Online Poker Training Sites

  1. Boasting one of the largest memberships of all the poker sites we reviewed, PokerStrategy.com is easily one of the most popular online training resources.
  2. The Poker Forge is a poker training site set up by Sky Matsuhashi a successful online poker player for over a decade and a half, and a phenomenal instructor. Enrolling with The Poker Forge is very worthwhile investment for those looking to become serious about poker play and take the study process seriously. READ REVIEW COURSE WEBSITE $49/mo.
  3. DeucesCracked.com is a poker training and coaching site that was opened by a group of highly successful online poker players. The site offers over 1,500 top-notch poker training videos and tutorials. DragtheBar.com Review - New Training Site but Already an Impressive Coaching Lineup.

The Internet is awash with quality online poker training sites. The hallmark of a reputable training site is one which offers expert poker commentary, poker strategy, multimedia poker resources, poker training guides and poker tools. 888poker Magazine features a treasure trove of expert tips for players.

Poker training sites have come a long way over the past couple years. In the old days there were only one or two sites, and they were mostly viewed as expensive gimmicks that wouldn't really help anyone except complete beginners. Nowadays, however, there are dozens of major training programs that are designed to help all levels of players, from beginners to high stakes pros. We have reviewed several of the top-rated online poker training sites:

BlueFirePoker.com Review - Cash Game Focus, Specializes in Mid-Stakes Training

BlueFirePoker.com is a training site that focuses on mid-high stakes cash games. Phil Galfond founded BlueFire Poker in 2009 and has assembled a talented team of players to serve as instructors in the art of online poker.

Poker

CardRunners.com Review - the 'Original' Poker Training Site, 2,000+ Videos

CardRunners.com was the first major online poker training site, and to this day they have maintained their edge on the competition with over 32,000 blog posts, over 2,000 strategy videos, and the top instructors in the game.

DeucesCracked.com Review - Best for NL Cash Game Players, 1,500+ Videos

DeucesCracked.com is a poker training and coaching site that was opened by a group of highly successful online poker players. The site offers over 1,500 top-notch poker training videos and tutorials.

DragtheBar.com Review - New Training Site but Already an Impressive Coaching Lineup

DragTheBar.com is a relatively new poker training site that has quickly made a name in the poker training market. It was started in 2009 by several successful high stakes professionals, including Dusty “Leatherass” Schmidt.

Online

Holdem Manager Review - In Depth Statistics to Help You Find Leaks in Your Game

The purpose of Holdem Manager is to save and record your online poker hand histories and then provide you with in-depth statistics about your own play and that of your opponents.

HUSNG.com Review - Only Training Site Dedicated to Heads Up SNGs

Training

HUSNG.com is the only poker training site I've found that offers videos specifically for heads up sit and go players. This site is by far the best resource online for learning HU SNGs, but it certainly isn't cheap.

Online

OutstandingPoker.com Review - Best at Developing Consistent, Mid-Stakes Winners

OutstandingPoker.com takes a different approach to poker training - they attempt to turn their students into consistent winners at the low-mid stakes, instead of spending all their time teaching ultra-high stakes strategies.

PokerOffice 5 Review - Improve Your Game and Find Flaws in Your Opponents' Games

PokerOffice 5 is a stat-tracking program that will help you locate and repair leaks in your game, as well as locate and capitalize off of leaks in each of your opponents' games.

Poker

PokerPwnage.com Review - Specifically for MTT Players - 350+ MTT Training Videos

PokerPwnage.com is a poker training site almost completely devoted to improving members' multi-table tournament strategy. If you want to get better at MTTs, this is the site for you.

PokerStove Review - Determines Win Percentages for Your Hand vs. Opponent's Range

PokerStove allows players to calculate win percentages for their hand versus an opponent's specific hand, as well as their hand versus an opponent's range of poker hands.

PokerTracker 3 Review - Best Stat-Tracking Product Online, Also Offers Heads-Up Display

PokerTracker 3 is the most advanced stat-tracking software available for online poker players. This is our most highly recommended product, as virtually every player can benefit from using PokerTracker 3.

PokerVT.com Review - Negreanu's Training Site - Offers Unique Learning Exercises

PokerVT.com is Daniel Negreanu's personal poker training site where he provides tips and strategies for using his smallball style of poker. The site focuses mostly on tournaments, but doesn't allow players to download videos.

PokerXFactor.com Review - Established Training Site, Best MTT Strategy Videos Online

PokerXFactor is the best training site out there if you are a hardcore MTT player. There isn't much cash game strategy here, but the NLH MTT strategy section is huge and extremely advanced/useful.

RealPokerTraining.com Review - Decent Content, but Small and Inactive

Top Online Poker Training Sites

RealPokerTraining.com has a few things going for it - namely, some big name instructors and unique Five Card Draw content. However, the site doesn't live up to the expectations of most online poker players.

More Poker Training Site Reviews:

  • If you would like to read reviews of even more training sites, as well as read additional reviews of the above training sites, check out my friend's poker websites resource which offers more poker training information.

Training to Be a Pro But Need Help

Hey, there, fledgling poker player! So you’re tired of not winning at the tables, you’re looking to improve your game, and you’ve heard a lot about these online poker training sites? Lots of your opponents seem to be subscribing to them and improving their games. Can joining one or several of these sites improve your game as well? And if so, which sites give you the best bang for your buck? Below are a few of the best and most well-known poker training sites on the market today, and what each of them has to offer.

For a quick start we have also put together some basic tips to playing poker to help you get on your path to becoming a poker professional, or just saving a couple bucks.

DEUCESCRACKED

A top-tier site for those players seeking ways to improve their cash-game play. DeucesCracked’s videos are better edited than many of the site’s competitors, and with a library now in excess of 1,200 videos, there’s plenty to choose from. Cash-game action is the site’s focus, though tournament play and other poker variants in addition to Texas Hold’em also receive some attention.

Site instructors include noted online pros Emil “whitelime” Patel, Joe Tall, Vanessa Selbst (female pro), Ariel Schneller and many others.

See more details about Deuces Cracked and if its worth it.

CARDRUNNERS

Top Online Poker Training Sites

By consensus CardRunners is the largest of all online poker training sites, having also merged with former competitor StoxPoker. CardRunners serves up an extensive library of thousands of poker training videos, with a heavy focus on cash-game play. The site’s professional tutors include Cole South, Michael “timex” McDonald, Brian “sbrugby” Hastings, Taylor “greenplastic” Caby and many others. Many of these players were the original high stakes players in online poker whom moved onto the business side. The massive library needs better organization, but the overall quality of the videos are among the best in this category.

See more details about Cardrunners and if its worth it.

POKERXFACTOR

While many of the training sites listed here focus primarily on cash-game play, PokerXFactor’s focus is on tournament action instead. Led by the legendary online duo of Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy and Eric “Sheets” Haber (who are also among the largest backers of other players in the industry), the site also includes instructional offerings from Kevin “BeL0WaB0Ve” Saul, Eric “Rizen” Lynch, Scott “BigRissky” Clements and many others. The site offers a library of several hundred videos, and includes an interactive hand-history viewer allowing members to review and share their own questionable or interesting plays.

Here is the full review of PokerXfactor’s tournament training site.

BLUEFIREPOKER

BlueFirePoker is one of the best sites for cash game strategy and videos. The site has a massive list of professional players including Niman “Samoleus” Kenkre, Martin Fournier Giguere (a/k/a “Giggy”) and others in assembling one of the most impressive catalog of videos to date. The guys that run that coach on the site have some interesting reads that most pros follow, plus a forum where professionals discuss hands with players. The price of training will run you $30 a month and they whack you with a $100 upfront initiation fee as well. It’s worth it when you’re getting tips from Phil Galfond, arguably one of the most consistently recognized high stakes pro.

Read more about Bluefire the training site.

Online Poker Training Sites 2020

GRINDER SCHOOL

Best Online Poker Training Sites

More geared to beginning and intermediate players, Grinder School is a newer site centered on several hundred videos that emphasize the core concepts of basic play, with a target audience of micro-, low- and mid-stakes players. The site offers both cash-game and tournament tutorials but focuses heavily on NLHE action, though other games and topics are showing signs of receiving attention. I think this will be a great site for when the US is legalized for the average player. Cost is only $20 and there is no beginning initiation fee but you get what you pay for. I wouldn’t personally use them but their library of videos is greater than 1000 comparable to similar training sites…

Read our full review about our featured best site for low stakes training.

POKERSTARS POKER SCHOOL (POKER SCHOOL ONLINE/PSO)

Several of the largest poker sites now offer their own basic tutorial packages, free of charge, with PokerStars among the sites doing so. Stars’ PSO offerings are free (account registration required), though they are geared toward beginners; intermediate and advanced players won’t pick up much new here. Still, the groundwork covered here is a solid start for playing poker. Please note that PokerStars now owns Full Tilt Poker Academy, but they are two separate entities. The problem with poker sites offering their own training is that it dwindles the experience for casual players and is usually not in their best interest, thus the ‘basic information’ you get for free.

You can read more on the Pokerstars School here.

Online Poker Training Sites

Conclusion

The above-listed training sites are some of the best online but depending on your skill level, stakes, bankroll, and preferred game type, the best site for your game can wildly differ. Most sites allow players a free trial, or at least, the ability to view their video library and lessons before signing up. Take advantage of this and be sure to look for information that will suit your skill level. For my money, DeucesCracked is the best training site for poker players of all stakes.

Best Online Poker Training Sites

Author:Joseph Falchetti (twitter)
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