Order the book here and check out our book review here.

Check out these ways to get in touch with Gareth:

Gareth’s RECing Crew page: https://rec.poker/mttpokerschool/

FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pokerprofits

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mttpokerschool

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/mttpokerschool

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/mttpokerschool or https://www.twitter.com/gazelligpoker

Plus, take a sneak peek into the book: https://youtu.be/yOl5_-8prvg

We also go over this week’s home game results and discuss these topics:
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Home Games – https://rec.poker/homegame/
Go Premium! – https://rec.poker/premium/

Find our free videos at: http://youtube.com/c/RecPokerCommunity

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RecPoker is a vibrant and encouraging poker learning community. We are committed to learning the game, but our priority is building healthy relationships where we can not only grow in the game, but grow in our enjoyment of life. The free membership website at rec.poker is awesome, but it’s just a tool to help us build that community. You can join for FREE, giving you access to the groups, forums, and other member benefits. If you want to enjoy the premium content, or become part of the RECing Crew, those options are available, and you can get $10 off your first payment using the code RECPOKER. Music by Peter Troolin, [email protected].

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His book, The Final Table, was on Gareth’s to-do list for a while, and then things lined up perfectly just at the right moment. The result is that aspiring tournament players across the globe have been gifted another poker strategy masterpiece.

As you can guess from the title, The Final Table is all about tournaments or, more specifically, about that last stage of any tournament, where there are only a few people standing between you and the coveted top spot.

James certainly doesn’t lack credentials as a player, so I was eager to read the book. While the topic was clear, I was curious to see how he approaches this extremely important segment of tournament play.

A Proper Tournament Textbook

If you’re looking for some light poker reading, this book isn’t it. Gareth James’ The Final Table feels more like a poker textbook designed to teach you everything you need to know about the final stage of any tournament. Some people may love this approach, and some may not, but it boils down to what you’re looking for. If your goal is to significantly improve your final table strategy, this book can definitely get you there.

What I really liked is that James makes no assumptions about his readers and thus makes sure the book is useful to everyone. The first part breaks down all the important theoretical concepts, such as ICM, risk premium, and bubble factor, offering detailed explanations and hand examples of each.

Even if you have no knowledge of poker theory and only play poker recreationally, you won’t feel lost reading this book. The first few sections set up the foundation for the lessons to follow, and you’ll be able to keep up.

At the same time there are a lot of examples and detailed calculations for different spots for more advanced players. These are useful on their own, but are also a great resource to help you come up with more examples to think about.

After laying down the groundwork, James continues to build upon it, combining ICM with postflop strategy, focusing on different board textures and situations involving different positions and stack sizes.

This is where things start to get more serious, as you’ll come across many tables, calculations, and breakdowns, and the only way you’ll profit is if you take the time to really read and understand them. Using a poker tool that lets you set up hands and play through them is probably a good idea here. It will allow you to visualize the concepts being discussed in the text, making it easier to remember the examples and making the learning process more engaging.

I was quite pleased to see that an entire segment of The Final Table was devoted to those final tables where you’re still not in the money. While this is not a situation that most players think of when discussing final tables, it happens quite often in small-field tournaments. So, if you happen to play a lot of these, this section will be very helpful.

READ ALSO: Course Review: Train and Play Like the Pros by Gareth James

Teaching Through Examples

There are many different approaches to teaching poker, and all of them have their good and bad sides. For his book, Gareth James decided to teach through examples of actual hands, breaking them down and offering solver-approved solutions for various situations.

You’ll get every segment of play covered in detail in its own section, from the start of the final table, with eight to ten players, all the way to the final skirmish. Every single example can help you learn something. However, this only works if you really apply yourself. Just skimming through the hand history and analysis will do you no good. There are a lot of numbers in there, so you will want to pause and really think about it all.

I don’t suggest trying to read The Final Table in one sitting. In fact, I don’t suggest trying to “read” it at all. Instead, I’d say it’s much better to treat this tome as a proper textbook. The first few chapters, can be read in one or two sittings. This will help get your fundamentals in order, especially if you don’t have a good theoretical poker background. Once the book moves on to actual examples, the best way to proceed is to take the time to go through a few hands and really think about what you’re reading.

You’ll find hundreds of hand charts and tables inside this book, and it’s impossible to memorize these in one or two sittings. Or, at least, it’s impossible for most people. If you happen to be someone who can do it, you probably have a very bright future in poker.

But even more than that, a methodical approach will help you develop a deeper understanding of  the advice and suggestions make sense, even if they seem counter-intuitive at first. Developing a deep understanding of the concepts will serve you much better in the long run than mechanically memorizing some charts.

Should You Read The Final Table?

If you enjoy reading and learning poker through books, I’d argue that The Final Table is worth your time for the introductory section alone. Gareth James does an excellent job of explaining some crucial concepts that will definitely change the way you approach tournament final tables.

As for the rest of it, you can really pace your study however you want. The hand examples provided inside the book are “evergreen,” so they’ll be just as relevant a couple of months from now or even a year down the line.

You can always combine hands from different segments, too, if you want to gradually improve all aspects of your play (three-hand, five-handed, etc.) instead of focusing on just one area before moving to the next one.

If you’re looking for purely fun poker content, you won’t find much of that inside The Final Table. Gareth’s style is very detailed and methodical. But as a resource for learning to play final tournament tables, this book delivers in every way.

So, whenever I sink my teeth into a new course, I start with the question: what is it that makes this course different from the rest? And that’s exactly how I approached Gareth James‘ Train & Play Like the Pros.

One thing that immediately caught my attention as I watched the introductory video was that Gareth seems to understand the biggest struggles that most recreational players have when signing up for a training program. Having access to a bunch of content is cool and all, but how useful is that content to someone who’s not already on a fairly high level?

So, instead of just producing a few dozen coaching videos and calling it a day, Gareth lays out a structured path adjusted to your personal needs. Train & Play Like the Pros aims to give you the tools to improve the areas of your game in which you’re lacking, taking a very focused approach.

Getting Your Ducks in a Row

One thing that James is very honest about right from the start is that the value you’ll get from this course will depend largely on how much time and effort you put into it. As you’ll quickly realize when you start taking the lessons, the whole idea is to get you engaged and excited about becoming a better player.

But before embarking on that journey, Train & Play Like the Pros outlines some of the biggest challenges that most recreational players face. Namely:

• Feeling overwhelmed – i.e., not knowing where to start or how to go about improving their game, which often leads to giving up on the idea completely.
• Poor or no study habits – knowing how to learn effectively is a big deal, and this course provides some great advice in that area.
• Weak fundamentals – recreational players often find themselves in spots where they are not sure what to do, despite having played a ton of hands.

These three areas serve as the backbone of the course. Gareth aims to address each of them, not on a general level, but rather for every individual player that signs up. While the overall problems may be the same, different players struggle with different parts of these large areas.

In accordance with this, Train & Play Like the Pros is divided into a number of main areas designed to first help you identify your own leaks and shortcomings, then provide you with the help you need to fix those leaks, and finally offer tools and advice to make your study routines much more effective.

Identifying the Leaks

Once you go through the first video lessons and other materials, the initial proactive sections of the course are designed to help you find the leaks in your game. You’ll get access to a simple worksheet where you’ll need to input your stats from Poker Tracker 4 (or a similar tracking program like Hold’em Manager) to compare them with optimal values.

So, yes, to be able to use this course, you’ll need to have some hands in your database and tracking software to go along. In this day and age, it is hardly a big expectation, and if you’re at least a bit serious about getting better at poker, this is a must-have.

A couple of videos available in this section will explain the key preflop and postflop stats that you need to pay attention to, their meaning, and why the numbers are what they are. Even if you are new to poker stats, Gareth has done a great job of explaining things, so you won’t feel lost.

Once you do the work and fill in the worksheets, you’ll have a good idea of what areas of your game need the most attention, and you can move on to the next section.

Fixing the Leaks

This section of Train & Play Like the Pros is similar to a traditional poker course, as it contains several videos addressing specific topics related to those areas identified in the earlier section. Your task here is to watch those videos that apply to your particular leaks.

For example, if you discover that your flop c-bet numbers are off, there is a video addressing that specific area of the game which contains a number of actual hands selected from the database. Gareth goes through these hands and explains various strategic aspects that should help you bring your numbers more in line with the optimal approach.

You will also learn how to use filters in PT4 so that you can go through your own database and filter all sorts of situations in the future. This is very helpful, as you’ll want to go back to your hands every now and again for another round of analysis.

Developing Effective Study Habits

Completing a single course will not be enough to make you a winner in poker in the long run. To achieve that goal you will need to constantly work on your game, looking for new leaks and making sure your game stays up to par.

This is another major area that most recreational players struggle with, which is why the course contains a fairly extensive section on developing effective study habits. The goal here is to help make you an active learner, i.e., someone who actively engages with the learning process and consumes the offered knowledge in the right way.

This section teaches you good study habits and also shows you how to properly use some poker software solutions to review your hands. If you are interested to see how poker studying is done at the highest level, Train & Play Like the Pros will teach you.

Optimal Strategies – Building Strong Fundamentals

The final section of Train & Play Like the Pros is different from the rest of the course. It contains a few dozen long videos focusing on poker strategy. These are webinars from Gareth’s earlier course MTT Game Changer and they cover a wide array of topics, such as:

• Blind vs. blind play
• Flop and turn strategies (in and out of position)
• River strategies
• ICM

Since these are very long videos, James suggests (and I would agree) that you shouldn’t try to consume a bunch of content all at once. Take your time going through these, as they offer a lot of valuable information, but it will only be useful to you if it sticks.

Summary: Does Train & Play Like the Pros Deliver on Its Promise?

Gareth has done an excellent job of doing exactly what he set out to do: creating a poker training course aimed at recreational players looking to get better. It offers the kind of structure and guidance that I feel is lacking in many other courses out there.

If you’re someone with a passion for poker but simply don’t know how to go about improving your skills, Train & Play Like the Pros will give you the tools you need, both right now and for the future. It will show you how to recognize your mistakes, give you the tools to fix them, and help you set up a structure where you’ll be able to identify any future leaks on your own.

To top it all off, you also get access to a very active Discord group and weekly seminars where you’ll be able to ask any questions and discuss poker topics with fellow players and coaches alike. Being a part of a living and breathing poker community is certain to help you reach your goals faster while staying in touch with the game.

Use code CPL50 to get a £50 discount on Train & Play Like the Pros

All in all, Train & Play Like the Pros is a quality course that offers a unique approach. It will require you to put in time and effort, but it will also provide you with very specific and targeted knowledge that more general courses don’t give you. The ultimate choice is yours, but as far as value for money goes, you won’t go wrong with this course if you’re ready to follow the path laid out for you.

Plus we give away a free prize at the end for folks in the YouTube chat. Join us on YouTube next Monday at 7:30 ET for free to ask our guests questions in real-time, and you can win too!

Gareth is active on Twitter at @gazelligpoker but spends most of his social media time on facebook (search for the group ‘poker profits’) and you can check out his “Train and play like the pros” course here: https://rec.poker/go/mtt-poker-academy/

We also go over this week’s home game results and discuss these topics:
How to help us out – https://rec.poker/support/
Home Games – https://rec.poker/homegame/
Go Premium! – https://rec.poker/premium/

RecPoker is a vibrant and encouraging poker learning community. We are committed to learning the game, but our priority is building healthy relationships where we can not only grow in the game, but grow in our enjoyment of life. The membership website at rec. poker is awesome, but it’s just a tool to help us build that community. You can join for FREE, giving you access to the groups, forums, and other member benefits. If you want to enjoy the premium content, or become part of the RECing Crew, those options are available, and you can get $10 off your first payment using the code RECPOKER.

Time Stamps

We go over this week’s home game results and discuss these topics:
How to help us out – https://rec.poker/support/
Home Games – https://rec.poker/homegame/
Go Premium! – https://rec.poker/premium/

RecPoker is a vibrant and encouraging poker learning community. We are committed to learning the game, but our priority is building healthy relationships where we can not only grow in the game, but grow in our enjoyment of life. The membership website at rec. poker is awesome, but it’s just a tool to help us build that community. You can join for FREE, giving you access to the groups, forums, and other member benefits. If you want to enjoy the premium content, or become part of the RECing Crew, those options are available, and you can get $10 off your first payment using the code RECPOKER.

Time Stamps

I’m not a big fan of a very GTO-oriented approach to poker, so I’ll admit that I approached Gareth James’ MTT Poker School with a bit of prejudice. While I’m not trying to say GTO doesn’t work, I tend to find that kind of content harder to keep up with and stay focused.

I must say that now, after I’ve given the site’s training materials and courses a proper try, I’ve changed my mind quite a bit.

James is an experienced player and a poker coach who’s been offering poker training in one way or another for over a decade. So, his credentials were never questionable. I simply wasn’t sure what to expect inside.

When the course first debuted in late 2020, I was also a bit confused by the subscription options. I think the idea was to give players more wiggle room to access the course or particular lessons in a way that they were the most comfortable with, but it ended up being a bit too much. To Gareth’s credit, he’s fixed this issue since, and now the subscription model is much more straightforward.

MTT Poker School at a Glance

Signing up to the MTT Poker School gives you access to the entire content library of course materials.

The materials currently consist of 18 distinct modules with more content constantly being added. Most modules are organized in a way where you’re provided with:

• Theory part
• Deep dives (analysis of theoretical concepts using hand examples)
• Member hand reviews
• Useful charts and sheets

The range of topics covered in the course is very wide and James’ MTT Poker School is a living entity, i.e., there will be more lessons added over time. What’s important to note is that these modules are highly specific and address particular areas of the game in great detail. Whether it’s talking about raising first in, defending the big blind, or playing in position against an open, each module offers an extensive analysis of that particular segment.

Like I mentioned in the introduction, this is a very GTO-focused course so all theory in the videos revolves around optimal solutions found using solvers such as PioSOLVER and MonkerSolver. So, students are provided with mathematically correct solutions for particular scenarios at certain stack depths.

MTT Poker School Lessons Overview

When I first took up MTT Game Changer in late 2020, it consisted of 10 modules, with the promise of more content being added down the road. The course has delivered on its promise as now, seven months later, there are 18 distinct  modules, with another one in the making.

The first one is more of an introductory module while the rest cover various pre-flop and post-flop topics that MTT players have to deal with. I’ve already covered the general structure of these lessons, so here’s a quick overview of the actual topics you can find inside:

• Introductory module: explaining basics of the program and offering a goal setting webinar, which can be very useful to all poker players. Learn how to set realistic goals, the difference between good and “bad” goals, and more.

• Raise First In (RFI): Covering GTO ranges, discussing common mistakes, looking at important stats, and how to adjust vs. different players. Lessons cover 100, 60, 40, 30, 20, and 15 BB play.
• Defending the Big Blind: Teaches you how to structure your big blind defense ranges at various stack depths, goes over some common mistakes, and discusses concepts such as equity realization. When should you deviate from GTO and how to take advantage of weaker players?

• Flop Strategies in Position as the Pre-flop Raiser: Focusing on 40 BB play but concepts can be applied to other stack depths as well. This module breaks down and categorizes basic types of boards and board textures – concepts that are important in future modules as well. Some common mistakes are covered in depth, you’re provided with extensive advice on how to build your c-betting strategy, and more.
• Flop Strategies in Position as the Pre-flop Raiser 2.0 (new): An upgrade to the original IP PFR module, focusing on just two bet sizes to make the learning process easier. The content is similar to what is already available in the first module, but the narrower focus makes it easier to practically apply the knowledge contained inside.
• Flop Strategies OOP as Pre-flop Caller: An entire module talking about what to do after calling from the blinds. The module teaches about the importance of staying sensitive to bet sizes, talks about the range and the nut advantage, covers minimum and optimal defense frequencies, and how to play across different board textures.
• IP Pre-flop Facing an Open: How to deal with opens when in position. What things to pay attention to, what mistakes to avoid, and how the GTO strategy changes depending on effective stack sizes. This module introduces some interesting concepts and strategies that may not “feel” right but are actually spot on from the mathematical point of view.

• OOP Flop Strategy as Pre-flop Raiser: The theory video talks about properly sizing your bets when having the initiative but being out of position going into the flop, going back to some concepts discussed in earlier modules such as different board textures and categories. The theory part is followed by three detailed deep dive videos.
• Defending the Small Blind: This module has some similarities with the one covering the big blind play, but ranges and solutions differ greatly. The lesson covers some common mistakes like being too passive and not being sensitive to raise sizes. It also explains why frequencies and descriptions are much more useful than position.

• IP Flop Strategy vs. the SB: Once again, a lot of focus is put on some of the most common mistakes, such as playing the same as against the big blind, sizing bets wrong for the board texture, and failing to think about the whole situation and understand the “why” behind your actions. Deep dive videos help further clarify theoretical concepts.

• Flop Strategy in Position as Pre-flop Caller: Using solvers, this module focuses on looking at different hands and trying to find good flops to take advantage of your opponent’s play by calling, raising their bets, or taking a stab after they check to you.
• Flop Strategy OOP as the PFC in SB: Constructing an optimal strategy for playing from the small blind after just flat calling the raise, looking at different board textures and referring back to many concepts covered in earlier videos.
• Turn Strategy IP as the PFR: This is the next module to look into after going through the Flop IP module. Deciding when to check back and when to double-barrel. The module also introduces the idea of geometric bet sizing to help with how to structure your bets properly for the maximum EV. Other considerations in this module cover how various turn cards change our equity and how that influences our decision (check or bet, and how big).
• Turn Strategy OOP as the PFC: The module features the already familiar structure, making it easy to keep up with and focusing on the 40bb stack-size. It’s the module in the series that introduces the idea of turn leads, and the first couple of webinars deal with these spots. The other two webinars focus on situations where you’re faced with a double barrel.
• Blind vs. Blind Preflop: This module covers in detail how to play in the blinds, addressing play in small and big blind positions. The course provides a variety of solved charts for different stack sizes (from 10 to 100 big blinds), while videos discuss different blind vs. blind scenarios, talking about appropriate raise sizes, some of the most common mistakes and misconceptions about these spots, etc.
• Flop Strategy IP Blind vs. Blind as the PFR: Continuing on the previous module, these lessons cover a very specific scenario where you raise as the big blind after the small blind has limped in. The module looks at different board textures and GTO solutions for these spots, with the aim of finding and memorizing the best boards for checking and betting.
• Facing a 3-bet Preflop: This module is divided into three main parts, covering deep stack and shorter stack theory, as well as situations where you’re facing the nutted range from the big blind or the button. In addition to video lessons, there are also ready-made charts for 50bb-100bb and 15bb-40bb scenarios.
• Flop Strategy OOP in 3-bet Pots as the Pre-flop Caller: Although the module looks into a specific spot (BTN vs. LJ), main concepts and ideas are applicable across much more general scenarios. Like the rest of the lessons in the MTT Game Changer course, suggestions and strategies are based on in-depth calculations made with PioSOLVER.

MTT Game Changer Membership

As mentioned in the introduction, the MTT Game Changer used to feature a rather elaborate membership structure, where you could pick from a number of different options: buying individual courses or purchasing different levels of membership.

However, the membership model has been fully restructured and now there is just one, simple and straightforward option. Paying  £499 once will get you lifetime access to the course, which covers all the existing as well as any future content. New modules are added every month, and so far James has been true to his promise.

The only other option currently available is to buy the RFI course for the one-time charge of £49. This will give you access to the very first module in the MTT Game Changer course (Raise First In) as well as downloadable RFI charts for different stack depths. Although it’s a valuable purchase on its own, it is more meant as sneak peak to let you see the kind of content you can expect to find inside.

Value for Money: How Good is MTT Poker School and Game Changer?

One thing I can say after spending quite a bit of time trying out the MTT Poker School is that it’s fully geared towards serious players who really want to get better. If you’re looking for something casual, there are other options that will be a better match.

Gareth James takes his Game Changer course instruction very seriously and the quality of the training material is very high. His webinars are never rushed and he takes as much time as necessary to cover everything that needs to be covered. He then takes some more time to answer any questions and provide any additional clarifications.

So, you will be getting your money’s worth either way but you’ll be getting the most out of this offering, if you’re willing to study and participate. Maybe you’ll feel like you’re back to school at times, but that’s what it takes to become really good at poker these days.

If you are dedicated to becoming a better MTT player, I have no doubt that Gareth James’ MTT Poker School will provide you with everything you need to get there.

Make sure you check out rec.poker to find out how to join the community for free! 

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