{"id":1370419,"date":"2022-12-08T09:29:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-08T09:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.pokercoaching.com\/?p=1370419"},"modified":"2025-12-29T13:27:41","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T13:27:41","slug":"becoming-a-winning-poker-player","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/becoming-a-winning-poker-player\/","title":{"rendered":"Becoming A Winning Poker Player"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In today\u2019s article, I want to talk about what it takes to become a winning poker player in today\u2019s environment. With solvers, GTO strategy and other complex systems, it can be as confusing as ever to become a winning poker player in 2022<\/a>. However, the opposite can also be said where it is as easy as ever to become a winning poker player with all of the available free or cost-efficient content out there. Today we will discuss the mindset and strategies needed to becoming a winning poker player in 2022. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 80\/20 Principal<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

First off, I want to talk about the 80\/20 Principal and how we can apply it to poker. In the business world, this principal might say that \u201c80% of your revenue comes from 20% of your customers\u201d. We can apply this concept to poker in a few ways. First, when playing, it is probably true that 80% of your income in poker comes from 20% of your \u201ccustomers\u201d. These are the losing, big fish players that are just there to gamble and have no understanding of fundamentals<\/a>. In my opinion, this is where most of your money in poker comes from. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is important to understand this as game selection is a big part of poker. Find yourself in the right game, and becoming a winning player becomes much simpler. For me, right now, the weakest players in poker are playing tournaments and satellites. I gain a lot of my profit each year from low to mid-stakes tournaments and satellites because of the weak players I face in these situations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Applying The Principal To Fundamentals<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We can also apply the 80\/20 Principal in how we study. Let\u2019s continue to look at tournament poker. In my experience, 80% of your total Return On Investment (ROI) comes from having solid fundamentals. A large percentage of your winnings in tournaments is about having incredibly solid fundamentals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have students coming to me all the time asking about this crazy river check-raise they saw Chidwick make on the river. They watched the WSOP and want me to analyze Fedor Holz thought process in a huge triple barrel bluff deep in the Main Event. While these are important to know, having solid fundamentals is where you build a solid win-rate in tournaments<\/a>. Just like an NBA player practices dribbling, shooting, and defense every day, a poker player needs to practice the fundamentals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Jonathan<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Get your free Cash Game Cheat Sheet From 2-Time World Poker Tour Champion Jonathan Little<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Tools You Need<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For a tournament specialist, here are some of the fundamentals that are essential to becoming a winning tournament player:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Knowing your Raise First In ranges and how to adjust based on stack sizes:<\/strong> Knowing the adjustments your ranges make when playing 100 big blinds (BB) deep versus 30 BB deep. GTO ranges can help you with this<\/a> and can be found on the internet or on PokerCoaching.com <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Knowing your 10-15 BB Push \/ Fold \/ Call Ranges:<\/strong> You need to study, memorize and know how to adjust your push \/ call ranges for sub-15 BB. There is no excuse for a player not to know these. Not knowing is pure laziness. You will have close spots, but not having an idea is not good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

15-30 BB Re-jam \/ call ranges:<\/strong> Knowing what ranges to go all-in with after a preflop raise is extremely important and one of the more important strategies in tournament poker. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fundamentals of flat calling and three-betting strategies preflop:<\/strong> Know how to adjust based on stack sizes and what properties in hands you need to look for in flat calling and three-betting. Know what types of hands to value three-bet at specific stack depths. Know what types of hands make the best three-bet bluff candidates<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn how to identify board textures for range advantage and nut advantage:<\/strong> These 2 factors, along with identifying the amount of air in each range, leads to basic strategy construction post flop .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Know how to shift to a polarized turn strategy:<\/strong> Know how equity shifts once there has been a bet and a call on the turn. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Playing the River:<\/strong> Know how to identify a bluff catching situation and learn the fundamentals of bluff catching<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Playing Multiway pots:<\/strong> Learn how equities lower and value thresholds increase for multiway pot situations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While not a comprehensive list, these are some of the basic fundamentals that must be learned to be a profitable cash or tournament player. Notice how a lot of these are preflop situations? You play preflop in every single hand, small mistakes are magnified by large volume. Learning \/ memorizing preflop strategies sets you up for success post flop. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Becoming A Winning Poker Player<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To become a winning poker player, focus on the situations that come up the most. Spend time building a very solid preflop game and understand the in-game adjustments you make to it based on players. Learn to understand the fundamentals of the flop, turn, and river. Do not focus your time on river check-raise strategies or turn check-raise strategies, these are important but just give you a little more ROI or EV in situations. The bulk of your win-rate is going to come from having these solid fundamentals learned and improved through time. Develop a study plan that will allow you to do that in 2022<\/a> and see your win-rate and consistency increase. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nBest of luck at the tables\n
\n
\nMatt\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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