Best Training Websites

In order to survive and prosper in today’s competitive online poker playing environment, one needs to be constantly improving your game. The experiential path of just playing and learning from mistakes can be a slow and costly one. There are multiple ways to accelerate your learning beyond just playing; reading books, studying hands, visiting forums, observing others play, and watching videos. Most players have found that the best all around solution is to join a poker training site where they incorporate all the above learning methods.

A poker training site provides a versatile collective learning environment that can address your specific needs within an eager and motivated community of players who often assist each other while they learn from the instructional videos and other learning formats. Each training site has an experienced pro team who will share their various playing styles and strategy. They will demonstrate how to beat the various levels of play. You will see a multitude of situations and how to play them optimally. If you become actively involved in a poker training site, they will become dynamic learning environments that quickens your development as a poker player.

There are quite a few poker training sites available to players, but they are not all the same. They typically focus on different areas or games, or have a particular personality due to their pros and teaching methods. I will lay out some strengths and weaknesses of fifteen of the top poker training sites to assist you in finding the right fit for your needs.

Review of the Top 15 Training Sites

• CardRunners

  Strengths – One of the largest, diverse and most respected poker training sites. They were formed by cash game legend Taylor “Green Plastic” Caby and his fraternity mate Andrew “muddywater” Wiggins in 2005. They have the largest group of online poker teachers and the largest instructional video library of any training site. They have had some of the top cash game and tournament pros as instructors on the site.

  Weaknesses – CardRunners has suffered several scandals with some of their associated pros and instructors. Many of their top cash game players and instructors don’t produce regular videos or have stopped contributing except in name only. They were closely associated with Full Tilt Poker and their promotions so they suffered a significant hit after Black Friday to their business model.

• DeucesCracked

  Strengths – DeucesCracked is a diverse and top notch training site. They offer very high quality instruction with an innovative and creative presentation. A large library of videos from some top names like Entity, JoeTall, FoxwoodsFiend, Ansky, DeathDonkey, Flawless Victory, Vanessa Selbst, and WhiteLime cover NLHE, PLO, MTT’s and SNG’s. They have less turnover in their instructional team than most sites, which is a testament to their experience and long term commitment. There are no sign up fees and they offer a seven day risk-free trial. Their videos are portable, so you can take them with you.

  Weaknesses – They are more focused on NLHE cash games than MTT and SNG instruction. Some of their bigger names don’t blog or contribute actively as they pursue active playing careers.

• PokerXFactor

  Strengths – PokerXFactor is one of the longest serving training sites that specializes in tournament instruction. They have remained true to their original if somewhat exclusive mission. They have hundreds of instructional videos, many utilizing their advanced PXF Hand History Replayer. They offer interactive hand review and chat sessions with players like Sheets.

  Weaknesses – PokerXFactor hasn’t been as progressive in marketing or adapting to the times as other training sites. They continue to have the highest sign-up fee in the training site world with no trial period, which requires a long term commitment to recoup. They had a strong instructor line-up but have lost some of their top talent over time as they achieved bigger live fame and success. Their site could do with a update.

• Bluefire Poker

  Strengths – Although one of the more recent poker training sites to launch (2009), Phil Galfond and company have slowly been growing from their basic cash game beginnings. They recently added a larger tournament instruction team after adding sit and go instruction. Their core instruction team has remained steady although not particularly large. They recently added well known pro Dusty Schmidt to their lineup, who has participated on a number of training sites. They offer a 7 day free trial and all their videos are downloadable.

  Weaknesses – Improvements from the basic beginning have been much slower to arrive than was predicted. Their video library will continue to lag the size and variety of larger and more established poker training sites but has grown to better justify their roughly $100 sign up fee. The site relies heavily on their most famous player Phil Galfond whose blogging and participation can be uneven.

• Leggo Poker

  Strengths- Leggo is a youthful and edgy training site that has focused on NLHE and cash games from the start. Some of their top instructors have experienced tremendous online and live success. They have a particularly loyal following of serious players. There is no sign up fee and a seven day free trial.

  Weaknesses- Their focus on 6-max NLHE limits their appeal to a broader audience. Much like other training sites, the participation of some of their top name players is uneven.

• Grinderschool

  Strengths- Grinderschool squarely focuses on an under-served element of new and beginning players on a tight budget. They offer only micro and small stakes cash, SNG, and MTT instruction but provide a solid foundation for further player development. There is a strong value received from your monthly payment and accessing over 1,000 video library.

  Weaknesses – Grinderschool doesn’t offer mid- or high-level instruction to broaden their appeal. So they can come across as a training wheel site for other more established training sites. There are no blogs and their focus is mostly on NLHE.

• PokerVT

  Strengths – PokerVT utilizes the star power of lead pro Daniel Negreanu along with a strong lineup of pros to share a range of poker instruction. The site is very professional and well displayed and organized. PokerVT has innovative techniques of filming live games and courses for players to include as part of their training. They finally eliminated their expensive $150 sign up fee and they also have a free 3-day trial.

  Weaknesses – PokerVT doesn’t have the pro-player interaction that some sites have. The instructors aren’t as active and involved on the site and don’t blog there. Additionally, although innovative, not all players will respond to their filmed style of learning especially if they are exclusively online players.

• Sitngogrinders

  Strengths- SitnGoGrinders has a strong lineup of of instructors that focuses closely on every aspect of SNG play; including ICM, SAGE, bubble play and how to play to win. They have some well written articles covering a range of important concepts within SNG’s. There are over 600 videos to access for members and their subscription rates are cheaper than many other sites.

  Weaknesses – They only cover SNG’s so their offerings are limited to that format. The site is more basic and simple than many other training sites. Their video library and community activity are on the smaller side compared to larger training sites. There is no free trial.

• Dragthebar

  Strengths – A solid if not flashy line-up of pros mans the steady poker training site Dragthebar. While not as glamorous, the pros are very active on the site and with members. They purchased many of the videos from PokerSwat training site and absorbed a number of coaches from Stox training when they merged with CardRunners so their offerings are plentiful. They even offer backgammon instruction and mental game instructions.

  Weaknesses – Dragthebar focuses heavily on cash games with only occasional MTT instruction or other games. One of their most visible pros has left the site and the activity level isn’t high.

• Float The Turn

  Strengths – The training site run by WPT winner Jonathan Little, formerly known as SNGicons, is an economical way to access the mind of big live and online winner Little. There is a live coaching call each month and Little offers SNG instructions as well as tournament videos.

  Weaknesses- The site is really a vehicle for Little, as most of the other pros associated with the site moved on to other training sites. The new content is less regular than other training sites as a result.

• Deepstacks University

  Strengths – The innovative training site is headlined by Mike “The Mouth” Matusow, Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi, Tristan “cre8ive” Wade, and Justin “BoostedJ” Smith. They use cutting edge technology to teach students. Theory is often valued more than real world application. The presentation is top rate.

  Weaknesses – The site despite it’s software edge lacks much of the community feel and interaction of other training sites. The focus seems to be on arranging live training sessions and their poker tour rather than developing a site with blogs, forums, downloadable videos and other features standard on many other training sites.

• Tournament Poker Edge

  Strengths – Tournament Poker Edge focuses exclusively on tournament instruction from a group of lesser known but respected and successful online poker players, led by Casey “bigdogpckt5s” Jarzabek and Mike “GoLeafsGoEh” Leah. The instructors are active on the forums and in blogs and they cover all types and levels of tournaments. There is no sign up fee and the subscription rates are quite competitive.

  Weaknesses – Their video library is smaller than many other training sites. They have a smaller membership base which leads to a more intimate activity level on the site. They don’t cover any games but NLHE tournaments.

• HUSNG

  Strengths – A highly specialized training site for poker players who are looking to focus exclusively on heads-up sit and go’s. Two levels of membership so that players can either access 300 videos of $1-$50 buy-in level instruction or become premium members where they can access another 500 videos up to a $5,500 buy-in level.

  Weaknesses – Only those players looking to really focus on heads up sit and go’s can benefit from this training site. The coaching lineup contains successful players, but not many well known marquee players that any casual players would recognize. The $25/mo membership is a little much for the standard membership for low stakes players who only can access up to $50 HU.

• PocketFives Training

  Strengths – The former PokerPwnage training site that specialized in tournament instruction was rebranded and became PocketFives Training site. The presentation and organization of the site is much more professional now. Some of the marquee instructors here include Apestyles, Sketchy1, Gags30, rdcrsn, Ghettofabolous, and the_dean22. Several hundred videos in the media library transferred over to the new site so there is plenty of instructional material geared to optimal tournament play.

  Weaknesses – There has been significant turnover in the featured instructors and activity level of the instructors. New video creation is less regular than on other training sites. There is a $35 sign up fee and a 2 day trial available. Only premium members have access to the former PokerPwnage library of over 400 videos covering tournament strategy in various stakes and forms of poker.

• PokerStrategy

  Strengths – With over 5.5 million members, PokerStrategy.com is the largest poker community and training environment. While most of their members came for their promotions and free bankrolls, many also take advantage of the increasingly improving training material. Members can access regularly scheduled free coaching sessions related to your membership level. Their main promotion is a free $50 bankroll to play on a site of your choosing which ties your playing pattern to your membership.

  Weaknesses – The site’s design feels quite dated and not optimally presented as a pure training site. The educational material is organized in a six level access and cost structure; basic, bronze, silver, gold, platinum and diamond. Membership and access is based on a combination of your activity, the amount you play on the sites you are linked to and the amount of points you purchase. Historically, their instructors aren’t some of the bigger names or successes in online poker, but that is improving more lately.