By
Tracy
RealPokerTraining.com, just like its name implies, is a poker instructional website, offering a multitude of videos and articles to help its patrons better their poker games. Some content is available for free, although you do still have to register on the site, while the majority of the content is accessible by paying members only. At $99.95 for the initial signup fee and an ongoing $24.95 charge per month, the price is in line with its most popular competitors, but little steeper than some others.
RPT is a very well laid-out, easy to navigate site, thanks to a recent overhaul. It was co-founded by Ryan Fisler, one of the instructors, and Ryan Hache. Instructors of note include Chris “Fox” Wallace, who writes for PocketFives.com and the newest member of the team, online superpower “Lilholdem954,” (pictured left) who is the number one ranked player on the PocketFives tournament rankings (under his other name, M8kingmoves).
The videos constitute the bulk of the content at RPT and, while they are good overall, can be hit or miss. Typically, the ones by the older instructors are the most educational, while the ones by the younger guys can sometimes be of the “watch me play my balla style and sometimes I’ll comment.” There are always valuable tidbits to be had in every video, however, and while some are definitely better than others, most are at the very least solid. To gain an edge and educate yourself free, sign up for Real Poker Training through our Free Training Page.
David Eisenstein (pictured right) and Chris Wallace(pictured lower left), in particular, are very good instructors. They are easy to listen to and provide quality narration. At the time of this review, the one video by Lilholdem954 was terrible, but we’ll give him a mulligan on his first try.
Surprisingly, there are not a whole lot of hold’em cash game videos; most focus on multi-table and single table tournaments. Eisenstein has contributed a healthy batch of Omaha videos, and in something that is truly unique to RPT, Fisler has produced a lot of five card draw videos.
The videos run very smoothly in an embedded video player right on the site. They cannot be downloaded, for fear of piracy, but as long as you keep your subscription current, you can access them at any time. One very nice feature is that viewers can contribute to a discussion thread directly below the video, so there is no need to navigate to a separate page to talk about the lesson.
The strategy articles are all very good, but don’t really provide anything ground breaking. Of particular strength are the bankroll management articles, which provide detailed instruction for players of varying ability. The instructors also have blogs at RPT.com, which both add to the collection of poker articles and provide insight into the how the instructors are doing in their own poker careers.
With the revamped website, RPT has added discussion forums to the mix, which should become a valuable resource for members once they become populated. As this review is written, there are virtually no posts in the forums. Should members have questions for a particular instructor, each instructor has his own section in the forum, which is an excellent feature. It not only will help members contact the instructors more quickly, but it also adds a personal touch to the site.
To take advantage of this Free Training offer through Real Poker Training, check out our Free Real Poker Training Promotion.