Working on Your CORE

We’ve already broken down the recently updated Core 2.0 A-Z poker course and to get to the heart of the matter, we spoke to James “Splitsuit” Sweeney, the man behind its creation. The CORE course on Red Chip Poker has an incredible 200 poker training lessons, each of which is tailored to players’ needs.

“The original goal with CORE was to deliver on a request we’d gotten for years: a clear syllabus for learning poker,” says James. The team spent weeks crafting a syllabus and meticulously creating a linear structure for teaching poker knowledge. We essentially threw every concept we could think of at a board, ranked them by difficulty and importance, and got to work building out each lesson.”

The result is that players who benefit the most from CORE are new to intermediate players, because the material is designed to both build and backfill poker strategy.

“Advanced players will get the most from PRO – which does include full access to CORE – but if a player is newer to the game or looking to fix leaks, we highly suggest CORE.”

PRO is definitely the product of choice if you are serious about upgrading your poker game, and to that point you can read our Top 10 Reasons Why Red Chip Poker PRO Membership is worth it.

Helping Poker Players Interact with Learning

The CORE Course is highly interactive and encourages players to put the lessons they learn into immediate practice. Making the course hands-on was an inspiration throughout the design process.

“This was something we were adamant on adding to CORE from the beginning,” James tells us. “One of the most complex aspects of poker is that playing one or two sessions doesn’t offer a great feedback mechanism for specific spots/knowledge. Quizzes acted as a great way to offer players a chance to prove their knowledge of a concept without risking money.”

Red Chip Poker can call on some big hitters to back up their training, with Ed Miller and WSOP bracelet winner Chris ‘Fox’ Wallace both guiding players through lessons in both cash and MTTs. Does James think players will end up choosing one or the other or does the course help players balance both?

“Given that CORE is meant more for new to intermediate players, we tend to suggest they focus on one: either cash games or tournaments. Both formats are quite different, and trying to learn both at the same time isn’t a great idea. That said, quite a few skills and concepts will transfer between the two formats flawlessly, especially the underlying math.”

Overall, it’s best to pick one format and really dive deep on that, instead of bouncing back and forth between the two, James explains, having himself always adored cash games.

“I prefer the additional stack depth that cash games offer as I think the dynamics are far more interesting,” he says. “I also love the flexibility that cash games offer. With a tournament, you might play 20 minutes before busting, or multiple days if you run deep. My schedule between work and family just doesn’t allow for that, so cash games just check all of my boxes.”

Visualizing Improvement

The Red Chip Poker CORE training package isn’t just great value with so much included for the price, but the user interface is really clean. With 95% of poker players being male. We wondered whether Red Chip Poker catered for the adage that men prefer visual stimuli when putting CORE together.

“That’s interesting, as I’ve never thought about the visual component from a male vs. female point of view,” James admits. I just think clear and clean graphics are important for helping someone be able to follow content more easily. We spent a lot of time working on the art style and UI/UX and we are still making tweaks to flatten as many barriers to access for students.”

Hand analysis is easy to do once anyone actually starts, but many players leave this until last. The CORE course specifically helps those who struggle to dive into this area of self-improvement.

“Most players struggle with hand analysis for a variety of reasons. Just a few of them are:

• They don’t have the prerequisite knowledge to analyze a specific spot yet.
• They didn’t write their original hand down very well. (GIGO)
• They don’t have a community to bounce with and get lost in their own head.

With CORE, we put the HH deep dives later in the structure to ensure the student had enough prerequisite knowledge to analyze a hand well. And the HH lessons also have links to related concepts for additional study or review.”

CORE also caters to anyone who wants to improve how they write down the poker lessons they learn, how they save them for later analysis, and this is especially important for any player not having tracking software to do this work for them. They also have a very busy group where students can interact with each other.

“Our Discord is quite active with over 4,000 members and players analyzing hands regularly. So even if you get stuck while reviewing a hand, or just want a wider range of opinions on a spot, the Discord group is the perfect place to do that.”

Looking to the Future of Poker

Adapting to each new poker era, such as GTO play, is vital to any poker training business. Push/fold and range charts are nothing new, but with the recent changes to poker, has this meant a full overview change or just weeks to this side of the CORE content of the course?

“Over the last few years, we’ve spent a lot of effort making updates to CORE, especially as it relates to both ranges and also GTO content.” Describes James. “For instance, we added a totally new level to the beginning of CORE to help players develop solid preflop ranges. And we’ve also created our GTO Ranges App as a by-product of this work.”

READ MORE: Red Chip Poker GTO Ranges App Review

Red Chip Poker are currently conducting their own annual review, which will allow them to revamp, update, and upgrade content focused on GTO findings. CORE was built from the beginning in such a way that they could continuously update the material to ensure it doesn’t become outdated. It’s a plan that is helping so many players improve, which James tells us is still the biggest plus of all.

“I’m most proud of the team for launching CORE as it was a huge undertaking, in both time and money. But I’m also quite proud of the students that we consistently hear from that have directly leveraged things they learned in CORE into actual success at the tables. Hearing that players who have struggled for so long have quickly turned the corner and are now more confident in their good decision making – that always puts a smile on my face!”

You can purchase CORE now, or if you’ve completed the CORE Course via Red Chip Poker, then maybe it’s time to go PRO.

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!

James is active on Twitter as @splitsuit and you can check out is work at these links:
https://www.redchippoker.com/gto-ranges-app
https://www.redchippoker.com/gto-gems-book

The Best $1/$2 Poker VLOG

https://discord.com/invite/cCeQ3YP5eC

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

For the seventh consecutive year, Cardplayer Lifestyle is proud to do precisely that by offering you, our readers, this Holiday Gift Guide for Poker Players. As always, there’s a lot to give thanks for. I, for one, am grateful to continue this annual tradition as I look back on what’s thankfully been another successful year both personally and professionally.

We always try to put together an eclectic mix of poker-themed products, services, and paraphernalia, and this year was no exception. In the guide below you’ll find a number of new, creative entries on our list as well as some annual stalwarts with top-tier wares to proffer.

Whether you’re looking for the perfect gift for your poker-loving partner or, alternatively, just want to treat yourself to something nice, be sure to take advantage!

We hope you enjoy this year’s guide!

SKIP TO: 1. D&B POKER BOOKS | 2. THE GTO+ RANGES APP BY RED CHIP POKER | 3. CUSTOM ENAMEL POKER PINS | 4. POKERCODE | 5. BBO POKER TABLES | 6. RUN IT ONCE TRAINING | 7. HALL OF FAME POKER ROOM | 8. RUNGOODGEAR APPAREL | 9. THE POKER COURSES VAULT | 10. POKERGO SUBSCRIPTION |

D&B POKER BOOKS

D&B Poker is the leading poker book, ebook, and audiobook publisher in the world. With over 40 poker books in print, many others in production and 19 audiobooks, D&B is where poker players go when they want the highest quality content, written by the most respected authors in the poker world.

Some of their bestsellers are pictured and described below.

Modern Poker Theory – acclaimed by many as the best poker book ever written, Modern Poker Theory, has made an impact that few poker books ever have. this truly remarkable book is the ultimate guide to no-limit hold’em poker based on GTO principles.

Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker: The Essential Guide – a landmark in poker publishing and undoubtedly THE definitive guide to tournament poker.

The 100 Biggest Mistakes that Poker Players Make – written by highly experienced professional player and leading poker coach, Alexander “Assassinato” Fitzgerald.

Mastering Small Stakes No-Limit Hold’em – Jonathan Little constructs a basic strategy to crush small stakes games and also identifies the adjustments that need to be made when facing more competent opposition.

Mastering Small Stakes Pot-Limit Omaha – a thoroughly comprehensive guide that will give you all the tools you need to gain a huge edge at lower stakes play.

Jonathan Little’s Excelling at Tough No-Limit Hold’em Games – a must-have book if you have ambitions to move up the stakes.

Mastering Small Stakes Cash Games – Renowned poker coach Evan Jarvis shows you how you can achieve your goals to become a better cash player.

D&B books can be purchased through all retailers. Their books, ebooks, videos and audiobooks can be purchased directly from their website: D&B Poker

All of the company’s books make for excellent stocking stuffers, so be sure to treat yourself to some of their finest, most popular titles this holiday season.

THE GTO+ RANGES APP BY RED CHIP POKER

Not all preflop ranges are created equal. Solid GTO poker charts are both complex to set up and costly to run, and that’s before trying to visualize them!

This is why the team at Red Chip Poker spent more than a year developing The GTO Poker Ranges App. This app was released in 2022 with a complete suite of preflop ranges for 6max and live cash game players, along with tournament ranges – and the app has only gotten better.

Since launching, Red Chip added the “world’s-first” most complex live GTO solve allowing for multiple callers which took the server multiple months to compute running 24/7 on a custom server with 2TB of RAM (not a typo!). There have also been two additional tournament GTO solves added for both 40bb and 60bb stack depths.

Red Chip’s server is still running and there are new ranges slated to be released in 2023, including solves for straddle pots and additional tournament ranges too. The free version of the app includes all open-raising ranges, and the paid version gets you everything from preflop calls to 3-bets to 5-betting ranges.

Learn more about The GTO Poker Ranges App here, or search for it in your Android or Apple app store.

CUSTOM ENAMEL POKER PINS with FREE DESIGN SERVICE

Poker is a way of life, not just a hobby or a career. If you have a friend or relative who loves to play poker, or earns a full-time living at it, honing in on multiple poker tables or online poker rooms every night, often sacrificing money, comfort, and sleep in pursuit of their dreams, they’re very important to the World Series of Poker. As much as the rest of us focus on the Super Bowl, the World Cup, or the Oscars.

The ideal gift for poker players is not only to express their passion but also to make a stressful lifestyle easier, more fun, and more comfortable. High-grade customized lapel pins – these have a unique process of hand sanding to a glossy finish. Besides the delicate surface, the enamel is vibrant, giving people a sense of noble luxury. The price is also very affordable. This material is widely used in the company’s high-end pins, high-end commemorative pins, high-end collection pins, etc.

GS-JJ.com is an enamel pin manufacturer with 20 years of production experience. Order No Minimum Hard Enamel Pins from them and enjoy the best quality and factory direct prices. Custom enamel pins made by them are of the highest quality and are made exactly to your specifications. Card dice and poker chip pins as well as a variety of hobby and interest pins support a free design service. Let them make your poker tournament and personalized card pins, allowing your recipient to add a sign of his/her passion for poker to the pin, perfect for poker players, poker tournaments, or event volunteers!

POKERCODE

Treat yourself during the holiday season and take your game to the next level with Pokercode. The mastermind behind this powerful all-in-one poker solution is none-other than Fedor Holz.

Pokercode is way more than just a poker course. It combines all the building blocks of successful poker in one place: Premium poker content, live coaching by some of the game’s best, excellent ranges, and at the heart of it all access to the exclusive Pokercode community.

On their buzzing Discord server, you can talk strategy with thousands of members and take on challenges to drill preflop and postflop spots. You can also take part in community events and free home games (with nice prizes). But most importantly, you have direct access to your mentors Fedor Holz, Matthias Eibinger, and Steffen Sontheimer.

You can fuel your poker development with not one but two top-of-the-line masterclasses. Tournament poker is covered by strategy wizards Eibinger and Holz, whose track records speak for themselves. Cash games are taught via a unique holistic approach designed by Sontheimer, the Purple Jacket Winner who has been crushing the games for years.

Everything is rounded out by multiple world-class live coaching sessions every month, which range from streamlining your fundamentals to taking a deep dive into advanced concepts. Pokercode covers both online and live play, regular tournaments, and knock-out formats to give you an all-around poker education to excel in every area.

BBO POKER TABLES

The ultimate thoughtful and lasting holiday gift for the poker player in your life is a personalized BBO poker table. BBO is the leader in customized poker tables and their tables are guaranteed to invoke table envy!

Choose from the largest selection of armrest materials, custom layouts, and accessories to create your own dream poker table, hand-built in Las Vegas. They are the only poker table company that offers free shipping and a lifetime guarantee and have been powering unforgettable poker nights for over 15 years.

Your BBO poker table will utilize exclusive materials and can even feature customized layouts as well as hi-tech built-in USB chargers. They’ve been recognized as the premier supplier to many of the biggest names and events in poker, including the World Poker Tour!

They are currently running holiday specials for a very limited time so head over to BBOpokertables.com and build a dream table for the special poker player in your life, or for yourself!

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RUN IT ONCE TRAINING

If you want to start taking your game seriously in 2023 you’ll find everything you need to back up your commitment at Run It Once Training. Launched in 2012 by high stakes legend Phil Galfond, Run It Once has always been the place for dedicated poker players to advance to the next level and stay ahead of their opponents.

The slogan ‘Train With the Best’ doesn’t only reflect that you’ll learn from the highest tier coaches like 2022 Main Event Champion Espen Jorstad, Kevin Rabichow, or Phil Galfond himself. It also means you’ll benefit from a community of students that have the highest aspirations in poker and are often professional players themselves.

Members of Run It Once Training Plans get access to an expansive library of over 7,200 training videos, with two brand new videos every single day to make sure you’re always learning the newest strategies. No matter which form of poker you play or which area of your game you need to work on, Run It Once has you covered.

Just starting out in poker or want to transition to a new game format? Run It Once Courses were specifically designed for new players who want to start learning poker from the beginning, the right way. The courses follow a carefully crafted learning journey until you have the proper foundation you need to expand your game to the highest levels.

Want to give yourself or loved ones a special gift? For a limited time, you can now save $200 on a full year of the Run It Once Elite membership while also locking in a bonus gift and the chance to get your play reviewed by a Run It Once Pro.

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HALL OF FAME POKER ROOM HORSESHOE LAS VEGAS

The Hall of Fame Poker Room at Horseshoe Las Vegas, home of the World Series of Poker, features 18 tables and offers many exciting varieties of live poker suited for the recreational poker player or the seasoned veteran.

You are sure to find your favorite with games ranging from $1-$3 to $5-$10 No-Limit Hold’em, $3/$6 and $4/$8 Limit Hold’em as well as Pot Limit Omaha and Omaha Eight or Better.

Our High Hand Madness promotion pays $200 every 20 minutes for the highest hand of that period of time.

Players earn $1 per hour and 17 tier credits for $1/$3 No-Limit Hold’em and $3/$6 Limit Hold’em, or double that at $2 per hour and 34 tier credits for any game $2/$3 No-Limit Hold’em and above.

Test your luck with six exciting tournament times daily, highlighted by our Horseshoe Saturday Special with a $5,000 guaranteed prize pool.

Call 702-976-4403 and get your name on the Hall of Fame Poker Room waiting list this holiday season.

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RUNGOODGEAR APPAREL

RunGoodGear is poker’s premier clothing line for apparel both on and off the felt. Based out of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and founded by Tana Karn in 2012, our clothing line goes hand-in-hand with the two-time Global Poker Award-winning RunGood Poker Series, where we do regular apparel giveaways to some of our events.

We carry your favorite items including our ultra soft flagship RUNGOOD Classic tees in a multitude of colors and sizes up to 4XL, priced at $20 across the board for all sizes (some long sleeve T-shirt options are available as well). We also stock a variety of sweatshirts including hoodies, crewnecks, full zips, and quarter zips in plenty of colors and styles that are all priced at $50. Our hats are a top-selling item and we have both flex-fit and snapback mesh back trucker cap options, and those are $25.

We pride ourselves on staying stylish and comfortable while remaining affordable to low-stakes NLH poker room grinders. We also offer a few other items like golf shirts, drawstring bags, and Oakley brand backpacks.

Use code RUNGOODFREESHIP for free shipping on all orders placed within the United States!

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THE POKER COURSES VAULT (FROM SPLITSUIT)

There are few poker coaches more prolific than James “SplitSuit” Sweeney. From his VLOG to his hosting of the Red Chip Poker podcast to his excellent free poker quizzes – you’ll find training content for all cash game players.

So SplitSuit bundled up all of his best courses and put them together inside of a membership he calls “The Vault”. Vault includes 24/7 streaming access to courses like The Hand Reading Lab, The One Percent, The Mental Advantage, and more.

Instead of paying hundreds of dollars per course, you can study everything for just one monthly price. On top of the courses, you also get access to a private Discord server, homework, and pay nothing extra for new books & courses he releases in the future.

Join The Vault today and take control of your poker training for 2023.

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POKERGO SUBSCRIPTION

If you are looking for the perfect poker player gift, or just want to treat yourself this holiday season, look no further than a PokerGO subscription. Think of PokerGO as the Netflix of poker. Home to the iconic High Stakes Poker, poker’s hottest new show No Gamble, No Future, World Series of Poker live broadcasts, and an enormous portfolio of live and on-demand content, PokerGO is an absolute must-have for any poker enthusiast.

PokerGO offers monthly, quarterly, and annual subscription plans. The best deal is an annual subscription. At a regular price of $99.99, a PokerGO annual subscription breaks down to less than $9 per month — less than the price of two grande peppermint mochas for all you Starbucks lovers out there. But, for a limited time, Cardplayer Lifestyle readers can get an even better deal.

Purchase a new PokerGO annual subscription using the promo code CPLHOLIDAY2022 at checkout to save $20 off the regular annual price. That will give you the gift of unlimited PokerGO access for $79.99 for the year, which comes to less than $7 per month. If you’re already a PokerGO subscriber on a monthly or quarterly plan, you can use the CPLHOLIDAY2022 discount code to upgrade to an annual plan for some cost-saving.

The best holiday gift for a poker player is a PokerGO subscription. Head to get.PokerGO.com to purchase one today.

*Ed. note: Enter our contest to win a FREE 1-year PokerGO subscription. Details here.

First off, the book is a cosy 128 pages long, with sections covering virtually every aspect of Game Theory Optimal (GTO) play in bitesize format, so if you’re looking for a deep bible that will be something that takes you hours to read through, you’re in the wrong place – or the wrong bookshelf. What GTO Poker Gems does provide you with, however, is perhaps more encouraging to players. It is a guide to utilizing GTO plays and putting them into practice immediately.

With “12 insights from the solver that every player would use”, you can also correlate your learning from GTO Poker Gems with the GTO Ranges app, so working with the app and the book in tandem, you can see where the rubber meets the road, or the GTO theory evolves into GTO play.

READ MORE: Red Chip Poker GTO Ranges App Review

I didn’t come to GTO Poker Gems as any sort of expert with a deep knowledge of how to exploit players. I finished the book believing that at least two dozen notes I’d made will certainly improve my game on the back of my reading it. That’s the crucial appeal of GTO Poker Gems – it improves your gameplay no matter where you fit on the chart of understanding GTO.

Utilizing strong GTO play may seem like a daunting prospect; I’ll be honest it did to me before reading, but as the theories are laid out in front of you, you realize one key truth. Understanding GTO gives you the chance of winning pots on two levels.

Firstly, if you understand GTO, you can take advantage of those who don’t. Secondly, if you understand GTO then you’ll know the thought processes that others who use it are likely to take and can be exploitative. Exploiting a poker player’s patterns and predicted plays is a core skill of the game behind making profit.

GTO Poker Gems — Book Structure

Before the GTO theory starts, there’s a whole section on what to expect, so you can plan and plot your way through the knowledge you’re about to absorb, as well as getting ready to use the GTO Ranges app alongside the book.

The book is very clear on declaring in its first section that ‘There Is A Solution to Poker’, which struck me as incredibly bold. While I wanted to sink my teeth into unexploitable bluffing – which had the appeal of a manual on how to eat chocolate and lose weight ! – as well as other chapters such as Equity Distributions, Big Blind Defense and GTO Simplifications, I headed right for the gold. A solution to poker? C’mon.

As the chapter breaks down, GTO is essentially a solve for poker if given enough time to play out. Poker may contain luck, but maximise your skill and over the long-term, you’re going to see results. The GTO Poker Gems chapters all end with a set of takeaways called ‘The Gems’ which you can take away and there’s a nice appeal to each of them. I felt like a lucky pirate wandering from treasure chest to buried bags of gold on my own private island, filling my knapsack with priceless nuggets of information.

One such nugget is dropped early, and that is the notion of mixed strategies, which is simply explained as that a certain hand might be a call 70% of the time and a check 30% of the time. That doesn’t mean that you should call because that’s the action with the highest chance of success. It means that you can mix up your game and take a different strategy to stay one step ahead of your opponent.

In essence, that’s the core takeaway (or ‘gem’) you can take for this book – that there is always a GTO answer for your query about whether you could have played your hand better.

That is almost always the case, of course, but rather than make you feel like a dummy for ‘not getting it’, Sweeney’s take on GTO is easy to grasp and genuinely feels beneficial with every passing chapter.

An Easily Digestible Guide to Understanding GTO

From playing +EV poker rather than -EV (actions that will either cost you or give you profit over time), to analysing the nuts and bolts of a perfect betting strategy, GTO Poker Gems is full of information that sticks in your mind. There are tables and charts, sure, but never too many and no chart is placed in the book without a lot of attention to the reasons why. There’s a point where the ‘break-even’ point is breached and you can rely on the GTO you’ve learned making a profit in the long term. Once you’ve reached this point, you can look at how to take advantage of your opponents’ lack of knowledge.

The style of writing is accessible, too. There’s no constant math to digest and the use of language is economical and clean; a little like reading Lou Kreiger in his pomp. Sweeney knows how to put across the tips and tricks and knows when you need a little bit more meat on the bone. Whenever I felt like I wanted a little more explanation of the GTO theory as it was going in, there it was. If I felt I knew what I needed to, the page seemed to come to an end in that paragraph. That’s a rare skill among any writers, let alone in poker, where an extra chapter will often be added for little reason.

Overall, the book is full of GTO poker gems and lives up to its name throughout. If you’re looking for a way into GTO thinking when it comes to improving your poker skills, then I’d heartily recommend James Sweeney’s GTO Poker Gems. I’m glad I’ve read it. And if I’m about to play you at the felt, I’m hoping you haven’t!

An App With a Full Range of Features

When you open the app, you come across a very simple screen with 6-max cash game ranges, full ring cash ranges and tournament ranges, along with a section where you can save your favorite scenarios for easy access. When you open one of the sections, for most scenarios, Red Chip Poker makes sure to differentiate GTO ranges from exploitative ranges, so that players can better see the difference between the two play styles. You then have different sections for open raising, 3-bet or call, isolating and 4-betting. I found that really helpful because a lot of what’s already out there is opening ranges, but it’s good to know the ranges for 4-betting from different positions when I don’t have access to a solver.

One of the other great features this app has is color-coded ranges for some optional opens. In exploitative ranges, it gives you optional ranges as well as on occasion asks how your opponent has generally been playing, and then gives you a range based upon that feedback. Having the optional opens and getting to see what a mixed strategy looks like has allowed me to be more versatile at the tables and understand what happens on the very fringes of ranges, where I’m likely to make more mistakes.

A True Test of Skill

One of the main tests of how an app performs, however, is when someone who has little familiarity of the app uses it. My partner has been trying to learn poker, so I’ve been teaching her more about opening ranges and when to do what with certain hands and in certain positions. When we practice, I’ve had her use the Red Chip Poker GTO Ranges app to find the scenarios we were playing through, including opening ranges.

She was able to quickly pick the positions and clearly see what the ranges were. There was very little confusion and very little input needed on her part to get where she wanted to be, which is exactly what an inexperienced player or anyone needing to find a range quickly wants.

Some of the things that I would like to see further developed within the app down the line are some expanded tournament ranges at bigger stack depths, along with more specific ability to favorite ranges, down to the stack size and position. Then, you could have the spots where you make the most success easily accessible and put in even less input to get the information you need.

Overall, if you’re looking for an easy-to-use yet expansive poker ranges app, Red Chip Poker’s GTO Ranges app has what you need for off-table review or quick recall in stressful moments at the table. I’m excited to see how this app evolves as time goes on!

Click here to try the Red Chip Poker GTO Ranges app.

For the sixth consecutive year, Cardplayer Lifestyle is proud to offer our readers this Holiday Gift Guide for Poker Players. In much of the developed world, things seem to finally be heading back towards what we knew as normal, and there’s a lot to give thanks for. Thus, it’s important to try and focus on things that can make us happy and bring us smiles.

As always, we’ve put together a wide variety of gift giving ideas for you to consider this holiday season, including a number of new, creative entries on our list as well as some annual stalwarts.

Moreover, many of our featured vendors are offering exclusive holiday discounts to Cardplayer Lifestyle readers, so whether you’re looking for the perfect gift for your poker-loving partner or, alternatively, just want to treat yourself to something nice, be sure to take advantage!

We hope you enjoy this year’s guide!

SKIP TO: 1. DIGITAL POKER TABLES | 2. THE GTO+ SOLVER BUNDLE BY RED CHIP POKER | 3. THE MENTAL GAME TUNE UP FOR TOURNAMENT POKER | 4. RUN IT ONCE TRAINING | 5. FADED SPADE PLAYING CARDS | 6. CAESARS PALACE POKER ROOM | 7. SHUFFLE TECH MDS-6 MULTI-DECK SHUFFLER | 8. D&B POKER BOOKS | 9. POKERCOACHING PREMIUM | 10. THE POKER FORGE | 11. FLOPZILLA PRO CUSTOM SPLITSUIT EDITION | 12. RUNGOODGEAR APPAREL |

DIGITAL POKER TABLES

Take your home game to the next level with your very own Digital Poker Table. This holiday season is the perfect time to purchase your very own electronic gaming table, where you can play up to 18 different poker variants at the touch of a button.

No cards or chips necessary! Just an outlet, WiFi, and you’re ready to play poker with your buddies!

Whether you opt for the 2-, 4-, 6-, 8-, or 10-seat Digital Poker Table, you’ll always have access to the latest software updates and upgrades.

Choose to play limit, pot limit, or no-limit, whether in cash game or tournament format.

Best of all, the Digital Poker Table doubles as a family gaming table! You can play popular favorites like Rummikub, Trivia, and more with your kids, neighbors, and even invite the grandparents over for game night.

Don’t have room in your home for a table? No problem — for just $25/month you can purchase a premium subscription to the Digital Poker Table software and play on your iOS devices, even broadcasting the game onto your Apple TV!

Visit DigitalPokerTable.com or call (702) 628-1900 to order in time for the holidays, and be sure to mention Cardplayer Lifestyle!

THE GTO+ SOLVER BUNDLE BY RED CHIP POKER

Red Chip Poker has officially partnered up with GTO+ to offer you the best introduction to GTO. As game theory optimal (GTO) poker continues to increase in popularity and importance, now is the time to invest in a quality solver and training. So their new GTO+ Bundle includes a lifetime license to the GTO+ solver AND a complete course so you know exactly how to set up the tool, explore the trees, and analyze solves like a pro.

GTO+ allows you to do everything from simple solves to complex bet sizing exploration. Plus, you can “play against the solver” to test your skills between sessions. And for the more advanced players, this solver allows for node locking, various display methods, and even scripting.

Buy the GTO+ bundle for the poker player in your life (or as a nice holiday gift for yourself!) to start seeing GTO poker more clearly.

THE MENTAL GAME TUNE UP FOR TOURNAMENT POKER

The Mental Game Tune Up for Tournament Poker is a video-based course that walks players through the same steps that Jared Tendler takes his clients through to prepare for tournament play. Comprehensive yet simple, it consists of eight modules covering key topics, such as tilt, handling swings in variance, burnout, and distractions.

The most popular feature of the course are the unscripted coaching sessions called “Coaching the Pros” featuring two notable professional poker players: Diego Ventura and Matt Affleck. Go inside to see how top online and live professionals think and prepare for WCOOP and the WSOP. Now is the time to get yourself ready for 2022. Don’t wait until the next series to get started. Invest in your game and let Jared guide you through the steps to get it in shape.

“I can’t recommend the Mental Game Tune Up course and Jared’s work highly enough. I really found it valuable to work through leading up to my last WSOP trip which was my most successful trip by far. Thanks for another amazing product Jared!”

Lara Eiesenberg, 2021 WSOP Ladies Champion

Claim your special $125 discount this Holiday Season by using promo code CPL125 when you enroll in Jared’s course.

RUN IT ONCE TRAINING

If you want to start taking your game seriously in 2022 you’ll find everything you need to back up your commitment at Run It Once Training. Launched in 2012 by high stakes legend Phil Galfond, Run It Once has always been the place for dedicated poker players to advance to the next level and stay ahead of their opponents.

The slogan ‘Train With the Best’ doesn’t only reflect that you’ll learn from the highest tier coaches like Dan ‘Jungleman’ Cates, Kevin Rabichow, or Phil Galfond himself. It also means you’ll benefit from a community of students that have the highest aspirations in poker and are often professional players themselves.

Members of Run It Once Training Plans get access to an expansive library of over 6,500 training videos, with two brand new videos every single day to make sure you’re always learning the newest strategies. No matter which form of poker you play or which area of your game you need to work on, Run It Once has you covered.

Just starting out in poker or want to transition to a new game format? Run It Once Courses were specifically designed for new players who want to start learning poker from the beginning, the right way. The courses follow a carefully crafted learning journey until you have the proper foundation you need to expand your game to the highest levels.

If you need help planning the perfect poker gift for your loved ones, reach out to Run It Once Support and we’ll assist you every step of the way.

FADED SPADE PLAYING CARDS

As the preferred playing cards of the World Poker Tour, Faded Spade has fast become the most popular playing card brand for poker players across the globe.

Poker players in many countries and continents have switched to Faded Spade playing cards for their poker home games. The cards are known for their modern face card designs and high quality 100% plastic that has an intentional balance of strength and flexibility. Two-deck sets are available in Poker Size 2.0 (Wide), Bridge Size 2.0 (Narrow), and 4-Color 2.0.

Beyond WPT programming, you might have also played with Faded Spade cards at your local poker room! Plus, you may have seen Faded Spade poker playing cards on many popular poker live stream shows or in play on NBC Sports, PokerGO, and more during poker programs like Poker After Dark, Super High Roller Bowl, Poker Masters, and the U.S. Poker Open.

CAESARS PALACE POKER ROOM

There’s perhaps no more enjoyable time to take a poker trip than the Holiday season, and similarly there’s perhaps no more enjoyable poker room to play in than the one at Caesars Palace! Once you hit Las Vegas, head straight to the center of the famed Las Vegas Strip to the one-of-a-kind Caesars Palace Poker Room.

With 18 tables, and located right next to the casino’s sportsbook, the 4,500-square-foot poker room offers all the action you can handle at limits ranging from $1-3 right up to the nosebleeds. Comps are offered at $2 per hour, with Caesars Rewards Members also earning 34 tier points/hour.

Beyond cash games, the room also offers multiple tournaments each day and is staffed by some of the most professional, friendly dealers and floorpeople you’ll find in the city.

Staff are happy to speak with you anytime, so feel free to call (866) 227-5938 and get your name on the waiting lists this holiday season at Caesars Palace, home of champions!

SHUFFLE TECH MDS-6 MULTI-DECK SHUFFLER

The new Shuffle Tech MDS-6 is perfect for this upcoming Holiday Season. As you gather with friends and family to spend time together and play games, this makes a perfect addition to your game night.

This multi-deck card shuffler can shuffle up to 6 full decks of playing cards. Whether you play canasta, blackjack, or any other multi-deck card game, this will streamline your hand shuffling. Paper cards will shuffle, but not as well as with 100% plastic playing cards. So, quality playing cards are always recommended. And as always, our products come with a 1-year warranty.

The MDS-6 runs both on direct power or battery operated (4 x D-sized). Plus, as with all Shuffle Tech products, you also get a 1-year warranty!

We ship worldwide! For more information, visit www.shuffletech.com.

D&B POKER BOOKS

D&B Poker produces the best poker books out there and their latest publication from the highly successful coach and author Jonathan Little is no exception. Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker: The Essential Guide can rightly claim to be the definitive guide to tournament poker. As per our own review, “The poker world was ready for an age-defining poker book in a period of global flux; it has found it in this book.”

This holiday season, you can get your hands on either the beautiful hardcover edition, the ebook, or the audiobook (recorded by Jonathan), all of which can be found HERE.

Also due out in the coming weeks is an addition to D&B’s Mastering Small Stakes series, Evan Jarvis‘ Mastering Small Stakes Cash Games. Evan’s reputation as a top notch coach at Gripsed.com is well established and in this book he brings his full arsenal of knowledge and skills to help players master cash game play. Evan takes a holistic approach, recognizing that being able to master people and master yourself are equally important in order to achieve poker success.

This book makes for an excellent stocking stuffer, as the paperback edition will be publishing in December in UK/Europe and January in the US, with the ebook due out in January.

POKERCOACHING PREMIUM

This holiday season PokerCoaching.com is rolling out the red carpet and giving you up to 61% off on PREMIUM memberships!

Beyond their already massive suite of training materials, you’ll also get FREE access to two of Jonathan Little‘s exclusive courses — the all-new Cash Game Masterclass and his Tournament Masterclass — PLUS his vast library of 1-on-1 coaching videos!

Cash Game Masterclass

• 32+ hours
• 156 lessons

In this completely new course, Little teaches you everything you need to know to crush small and medium stakes cash games. Via numerous hand examples and quizzes, you’ll internalize how to consistently win in both online and live cash games, with starting stacks of 100 and 200 big blinds.

Tournament Masterclass

• 30+ hours
• 180 lessons

In this highly regarded course, Little teaches you everything you need to know to play every stage of a poker tournament optimally, maximally exploit your opponents, and maximize your tournament equity.

1-on-1 Coaching Videos

Best of all, if you act now and join PokerCoaching Premium, you’ll get FREE ACCESS to 240+ hours Jonathan Little’s 1-on-1 coaching videos!

Ring in the holidays by joining the 120,000+ poker players who are using PokerCoaching.com to increase their win rate through active learning!

THE POKER FORGE

The Poker Forge helps online small-stakes players build valuable skills for a fun and profitable journey. You will go through 9 Masterclass courses that teach foundational and advanced poker strategies in a logical progression. This will build you up as a player with useful skills one upon the other, while helping you avoid poker overwhelm: That feeling of having too much to study and not enough time. The Poker Forge helps you learn where you must focus your efforts and guides you in that direction.

You can start booking wins right away with course #1, the Quick Wins Gameplans, which help you earn quick profits with easy-to-use strategies. Or, you can bounce around from course to course. Maybe start with the Hand Reading Course (to learn poker’s #1 skill) or the Finding the Fold Course (to plug that costly leak of poor post-flop calling). The journey is up to you, but along the way the Poker Forge gives you checklists, calendars and study guides to keep you on track.

All Poker Forge training is built upon the idea of “learn then apply”. Each video teaches you important strategies to use in-game or during your study time. Plus, every video gives you action steps to take that force you to practice what you just learned because… action is the greatest teacher.

Give yourself or the poker player in your life the gift of a profitable and fun online poker journey with The Poker Forge.

FLOPZILLA PRO CUSTOM SPLITSUIT EDITION

One of the best tools for poker study is Flopzilla Pro. Flopzilla can do everything from analyzing single hands to complex ranges, break down post-flop situations statistically, and even do advanced range-vs.-range analysis.

If you’ve never used this app before, here’s an example of using Flopzilla Pro to study a common $2/$5 hand:

To make things even better, the SPLITSUIT EDITION of Flopzilla Pro not only includes a lifetime license for the software, but it also includes custom range presets and additional training videos. This bundle sets every poker player up for success to make off-table time easier and on-table time more profitable.

Get the SplitSuit Edition of Flopzilla Pro today and book yourself a winning holiday season!

RUNGOODGEAR APPAREL

This holiday season it’s time to scroll past the parody shirts send your favorite poker player something they want to wear both at and away from the tables.

Since 2012, poker players have been gearing up with RunGood, the industry’s leading apparel company. Focused on producing clothing with an emphasis on comfort and style, the RunGoodGear brand is a popular sight in poker rooms around the United States, with a wide variety of hats, hoodies, and shirts available online.

“As a poker player, we don’t make anything we wouldn’t wear ourselves on or off the table.” says Tana Karn, Founder of RunGoodGear. There is a reason items become out of stock, don’t delay and pick up an item today.

Also, be sure to visit www.RunGoodGear.com to see what’s happening next with the multi-time GPI Award-Winning Mid-Major Tour, the RunGood Poker Series, while picking up your next hat or hoodie.

Wishing all of our readers here at Cardplayer Lifestyle a happy holiday season!

We’ve amassed a wide variety of gift giving ideas for you to consider, whether you’re looking for the perfect gift for your poker-loving partner or, alternatively, just want to treat yourself to something nice this holiday season.

As always, many of our featured vendors are offering exclusive holiday discounts to Cardplayer Lifestyle readers, so be sure to take advantage of them. We hope you enjoy this year’s guide!

RED CHIP POKER PRO MEMBERSHIP

The PRO Membership from Red Chip Poker is the perfect study tool for beginner-intermediate players, and the perfect gift to give yourself if you’d like to start improving your poker game. PRO not only includes 24/7 streaming access to hundreds of in-depth training videos, you get complete access to CORE as well. CORE is the most comprehensive poker syllabus with 200+ lessons, the brand-new Bulletproof Ranges, and a complete MTT sub-course taught by a WSOP bracelet winner Chris “Fox” Wallace.

PRO is growing it’s beginner-oriented GTO content, everything from exact solver ranges applicable to your game to practical applications of GTO concepts. You can even help them choose what GTO ideas to explore next as they have an active Monker Solver server running.

More intermediate players will love the new 15+ lesson master class on bet sizing alongside series on live poker, range building, and more. There is no shortage of material for you to study and make significant improvements to your poker strategy. You don’t need to play professionally to study like a PRO with Red Chip Poker!

FRESH CLEAN TEES

Ready to give the gift of comfort, maybe even to yourself? We’ve got you covered. Co-founded by Matthew Parvis, who previously worked in the poker industry for 10+ years, you can expect the softest and most comfortable tee shirts, hoodies, and more from FreshCleanTees.com.

Easily set you basics on auto-pilot with their VIP subscribe and save plans, or stock up on hoodies for those long sessions at the tables. Seriously, when every tee shirt or hoodie in your closet becomes your FAVORITE hoodie or tee shirt, you’ll hit the tables with confidence and be ready to play your best.

Beyond WPT programming, you’ve also seen Faded Spade poker playing cards in play on NBC Sports, PokerGO, Twitch, YouTube and more during poker programs like Poker After Dark, Super High Roller Bowl, Poker Masters, US Poker Open, Run It Up Reno, and each new Heartland Poker Tour episode.

Faded Spade poker playing cards are known for their fresh face card designs and high quality 100% plastic that has an intentional balance of strength and flexibility. Decks are available in Poker Size 2.0 (Wide), Bridge Size 2.0 (Narrow), and 4-Color 2.0.

Holiday Gift Guide Special: Use promo code CPL to order a new two-deck set and get 15% off your entire order at fadedspade.com. You’ll also find some brand new apparel options!

BBO POKER TABLES

When you’re shopping for your dream poker table, you want the best, and there’s no better than BBO Poker Tables, official poker table provider of the World Poker Tour.

BBO Poker Tables has just debuted their brand new Signature Series of tables designed by WSOP Champions Jamie Gold and Joe Cada, as well as poker pros Lexy Gavin and Alec Torelli. What better gift for the holidays is there than treating yourself to your very own championship-caliber poker table?!

Featuring exclusive materials, customized layouts, and hi-tech features like built-in USB chargers, you’ll be primed to receive a poker table that truly delivers the goods.

Whether you want to order one of the Signature Series models or prefer to customize your very own bespoke poker table for your home game, configuring your dream table is simple via the BBO website.

And of course, shipping is always FREE.

SPLITSUIT POKER WORKBOOKS

Poker workbooks are the perfect way to improve your game between sessions. Especially for players who have read a few books and watched a few training videos, workbooks lay out the off-table exercise that helps you build a deep intuition of key poker concepts. Both launched in 2020, James “Splitsuit” Sweeney‘s workbooks collectively contain over 3,000 questions and come with complete answer keys. You also get a companion course that shows you exactly how to do every single chapter.

The Preflop & Math Workbook is more focused on beginner-intermediate players who need to solidify their mathematical approach. The Postflop Workbook is more intermediate-advanced focused with complex explorations into flop textures, EV calculations, and bet sizing. Start making your real-time decisions stronger by doing these workbooks between poker sessions!

Treat yourself to these two poker workbooks for the holidays, and Splitsuit will happily provide FREE shipping!

PokerGO SUBSCRIPTION

PokerGO is the premier worldwide destination for watching live poker tournaments, high-stakes cash games, and original poker shows. This makes PokerGO the essential holiday gift for your poker loving friends and family.

Especially with favorites like Poker After Dark and High Stakes Poker coming back with all-new episodes beginning December 13th and 16th, respectively, now is the BEST time to subscribe!

Stream the world’s biggest tournaments on PokerGO like the World Series of Poker, Super High Roller Bowl, Poker Masters, U.S. Poker Open, and much more. If you miss any of the Live action from the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas, it’s all available On Demand anytime, anywhere.

PokerGO is also home to exclusive, original programming like the acclaimed Legends of the Game mini-series and the poker game show, The Big Blind. If you’re in the mood to binge some poker, PokerGO has a vast library full of thousands of hours of additional poker programming.

Pound for pound, PokerGO is simply the best poker app on the planet.

Get in the game this holiday season and sign up today; use code POKER for $30 an annual subscription.

SHUFFLE TECH’S MDS-6 MULTI-DECK SHUFFLER

This holiday season is the perfect time to treat yourself and your home game buddies to a great, unique gift: upgrade your poker game with an automatic shuffler! The all-new Shuffle Tech MDS-6 is already the best home game shuffling product on the market. Effortlessly shuffling up to six decks at a time, this machine is guaranteed to improve on manual shuffle time, allowing you to get many more hands in per session.

The MDS-6 comes fully equipped with four decks of COPAG playing cards, and it runs both on direct power or battery operated (4 x D-sized). Plus, you also get a 1-year warranty!

We ship worldwide! For more information, visit us at www.shuffletech.com.

ARIA POKER ROOM

Holiday season is the perfect time to take a poker vacation, and what better destination is there than the poker capital of the world, Las Vegas! Once your flight has touched down, make a beeline straight to the award-winning Aria Poker Room.

Aria Poker Room

Two dozen luxurious tables await your arrival, where you can play every poker variant from Texas Hold’em to a dealer’s choice mix. We’ve got a great cash game for you to take a seat in no matter the size of your bankroll. If you prefer tournaments, we run plenty of them every day of the week, too.

Be sure to ask for our special poker room rates ahead of your arrival, so you can reserve your stay at the top hotel and resort on the Las Vegas Strip and be right in the heart of all the action!

THE GIFT OF GIVING, WITH POKER GIVES & MIKE SEXTON

While it’s always fun to get and give gifts during the holiday season, there’s nothing like the gift of giving. Poker Gives was originally founded by Linda Johnson, Jan Fisher, Lisa Tenner, and the late Mike Sexton as a way for poker players and the poker industry to give back to worthwhile charity organizations. A fully volunteer-run organization now administered by Lupe Soto, 100% of all funds donated to the cause are funneled to the charitable efforts. The non-profit’s aim is to raise funds through poker events and private donations and distribute them on behalf of the poker world to their direct service programs.

Cardplayer Lifestyle is proud to have partnered with Poker Gives for this special holiday offer: If you make a donation of $20 or more to Poker Gives, the organization will send you a copy of one of Mike’s two books, Shuffle Up and Deal or Life’s a Gamble.

To take advantage of this special holiday giving offer, please send screenshot proof of your donation to [email protected] and mention the 2020 Cardplayer Lifestyle Holiday Gift Guide for Poker Players, and the book you prefer to receive.

*** Free shipping within the U.S. only. Please note you’ll have to add postage if you live outside the United States. ***

Wishing all of our readers here at Cardplayer Lifestyle a happy holiday season!

This article focuses on the Red Chip Poker PRO Membership to try and give you an idea what you can expect inside and explain why investing $50 a month or $495 for the full year membership is worth your while.

Of course, everyone’s demands and expectations are different when it comes to poker training content but Red Chip Poker manages to cover a really wide area with their PRO package. Whether you’re playing online or live cash games or you focus on grinding tournaments, there is so much quality content inside and the PRO membership gets you some nice additional perks. So, let’s dive right into it!

1. Excellent Variety of Content

No matter what level you might be playing at or what your specific game format is, as long as you’re playing No Limit Hold’em, you’ll find plenty of value with Red Chip Poker PRO. The content ranges from simple courses aimed at beginners to complex series geared towards experienced players looking for that additional edge.

You can sort all available courses and videos by game types, coaches, and relevant topics such as:

• MTT and cash game reviews
• Online and live poker
• Mental game
• Recorded face-to-face sessions, etc.

With the Red Chip Poker PRO membership, you get access to everything on the site so you don’t have to worry about not being able to watch something you’re interested in. Hours upon hours of quality content will become available to you and thanks to the site organization, you’ll be able to easily find whatever it is that you’re looking for.

2. Red Chip Poker PRO Package Includes CORE 2.0

As mentioned, RCP has content for players of differing skill levels. If you’re someone just starting with poker, you might feel that you don’t need all these videos, and you’re probably right for the time being.

However, the PRO membership includes full access to CORE 2.0, an extensive course curriculum aimed at beginners, explaining all the important concepts and designed to take you from a poker newbie to a capable and solid player. This alone is already worth $260, more than half the price you’d be paying for the yearly PRO subscription.

Once you’re done with the basic course and feel you’re ready to expand your knowledge, plenty more videos will be waiting for you, especially if you buy the yearly membership. And if you’re truly hungry for poker knowledge, you’ll probably want to expand beyond the basics covered in the CORE program anyhow.

3. Different Red Chip Poker Coaches Bring Different Perspectives

The Red Chip Poker team includes a number of capable players and coaches with results to back them up, such as James “SplitSuit” Sweeney, and WSOP bracelet winner (and fellow Cardplayer Lifestyle contributor) Chris Wallace. But, with poker being such an extensive game, even the best of players don’t always agree on certain strategies.

So, Red Chip Poker PRO will give you an excellent overview of the game, bringing differing points of view and different suggestions for similar spots. All of these strategies have been tried and tested so you’re free to adopt the ones that you feel are best-fitted for your own playing style and goals.

4. Training Videos Addressing Highly Specific Spots

For more experienced players it can sometimes be hard to find ways to improve their game. General training materials simply don’t cut it anymore as taking your game to the next level is about fixing your play in very specific spots.

This is where Red Chip Poker PRO really comes through. You’ll get access to many highly-focused lessons and mini-series discussing things such as 3-bet shoves, dealing with flop check-raises, playing on paired boards, etc.

Videos such as these are an excellent resource for players looking to find small edges and fix some small leaks in their play. With the help of tracking software, you can easily find spots you’re struggling with these days and Red Chip Poker PRO videos will give you the answers as to how to go about improving your play.

5. Hands-on Approach with Student Review Sessions

Since 2019 Red Chip Poker has been running group coaching sessions, analyzing hands, and taking questions from the members. This hands-on approach is different from most training sites out there and offers real insights into the state of the games today.

You can find recordings of all these deep-dive sessions and, as a PRO member, you can also join the upcoming ones. This is some extra value for money as RCP coaches help players with very specific issues and provide them with answers in real-time. As a player, many of these questions will hit home and help you fix some leaks that you might not even been aware of.

6. Full Access to Red Chip Poker Crash Courses

Red Chip Poker’s Crash Courses are an interesting concept that’s unique to this site. These are mini-series that address specific areas of the game and can be bought individually. As a PRO member, though, you’ll get access to all of them.

Some of the topics covered in these crash courses are aggression in poker, NL200 live basics, MTT fundamentals, and even GTO poker. These highly structured courses can help you fill the gaps in your game and quickly improve your play.

7. New Content Added All the Time

One thing that’s really great about folks over at Red Chip Poker is that they’re not content to rest on their laurels. Although the site seems to be doing very well, they’re constantly producing new content and adding new courses and videos and to the mix.

The GTO Crash Course, for instance, was added relatively recently and their entire CORE program was revamped and re-released as CORE 2.0 to offer even more value for the players.

Once you purchase the RCP PRO membership, you’ll have access to all the new content added to the site for as long as your membership is active. While I don’t know what their plans are moving forward, if recent past is any indicator you can expect a nice amount of new materials in the coming weeks and months.

One thing that’s already been announced is the fresh Bet Sizing course which should be going live in November 2020. The ever-growing library includes many videos that are adapting new concepts and ideas and you can find plenty of GTO-oriented content in there as well.

8. Quality Analytical Videos

Many of the Red Chip Poker PRO videos focus on database analysis and looking into actual hands played by the students to not only find mistakes but also figure out general player tendencies. These are invaluable for serious online players as things in poker are moving swiftly and it’s not easy to keep up on your own.

9. One of the Best Training Sites for Live Poker Players

Most training programs out there focus on online play and don’t offer that much value for live players. This isn’t the case for Red Chip Poker as it’s probably one of the best resources for those who spend most of their time grinding it away at live tables.

You’ll find plenty of materials that can either be applied to both environments or that’s highly specific to live games (cash and tournaments alike). Videos cover everything from the mental game to live tells to to exploitative play and adjustments you can make to improve your win rates in live games.

10. Red Chip Poker Offers Great Value for Money

It simply must be said that Red Chip Poker PRO membership is excellent value for money no matter what. The price of $50 per month is a quarter of a buy-in for someone playing $1/$2 and it works out to even less if you opt to buy the yearly membership for $495.

The sheer amount of content on the site is easily worth the price. Even if you only watch a few specific videos and don’t have too much time on your hands, this is an investment that will easily pay for itself whether you’re making your first steps into the great, unknown world of poker or you’re an experienced player looking to add some finesse to your play!

If you enjoyed the show’s first six episodes, the good news is that you’ve got another four great episodes to enjoy in Season 3! The bad news is that … there are only four more episodes to enjoy in Season 3.

Without spoiling the fun or revealing too much, the following is just a quick breakdown of what you can expect to hear about in the final four episodes of the RCP Podcast Season 3.

Crushing Fear in Poker

Fear at the poker tables is an important topic that’s often disregarded. In this episode, Zac and James take some of their viewers’ questions and use them as a foundation for an interesting discussion about fear in poker and how to overcome your inhibitions.

Being risk-averse is nothing out of the ordinary. No one wants to look stupid while playing live or bust out of a big tournament, but this fear can often lead to bad decisions at the poker tables.

Whether this is something you struggle with yourself or not, this topic makes for very interesting listening. Even if you don’t have problems pulling the trigger and making a big bluff when required, it’s interesting to hear about psychology behind it all. You might gain a better understanding of what it is that your opponents are thinking about at the tables and use it to your advantage.

3 Ways to Adjust to Fishy Tables

In theory, it is a dream scenario to be seated at a fishy poker table and win heaps of cash. However, playing against a bunch of fishy players requires certain adjustments to your strategy. Things that might work in a standard game against tougher opponents may actually not work as well against fishy players who make a lot of random plays.

One of the consequences that occurred in the wake of coronavirus pandemic was the rise in number of people (re)discovering online poker. Many of these players aren’t very experienced, leading to an increased number of fishy tables. So, this is a very current and useful topic to discuss.

James and Zac go back and forth, asking and answering many interesting questions about raise sizing, 3-betting, and various other strategies (including seat changes) that you can easily utilize against fishy players to improve your win-rate.

Winning Poker Tournaments

For this particular episode, Zac brings on special guest WSOP bracelet winner (Ed. note: and proud Cardplayer Lifestyle contributor) Chris “Fox” Wallace. Wallace is the creator of the latest segment to be added to Red Chip Poker’s CORE 2.0 program called Winning Poker Tournaments. When this episode was first released, the course was still being prepared, but now it’s live and available on the site.

During the podcast you’ll learn about Wallace’s poker history and credentials. Listening to Chris talk about his career (including his WSOP bracelet win in the $10K HORSE event) and sharing his ideas about poker will definitely help convince you that signing up for CORE 2.0 is a worthwhile endeavor.

In the second half of the episode, Chris talks about his tournament course and what you can expect from it. You’ll also get a free sneak preview of the course and hear all about how it was produced.

Introducing CORE 2.0

In the final episode of Red Chip Poker Podcast Season 3, James is back and he talks to Zac about CORE 2.0, the upgraded version of RCP’s fundamental training program that’s been going strong for a while now.

READ MORE: Our comprehensive review of Red Chip Poker’s CORE 2.0 course

Clearly, the team behind the program didn’t sit idly on their hands for the past few months, as they spent a lot of time updating all the content to be relevant for 2020 and adding two fresh courses to the mix. The first one is the aforementioned Wallace’s MTT course, while the second one is Ed Miller’s course covering live poker cash games.

Although this one is different from other episodes, you’re likely going to enjoy it. You’ll hear about the history of CORE, how it was first created, and what updates were introduced with the latest incarnation of the popular poker training program.

Poker training sites have been around for many years now. Most have followed a very similar model: produce videos and series on various poker topics and let the subscriber take what they can from the information provided. This is, one could argue, a perfectly natural approach. But, despite its uniformity there’s little in the way of hard evidence that it produces highly-skilled poker players, and thus no absolute reason to infer that it is the most efficient approach for achieving that goal.

Red Chip Poker’s CORE program is a radical departure from the conventional poker training approach, and their CORE 2.0 update just takes the program to the next level.

It was motivated, at least in part, by the combined experiences of Red Chip Poker coaches through their work with hundreds of students, and through the serendipitous realization that many Red Chip Poker team members had backgrounds in education.

So their team got together, spent hours laying out each building block required for a cohesive poker strategy, many hours more debating the ordering of those building blocks, and months crafting every lesson with you – the student – in mind. The end result is the most comprehensive A-Z poker course ever made. With CORE you learn the right material at the right time to walk away with a future-proof strategy that you can understand, internalize, and actually use.

An additional 100+ lessons were added atop the original 100+ lessons to form CORE 2.0, plus each and every one of the original lessons has been updated and refreshed as well.

This may seem like overkill, but think about a recent hand where you bluff 3-bet. Even to do something so mundane you would need to understand the basic building blocks behind the play, namely:

• Hand reading the range your opponent raised
• Positions, and how they can influence folding frequencies
• The break-even % when bluff 3-betting
• How blockers can increase the profitability of bluffing
• If opponent calls your 3-bet, how and when to bluff c-bet the flop
• If opponent 4-bets, how and when to 5-bet over the top

There are many things to know and consider before running any given poker play, but CORE is there with lessons on all of those (as well as 200+ other lessons!).

Poker Instruction Ought to Imitate Higher Education Methodology

Consider a non-poker real world example. Suppose you enroll in college and declare a major in physics. You will be given a list of required physics courses as well as some electives. In addition, there will be required math classes that provide you with the tools you need to solve physics problems. You’ll also be compelled to take laboratory classes to better understand experimental methods, and a statistics class or two so you can analyze experimental data.

Across thousands of further education institutions worldwide, your path will be quite similar. In addition to learning the necessary mathematical techniques, you’ll first be introduced to basic mechanics, followed by electricity and magnetism. Next up you’ll likely encounter wave motion and optics and the rudiments of quantum physics. As this process continues, the curriculum may diverge, but most will include solid state physics and fully-fledged quantum mechanics, along with special and general relativity.

So if a physics professor were to pick up a physics major syllabus from any accredited institution and looked at the year-by-year course listings, she would almost certainly see a curriculum similar to the one offered by her own department. Why is this?

Universities have been teaching physics for hundreds of years. Sure the advanced courses have evolved as we’ve learned more about the universe, but what a student needs to know, and the rough order in which they need to learn it, has been hammered out through trial and error. Perhaps most importantly, we have confidence that the standard curriculum works, simply because it produces physicists who upon graduation can accomplish the tasks required of physicists.

This is the exact approach that Red Chip has taken with CORE!

By breaking down poker into its constituent elements, CORE aims to present this complex and nuanced game in manageable modules. Lessons build on one another and are supplemented by quizzes. An active discussion area involving subscribers and the content producers reflects Red Chip Poker’s commitment to community-based learning. The people who’ve compiled the course have taken the conscious step of asking what a poker player needs to know in order to succeed, and presenting that material hierarchically in a manner similar to a university curriculum.

As part of the CORE 2.0 update, numerous new hand breakdowns have been added in both the cash game and tournament realms to help you further enhance your capabilities and decision-making processes in a bevy of different spots you’ll face.

Other additions you’ll get as part of the CORE 2.0 update include a 12-video cash game course by Ed Miller and a 22-video tournament course by WSOP bracelet winner (and Cardplayer Lifestyle contributor) Chris Wallace exploring modern tournament strategy.

One of the novel and central devices of the curriculum also has a physics-inspired theme: the Periodic Table of Poker Elements.

DOWNLOAD: Full-size copy of the “poker periodic table of elements”

As the name suggests, this breaks down poker into its fundamental constituent parts. Moreover, like the conventional Periodic Table, the exploration of how those parts fit together gives a deep understanding of how all the elements of poker combine to produce a complete, winning strategy.

The scientific method relies on the interplay between theory and practice. Similarly, the CORE program emphasizes both:

• Level I lessons lay out the basic elements of poker
• Level II lessons expand upon that material and extend into more sophisticated concepts
• Level III lessons bring it all together with real-world hand examples that illustrate the concepts in action.

See the entire CORE syllabus here.

And like any successful course, the quizzes allow students to assess their progress and return to material when they need more practice.

Red Chip Poker’s CORE 2.0: Pricing

Costing just $5/week makes this poker course one of the most affordable poker training products on the market. The only prerequisites are that you can handle enough arithmetic to balance a checkbook, and that you have the desire to succeed. The course allows relative beginners a comfortable entry point into poker training, but also offers loads of value to more seasoned players who can proceed rapidly through the more basic material to the more advanced lessons.

If all of the above seems a lot to digest, here is a quick video of the philosophy behind CORE and its content:

The fact that you can sign up for CORE today and get started for the same low price of just $5 especially after the plethora of updates to the course added in the 2.0 update is truly incredible. Your bankroll will thank you!