The number of resources covering this specific area is still somewhat limited, which makes the Knockout Tournament Mastery course by Run It Once that much more valuable. Presented by their longtime Elite coach Alex Theologis, a man with a proven track record in this format and privy to all the intricacies of these games, this course covers everything there is to know.

As Alex emphasizes in the introduction, Knockout Tournament Mastery is for everyone – whether you’re a seasoned pro or a recreational player who happens to enjoy this particular format. Every important aspect of KOs is covered in the videos, with solid theoretical fundamentals and accompanying calculations and examples to back them up.

RIO Knockout Tournament Mastery at a Glance

The course is divided into 22 main chapters and several logical units, starting with fundamentals of knockout tournaments and progressing through various stages of the game.

Throughout the course, Theologis sticks to the same tournament table to explain things, adjusting slightly as required. This helps keep things consistent and easier to keep up as you learn.

Some of the major topics you’ll find covered inside the course include:

• Bounty Basics
• Opening & jamming – big vs. short stack
• 3-betting and calling – from the short and big stack points of view
• Blind vs. blind play in KOs
• Postflop adjustments
• Knockout tournaments and ICM – bubble, final table, importance of field size, adjusting to very short stacks
• Mystery bounties

Throughout the course, Theologis uses Hold’em Resources Calculator and other poker software tools to explain different situations. These explanations can get a bit overwhelming at times, so it’s critical to take your time with this course and not try to rush through it.

Bounty Basics Explained

The first proper lesson of the Run It Once Knockout Tournament Mastery course is the one you’ll definitely need to watch, even if you decide to skip some later lessons. In it, Alex explains the theory behind different types of KO tournaments and explains how to figure out the value of a bounty.

The video offers very thorough and clear explanations that can be a real eye-opener if you like playing bounties but have never bothered with the theory. Theologis even introduces his “Helping Method,” which can help you figure these things out in real time without too much effort.

In addition to math and theory, the video discusses some other important aspects, such as:

• Future EV
• Soft spots at the table
• What will our stack look like after a decision and implications of this

These are all the concepts and numbers that are referred back to in the rest of the course, so make sure to take your time to understand and internalize them before moving on.

Opening and Jamming Ranges

Figuring out your opening and jamming ranges is important in any poker tournament setting. Most people who have been around have certain ideas about these ranges in regular MTTs, but how do bounties influence those ranges?

Theologis starts by looking at what he refers to as “vanilla” ranges (i.e., non-PKO ranges) and then expands with the addition of bounties to the mix to demonstrate how things change.

It is interesting to see how the added value of the bounties influences both the opening ranges and call-off ranges in certain spots.

For example, Alex discusses how short stacks need to adjust to the fact that they will be targeted more. At the same time, he suggests that, for larger stacks, flat calling instead of 3-betting shorter stacks becomes a much more viable strategy.

3-Betting & Calling

Continuing on from his first couple of lessons, Theologis expands to discuss how to adjust for this knowledge about changed opening ranges.

He once again reiterates that calling, instead of 3-betting, is usually preferred option except in situations where we are holding hands like AK and big pocket pairs. Having some strong hands in the flatting range protects us and allows us to see flops with suited and connected hands that play well after the flop.

In these two videos (short and big stack), he also discusses how our bluffing ranges change (as there are certain hands we’d rather see flops with), and how we almost have no 3-bets in our range when short-stacked (only calls and jams), as other players are too incentivized to get involved and try to get the bounty.

Blind vs. Blind Play in Knockout Tournaments

A couple of videos are focused on the blind vs. blind play, which makes up an important part of any tournament strategy. Theologis examines situations where the big blind covers the small blind, and then moves on to discuss reverse situations.

Some of the things discussed in this section include SB opening range adjustments (virtually non-existent when the big blind covers), and how the big blind increases its isolation range to include some of the pure vanilla call ranges when they cover.

Limping and Multi-Way All-Ins in PKOs

A couple of videos in the Run It Once Knockout Tournament Mastery course are devoted to two interesting topics. The first deals with limping, which is generally regarded as not-so-viable strategy in tournaments.

In PKOs, however, Theologis suggests there are situations where we want to limp more – with hands that we want to see flops with, but there are stacks that cover us left to act.

Another interesting aspect is the hands that we can use for multi-way all-ins. Alex runs some numbers and compares different ranges to figure out how to find the best candidates for these situations, focusing primarily on avoiding the hands that are likely to be dominated.

ICM Considerations in PKOs

Several videos towards the end of the course focus on ICM (Independent Chip Model) aspects and how these change in different stages of bounty tournaments.

For example, during the bubble stage, short stacks have to further tighten their ranges, as they can expect to get looked up much more. Big stacks have to be more careful, too, as short stacks can call wider since their risk premium is lower.

Talking about the final table, it is really interesting to see how things can change, as the value of bounties (expressed in big blinds) starts to drop.

Is RIO Knockout Tournament Mastery for You?

One thing I will say about the Knockout Tournament Mastery course is that it includes a lot of math and ranges. This isn’t always easy to keep up with, especially if you’re less naturally mathematically inclined, but it’s also the only way to really dig under the surface and explain how these tournaments differ from the “vanilla” ones and where the need for different adjustments comes from.

It really depends on how far you want to take your Progressive Knockout game. Even if you only pick up some smaller adjustments and understand basic principles, your game is bound to improve significantly.

On the other hand, if you are ready to put in the work, Theologis really breaks down this format to the finest detail. If you take the time to understand, learn, and memorize all the slight variations, you’ll be ready to compete with the best and easily crush the average competition in these events.

This is an advanced and detailed course, so the $499 price tag for lifetime access seems pretty spot-on. It will require some commitment, but if PKOs are your cup of tea, your commitment will undoubtedly be handsomely rewarded.

Progressive Knockout tournaments are quickly becoming the most popular MTT format at European facing online poker rooms, it seems like only a matter of time before they take over the world. Recreational players love them, online poker sites benefit greatly from them and they are very complex so unlikely to ever be ‘solved’. However, a lot of serious players hate them.

They are certainly a mindset shift as often you have to do the opposite of the instincts you have learned over the years. For example, if you are busting early in PKOs frequently that is actually a good sign, because getting a big stack at the start is a huge advantage, but this goes against every instinct tournament players have. PKO tournaments have so many nuances that go against a good player’s instinct that I decided to write a book detailing them – PKO Poker Strategy.

Before PKOs were even a thing I had an experience that made me realise how PKOs were a different beast to any other poker format.

The first time I ever played a bounty tournament was my second year as a professional. My best friend at the time, Rob Taylor, who was one of Ireland’s top pros, was invited to the opening of a poker club and they gave him a free buy-in but put a big bounty on his head. He was asked to invite another pro along so he asked me. We were the only players with bounties on our head and the prize for busting us was about five buy-ins.

As we were driving there we were discussing how to play under these circumstances because we never had before. Rob was concerned that having the bounty on our head was so minus EV it was taking away the EV of the free buy-in. As the tournament progressed, Rob got more frustrated because he could not get any folds at all. I thought it wasn’t a bad thing overall because when we do get a hand we might get paid.

I decided we had to accept a number of things; we had to accept that when we opened, we might get five calls, therefore we had to change our opening range. A hand like JTs becomes really good because it can make the nuts more often than other hands on boards that also give opponents big hands. My second adjustment was that clearly there was no point bluffing or semi-bluffing because you can’t get folds. So in-game I changed my style to never bluff, value bet only and changed my sizings to bigger bets when I had it because they had to call me. Rob thought it was a handicap to have these bounties on our heads but it actually became a positive, it made the strategy simple, we just had to ask ourselves if our hands were really strong, would weaker hands call and then continue going with it?

This is why Phil Hellmuth still wins tournaments, because everybody wants to bust him. He complains about people calling him with shit but that is how he wins. When you have a bounty on your head, it turns you into Phil Hellmuth.

READ MORE: Interview with Phil Hellmuth

People hate it when their bluffs cannot get through but although it is frustrating (and we have all seen what it does to Phil), poker would be a much easier, simpler game if everyone played like that. PKOs are both more complex than regular MTTs, but paradoxically simpler in the one respect that your decision is often skewed heavily by who can win the bounty in the hand.

So if you have ever wondered what it is like to play like Phil Hellmuth, play a knockout tournament.

Dara O’Kearney is sponsored by Unibet and is the co-author of Poker Satellite Strategy. His new book PKO Poker Strategy is the first book ever written about progressive knockout tournaments.

Dara O’Kearney

What makes these tournaments different from traditional knockout tournaments (KOs) is the fact the players’ bounties increase with every opponent they eliminate, so bounties aren’t static. You probably don’t need a poker expert to tell you that this will influence how you act in certain scenarios. Naturally, however, having an expert (or two) explain what these scenarios are and what adjustments you need to make is very helpful. That’s exactly what the latest PokerNerve course, aptly named Bounty Hunter, is all about.

Over the course of several hours’ worth of video lessons (almost 20 hours altogether), Kelvin ‘Acesup’ Beattie and Ben Hayles break down every single aspect of Progressive Knockout tournaments (PKOs), using mathematical calculations and actual hand examples to create an excellent guide for this particular format.

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PokerNerve Bounty Hunter Course: Understanding What PKOs Are All About

The introductory video is a must-watch for anyone interested in improving their play in Progressive Knockouts. In it, “Acesup” explains the fundamental differences between PKOs and regular MTTs and how you can use a fairly simple formula to adjust your equities to account for the bounties.

The video offers a really good overview of how PKOs work and how the bounty pool changes as players bust. This is an essential introduction to everything that comes after in the course and it’s an excellent resource even if you’re completely new to bounty hunter tournaments. It really explains the format well and what you need to pay most attention to when playing.

Breakdown By Tournament Stages

Several segments of the PokerNerve Bounty Hunter course offer an excellent overview of game play at the three main stages of every tournament, namely:

• Early
• Middle
• Late

These videos are best watched in order. Every segment contains several lessons on particular subtopics, and videos are usually about 15 minutes long, so they’re easy to keep up with. Worth noting, both Beattie and Hayles do a good job of keeping things light and entertaining as much as possible, which definitely helps you maintain your focus while learning.

In the early stage videos, you’ll find a wealth of resources on how to approach bounty hunters during the period of play where the Independent Chip Model (ICM) is almost irrelevant. The segment is broken down by the stack depth, explaining necessary adjustments you’ll need to make vs. short, medium, and large stacks during early levels of a PKO.

The course utilizes Hold’em Resources Calculator (HRC) to come up with adjusted ranges for specific KO situations. The poker software does a pretty good job of this and you’ll be able to see in real time how adding or removing bounties changes calling and shoving ranges in particular scenarios.

Importantly, the course creators do account for the fact that HRC isn’t perfect as it doesn’t have the ability to account for new possibilities that open up once you have accumulated a really big stack in a PKO. Having a big stack in these tournaments is often of much bigger significance than having a big stack in a regular MTT where there isn’t the additional prize money to worry about.

After looking at early stage play, the PokerNerve Bounty Hunter Course moves on to middle stage play. In this phase, the ICM does start to have some influence but it’s still not a huge factor. Thus, you can still put a lot of focus on winning bounties.

In this section, “Acesup” explains how things start to change as players accumulate more bounties and how you can adjust your stealing and re-stealing ranges to account for these changing dynamics. He also explains the Bounty Factor (BF), a number that helps you make decisions on the spot and understand how equity requirements change.

Finally, the course talks about late stage and final table play. This is where ICM begins to really have an impact. To demonstrate the impact of ICM, “Acesup” compares bubble play in a regular $109 tournament on PokerStars and optimal play in a $109 bounty hunter tournament.

In this section, you’ll find a lot of good advice on how to make certain adjustments in the final stages of the tournament and take advantage of those players who fail to make such adjustments. With bounties in play, calling ranges become wider, which calls for tightening up and adjusting your shoving ranges.

A particularly interesting video in this section is the one on deal making. “Acesup” explains what things you should think about when making a deal and how different live and online poker rooms have different rules when it comes to bounties once a deal is struck. To put yourself in the best possible spot, you need to know these rules and account for them when making your decision.

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Isolating

After going through stage by stageplay, the PokerNerve Bounty Hunter course moves to a topic that’s important in MTTs in general but is especially significant in PKOs: isolating. With the added money from bounties, there is an additional incentive to play heads-up pots against shorter stacks and bust them. But, what’s the correct strategy here?

Focusing on four important factors, Beattie explains everything you need to know about potential isolation opportunities:

• Bounty Factor
• Equity
• Players yet to act (and do we cover them)
• ICM

In this section, you’ll also find out about some strategies specific to PKOs in light of isolation opportunities. For example, limping in becomes a much more viable approach in certain scenarios whereas this strategy is almost never used in regular MTTs. Added bounty dynamics make limping with the threat of isolation shoving a good option in certain scenarios.

Covering vs. Non-covering and Multi-way Pots

The final two sections of the PokerNerve Bounty Hunter course discuss how to adjust your play in situations depending on whether you cover or don’t cover your opponent and how to approach multi-way pots in PKO tournaments.

In terms of covering vs. not covering, you’ll pretty much be able to make many correct assumptions yourself by this point in the course. When you have a covering stack in pre-flop situations, you’ll be able to play looser, whether you’re the first in the pot or are calling or defending from the blinds.

In post-flop scenarios, when you have a player covered, you’ll want to build pots faster and not slow-play too much. Of course, you’ll find out what this means via concrete examples and what strategies to apply to achieve these results.

It’s worth mentioning that once you’re done with all the lessons, there is an in-depth review of a $530 online bounty builder tournament as played by “Acesup”. This provides a great summary of everything that’s been discussed as you can see many concepts as applied in actual play.

Summary: How Good is the PokerNerve Bounty Hunter Course?

PokerNerve’s Bounty Hunter course is definitely an interesting and rather unique product. They took a special niche within the MTT world and gave it an excellent, in-depth treatment. As some would say, the course “does what it says on the tin” and delivers on the promise to teach you about intricacies of playing progressive KOs.

Although you’ll find a fair bit of theory, formulas, and calculations (which are hardly ever too interesting to go through), Beattie and Hayles have really done a great job of keeping things light and easy to follow throughout. While the course is focused on a particular type of MTTs, you’ll also find a lot of general advice in there in terms of ranges and adjustments, so watching the videos is definitely worth your while even if PKOs aren’t your main focus.

In sum, if you want to develop a deeper understanding of bounty hunters and improve your ROI in these tournaments, this product will help you get there, and with a $374 price tag (a 25% discount from the regular price of $499) it’s a worthwhile investment to make in your poker game.

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