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Games & strategy · course 1 of 105

Poker: From First Hand to Final Table

Start at the hand rankings and finish playing No-Limit Hold’em like an expert: which hands to open, pot odds, reading hands, bluffing maths, bankroll and tournament endgames.

20 modulesPremium · interactive table

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A short slice of the interactive table that comes with this course. Play it here, no sign-up.

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What it teaches

The whole core of 6-max no-limit cash poker at 100 big blinds: rules and hand rankings, which hands to open from each seat, what to do when someone opens before you, pot odds and outs, counting an opponent’s hands, flop play, bankroll and tilt. The AI asks 3 questions, places you, shows a short teach card before each module, then drills you and corrects every answer. Stage 2 (after the core final test) adds the math of bluffing and calling (alpha, MDF, blockers), defending the blinds and facing a 3-bet, playing as the caller (facing c-bets, check-raises, probes), turn and river play (thin value, showdown value, barrels), and bet sizing (SPR, geometric sizes, implied odds, overbets). Stage 3 adds equilibrium and exploitation, range vs range, equity realization, 3-bet/4-bet pots at every stack depth, full-ring (9-handed) opening ranges, limped pots and iso-raises, multiway pots, and tournament ICM (chips vs money, the bubble, bounties). Stage 4 covers your own game: how far to trust a HUD stat, exploiting the pool, rake and your raked price, live tells and table rules, solver use and a study plan, win-rate confidence, risk of ruin, game selection and tilt types.

How long

Several sessions. Stage 1 is roughly 90-110 drill rounds for a beginner (60-80 for a regular) plus a 15-spot final test; pass at 12/15. Stage 2 adds at least 84 rounds (its 84 core rows must each be shown once; estimate 100-130 with repeats) plus a 12-spot test; pass at 10/12. Stage 3 adds at least 63 rounds (its 63 core rows; estimate 80-110 with repeats) plus a 12-spot test; pass at 10/12. Stage 4 adds at least 32 rounds (its 32 core rows; estimate 40-55) plus a 10-spot test; pass at 8/10. At the end of each session the tutor gives a one-line save code; paste it into a new chat to carry on.

The modules

20 modules, drilled one item at a time.

Stage 1 · the core

  1. M0

    Rules, hand rankings, seats

    Who wins this showdown?

  2. M0T

    Table rules

    Minimum raises, short all-ins, side pots, showdown order, misdeals (Poker TDA Rules 2026)

  3. M1

    Opening ranges, 6-max cash, 100bb, folded to you

    Folded to you: raise or fold?

  4. M2

    Facing an open (3-bet, call, or fold)

    BTN vs CO open: 3-bet, call or fold?

  5. M3

    Pot odds and outs

    Count outs, need vs have, call or fold?

  6. M4

    Hand reading with combos

    How many combos of X on this board?

  7. M5

    Flop play, board texture and c-betting

    Classify the flop; c-bet or check, what size?

  8. M6

    Bankroll and tilt

    How many buy-ins? Spot the tilt.

Stage 2 · advanced

  1. M7

    Bluff math, defense frequency, range shapes and blockers

    Alpha, MDF, value : bluff, bluff EV, bluff-catch, blockers, range shapes

  2. M8

    Blind defense and facing a 3-bet

    Your price, steal math, raw equity and realization, defend or fold; facing a 3-bet

  3. M9

    Playing as the preflop caller: facing c-bets, check-raises, probes and donk bets

    Need and MDF facing bets, flop equity vs his range, check-raise math, his range on the flop; probes and donks

  4. M10

    Turn and river play: value bets, showdown value, barrels and turn cards

    Thin value (who calls?), showdown value, barrel or check, turn cards

  5. M11

    Bet sizing: SPR, implied odds, geometric sizing and overbets

    SPR, streets to all-in, geometric size, implied and reverse implied odds, overbets, value size

Stage 3 · expert and other formats

  1. M12

    Ranges and equilibrium: exploitability, range vs range, equity realization

    Best responses and leak values, range vs range on the flop, equity realization

  2. M13

    3-bet and 4-bet pots and stack depth

    4-bet jam EV, calling off a jam, jams at 60/40/30bb

  3. M14

    Full ring, limped pots and multiway pots

    9-handed EP/MP: raise or fold? Limp-behind price, iso-raise folds, multiway price and folds

  4. M15

    Tournaments: ICM, risk premium, bubble factor and bounties

    Chips vs money, calling an all-in on the bubble (ICM need, risk premium, bubble factor), bounty price, stacks in bb, antes and M, heads-up push/fold

Stage 4 · your own game

  1. M16

    Exploits, HUD stats, rake and live play

    How sure a HUD stat is, chances to tell two reads apart, rake and your raked price, bluff with a read

  2. M17

    Solver use and study process

    Nash distance in bb, reading a solver report by combos, tree size

  3. M18

    Advanced bankroll, game selection and the mental game

    Win-rate range, hands to know you win, risk of ruin, bankroll for a risk, per hour

Before it teaches, it asks

  1. 1
    How often do you play, where (home game, online, casino), and what do you want to fix first?
    AI voice (ElevenLabs)
  2. 2
    Quick check: you hold 5♣4♦, the board is 3♠2♥A♦9♣J♠. What’s your hand?
  3. 3
    You’re on the Button, folded to you, A♠9♠. Raise or fold, and why?

What’s exact, and what isn’t

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Straight from the course’s own notes.

Exact
Hand rankings, opening ranges (PokerSkill, updated 2026-10-04), Button vs Cutoff 3-bet chart (same source), pot odds, outs, combo counts, board texture, buy-in math. Stage 2: alpha, MDF, value-to-bluff ratios, bluff EV, blocker counts, the price of defending each blind, steal math, raw equity against PokerSkill’s ranges (every board enumerated; within 2.2 points of the 3 examples PokerSkill publishes), SPR, geometric sizes, implied and reverse implied odds. Stage 3: full-ring opening ranges (PokerSkill, same page), limp and iso-raise prices, multiway prices and folds, tournament $ by the ICM model (Malmuth-Harville), ICM need, bubble factor, bounty prices. Stage 4: HUD stat ranges (2 standard errors), chances to tell reads apart, rake and raked prices, Nash distance in bb, solver-report frequencies by combos, tree size, win-rate ranges, risk of ruin (formula checked by simulation), per-hour math.
Rules of thumb (labeled in the files)
C-bet defaults, 3-bet size, bankroll guideline, tilt habits. Stage 2: blind-defense decisions (PokerSkill’s 2026 categories; no published hand-by-hand chart), facing-a-3-bet decisions (principles only), bet-sizing strategy. Stage 3: iso-raise size and width (PokerSkill glossary), multiway c-betting (GTO Wizard 2026), push/fold at a full table (coached; the heads-up chart in M15 Part E is exact). Stage 4: pool exploits (PokerSkill), rake strategy, live tells (Caro), table rules (Robert’s Rules), node locking and study plan, tilt types (Tendler), table selection.
Not in it yet
100bb cash solver numbers for the c-bet defaults (every rule now cites a dated source); heads-up play deeper than 20bb; push/fold charts by seat at a full table or with antes.