tournament play. Theory will not be covered extensively because Tournament Theory Concepts will cover that area. While most players think they understand tournament play, most students of this class discover that their foundation was not as solid as they once believed it to be. Required reading for this class includes Harrington on Hold'em Books One and Two, and completion of all questions in the third volume of the Harrington on Hold'em series.

Advanced Tournament Play - In Advanced Tournament Play, students will learn that Harrington was just an introduction to some solid play concepts and there is much more to learn. To achieve a significant ROI in tournaments big enough to support a full-time pro, moving beyond Harrington is crucial. In this class students will be required to read Winning Poker Tournaments One Hand at a Time by professors Rizen, apestyles, and PearlJammer and develop an understanding of the text. Students will then write out ten hands of their own in a similar style and post these hands to a public forum where they can be reviewed and critiqued by the public and their peers. Required reading includes this excellent piece by Professor Rizen: Moving Beyond Harrington.

Intro to Tournament Theory - To increase ROI and play fundamentally solid tournament poker, the student in Tournament Theory Concepts should understand all the ways that tournament play differs from cash play. Required reading is the seminal work Tournament Poker for Advanced Players by David Sklansky. Students who have read this text and taken extensive notes should do well in the class. Developing an understanding of basic tournament theory will also be a prerequisite for Math 710: Understanding ICM. Students who have previously read the recommended text are expected to reread it with an eye to detail and take notes.

Math 710: Understanding ICM and Deal Making - The Independent Chip Model has brought about a quantum leap in our understanding of tournament play. By giving us an actual understanding of the equity of a given stack we are able to compute the value of plays in tournaments where we could only guess a few years ago. Students should start by working with a simple ICM calculator and learning how changing stacks change the value of other stacks around them. This will also assist the student in understanding correct final table deal making and students are encouraged to read up on this subject while looking at various values in the ICM to get a feel for the actual values of stacks in various situations and payouts structures.

Math 840: Tournament Hand Analysis - Resteals, ranges, EV, shoving ranges etc. This class will be the end of the theory and mathematics portion of the degree in multi-table tournament play, though for an advanced degree some players have gone much farther. Completion of Math 840 requires that the student learn to analyze hands using a spreadsheet or advanced analysis program, in conjunction with Holdem Ranger or another calculator which allows hand ranges and fold frequency evaluation. A tournament coach or tutor can assist the student in learning to analyze hands, or articles on other sites can be used. Members of PokerXFactor should refer to Professor Fox's Hand Analysis video and spreadsheet.

Once the student has mastered hand analysis, two projects must be completed to attain a passing grade in Math 840. The first project is an analysis of 20 crucial hands taken from different blind levels of different tournaments. Each hand must be analyzed to determine the correct play, and all work must be shown. These hands should include opponent hand ranges and reasoning for the assumed ranges, as well as complete analysis. These hands should be submitted to at least two peers for review.

The second project will require the student to research and calculate correct re-stealing ranges for ten unique situations from the middle stages of a multi-table tournament. In each case the student must be facing a raise and in a position to potentially re-raise his opponent to re-steal. The student must assign a typical range to the initial raiser and a portion of the range that the opponent is likely to fold. Using this and an analysis of the hand, the student should determine a correct re-steal range for each situation and back this assumption up with solid mathematical analysis. In finding these ranges, the student will have developed a basic understanding of correct re-steal strategy and should be able to extrapolate most future situations on that basis. These ten hands should be kept for use during play until the student becomes comfortable with stealing and re-stealing concepts as they apply to tournament situations.

Understanding SAGE - Heads-up play is a critical time with such a large percentage of the prize pool at stake. A player who is not familiar with the SAGE system will win less than his or her share of heads up battles against one who is. This system allows for non-exploitable play which your opponent can equal at best and which almost all opponents will lose to more often than they win. An understanding of SAGE will not only allow you to play Nash Optimal poker in these important situations, but it will also allow you to exploit opponents who are straying from correct play and recognize those mistakes immediately so that you can adjust your play to take an exploitative stance.

Mastering SAGE will require the student to read the introduction to the system here.

This will give the student a basic understanding of the system and what it does, while working with an AHK script SAGE calculator and becoming familiar with it. Using an AHK SAGE calculator, and comparing 200 previously played hands in heads-up situations where the effective M was less than 10, should give the student a clear idea about where their mistakes might be and how to improve their heads-up game. Reading the following page may be helpful as well - SAGE System

ELECTIVES

Live Tournament Play - This class is taught off campus as a live seminar with world class instructors. Tuition is much higher per credit than many of our other offerings, but the instruction is excellent. Class registration can be found through WSOP Academy or WPT Boot Camp with credit being issued for this elective upon completion of the student's chosen boot camp.

Brick and Mortar Poker Skills - Playing in an online environment requires a unique skill set, and for those who have played very little "live" poker in an actual (as opposed to virtual) card room, a new set of skills is required to maintain profitability. The most important of these is reading the tells of weaker players. The following texts should serve as a basic reference for understanding the body language, facial expressions, and unconscious reactions of opponents at the tables: Read 'em and Reap and What Every Body is Saying, both by Dave Navarro, Caro's Book of Tells by Mike Caro, and Unmasking the Face by Paul Ekman.

Online Tournament Play - Students who will primarily choose to play their tournaments in the online realm are able to take advantage of some unique online training tools. Joining an approved online poker training site is required for the completion of this elective, and participation on the forums as well as watching many hours of video from multiple different pros on the student's chosen training site is highly recommended. Joining more than one training site may be beneficial and extra credit will be issued. Students looking to find an approved site should ask for peer reviews here on the forums of PocketFives. I can personally recommend PokerXFactor, but there are other qualified schools as well.

Poker Software Skills - An online player has more tools at his/her disposal than a few buttons and a mouse. From tracking software to AHK scripts and from online databases to unique ways of using spreadsheets, a significant advantage can be obtained with the right software and knowledge. As the saying goes, if there's an advantage you can either have or give it up, but someone will be using it and it might as well be you. Learning about these programs and how they work can come from a multitude of sources, but two sources will stand out above all others: PokerSoftware.com and the 2+2 Software Forum. Both of which should be read extensively. Student should find multiple pieces of software which can improve his online results and learn to use them correctly. Fluency in these programs is far preferred to a simple understanding of the basics.

TUITION AND EXPECTED CLASSROOM HOURS

While we here at Poker College are proud of the fact that our students do not typically require financial aid of any sort, there are some expenses inherent in the program. With the exception of electives involving boot camps, the classes listed above should cost no more than $200 each and the entire program can be completed at a cost of less than $1500 and will typically require from 6 months to a year for a full time student, though some may complete the program in a shorter time frame. Each class is expected to require between five and twenty hours of actual study time. Students who work through the program with a professional coach will complete the required credits in much less time, though the increase in expense may be significant. We find that many students learn better on their own for the most part, hiring a tutor to help with occasional tough classes or to check their work, while others learn best in a one-on-one atmosphere.

Completion of the Degree in Tournament Science: Graduates can hold their head high in the poker world with a degree in tournament science from Poker College. This degree makes you one of the most educated tournament players in the world, and a threat at any final table. While you may not be making the big bucks yet, you are certainly ready to get out there and play some tournaments. Print yourself up a diploma and take a few days off to reflect on all of your studies before you get started. Congratulations!

< Poker College (Part 1)   < Poker College (Part 2)   < Poker College (Part 3)

I'll see you at the final table.
Chris Fox Wallace

* Check out Fox's new site at pokerwhip.com

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Scouting Report for Fox

In April 2005, Chris "Fox" Wallace wrote his very first article for PocketFives. He would go on to become one of the most respected internet poker authors in the world and has contributed quality, entertaining content that has inspired many players to give online poker a try. His Basic Bankroll Management article is among the most popular in this site's history and won the 2005 Presto Award for Article of the Year.

Fox is currently an instructor at www.pokerxfactor.com, where he specializes in cash game instruction. He is also the editor of pokerwhip.com. Although he doesn't play online tournaments as much these days, he still has a Dec '08 final table appearance in the Full Tilt Poker $90k Guaranteed for $5,600.


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Articles by Fox

Poker College: (Part 3) Aug 17, 2009
Poker College (Part 2) Aug 10, 2009
Poker College (Part 1) Aug 03, 2009
Taking the Plunge Jun 23, 2005
Wax On, Wax Off Jun 14, 2005
A Damn Fine Week for the Fox Jun 06, 2005
A Quick Update Jun 02, 2005
Thanks to Beanie and Annie May 27, 2005
Killing the Single Tables May 17, 2005
Playing Multiple Tables May 12, 2005
Meeting Beanie and Feldliss May 09, 2005
Still Chasing Bonus Dollars May 06, 2005
A Frantic Week May 02, 2005
Party Bonus This Week Apr 22, 2005
I Learned Something Today Apr 16, 2005
Put On Your Tin Foil Hat... Apr 12, 2005
Whipping the Entire Field Apr 08, 2005
Introduction to Fox Apr 05, 2005

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