Justin Saliba – Cardplayer Lifestyle https://cardplayerlifestyle.com Tue, 01 Aug 2023 14:43:00 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.3 Mixed Game Festival V Day 5 Recap: Raymer, Elezra, and the EPT Cyprus Prize Package https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/mixed-game-festival-v-day-5-recap-raymer-elezra-ept-cyprus-prize-package/ Fri, 07 Jul 2023 16:23:25 +0000 https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/?p=59558 It seems like just yesterday that we were eagerly awaiting the Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival V at Resorts World Las Vegas. And now, in the blink of an eye, it has come and gone.

The festival was a huge success by all measures. We saw dozens of excited mixed game players – some of whom traveled thousands of miles – join us for five days to play their favorite poker variants in the popular Dealer’s Choice format.

More players took seats throughout the week with limited knowledge of some games, eager to learn. We even had players venture away from No-Limit Hold’em to play mixed games for their first (and hopefully not last) times!

In case you missed them, be sure to check out our recaps from Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 as well.

FossilMan Spends The Day With Us


Day 5 action kicked off at 3 p.m., and 2004 WSOP Main Event Champion Greg “FossilMan” Raymer was already in the room and engaging with players at the start.

Raymer has been a staunch supporter of the Mixed Game Festival since its inception when he won the inaugural MGF H.O.R.S.E. event in October 2021 to earn a PokerStars Platinum Pass.

When play began, Raymer took a seat with host Robbie Strazynski and a full lineup of faces we’d seen all week long. Others came and went as the day turned to night, but Raymer’s presence remained a constant.

In case you missed it, Raymer played the WSOP Main Event on Tuesday, Day 1b, and bagged a top-25 stack in his flight. He will play Day 2 today, and we wish him the best of luck. In the meantime, we couldn’t be more grateful that he took time out of his summer schedule to play and hang out with us.

The Toughest $4/$8 Game in the World

Raymer’s presence was only the beginning of celebrity visits from the poker world.

Poker Hall of Famer and five-time WSOP bracelet winner Eli Elezra took a break from the high-stakes games to play Robbie’s stack for a few hands. I couldn’t imagine a tougher $4/$8 game anywhere on the planet during that time, but there also may not have been a more fun one.

Alek Gilles Is Going To EPT Cyprus

“You got me hooked,” said Alek Gillies on Day 2 of the festival. Gillies, a full-time dealer at Edmonton’s Yellowhead Casino, has been in Vegas all month, working his first summer as a PokerNews live reporter.

When asked what he meant, he said he had so much fun on Day 1 that he had to come to play again after his shift ended at the WSOP.

Gillies was back on the WSOP grind during the festival’s final day. However, he logged plenty of hours throughout the week, each hour giving him an entry into a random drawing for an EPT Cyprus package valued at over $3,000.

PokerNews' Alek Gillies

The draw occurred just after 6 p.m., and Gillies was selected randomly, earning a Mixed Game tournament buy-in of up to €550 with roundtrip airfare and four nights’ accommodation on the Mediterranean island this autumn.

“I’ve never been to Europe,” said Gilles via text message later in the evening. “I’m super excited!”

Upping the ante: Norman Chad hosts $20/$40 O8/Stud8

One of the greatest aspects of the Mixed Game Festival is that it makes low-stakes mixed games accessible for all. However, we also love that it has created enough demand to accommodate the occasional larger game.

WSOP commentator Norman Chad made his second appearance at the festival Thursday, helping to close things out with his very own $20/$40 Omaha 8/Stud 8 game. The game started at 6 p.m. with a full table and a waiting list.

Poker Hall of Famer Linda Johnson and Women In Poker Hall of Famer Jan Fisher were among those on the waitlist, arriving shortly after cards went in the air. Both found open seats at a $4/$8 Dealer’s Choice table in the meantime, ultimately making it into Norm’s game later in the evening.

Pokercoaching.com Player of the Day – Zak Zimbile

New to the Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival V, we are featuring a “Player of the Day” each day during the festival, sponsored by PokerCoaching.com. As a reminder, all Mixed Game Festival V attendees can receive a free one-week membership to PokerCoaching.com Premium just by asking Robbie in person for the special link. Check out this article with the specific details of what that entails.

Our final Player of the Day joined us this afternoon to play mixed games for the first time in his life. Naturally, he sat with Greg Raymer on his direct left.

Zak Zimbile was unafraid, eagerly looking to learn the games he was now playing. Raymer was the perfect teacher, explaining everything and helping Zimbile understand games like Drawmaha-Dugi.

Zak Zimbile

Zimbile has played poker on and off for over a decade but is a CPA by trade. Most of his clientele are gamblers  – poker players and sports bettors – and he’s even written articles for Cardplayer Lifestyle about poker players and taxes. He opened his own firm in Las Vegas within the past year and has been upping his poker volume lately, playing cash games three or four days a week.

Zimbile thinks some of the increased volume is due to the time of year. Summer is not only the busiest time for poker in Las Vegas but also after tax season ends. He is enjoying the grind while it lasts but is remembering to have fun, as evidenced by his desire to join us. Off the tables, Zak also loves rock climbing, especially indoors.

Festival Recap

The Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival V brought five days of events, giveaways, and $4/$8 Dealer’s Choice cash games.

Opening Day kicked off with a pizza party before cards went in the air on two tables. Later that night, four tables were running with more players present and waiting for seats to open.

Extracurricular events headlined Days 2 and 3 with the first-ever Poker Trivia Competition and Scavenger Hunt. Cardplayer Lifestyle contributor and veteran poker reporter Mike Patrick stole the show both days, but unanimous fun was had all around. Several prominent poker players also visited us on Day 3, including “Miami” John Cernuto, Norman Chad, and a trio of PokerCoaching.com coaches, Justin Saliba, Paul Beitelspacher, and Kieran Woods.

Poker Hall of Fame member Linda Johnson and Women In Poker Hall of Fame member Jan Fisher joined us on Day 4, occupying one of the two opening tables for the afternoon. WPT champion and WSOP bracelet winner Dylan Linde took a seat at the other, taking time to talk strategy with his tablemates and autograph his book, Mastering Mixed Games, for anyone who procured a copy.

The final day concluded with repeat visits from Johnson, Fisher, and Chad. We also concluded the festival by learning new poker variants, making new friends, and forging memories that will last a lifetime.

Thank you to everyone who was a part of such an incredible week. We look forward to the next Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival and hope you do, too. Be sure to join the Cardplayer Lifestyle newsletter to be among the first to find out where and when it will take place.

*Our daily coverage of Mixed Game Festival V is brought to you, with much appreciation, courtesy of PokerStars.

]]> Mixed Game Festival V Day 3 Recap: Scavenger Hunts, Miami John Cernuto and Norman Chad https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/mixed-game-festival-v-day-3-recap-scavenger-hunts-miami-john-cernuto-norman-chad/ Wed, 05 Jul 2023 17:20:30 +0000 https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/?p=59502 Tuesday marked the midway point of the Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival V, and the day was nothing short of remarkable.

A waitlist of nearly 25 players was already on the board at 10:45am in the Resorts World Las Vegas poker room. Players began filing in around 11:00 for the day’s pre-poker event, the scavenger hunt.

Fast forward to 4 a.m., and we still had enough players for two tables of $4/$8 Dealer’s Choice!

Mixed Game Festival Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger Hunt: So Nice We Ran It Twice!

Just short of a dozen players arrived early to chase their share of $100-value prizes. Cardplayer Lifestyle contributor and PokerNews live reporter Mike Patrick went two for two, finishing the competition in just 20 minutes to score another “free first rack of chips,” a.k.a., a nice rebate on his buy-ins.

A few minutes later, Patrick “Panda” Chen finished second and chose the “bucket o’ swag”, that included a library of poker books, a BBO Poker Tables portable table mat, and a Faded Spade deck set.

The third and final prize was the most fun to determine, as both Ruth Sun and Scott Sandoval arrived simultaneously, only to discover that they were both missing one final item on their lists! The two of them scrambled outside to grab a photo of the Encore Resort in a mad dash to complete their hunts.

In the end, Scott crossed the finish line mere seconds before Ruth was able to make it back to the poker room, thus claiming the $100 voucher to the PokerStars Store.

One by one, the remaining players filed in and learned they had missed the top three. Nonetheless, the competition brought smiles across the board and received immediate rave reviews for “bringing out my inner child”, and of course “every participant was a winner,” taking home a copy of Eli Elezra’s biography Pulling the Trigger or a RunGoodGear-produced Mixed Game Festival T-Shirt.

Chuck Martin was another early arrival who, despite opting to pass on the scavenger hunt, won over everyone’s hearts by bringing some Independence Day-themed donuts for his fellow players to enjoy.

Cards went into the air at noon, and action immediately got underway at two tables. A few folks on the waiting list found themselves with some extra time on their hands, so our founder and event host, Robbie Strazynski, ran an impromptu second scavenger hunt. Among the handful of players, Giancarlo Santolin came out on top to earn his own “bucket ‘o swag.”

Additional giveaways continued throughout the day, with players engaging in blind hold’em flips, needing to be the first to make a nut (high or low) hand, and fulfill other unique at-the-felt requirements to claim some sweet swag.

Some of Poker’s Finest Join Us on Day 3

Within the next couple hours, several prominent poker professionals entered the room alongside two tables of $4/$8 dealer’s choice and its waitlist.

Some of our friends from PokerCoaching.com– Justin Saliba, Paul Beitelspacher, and Kieran Woods – stopped by to chat with players. It was a repeat visit for Saliba, who – while regularly running in the high roller No Limit Hold’em circuit these days – openly shared that he absolutely loves splashing around in the low-stakes mixed game streets.

Mixed Game Festival V Poker Coaching

Just before the clock struck 3:00pm, mixed game aficionado and all-time tournament in-the-money leader “Miami” John Cernuto stopped by to show his support for grassroots growth of mixed game poker.

A third table opened shortly thereafter with eight more players taking their seats, one of whom wasted no time putting the table into a frenzy of laughter and lightening up an already enjoyable atmosphere.

Of course, that player was Norman Chad, another longtime mixed game lover and MGF regular. If you missed him, he’ll be back on Day 5 (Thursday) to captain a special $20/40 Omaha 8/Stud 8 table.

Pokercoaching.com Player of the Day – Roxanne Johnson

New to the Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival V, we are featuring a “Player of the Day” each day during the festival, sponsored by PokerCoaching.com. As a reminder, all Mixed Game Festival V attendees can receive a free one-week membership to PokerCoaching.com Premium just by asking Robbie in person for the special link. Check out this article with the specific details of what that entails.

Roxanne Johnson

Roxanne Johnson, our Day 3 Player of the Day, hails from Kelowna, British Columbia, a city of around 150,000 four hours east of Vancouver, Canada. She’s a retired court liaison, formerly having worked for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. She has since kept herself busy with other gigs, like her current one as a PokerNews live reporter at the WSOP.

This is her first summer reporting at the Series, but her poker history dates back to pre-Black Friday (2011). She recalls getting into the game through 180-person turbo sit-n-go tournaments on PokerStars and playing regularly on Full Tilt Poker.

More recently in her career, she won a PokerStars Micro Millions event and decided to celebrate with a four-month trip to Europe last year. Her win also earned her an entry to a site-sponsored women’s poker boot camp, and she stayed up until 2 a.m. to participate, since the camp was on a North American schedule.

Roxanne Johnson

Image Credit: PokerNews

The time discrepancy was inconvenient, but the timing was perfect. Boot camp participants earned a seat into a winner-take-all tournament for a PokerStars Platinum Pass, good for a $25K buy-in at the PokerStars Players Championship and travel expenses. The event took place at EPT Prague while she was in Europe, and she bested the field to earn a trip to the Bahamas.

Her poker past notwithstanding, Johnson didn’t get into mixed games until this summer. Having played No-Limit Hold’em primarily, she said her favorite variant so far is Crazy Pineapple due to the similarities with the game she knows so well.

Before jumping back into the action, Johnson took a picture donning a Pokercoaching.com hat and shared the following: “I’m already a member of the site and I love it! They’ve helped my game so much.”

Day 4 is sure to be another fun one today, with more poker celebrities set to make appearances. We look forward to seeing you at Resorts World Las Vegas!

*Our daily coverage of Mixed Game Festival V is brought to you, with much appreciation, courtesy of PokerStars.

]]> Mixed Game Festival IV Day 4 Recap: Ethan Yau, Jonathan Little, and lots of WSOP Bracelet Winners Enter the Fray https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/mixed-game-festival-iv-day-4-recap-ethan-yau-jonathan-little/ Thu, 23 Mar 2023 17:15:09 +0000 https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/?p=58043 Word must have gotten around Las Vegas that the Mixed Game Festival IV was in full swing in the Resorts World poker room. There was an $8/$16 game that was still running from the night before and the list to start new games was so long that you could not read the bottom of it on the room’s screen! At the peak of Day 4 there were a total six low-stakes mixed game tables running simultaneously, a new record for a Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival (Ed. note: Which we can’t wait to break next time!) Many players showed up to play, but also specifically to have a chance to meet their poker heroes.

First to make an appearance on Day 4 was 2014 WSOP $10K HORSE bracelet winner Chris “Fox” Wallace. He signed a few copies of his book Getting Started with HORSE for the participants and then joined the festivities by sitting down to play in the $8/$16 mixed cash game.

As we sat there playing poker, a new $4/8 dealer’s choice table opened up featuring Norman Chad, Jan Fisher, and the First Lady of Poker Linda Johnson, who all returned to join in the festivities having had a blast playing and mixing it up in the cash games on Day 3. The table quickly filled up with fans who wanted the chance to play a hand of poker with them!

Jonathan Little and Justin Saliba brought not only PokerCoaching.com hats to give out to randomly selected players, but also a few fans alongside them who couldn’t wait for the opportunity to play small-stakes poker with the professional crushers. Jonathan hopped into one of the $4/$8 mixed cash games where he offered tips and tricks on what to look for in a hand to play depending on the game that was being played. He also played Drawmaha for the first time and seemed to enjoy learning the new poker variant. It was unique to see someone with over $7 million in lifetime tournament earnings and such a brilliant, successful career in poker learn a new variant for the first time and arguably be the least experienced one at the table, where the majority of the players were already familiar with Drawmaha. Learning and enjoying the game were high on everyone’s agenda, but the chance to win a few bucks of the pros was likely the highlight for most.

A surprise visitor, popular vlogger and poker pro Ethan “Rampage” Yau, then popped in to Resorts World to see what all the fuss was about and to splash around in the $4/$8 streets of mixed game poker. Rampage had never played mixed game and was learning every single new poker variant on the spot! His first game that he played was 7 Card Super Stud 8 or better. This variation of poker is the same as 7 Card Stud 8 or better, but you are dealt four cards facing down and one facing up. You then choose which two of the four cards dealt to you to keep and discard the other two cards. From there you play as you would normally would play in a stud game. Ethan looked like he was doing well and managed to win a few hands right away!

READ MORE: Mixed Games Poker Guide — Stud Games

PokerGO’s Tim Duckworth also made an appearance to show his support for the event once again, as he has attended two prior Mixed Game Festivals here in Las Vegas. He was all smiles and was kind enough to answer questions from fellow players at the table about how content is created for PokerGO. He stayed many hours playing poker before it was time to call it a night.

The game of the day that was played is currently called Squid Game but some of you may know it as Oklahoma. This game was popular among many players not only because it was fun but also, the dealers also had a little sweat on the outcome of the hand. This is an Omaha style game where players are dealt five cards and then see three full boards as they try to make the best possible high hand. The catch is that on the end; the river with the lowest card is eliminated. What happens if all three rivers are the same? Well, if that happens then no one who is playing the hand can win the pot since there is no longer a board they can use to make a poker hand. In this instance the pot is awarded to… the dealer!

An Awesome, Positive Vibe Prevails in the Poker Room

Overall, there was a ton of laughter and good times being shared by all who attended and played at the half dozen tables throughout the day. Players were thrilled to meet some of the best players and poker industry personalities and listen to stories they had to share about their careers. Many poker books were signed. Lots of swag was given out to players via randomly drawn splash pots, thanks to great sponsors like D&B Poker, BBO Poker Tables, and RunGoodGear. The atmosphere was abuzz with excitement as numerous players hopped from table to table to get a chance to play with the poker celebrities in attendance.

Some of the Mixed Game Festival regulars that were in attendance to participate in the festivities, who we’d like to give special shout outs to, were Ruth, Pat, Chuck, and Chance. These players helped keep the games friendly and were always happy to explain the rules to games if someone was not familiar with a game. More than once during the day I heard players compliment the friendliness of the community and how they made the game fun!

Grand Finale H.O.R.S.E. Tournament

The festival’s marquee event, a $260 H.O.R.S.E tournament, is set to begin at 2:05 PM Las Vegas time today, March 23rd. It will include a prize package sponsored by PokerStars to play at December’s European Poker Tour stop in Prague. You’ll get roundtrip airfare for one, four-nights’ accommodation, and the opportunity to mix it up with poker greats in a €550 buy-in mixed game tournament.

We’re expecting a field of over 100 players, including a who’s who of mixed game poker, to be duking it out at the felt for top prize and the value added prize package. The final day of Mixed Game Festival IV will also be your last chance to score some awesome merch and other great prizes… until the next festival!

]]> Mixed Game Festival IV Day 2 Recap: Miami John Cernuto Adds to His Legend https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/mixed-game-festival-iv-day-2-recap-miami-john-cernuto/ Tue, 21 Mar 2023 18:50:55 +0000 https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/?p=57984 Cardplayer Lifestyle’s Mixed Game Festival IV at Resorts World Las Vegas held its first of two tournaments yesterday. A full house of 61 players entered the $260 Omaha 8/Stud 8 tournament, including a cavalcade of mixed game poker legends and rising stars. A couple tables of $4/8 Dealer’s Choice cash games were also running simultaneously alongside the tournament. Seated amongst the recreational players were Matt Savage, Chip and Karina Jett, Jan Fisher, and Poker Hall of Famer Linda Johnson, as well as Ari Engel and “Miami” John Cernuto. The latter two poker legends would end up playing heads up for the title, with Cernuto ultimately prevailing.

Robbie Strazynski, owner and founder of Cardplayer Lifestyle, is hosting the festival from March 19-23 at Resorts World. The Festival will include cash games and culminate with a $260 H.O.R.S.E. tournament on Thursday March 23rd. In addition to the regular prize pool, the tournament will award EPT Prague prize to the winner, sponsored by PokerStars.

Chuck, Chip, Matt, and Linda

Chuck, Chip, Matt, and Linda

An exciting addition to the Omaha 8/Stud 8 tournament was bubble protection in the form of free poker training memberships donated courtesy of Pokercoaching.com. Bubble protection will also be in place for Thursday’s H.O.R.S.E. tournament.

Pokercoaching.com’s Justin Saliba also stopped by yesterday with additional free merchandise to hand out to players in bomb pots throughout the festival. Justin is a professional poker player with two WSOP bracelets, and was taught by one of the best. He reached out to Jonathan Little while still in college, offering to intern at the company in exchange for poker coaching. He is now a part of Pokercoaching.com and feels strongly about growing poker and being able to learn to play at a $4/8 level.

Justin Saliba

Me, speaking with Justin Saliba

Justin “just loved coming and playing $4/8 and learning all these different games. And when the World Series comes around (and) there’s a $1,500 O8 tournament I can say I’ve played this before.” Justin shared that he learned poker along with his older brother, and played in a neighborhood game, watching Main Event reruns in the background.

“Book bomb pots” were also a fun addition to the tournament on Monday, with multiple players winning Eli Elezra’s autobiography Pulling the Trigger. Poker Hall of Famer Eli Elezra will be signing copies of his book Tuesday March 21st for a discounted price of $10. Additional book winners included James Basham from St. Louis, who attended Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival III that was held in Malta. He’d already planned a trip to Las Vegas with eight of his friends when he found out about the Festival. He then changed his plans and came to Las Vegas early.

Book Winner

Debi Cheek, Danny Anton, and Clyde Gaskins also won books, with Clyde also winning a sweatshirt courtesy of premium poker industry brands RunGoodGear and PokerGO.

Dylan Linde enjoyed Monday’s festivities and will also be attending the Festival on Tuesday, March 21st, to sign copies of his book Mastering Mixed Games, which will be available for purchase at a discounted price of $25. On Wednesday March 22nd, WSOP bracelet winner Chris Wallace will be signing copies of his book Getting Started With HORSE also at a discounted price of $25.

Jan Fisher

Jan Fisher

A portion of all proceeds derived from book sales will be donated to Poker Gives, a non-profit organization that distributes funds to assist military families, homeless veterans, and youth programs in Las Vegas. Originally founded by Linda Johnson, Lisa Tenner, Jan Fisher, and the late Mike Sexton, Poker Gives is a fully volunteer organization, with every dollar donated going to the cause. During a break in the tournament action, Johnson spoke for a couple minutes about the mission of Poker Gives to the assembled crowd, and about the beauty of being able to assist the homeless community in Las Vegas thanks to the generosity of poker players, who donate both money and time to volunteering for the cause.

The $260 Omaha 8/Stud 8 tournament was not the only action running on Monday. A couple of $4/8 Dealer’s Choice tables were running all day featuring players like Sean McCormack, Director of Poker Strategy at MGM Resorts International, and Ryan Kirk, Director of Poker Operations at the Aria. Cody Meyer from Nebraska was back at the table, along with Ruth Sun from San Jose after enjoying the first day of the festival.

Resorts World has been a huge part of this festival, providing an atmosphere that you can relax in yet feel Leon Wheeler’s superb professionalism as the venue’s Director of Poker Operations.

Leon Wheeler

Leon Wheeler

Miami John Cernuto Wins Another One

After 13 grueling hours weaving and winding his way through the Allen Kessler “Chainsaw approved” tournament structure, “Miami” John Cernuto took down top prize of the day’s tournament at approximately 2:45 am local time.

Some notables making the final table alongside Cernuto were Chip Jett, Women in Poker Hall of Famer Jan Fisher, World Poker Tour Executive Tour Director Matt Savage, and WSOP bracelet winner Ari Engel.

“Old school” defeated the “new school” as Cernuto offered a hearty handshake to Engel when winning the final Stud 8 hand.

Cash games will continue running Tuesday and Wednesday and the grand prize will be handed to the winner of Thursday’s $260 H.O.R.S.E. tournament. The prize will include an EPT Prague prize package for the winner, sponsored by PokerStars. The package, with an estimated total value of over $3,000, will consist of:

  • Mixed Game tournament buy-in up to €550
  • Roundtrip airfare for one
  • Four nights’ accommodation
]]> PokerCoaching.com Advanced Tournament Course Review https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/pokercoaching-com-advanced-tournament-course-review/ Tue, 07 Feb 2023 21:26:09 +0000 https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/?p=57444 The PokerCoaching.com Tournament MasterClass is just that, a masterclass, and an outstanding training course. As we all know, poker strategy is always evolving, so too is PokerCoaching.com’s training content.

Enter the Advanced Tournament Course, the latest massive multi-lesson endeavor from Jonathan Little and his outstanding team of coaches. With over 35 hours of content, it would appear to be a huge stand-alone course, and while it sort of is, it’s almost more like a huge expansion pack to your favorite video game, with exciting new weapons and items to crush your opponents.

Advanced Tournament Course Logo

What’s New in This Poker Course – The BFGs in the ATC

The Advanced Tournament Course takes the lessons taught in the Tournament MasterClass and expands on them in a huge way (I mean it is 35+ hours long). One of the most notable additions is the expansion of bet sizing strategies. Whereas the Tournament MasterClass primarily dealt with situations for “small” or “large” bet sizes, (mostly 1/3 or 2/3 pot-sized bets), the Advanced Tournament Course moves from the preset buttons to the slider with lessons on how and when to implement tiny bet sizes (ranging from 1 BB to 25% pot) and various overbet sizings on each street. Each section comes with multiple examples and comparisons using a variety of board textures.

Bet Size Comparison

The elements to consider within a hand are refreshed and expanded throughout the course. While range advantage and connectivity, nut advantage, position, stack size, and such are obviously discussed, it felt to me like there was an added emphasis on board dynamics when it comes to bet sizing and frequency. All of these factors are obviously important on any given hand and are discussed in each bet sizing concept lesson in the course.

ATC Board Dynamics

Lessons are primarily taught with the onus on 40 BB strategy, which obviously has some wiggle room around that stack size, but there is a section specifically on 75+ BB play and the impact on frequency and sizing of bets (primarily based on the importance of nut advantage and SPR size). Short stack play isn’t really revisited from the Tournament Masterclass as the lessons there still hold up.

Plenty of new tools are also included in the course, including updated preflop GTO charts, new ICM and heads-up charts, a ton of post-flop GTO betting frequency charts, and for users of PIOsolver, a ton of presets to load into the program.

ATC GTO Chart

The PokerCoaching.com staple of a short quiz at the completion of each lesson to test yourself on what you’ve just learned returns, along with a 40-question final exam at the end to test everything you’ve learned collectively.

Advanced Tournament Course Content

Before we get into a few specifics of some of the lessons, here’s a quick breakdown of all the content you’ll find in the Advanced Tournament Course.

Advanced Bet Sizing Concepts (with Jonathan Little)

  • 8 sections, with most videos 5-20 min long, a couple longer (3:13 total)
  • When to bet small, large, adjusting raise size vs. a bet, playing turn, playing river

Deep stacked adjustments (with Jonathan Little)

  • 4 sections (:43 min total)
  • Postflop adjustments, positional effects, the value of being able to make (or block) the nuts

Multiway Postflop Play (with Jonathan Little)

  • 7 sections (1:31 total)
  • Advanced concepts, C-betting, large betting spots, strategies when facing aggression, as the in-position preflop caller, when to lead multiway

Advanced Exploits and Adjustments (with Jonathan Little)

  • 8 sections (2:05 total)
  • How to exploit opponents that C-Bet too much in single-raised pots, that C-bet too much in 3-bet pots, that ‘cap’ their bet size on the turn, that ‘cap’ their bet size on the river, adjusting against tight players preflop and postflop

Advanced ICM and Final Table Strategies (with Brock Wilson & Justin Saliba, Ethan “RampagePoker” Yau)

  • 3 sections (1 instructional – 1:57, 1 Final Table Review – 3:58, 1 Live Stream – 4:00)
  • Instructional section ‘Mastering Preflop ICM’ includes understanding preflop ICM variables, Raise first in (RFI) strategies, vs RFI strategies, vs 3-bet strategies, blind vs blind strategies
  • Final table reviews of Rampage’s PokerGO win for $200k, Saliba’s WSOP online bracelet win + Saliba reviewing hands using solver software
  • Live stream is Saliba’s bracelet win in full

Mastering Heads-Up Preflop Charts (with Jonathan Little)

  • 2 sections (2:15 total)
  • Online strategies (with 12.5% ante) for 10-75 BB, Live strategies (with big blind ante) 10-75 BB

Heads-up MTT strategy (with Jonathan Jaffe & Justin Saliba)

  • 4 sections (14:42 total)
  • Jaffe and Saliba play 1- and 2-table HU sessions and review each (both online ante, live ante)
  • Saliba 30-min breakdown using software
  • Live stream of the sessions

How to Optimally Use Poker Tools (with Matt Affleck)

  • 4 sections (2:34 total)
  • ICMizer, PokerTracker 4, Simple 3-Way, PIOsolver

A Few Specifics of the Advanced Tournament Course

Little and his team worked on the Advanced Tournament Course for about a year, and the effort is evident, but as is the case with almost all of Little’s teachings, it is very digestible. Most videos clock in at around 10-20 minutes, which presents players the ability to study a precise subsection of a topic, or just plow right through the 90 min+ section on multiway play should they choose. That said, I would strongly recommend focusing on the smaller chunks and really learning the concepts as opposed to just zipping through video after video.

Of note, while the majority of the lessons as I mentioned are of the shorter — but tightly packed with information — variety, the “Advanced ICM and Final Table Strategies” is where we first see sections consisting of significantly longer videos containing analysis of the play by the teachers of those sections. Get ready; the solver talk will be out in full force, but don’t let it scare you off. Hearing the players/teachers discuss their thought processes in the moment, then explaining what the correct decisions are with the solver and chart backup is really effective. In particular, fans of Ethan “Rampage Poker” Yau will really enjoy the breakdown of his Poker Masters win against Brock Wilson.

Yau and Wilson

The “Heads-Up MTT Strategy” section is by far the largest of PokerCoaching.com’s Advanced Tournament Course with multiple hour-long videos of Jonathan Jaffe and Justin Saliba breaking down heads-up matches they played against each other online with 12.5% antes and a simulated ‘live’ session with a big blind ante to show the difference in strategies.

For those who want to study heads-up and learn from two of the best, this is an outstanding series of lessons discussing many, many spots they encountered in their matches with each other. Their interaction with each other as they discuss their matches is fun, too. With two players who weren’t as personable and comfortable with each other, this section could have become a slog, but that isn’t the case at all. To be fair, as lengthy and deep as this section is, it’s the one I was able to spend the least time on relative to the rest of the course. While heads-up play isn’t my primary area of desired study, the way Jaffe and Saliba go through their matches made it both entertaining and educational. I fully intend on revisiting this section and working more on my heads-up game.

Saliba and Jaffe

A pair of sections I found very helpful were those on “Multiway Postflop Play” and “Advanced Exploits and Adjustments”. As a player who primarily plays in smaller to mid-stakes buy-in tournaments, diving deeper into spots with multiple opponents was a critical part to this course. The two sections go hand in hand, as one of the key topics of the multiway section is how much more checking is necessary because of the lack of nut and range advantage you have the more players are in the pot. This comes up in the exploits section when discussing how to take advantage of those players who just endlessly continuation-bet without taking those factors into consideration.

In another very cool and useful section for students to add supplemental learning, Matt Affleck provides some great tutorials and suggestions for PokerTracker 4, ICMizer, PIOSolver, and Simple 3-Way, all of which are key programs when some study outside of PokerCoaching.com is desired.

Simple 3Way

Conclusion

One of my favorite gigs with Cardplayer Lifestyle, besides being sent to South Florida to party and hang out on a beach (er, sorry, cover a poker tournament in South Florida), is writing PokerCoaching reviews because basically I get paid to study! I spend a huge amount of time immersing myself in the content and working on improving my game while also sharing what makes the course so worthwhile for anyone looking to improve their game.

As Little suggests, if you’re new to PokerCoaching.com or thinking of signing up for the site, the Advanced Tournament Course may not be the first module you want to tackle. It does hold up well on its own for experienced players, but with an added foundation built from the Tournament MasterClass you’ll appreciate and be able to apply even more of the lessons taught in the Advanced Tournament Course.

That said, for those with a solid foundation or PokerCoaching members who have made their way through the Tournament MasterClass, I can highly recommend the Advanced Tournament Course. Along with the 20+ hours of MTT content, the nearly 15 hours of heads-up training is outstanding. It truly is a complete course to take your tournament game to the next level.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to terrorize some opponents with 4x pot-sized river bets.

]]> Mixed Game Festival II Day 4 Recap: The Champ is Here! https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/mixed-game-festival-ii-day-4-recap-the-champ-is-here/ Thu, 16 Jun 2022 18:00:23 +0000 https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/?p=52959 The latest tremendously successful day of festivities at the Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival saw 2004 WSOP Main Event champion (and the winner of our inaugural HORSE tournament last year) Greg Raymer headline the list of luminaries who joined the Dealer’s Choice fun at Resorts World Las Vegas.

Raymer was a fixture in the poker room Wednesday, playing and teaching mixed games, signing copies of his book Fossilman’s Winning Poker Strategies, and regaling tablemates with poker tales from his many years in the game.

Raymer was far from the only poker celebrity to make an appearance for some $4/8 fun, as legendary poker commentator Ali Nejad hopped into the action for a few hours, along with PokerCoaching.com teacher and WSOP bracelet winner Justin Saliba who joined for an evening session. Women in Poker Hall of Fame founder and member Lupe Soto also stopped by, headlining a contingent of women who represented up to 25% of the three tables in play at one point.

The Mixed Game List Expands

With almost any and every game available to be called, a couple of new ones made their way into the mix yesterday from the popular Lodge Poker Club in Round Rock, Texas.

The club owned by poker stars and vloggers Doug Polk, Andrew Neeme, and Brad Owen runs a Wednesday mixed game that has gained some notoriety from Polk’s vlog. A pair of staples from that game, “Fun Under the Gun” (A four-card game which sees the under the gun player choose between Omaha Hi, Omaha 8 or better, or Badugi based on seeing their hole cards) and “Squid Game” (a triple board Limit Omaha Hi game which sees three boards dealt with the board with the lowest river card killed before the final round of betting) were both called and became instant hits, with several players saying they’ll be bringing them back to their home games.

Day 4 Sees Major Oma-jack Controversy!

A staple of the Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival is the split-pot five-card game of Oma-jack, which sees players trying to make an Omaha hand by combining two of their hole cards with three cards on the board, then using their remaining three hole cards to make a blackjack hand.

A hand appeared to have three players each making 21 to split half of the pot three-ways, but upon closer reading of the hands, with a straight possible, two of the players had to use their cards to make that straight (which lost to a flush), nullifying their 21s, and sending half of the pot to a single player.

A poor dealer nearly felt the venomous wrath of a HIGHLY disappointed player, who had to settle for vociferously and pointedly mucking their cards in frustration… over losing their 16.667% of the pot. 🙂

Mixed Game Festival Day 4

The Grand Finale

Thursday will see the conclusion of the festival, with the PokerStars Live prize package, that includes flight, hotel, and a 400 euro ticket to a Road to the PSPC ticket in a European city awarded to one lucky player who’s amassed entries into a draw based on their hours of play this week.

That draw will take place in the evening, so there’s still plenty of time to come down to Resorts World, join the fun, enter the draw, and maybe win some great swag from PokerStars, BBO Poker Tables, PokerGO, D & B Publishing, and RunGoodGear.

Poker Hall of Famer Eli Elezra is the day’s headliner, as he’ll be on hand to sign copies of his autobiography, Pulling the Trigger.

The second-ever Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival has been picking up momentum all week and is set to finish on a crescendo on Thursday. If you’re in Las Vegas, be sure to stop by and join in on the fun!

Want to learn what Mixed Games are all about? Check out our comprehensive guide!

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