Story time:

In 2011, months after poker's Black Friday, I relocated to Vancouver to play online poker.

I lived with a fellow poker pro, and we played in the same room, our setups mirroring each other on opposite ends of a long table.

Then something interesting happened...

⬇️ One day, my friend complained about a bad beat. Then he did it again.

Up until this point, I had never really reacted to losses at the poker table.

But before long, I found myself developing the same habit. Every time either of us lost, we would complain about our luck.

Making reads at the poker table is easy...

If you want to do it poorly.

Great players are like detectives:

• Form Theories
• Gather Evidence
• Remove Bias
• Deepen Understanding

Here's how to improve the reads you make 👇 By the way, I broke this down even further in a recent strategy post.

It's available at the end of the thread (for free) if you'd like more.

Now, let's get into this!

Are you trying to memorize a killer flop c-bet strategy?

Here’s my advice — don’t!

Solvers are powerful tools & a great way to improve your poker game.

But you need to understand the reasoning behind the plays it suggests.

Here’s why it's so important and how to work on it ⬇️ Solvers use complicated strategies that are impossible for humans to memorize and implement perfectly.

If you try to execute a complicated solver strategy, it’s likely that you’ll end up with leaks in your game that lead to making big mistakes.

I was trying to calculate how much money I’ve bluffed over my poker career.

The number came to be more than $1 billion.

Here are some tips that I’ve collected over all these years of bluffing ⬇️ 1. Attack flops that miss their range
2. Be careful when draws miss
3. Know what you are representing
4. When to focus on their hand
5. When to focus on your range
6. Know your opponent
7. Understand the stakes for them
8. Use leverage

Let’s dive into each point in more detail…

I have 5 Post-It notes stuck to my monitor during every poker session.

They read:

1. It’s SO Simple
2. Discipline, Power
3. HAND READ
4. Game Plan. NO Protection
5. Patience, Some Pots Aren’t Mine

You should do this with your own notes. Here’s what each of mine mean ⬇️ 1. It’s SO Simple.

This is simply a reminder to stick to the plan!

Especially in cases where I’ve prepared for a specific opponent, it's so important to trust my preparation and not tell myself (emotion-driven) stories based on how the most recent hands have played out.

Deciding if it’s time to bluff?

Here are the top 5 signs you shouldn’t:

1. Lots of draws have missed

If straight and flush draws have whiffed, players expect you to turn those hands into bluffs.

People often call too much because of this, so be careful on brick rivers! ⬇️ 2. Your opponent likes to call

Some people love to call way too much.

You can often tell who these players are by clues such as the speed at which they call rivers & the hands they show down.

Against these players, you’re going to lose money bluffing. Just don’t do it.

Free Poker Course: How To Crush Small Stakes Games:

https://twitter.com/36022903/status/1631017298352914436

Quitting as a loser in Poker is one of the hardest things to do.

You're tired and tilted, and you want to get even.

But if you step back and look at it through this mathematical lens, you’ll make the right decision every time…🧵 Know your hourly rate:

This is the first step.

You're playing in a $5/$10 live game. Your winrate is +20bb ($200) per 100 hands.

There are about 33 hands dealt per hour, so you average $67/hr.

What my friend and mentor, @TheTommyAngelo taught me to do next opened my eyes…

Small stakes poker games are NOT the place for advanced strategy.

It doesn’t matter what a solver says — it can’t predict how a beginner will play.

Here are 5 simple tactics to make more money to increase your winrate: 🔽 Here are my top 5 changes to make:

1. Play tight pre-flop.
2. Fast-play good hands.
3. Fold to river bets if your opponent has a showdown-heavy range.
4. Look for missed draws and bluff-catch.
5. Under-bluff in multiway pots.

I’ll show you how to do each…

There was a time when I was a tired and frustrated poker player.

Few people know this story...

Feeling unlucky is something most players experience.

Here’s how I encountered and overcame that: ⬇️ The feeling of being lucky (or unlucky) can have a big impact on your performance at the poker table.

Let me take you back to 2011.

I moved to Vancouver to play online Poker.

How Poker Sites Aim to Profit By Removing Heads-Up Tables: A Breakdown 🧵 Why do so many poker sites remove Heads-Up tables?

As a heads-up player who's spent time on the operator's side of things, I can sympathize with both sides of the debate.

Here's a quick overview of why many sites opt to remove HU tables and where I stand on the topic:

7 study methods that will help you win more consistently at the poker table ⬇️: There are many ways to improve your poker game. Here are 7:

• Solvers & Solver-tools
• Stats
• Online hands
• Live poker hands
• Training videos
• Free Content - Twitch, YouTube (youtube.com/@PhilGalfond)
• Playing!

Now, let's discuss the pros & cons of each...

Want to outsmart your opponents and master bluffing?

I've distilled my 18 years and $1b+ bluffed to these 8 tips ⬇️ 1. Attack flops that miss their range
2. Be careful when draws miss
3. Know what you are representing
4. When to focus on their hand
5. When to focus on your range
6. Know your opponent
7. Understand the stakes for them
8. Use leverage

Let’s dive into each point in more detail…

Today is my 38th birthday.

If you don't know me, I dropped out of college at 21 to pursue poker full-time.

Here are 10 lessons I’ve learned about poker, business, and life: Here’s my quick story:

1. Dropped out of college at 21 to play poker full-time.
2. Have been playing poker against the best in the world since 22.
3. Continued with high-stakes poker the last 16 years while also creating businesses and a family.

Now, let’s get to the lessons…

Have you gone on a downswing that crushed your bankroll, forcing you to move down in stakes?

Odds are, you did it wrong.

Moving down long before you “have to” can earn you a LOT of extra money.

My hope is that these 6 reasons combined will change your perspective entirely: 🧵 1) Moving down reduces your exposure when you're likely off of your A-Game.

If you're closer than your opponent to executing optimal strategy, you're a favorite, right?

WRONG

Here is a simple breakdown of why that is and what it means for you. 🧵 Example:

Player 1 (Mr. Fold) folds 100% of rivers to a pot bet.

Player 2 (Miss Optimal) folds 50%, which is optimal.

Player 3 (Joe) is bluffing 20% of the time when he pots river (optimal=33%).

In these spots, P2 is closest to optimal. P1 is furthest.

Some quick math: 1/8

Navigating the Tug-of-War Between Love and Obsessive Drive

I've been:

- self-employed w/ big dreams for 15yrs
- married for 7.5
- father for 4
- learning from plenty of mistakes!

If you've said, "Sorry, honey. This week is crazy" in the last 2 months, this thread is for you 🧵 1/ I'm going to assume you've already completed a very important step: Finding an amazing partner who loves, understands and admires your drive and ambition!

Also, want to note that you're not me. These are learnings from my experience. Take what applies to you & leave the rest.

Week 1 #102040challenge Update
(90 days, +40k followers, -20lbs, or lose $10k)

Twitter: 121.4k —> 122.5k +1.1k 🟢
YouTube: 18.5k —> 19.4k +900 🟢
Instagram: 25.7k —> 25.8k +100 🔴

Total: +2.1k
On Pace: +27k/40k 🟡

Weight: 177.3 —> 171.8 -5.5lbs 🟢 1/5 Twitter 🐣

I’m struggling to create content quickly, but the hard work has been appreciated. People are sharing & following.

Unlike other platforms, Twitter makes sense to me.

Here’s a detailed thread on my experience on Twitter. I’ve already changed my process since!

https://twitter.com/36022903/status/1603840097371176965

It's not how much you win on your best days that makes you successful. It's how you perform on your worst.

Your ability to handle bad luck will make or break your career.

Here is my advice on setting yourself up to lose like a champ 🏆: Accepting Your Limitations:

The most important thing to understand about yourself on losing days is that you won't be in your peak mental condition.

In a perfect world, you analyze all relevant factors in the moment and make decisions based on them, but we are imperfect. 1/11

10 ways to make your poker career unsuccessful: 1. Get into poker for the money.

2021 ended like all years do these days - with my son’s birthday.

He’s 3 now. A real big boy.

I’ve been reflecting on the last three years with him. Stick around if you’re VERY bored. There will be pictures… Of course, I thought about how wonderful and cute and funny he is, and how full my heart is with him in my life… the usual parent stuff that I think about every day when I look at him…