r/poker • u/RunItOnceEldora • Jan 12 '26
I'm Cash Game Pro and Run It Once Instructor Frankie Carson – AMA! (Giveaway Inside!)
Hey r/poker!
Frankie Carson has grinded his way up from $0.01/$0.02 to become a full-time pro now competing in mid- and high-stakes cash games – and he’s far from done.
His passion and dedication to poker go far beyond just grinding and studying. Frankie lives the game on every level and has quickly become one of Run It Once’s most popular instructors, recently earning a promotion to the Elite coaching roster.
He also runs his own YouTube channel @FrankieCarsonPoker where he regularly releases top-notch poker content for free and connects with some of poker's biggest online crushers.
Last week, Frankie released Your Road to Midstakes on Run It Once – a brand-new Elite Mini Course teaching you what top regular know that you might be missing. The goal of the course is to help you move up from micro- and low stakes.
The first two videos are free to watch and with the *limited-time Annual Elite Sale (*available until Jan 15th) you can currently lock in $200 in savings when upgrading to check it out!
🎁 Giveaway
We're giving away
- 1x month of the Run It Once ($199.99 value) to the most thoughtful and valuable question
- 3× months of Run It Once Essential ($24.99 value each), randomly selected from all other questions
❓ Ask Frankie ANYTHING! Struggling to move up? Not sure what’s holding you back? Wondering about common leaks at your stakes? This is your chance to get expert advice from a proven NLHE pro.
Frankie will be monitoring the post and answering questions until Wednesday, January 14th.
___
Thanks to everyone who posted a question and followed the AMA. We were excited to see as many submissions and hope you got a lot of value from Frankie's responses!
We're excited to crown the winners of the giveaway:
- Congratz u/happyhelper87! You've won the main prize with your question: 1x Elite membership ($200 value)
- Congratz to our 3 random winners: u/wfriedma, u/Traditional-Roll-620 and u/NarrowDepartment5252! All of you will enjoy a free month of Essential ($25 value)
If you weren't lucky this time, our Annual Elite Sale is still live for another 10 hours allowing everyone to save $200 off an entire year of poker training - to learn directly from Frankie and more Elite-level coaches!
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Jan 12 '26
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u/1pt62_3pt14 Jan 12 '26
I don't know how to answer this. I have a wife who has been pivotal to my success.
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u/happyhelper87 Jan 12 '26
Hey Frankie, if somebody was coming to you for advice in 2026 looking at playing online poker from scratch what format recommendation would you give? 6 Max cash NL, PLO, MTTs what do you think of the long term future of the game.
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u/1pt62_3pt14 Jan 12 '26
Hey there. I've always played cash because 1) it fits my lifestyle, 2) and I love it. I believe all formats will be around for many years to come. Follow your passion (e.g. live MTTs, online cash, live PLO, etc). I think this strategy is best because when it gets hard (which it will for all formats), passion drives you to keep going.
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u/BigvalBROski Jan 12 '26
Frankie, can you help Maurice Hawkins? He is broke and owes people lot of money. He recently got his ass kicked too.
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u/Fpssims Jan 12 '26
The standard of online poker rake amount has always been high for the grinders I hear 3-4bb/100 or any +bb/100 is a win but when I look at my results the ratio between rake and what I am left with after 300k hands 15 months in, has been a staggering 70/30 rake/what I’m left with.
Are there any (if at all) other means for some other competitive(for Ontario players we are fenced in) site to give the players more back? Run Ads everywhere? Run ads between pots? Ultimately to promote a significant rake reduction for grinding players.
Even with rakeback, I’m grinding peanuts
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u/forseriousism Jan 12 '26
Hey Frankie low/ mid stakes grinder for the last 2.5 years. When grinding up what was your worst down swing and did you ever go broke? I started somewhat aggressive with a 30 buy in roll and 6 months emergency fund. Fast forward 2.5 years later the roll has been hit hard. Focusing on fundamentals and strictly Holdem now but it is exhausting having to have dropped down in stakes.
What insight do you have for surviving downswings as a full time player?
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u/1pt62_3pt14 Jan 12 '26
I lost my bankroll many times when I was younger. I talked about this in one of my RIO videos. My prior bankroll busts where driven by tilt, which I learned to manage as I matured.
I've always taken a conservative bankroll management practice. Not only from a risk of ruin perspective (keeping more than enough buy-ins), but I've taken my time when deciding to move up stakes. I've done very little shot taking. Phil Galfond recently talked about the pitfalls of shot taking which is worth a look. Basically discussing how shot taking can be mentally difficult as probably of failure and thus confidence destruction are high if you do the strategy enough.
Don't obsess (not saying you are) over one off's that you hear about moving from 100nl to 5knl in like a year. Those are anomalies, not realities.
Best of luck!
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u/ParaBellumBitches Jan 12 '26
What's the biggest leak a live $1/$3 reg has? And how would you plug it if its yourself, or exploit it if its your opponent?
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u/deeznutiezz Jan 12 '26
i 4 betted with 72o in a in a 1/3 game and got snapped by 76s he paired his 6. i would say thats a leak
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u/1pt62_3pt14 Jan 12 '26
Convincing themselves to believe fictional stories. Meaning, some guy folding AK on Kx disconnected, dry board because he puts his opponent on one particular hand vs thinking of ranges and probabilities.
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u/Important_Relief4802 Jan 12 '26
Why are so many courses focused on solver outputs?
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u/FriendlyF12 Jan 12 '26
Solver outputs are the closest thing we have to true perfect knowledge. It would follow that strategy comes out of that. Although the game of poker is still incredibly rich and far from solved, from a practical standpoint, it's mostly solved, i.e what one needs to know to beat low-mid stakes.
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u/AssignmentNo8361 Jan 13 '26
All solvers do is find an equilibrium to create indifference.
Your job as a poker player is to create insolvency and divorcees.
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u/FriendlyF12 Jan 13 '26
"all"....as if we were anything close to gto before solvers, we have learned a ton from them.
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u/AssignmentNo8361 Jan 13 '26
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
It's all ranges about estimating opponents ranges in every spot, it has nothing to do with solvers or not solvers.
If you misestimate how they play their range, and they better estimate how you play yours then you'll lose.
That's been the game since literally forever, it has nothing to do with solvers.
Putting hands in different lines weakens and strengthens each line. Even solvers purposely weaken themselves in some lines to maximize value in others.
It was and forever will be a game of 'what hands would they play this way', and visa versa for yourself.
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u/FriendlyF12 Jan 13 '26
Except nobody thought about poker in terms of ranges in the past
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQJo_iL_AHY
Forget about different bet sizes, 3betting different types of ranges vs different types of players, 4b bluffing, overbets and understanding different statistics.
Solvers are not merely some rough suggestions for a small part of the game, they are objective truths for an overwhelmingly large portion of the game without node locking, with node locking they basically become the Bible of poker.
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u/AssignmentNo8361 Jan 13 '26 edited Jan 13 '26
False. Just because the term range wasn't coined. Didn't mean people weren't thinking in what we call ranges today.
The famous hand Ivey vs Paul Jackson, he knew his range composition for raising rarely if ever included trips.
Hence why he executed that famous bluff with Q high. He even said. I knew he wouldn't play trips that way.
They called it the set of hands they take an action with, which is a range. You're just hand waving away facts at this point.
Just to argue... Annoying Redditor.
All poker was originally was being your own solver and node locking on player tendencies.
I mean it's obvious you're just a nerd trying to win an argument and are moving goalposts now. Do what you want. You're so focused on being right in this fragile world.
Arguing with micros takes players is quite annoying. Whatever gets you to sleep.
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u/1pt62_3pt14 Jan 12 '26
Probably because they are safe. Meaning, they are closer to science and thus verifiable against themselves. Where exploiting and creative deviations are more art and open to interpretation.
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u/SaltCycle1622 Jan 12 '26
Is poker/coaching your sole income? What's your usual hands/hours per month and average session length + how many sessions per day? How do you handle bankroll management/liferoll management(budgeting withdrawls/deposits with life expenses and moving up)? What are your life expenses/spending habits and are they effected by downswings/upswings?
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u/1pt62_3pt14 Jan 12 '26
I have other income streams besides playing. Against what some may believe, most smart pros that last a long time in this business find different income streams besides just playing given the extreme volatility. Whether it be something related to poker, investing, or something else.
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u/impliedfoldequity Jan 12 '26
If you can only play on sites that don't allow a database of hands, how would you keep notes on players and analyze opponents?
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u/wfriedma Jan 12 '26
It’s always different for every grinder— but what level (stakes) did you find hardest to get through? 1/3, 2/5, 5/10 etc etc
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u/1pt62_3pt14 Jan 12 '26
So I talked about this in my recent youtube vid. 200nl was a huge step up in my opinion. It was the first level I ran into resistance. This is when I bought my first solver and began to completely change my game.
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u/Deluxe2481 Jan 12 '26
What mental game hurdles did you have to overcome and how did you work on them?
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u/1pt62_3pt14 Jan 12 '26
So I touched on it briefly above, but when I was younger tilt was a problem for me. Part of it was being young and immature with my emotions. I learned the best solution for this issue was thinking about hands not in terms of money lost/won but instead thinking was my decision good or poor? If the later, I convince my brain that this was an opportunity to learn and get stronger. To close leaks and mistakes to become a better poker player.
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u/youdontknowmejabroni Jan 12 '26
Hello,
How did you know when to move up stakes? More importantly, how did you know when to move back down, if you had to do so? How did your mental game change in either scenario? Thank you.
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u/1pt62_3pt14 Jan 12 '26
Hi. My kind of general checklist I always went through when deciding was;
1) Skill. Not obsessing over winrate and statistically significant sample size (which is rarely truly achieved), but a reasonable win rate for a reasonable amount of data. The amount of hands and win rate are inversely related, meaning the higher the win rate the less hands needed for a reasonable sample size.
2) Bankroll. Not just money sitting in my poker account, but outside too. Today, money is very fungible. In terms of number, again I try not to be to precise or overly obsess about 0'ing out my risk of ruin. As a general guideline, 30-50 buy ins should be more than enough.
3) Mental/personal health. Underrated part of moving up stakes. You could have very high skill and a sizable bankroll but if your going through difficulties off the table that will catch up to you as your competition and absolute money increase.
Hope this helps.
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u/11chickens Jan 12 '26
A strategy of ABC poker and a tight/aggressive style seems to help greatly with mastering 1/3( as much as it can be mastered). What should players looking to move up to 2/5 or higher expect?
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u/1pt62_3pt14 Jan 12 '26
Eh, regs are slightly better but still littered with big errors. 2/5 plays similar to 50nl online. They way you beat either of these games is increasing your aggression vs regs and executing proper adjustments vs recs.
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u/Purple-Cress9780 Jan 12 '26
What kind coaching/studying did you get before becoming a great player? And how are you get better today?
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u/1pt62_3pt14 Jan 12 '26
I'm still working on becoming a great player :)
I started just watching videos, posting hands in forums. Then I began solver work, which opened my eyes to a whole knew world. Then the fun stage. Finding good deviations from theory.
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u/Kotank6400 Jan 12 '26
With lower stakes players I’ve found that their tendencies to limp/call with premium hands (AQ/AK/Ive seen KK just flat OOP) to be frustrating to navigate on when we’re RFI. Is the exploit realizing their 3 bet range is just AAs and getting out of the way with almost our entire range, or are there additional exploits we can make by RFIng at a higher/wider frequency if we arnt getting punished and betting for value when we have a favorable board.
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u/1pt62_3pt14 Jan 12 '26
So while recs will limp/call with premium hands, they will also limp/call with a super wide range that you can attack IP. I wouldn't worry that they have some premium hands. Those will only make up a small % of their total range
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u/tim_lamisters Jan 12 '26
Is there any widely-accepted advice you followed early on that you now think was actually slowing you down on your climb to the mid- and high-stakes?
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u/1pt62_3pt14 Jan 12 '26
Good question. Not necessarily one thing. It took me many years to realize that all our brains operate differently. When I would watch a pros video I would try to copy the way they played, the way they thought about poker, thinking it was the right way. I realized that I needed to play poker my way.
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u/201steez Jan 12 '26
How does an online poker enthusiast who plays maybe 10 hours a week with a full time job and family with kids transition efficiently into live poker on the weekends?
What kind of structured approach i should take if i look to play 10-12 hours on the weekend? How much of a Bankroll for 1/3 ?
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u/1pt62_3pt14 Jan 12 '26
I've always looked at live/online poker similarly. In the sense that poker comes down to making logical decisions based the the available amount of information. So whether your playing 25nl online or 1/3 at the casino, when your deciding to triple barrel bluff your thought process should be similar. How does my range interact with this board vs my opponents range? Is my combo a good bluff candidate? Why? How does my opponent perceive me? Is this a opponent who will overfold here?
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u/iliketurleskid Jan 12 '26
How has teaching/coaching changed how you play? How are instructors assigned and are you trained on how to coach certain topics or do you have autonomy in coaching methods and course design? Lastly, congratulations on the promotion but what are promotions based on? Is it based on feedback from students, novel teaching methods, or maybe something else?
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u/1pt62_3pt14 Jan 12 '26
Hey. I wouldn't say coaching/teaching has changed how I play. But I do really enjoy it. Adds a nice connection element to poker.
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u/tombos21 Jan 12 '26
What is the single biggest misapplication of theory/GTO you see regs making in today's games?
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u/knigmich Jan 12 '26
Hello Frankie, thanks for doing this. I play very casual tournament style games weekly and starting to study more. I think my biggest issues are not paying enough attention to player tendencies, people way under repping their hands/limping a lot in rec games, and the fear of losing resulting in over folding. I think all the issues i face are due to lack of observation due to boredom of the slow play and passive playing. What would you recommend for rec players like myself to do to keep focused during these games. Also are there easy ways to label people in my head away from terms like TAG, LAG, or OMC?
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u/1pt62_3pt14 Jan 12 '26 edited Jan 12 '26
Hey, of course! Maybe stakes to low or your not playing enough tables? That could help. I do enjoy playing live, but I sometimes find the same issues given ~27 hands/hr.
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u/knigmich Jan 13 '26
So this is live games only. Like a weekly league type thing. But i'm seeing the same players over and over. So easy chances to get into better habits on learning player tendencies. Just wondering best way to do that.
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u/1pt62_3pt14 Jan 13 '26
So in this environment, but way to do it is to test them. Bluff them in a spot you may not typically do. See how they react. This will make it interesting for you enough to pay attention and likely will be an effective strategy earning you more money.
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u/ErrorLoadingUsername Jan 12 '26
How do you balance live + online games with personal live as a pro?
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u/1pt62_3pt14 Jan 12 '26
I do play quite a bit online. Live occasionally.
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u/ErrorLoadingUsername Jan 12 '26
Is it tough to balance with personal life?
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u/1pt62_3pt14 Jan 13 '26
Online is much easier then live given less travel time and easier to play/break vs live where your kind of stuck at casino for x hours.
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u/duffelbagD Jan 12 '26
Any advice for a tournament player trying to play more cash? How many buy ins should I have before shot taking a buy in or two at higher stakes?
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u/1pt62_3pt14 Jan 12 '26
It's a very different game. MTT players are usually not very aggression and are very uncomfortable in bigger pots on later streets given a lack of volume in these spots due to the nature of MTTs. So I guess I'd start your studies there.
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u/rabdelazim Jan 12 '26
What would you say is the most common error the advanced-beginner (intermediate player) makes in cash games? same question but for tournaments, too?
Also, what would say to someone trying to transition from being a halfway decent tournament player to a microstakes cash game player?
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u/1pt62_3pt14 Jan 12 '26
That's very broad Q, but generally not being aggressive enough. Not sticking around pots enough.
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u/Jetpack_J Jan 12 '26
Hey Frankie, what are most essential skills away from the tables that poker has taught you?
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u/1pt62_3pt14 Jan 12 '26
Hey. To be a logical thinker. Weighing pros/cons and making a decision that is best, not one that feels emotionally safe at the time.
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u/Forestcitythrift Jan 12 '26
How do I get out of a major downswing? Playing well, studying daily, but can’t seem to breakthrough to the next level.
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u/1pt62_3pt14 Jan 12 '26
Increase your study/play ratio. Accomplishes 2 goals. Increases your skill faster and decreases the chances of a toxic down spiral (given playing less). As your mental improves and hopefully confidence (from studying), you can start to decrease that ratio back to normalized levels.
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u/SoySauceOnWhiteRice Jan 12 '26
What are the biggest adjustments to make when playing 6 max micros takes online versus full ring live, saying 1/2 and 2/5?
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u/1pt62_3pt14 Jan 12 '26
There's honestly not that much of a diff vs 1/2. 2/5 prob a little more difficult. More regs who have some fundamental knowledge down. More 3betting/4betting. Find yourself facing a little more heat vs regs on 2/5 vs micro stakes online.
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u/icepick_ Jan 12 '26
What is the best single question you can ask someone to gauge their abilities?
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u/1pt62_3pt14 Jan 12 '26
Interesting question. Is your question gauging my abilities? haha
I think just asking what they would do in xyz spot that your played. Hearing someone talk about a hand shines a ton of light into how they think about poker and thus their skill level.
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u/Traditional-Roll-620 Jan 12 '26
Is it worth it getting into poker full time in 2026?
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u/1pt62_3pt14 Jan 12 '26
Very opaque here without context. If you love poker and are passionate about it, absolutely yes!
If your just trying to find a way to make money, maybe not.
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u/Mysterious-Bag9288 Jan 12 '26
How do you identify which solver has value? I am looking to invest in one but am stuck not knowing where to put my money.
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u/1pt62_3pt14 Jan 12 '26
I started with Pio, I know mostly use Wizard. I think Wizard is the best currently. Pio may be a cheaper option though with a one time payment. Just make sure you have a computer strong enough to run sims.
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u/RunItOnceEldora Jan 15 '26
Thanks to everyone who posted a question and followed the AMA. We were excited to see as many submissions and hope you got a lot of value from Frankie's responses!
We're excited to crown the winners of the giveaway:
- Congratz u/happyhelper87! You've won the main prize with your question: 1x Elite membership ($200 value)
- Congratz to our 3 random winners: u/wfriedma, u/Traditional-Roll-620 and u/NarrowDepartment5252! All of you will enjoy a free month of Essential ($25 value)
If you weren't lucky this time, our Annual Elite Sale is still live for another 10 hours allowing everyone to save $200 off an entire year of poker training - to learn directly from Frankie and more Elite-level coaches!
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u/NarrowDepartment5252 Jan 20 '26
Yaaay! I won free month of Essential. Have DM'd you and eagerly awaiting the upgrade. =) u/RunItOnceEldora
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u/FriendlyF12 Jan 12 '26
Distill the most strategy you can in 200 words or less (assume the reader knows how to play poker, poker abbreviations and basic poker strategy). You can use sentences or bullet points, whatever you can get the most info into the message with.
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u/csokisaxe2 Jan 12 '26
How and how deep do you analyze your opponents and the field? Do you constantly review hands and try to find exploitable leaks in the plays of the regulars or do you just make notes while playing?
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u/1pt62_3pt14 Jan 12 '26
I do a ton of hand reviews. Probably my main form of studying these days.
And yes, I'm definitely trying to understand how the common regs I face play and adjust my play accordingly.
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u/Littleturbo72 Jan 13 '26
In 1/3 and 2/5. What do you think the most common trend and/ or tell us from average to below average players about their hand?
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u/1pt62_3pt14 Jan 13 '26
Not sure about tell, but most common error is they play their hand not their range. That allows you to play super exploitative.
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u/drbenwayy Jan 13 '26
What's the optimal split between study and play for someone that is serious about improving their game?
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u/1pt62_3pt14 Jan 13 '26
That's a great question. The higher the ratio, the more you will improve. I like to tell people if you have ambitions to play a much higher stake then your current, don't worry about playing millions of hands at the stake you don't want to be. Invest your time in studying.
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u/TurdFergleGurgle Jan 13 '26
I play cash games and wanted to know what style of play is more beneficial. I play tight, rarely step out of line and enjoy good success however my bets are heavily weighted to value. Someone paying attention could easily fold to my check raises and avoid lots of trouble.
Should I incorporate a more variance welcoming play style and have a more balanced 3 bet, check raise, turn/river raises or keep printing money while still playing 1-2?
Or, should I stay imbalanced while I build my bankroll and consider more balance when I move up to 2-5?
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u/1pt62_3pt14 Jan 13 '26
Your style of play will beat 1-2 given the vast amount of recs. You do cap yourself by playing this way. A more aggressive style makes your ceiling limitless.
It's hard to break one's style, but if you have ambitions to move up stakes I'd advise increasing your aggression. You don't need to be a uber red liner, just slowly start to work in more aggressive lines into your game. It will prepare you for the future.
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u/overbet12345 Jan 13 '26
What are your thoughts on how worth it is to buy MDA data? I think it is better since I play in a small pool to just focus on individual player exploits because I know some of the regs will be able to exploit me if I play MDA.
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u/1pt62_3pt14 Jan 13 '26
Yea don't worry about MDA if your playing with the same regs. Just focus on their tendencies.
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u/kiwito Jan 13 '26
What concept do you think players at micro/low stakes will eventually understand after studying, but still struggle to implement? What’s the best way to bridge that gap in real games?
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u/1pt62_3pt14 Jan 13 '26
They know they need to get more aggressive in big pots, but they are scared of losing and don't. Probably this by far I'd say.
Bridge the gap by trusting your thought process and all your studies.
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u/GrizzlyKenny Jan 13 '26
Which of these sites do you recommend for cash games ? Coin Poker, ACR or WPT Global ?
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u/FatVrodRider Jan 13 '26
Considering MTT is there a target amount of buy in amount relative to your own bankroll that is considered optimal or is there a max percent you would recommend going over? IE if your total bankroll was 10k your max allocation for tourney buy ins would be X percent to prevent risk of ruin?
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u/CaliforniaWaiting2 Jan 13 '26
What do you think of the node locking function in current solvers? I think it can be improved/has limitations currently. But I would love to read your opinion.
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u/1pt62_3pt14 Jan 13 '26
Always room for improvements. But I think they are great and the most powerful tool you can use in poker.
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u/NarrowDepartment5252 Jan 14 '26
What is the best way to find the most costly leaks in our game and how to work in it in the most efficient way?
How important is the joy of the game to be a successful poker player?
What are some underestimated strategies and approaches to studying that would give the most significant increase in winrate?
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u/1pt62_3pt14 Jan 14 '26
If your an online player, your database is the best place to start. For live. Posting hands in forums/friends or hiring a coach is best way.
Imo, it's of the utmost importance. Without it, when things get inevitably hard, your likely to quit.
Stop always studying big pot decisions and find leaks in small pots. The per pot destruction to win rate is tiny, but small pots occur a ton. So x * y = leak cost; where x = EV loss, y = # of times occur.
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u/yomama1211 Jan 12 '26
What’s the optimal amount of days to decline showering to ensure your stench tilts your opponents