
Master cash game fundamentals and adapt to tournaments by applying preflop sizing, value and bluff ranges, postflop board textures, and concepts like the gap and beluga theorems.
Use the course discussion board to introduce yourself to your instructor and the class. Tell us your poker background, experience, and what you hope to get out of this course.
Master the fundamentals of crush micro stakes online poker by exploring variance, tilt, general management, multi tabling, and power position to lay a solid foundation.
In this lecture I'll discuss the concept of variance in poker and how it can both negatively and positively affect your poker game.
Identify eight tilt types—injustice, hate losing, mistake, entitlement, revenge, desperation, fearful, and invincible—and learn to prevent emotions from clouding rational decisions by taking breaks and adjusting strategy for play.
Learn bankroll management for online poker, including defining your poker bankroll, calculating BB/100 win rates, determining stakes, and taking shots without risking ruin.
Explain multi tabling, with more hands per hour and bonuses. Note bigger bankroll needs and simultaneous decisions; start with two tables and expand slowly.
Become a student of the game by embracing ongoing study, moving up stakes, and earning a side income with a foundation of intermediate and advanced poker strategies.
Learn how position in poker creates an advantage by letting you see opponents' actions, and how the button yields higher equity and wider opening ranges.
Explore the three advantages in poker—card, skill, and positional advantages—and learn how to combine them, including range concepts, to outplay opponents in no-limit Texas hold'em.
Using the discussion forum, discuss how any of the topics in this section has improved your poker game.
Discover basic hud stats for online poker, covering pre flop and post flop metrics like vip, pfr, 3-bet, steal, and continuation bets, plus sample size guidance.
Explore practical hud setups with poker tracker 4, comparing ignition casino and hold'em indicator, using card catcher, pop ups, and notes to analyze preflop and postflop behavior.
Explore the player type matrix in online poker, grouping opponents as passive or aggressive and tight or loose, to guide your tight aggressive (tag) approach.
This lecture identifies four bad player types at micro stakes poker—tight passive, loose passive, calling station, and the maniac—and explains how to exploit them with value bets and aggression.
Using the course Q&A discussion board, tell us what type of poker player category your fall into and what potential leaks in your game that you need to plug to be a TAG.
Master essential poker terminology, notation, and acronyms. Explore concepts like effective stack sizes, the gap concept, the funnel concept, dominated hands, and the beluga theorem.
Master six-max poker terminology, notation, and acronyms, including hand ranges and their notation, suited versus off suited hands, and common actions with pot-size and big-blind bet sizing.
Master effective stack sizes and how the smallest stack in a hand governs decisions in preflop and postflop play, and why maintaining 100 big blinds optimizes micro stakes strategy.
Discover the two primary reasons to bet in poker: value betting and bluffing, to extract value from worse hands and force folds, with emphasis on bet sizing and micro-stakes strategy.
Develop a plan that links preflop decisions with postflop play across the flop, turn, and river, considering what to do if opponents call or raise.
The gap concept teaches you to call with stronger hands against a raise, and to fold dominated hands, focusing on preflop ranges and when to three-bet for value.
Discover the beluga theorem, a micro stakes poker concept showing that on a turn check-raise, opponents rarely bluff and usually hold a set or better, often a full house.
Use the funnel concept to visualize how ranges shrink from preflop to the river as board texture and players' actions guide adjustments, and why they cannot grow.
Using the course Q&A discussion board, share your biggest takeaways from this section.
Build a solid poker foundation by mastering core concepts from pre-flop and post-flop strategy to live-session plays, and avoid skipping foundational topics to prevent cracks in your game.
Develop patience in your learning, results, and table play by setting realistic expectations and avoiding short-run swings. Study with training sites and theory, then practice to make quick, optimal decisions.
Develop patience with realistic expectations at micro stakes; don't expect to crush the games, aim for a moderate win rate and online or live cash games as a side income.
Maintain a balance of studying and playing to avoid stagnation, committing to regular study with courses, videos, books, and analysis using tools like poker tracker and flopzilla.
Apply starting point guidelines for pre flop play, including open raising, isolation raising, three batting, and calling ranges. Adjust these ranges to exploit different opponents and up your game.
Explore how small preflop mistakes by loose passive micro-stakes players—like opening with weak hands or limping—can snowball into large post flop losses, as shown in a king-9 suited example.
Explore common pre-flop odds, including the odds of flopping a made hand or a draw, and learn why aggressive play can profit from draws and weaker post-flop situations.
Learn why and how to preflop raise in micro stakes poker, covering sizing, exploitative adjustments, range concepts, live software visualization, and hands at six-max and ring games.
Learn why we raise pre flop with open raises to show strength, gain the initiative, thin the field, build the pot, and steal the blinds.
This lecture promotes a three big blind raise as the baseline sizing for micro stakes, balancing strength, initiative, field thinning, pot building, and blind stealing against two or four raises.
Adjust pre-flop open-raise sizing from three big blinds using exploitative adjustments based on opponent type; bump up against calling stations and whales, and lower against aggressive opponents, guided by notes.
In full-ring games, tighten pre-flop opening ranges for early positions to ace-king, ace-queen, and pocket sevens. Maintain a tight three-bet range and avoid stacking off light.
Learn to store and manage hand ranges in Ecolab, a free Windows tool, during an in-class lab. Create user defined ranges, save and print preflop ranges, and reference them.
this lecture demonstrates using a poker tracker with ecolab to review hands and decide open raises, while applying ranges and HUD stats for four- and five-handed play.
Master the fundamentals of three betting and defending against three bets from micro to higher stakes, including polarized ranges, value and bluff plays, fold equity, and reacting to four bets.
Master the fundamentals of three betting in micro stakes poker: define the three bet, distinguish value and bluff, and apply fold equity and polarized ranges.
Learn to react to four-bets in no-limit hold'em by narrowing the opponent's opening range with the funnel concept and choosing fold, call, or all-in.
An in-depth look at three-bet opportunities against open raises, using PokerTracker 4 filters to separate value and bluffing hands, with sizing and hand-specific decisions.
Explore defending against three-bet scenarios through hand reviews, weighing position, stack size, and opponent range to decide folds, calls, or shoves for long-term profitability.
Share a review if you enjoyed the course, or provide constructive feedback via a message to help the instructor improve future lessons and continue the course.
Explore cold calling fundamentals and ranges with practice scenarios, and examine set mining and set money fundamentals.
Analyze three cold-call scenarios, including set mining with pocket threes, evaluating equity edge, gap concept, and implied odds against under-the-gun opens.
Explore set mining fundamentals to chase a set with small pocket pairs for implied odds, not pot odds. Use the 15-to-1 rule, deep stacks, and opponent ranges to decide.
Apply set-mining concepts with two practice scenarios, using the 15 to 1 rule, effective stack sizes, and implied odds to decide call or fold against opponents.
Explore a strong default iso raising range built from premium Broadway hands and pocket pairs to eights, with optional overlaps and adjustments for weak tight and weak loose opponents.
Use a default iso raise sizing of three big blinds plus one per limper, with an extra big blind out of position, to charge opponents and exploit mistakes.
Adjust iso raising range by position, strengthening when out of position and expanding in position, while accounting for diminishing equity with more limpers using the combined full probability.
Learn how to iso raise effectively by building adaptive ranges against weak calling stations and multiple opponents, and tune sizing for in-position and out-of-position play.
LEARN MICRO STAKES POKER STRATEGY FROM AN AMAZON #1 BESTSELLING POKER AUTHOR
Are you a beginner or struggling poker player who can't seem to beat micro stakes cash games? Do you keep making the same costly mistakes hand after hand? Are you tired of watching training videos that teach high-stakes GTO theory that simply doesn't work at the micro stakes?
Most poker training focuses on advanced strategies designed for tough high-stakes games. But micro stakes games require a completely different approach. The players are different, the mistakes are different, and the winning strategy is different.
This comprehensive 28-hour course teaches you the exact tight-aggressive strategy specifically designed to beat online micro stakes 6-Max and Full Ring No Limit Hold'em cash games. You'll learn fundamental poker concepts, essential poker math, HUD stats analysis, pre-flop strategy, post-flop play, and how to identify and exploit common player types at the micro stakes.
Taught by an Amazon #1 bestselling poker author who has trained over 30,000 poker students worldwide and sold over 100,000 poker books.
WHAT MAKES THIS COURSE DIFFERENT: 28 HOURS WITH LIVE PLAY SESSIONS AND LEAK REVIEWS
Unlike poker courses that only teach theory through PowerPoint slides, this course combines comprehensive strategy instruction with extensive live play demonstrations and real student hand reviews.
You'll watch 13 live play-and-explain sessions, where I play micro stakes cash games in real time and explain every decision as it happens. You'll watch 10 leak finder reviews where I analyze submitted student play, showing you the most common micro stakes mistakes and exactly how to fix them in your own game. You'll learn to use Poker Tracker 4 HUD stats to identify player types and exploit their specific weaknesses.
This isn't just poker theory. This is a complete blueprint showing you exactly how to make better decisions at every stage of a poker hand.
This course teaches fundamentally sound tight-aggressive pre-flop and post-flop theory and strategy, with some exploitative adjustments for common micro stakes player types. The goal is to make you a thinking poker player who understands the 'why' behind every decision, not someone who just memorizes charts. While GTO (Game Theory Optimal) strategy is designed for high-stakes games against skilled opponents, this course focuses on building a rock-solid foundation of poker fundamentals that work at micro stakes and beyond. Though this is a cash game course, the fundamental pre-flop and post-flop concepts you'll learn apply to tournament play, including multi-table tournaments (MTTs) as well.
WHAT YOU'LL RECEIVE IN THIS COURSE
One of the Most Comprehensive Poker Courses Available: 28 hours of expert HD video instruction with over 150 lessons across 23 comprehensive sections covering every aspect of micro stakes cash game strategy
The #1 Bestselling Poker Course on Udemy: Join over 18,000 students in this course, taught by an instructor with 30,000+ poker students and 100,000+ books sold
13 Live Play and Explain Sessions: Watch real-time micro stakes cash games with detailed explanations of every decision as the action happens
10 Student Leak Finder Reviews: Watch me analyze submitted student play to identify common mistakes and learn exactly how to fix them in your own game
Mental Game Interview with Expert Elliot Roe: Learn how to manage tilt, handle variance, and develop the mental resilience winning poker requires
Poker Tracker 4 HUD Demonstration: See how to use HUD stats to identify player types and exploit their weaknesses
Equilab Software In-Class Lab: Learn to use hand range analysis software to study poker strategy away from the tables
Pre-Flop Opening Ranges: Complete 6-Max and Full Ring opening ranges with adjustments for every position
3-Betting Strategy: Learn when to 3-bet for value and as a bluff, and how to defend against 3-bets
Post-Flop Decision Framework: Understand continuation betting, hand reading, board textures, and bet sizing fundamentals
Essential Poker Math: Master pot odds, implied odds, the Rule of 2 and 4, and expected value calculations
Complete Course Materials: Downloadable resources and hand range charts
WHAT STUDENTS ARE SAYING
"This is the best course I have ever taken. I have taken Daniel Negreanu and Phil Ivey masterclass course, and also I got Upswing poker course which costs $999, and it was too boring that I could not even finish one section. Then I took this course and it is the best course because I just finished 5 sections and I found out my weakness points and my errors why I lost money especially in cash games, and now I'm making like $50 by playing 2 to 3 hours a day. Thank you very much Alton, you deserve WSOP much love from Kurdistan." — Ahmad ★★★★★
"This course is amazing. Finally, my cash game is profitable. I fixed a lot of leakages I had. Best investment ever for poker." — Sandro ★★★★★
"Amazing Tips: This course is perfect for anyone who has been struggling to beat the micro stakes. It is applicable to full ring players or 6-max and goes over the basic skill set needed to beat these games. This course is well organized from start to finish which makes it easy to follow." — Samuel ★★★★★
"Highly Recommended: If you are currently a solid micro or small stakes tournament player considering moving up or loosening your style pull the trigger and buy this course. This course is absolutely what every Hold'em player are looking for. Highly recommended!" — Ben ★★★★★
"I'm learning a lot. I'm the mom of two poker pros, and this course was recommended to me by my son, Andrew Moreno, to help me get the basics down." — Renee N. ★★★★★
"Excellent course for beginning poker players at the micros. The content is well structured and covers the fundamentals comprehensively. I've tried a few online poker courses and training sites over the years, and this course is a bargain for inexperienced players looking to beat the micro stakes, even in 2025." — Lewis C. ★★★★★
COMPREHENSIVE CURRICULUM: 28 HOURS OF STRATEGY INSTRUCTION
Course Introduction: Understand how to play Texas Hold'em poker, learn why micro stakes games are so profitable, understand the differences between 6-Max and Full Ring games, and learn how this cash game course relates to tournament poker strategy.
Fundamental Poker Concepts: Learn to understand and embrace variance, manage tilt effectively, implement proper bankroll management, develop multi-tabling strategies, become a student of the game, understand the power of position, and master the three fundamental advantages in poker.
HUD Stats and Player Types: Learn basic HUD stats, including VPIP, PFR, 3-bet percentage, and fold to 3-bet. Watch live demonstrations of HUD stats in action. See Poker Tracker 4 HUD setup and configuration. Study the player type matrix to categorize opponents. Learn to identify good player types (tight-aggressive, loose-aggressive) and bad player types (tight-passive, loose-passive, calling stations, maniacs).
Essential Topics: Master additional poker terminology, notation, and acronyms. Understand effective stack sizes and their strategic implications. Learn why aggressive poker is winning poker. Understand the fundamental reasons to bet (value, protection, bluff). Learn the importance of having a plan for every hand. Understand dominated hands, the Gap Concept, the Baluga Theorem, and hand reading ranges using the funnel concept.
Game Plan and Study Strategies: Build a strong poker foundation by learning to crawl before you walk. Become a thinking poker player who understands the 'why' behind every decision. Learn patience and develop realistic expectations. Discover effective strategies for studying poker away from the tables. Watch a complete mental game interview with expert Elliot Roe covering tilt management, variance, and mental resilience.
Pre-Flop Fundamentals: Understand starting hand guidelines and avoid small pre-flop mistakes that cost you money. Learn common pre-flop odds and understand high equity versus weaker starting hands.
Pre-Flop Strategy - Raising First In: Learn why we raise, understand standard open raise sizing, make exploitative pre-flop raise sizing adjustments based on opponent tendencies, and learn not to alter bet size by hand strength. Study complete 6-Max open raising ranges for every position. Learn pre-flop opening range adjustments for Full Ring games. Complete Equilab software in-class lab storing hand ranges. Review open raising example hands with detailed analysis.
Pre-Flop Strategy - 3-Betting and Defending Against 3-Bets: Master 3-betting fundamentals, including when to 3-bet and why. Learn 3-betting for value with premium hands. Understand 3-betting as a bluff to exploit weak players. Learn how to react to 4-bets. Study 3-betting opportunities through example hands. Understand how to defend against 3-bets and when to fold, call, or 4-bet. Review defending against 3-bets through hand analysis.
Pre-Flop Strategy - Cold-Calling Raises and Set-Mining: Learn cold-calling fundamentals and understand when calling a raise is profitable. Study cold-calling ranges for different positions. Practice cold-calling scenarios. Master set-mining fundamentals, including implied odds calculations. Work through set-mining practice scenarios.
Pre-Flop Strategy - Isolation Raising Limpers: Understand the fundamentals of isolation raising and why isolating limpers is profitable. Learn isolation raising ranges. Understand proper isolation raise sizing. Make isolation raising adjustments based on the number of limpers and opponent types. Practice isolation raising scenarios.
Pre-Flop Strategy - Over-Limping: Learn when over-limping behind other limpers can be profitable. Understand the profitability calculations for over-limping. Learn reasons to and not to over-limp. Study over-limping ranges. Practice over-limping scenarios.
Pre-Flop Strategy - Value Squeezing and Over-Calling: Master the squeeze play when facing a raise and a caller. Learn squeeze play ranges and sizing. Understand over-calling when facing a raise and a caller. Study over-calling ranges. Work through practice scenarios.
Pre-Flop Strategy - Stealing and Blind Defense: Learn blind stealing fundamentals and understand why stealing is profitable from late position. Master blind steal mathematics and considerations, including fold equity. Practice stealing scenarios. Learn blind defense fundamentals and understand how to defend your blinds profitably. Practice blind defense scenarios.
Pre-Flop Strategy - Live Play Sessions: Watch 5 live play sessions featuring real-time micro stakes play on Ignition Casino Poker (5NL Zone) and Global Poker (4NL) with detailed pre-flop decision explanations.
Essential Poker Math: Understand probability and odds fundamentals. Master pot odds calculations and learn when you're getting the right price to call. Understand implied odds for drawing hands. Learn common draws and outs for flush draws, straight draws, and combination draws. Master the Rule of 2 and 4 for quick equity calculations. Practice calling with draws to determine if you can profitably call.
Post-Flop Fundamentals: Understand post-flop complexity and why the flop is more difficult than pre-flop. Learn the difference between exploitative and balanced poker and understand when to make exploitative adjustments against weak players. Understand the dynamics of pre-flop aggressors versus pre-flop callers. Master board texture analysis (dry, wet, coordinated, monotone boards). Learn post-flop hand strength categories. Understand relative hand strength based on opponent ranges. Introduction to hand reading fundamentals. Learn bet sizing principles for value bets, bluffs, and protection bets. Understand single-raised versus 3-bet pot dynamics. Master stack-to-pot ratios (SPRs) and their strategic implications. Understand showdown value and thin value betting.
Continuation Betting (C-Betting) Fundamentals: Learn continuation betting basics and understand why c-betting is fundamental to winning poker. Master delayed c-betting on the turn. Understand general c-betting strategy across different board textures. Learn the key factors that determine whether to c-bet (number of opponents, board texture, position, opponent type). Understand when not to c-bet to avoid wasting chips. Learn c-betting strategy with strong value hands, medium strength hands, drawing hands, and weak hands as bluffs.
Post-Flop Play as the Pre-Flop Caller: Understand post-flop considerations when you called pre-flop. Learn to analyze the pre-flop aggressor's perceived hand strength. Master the one-third rule and understand c-bet frequency. Learn strategy for playing strong value hands, medium strength hands, drawing hands, and weak hands when facing continuation bets.
Post-Flop Strategy - Limped Pots and 3-Bet Pots: Understand limped pot nuances and strategy when multiple players see the flop. Learn 3-betting range interpretation to understand what hands opponents 3-bet. Master post-flop play as the 3-bet caller facing aggression. Learn post-flop strategy as the 3-bettor with initiative. Understand playing in 4-bet and 5-bet pots.
Post-Flop Strategy - Blind Defense: Understand blind defense expectations and why defending blinds is often unprofitable. Review important concepts for out-of-position play. Learn the importance of steal stats to identify frequent stealers. Master a general blind defense strategy for playing out of position against aggressive opponents.
Additional Post-Flop Concepts: Learn how to react when facing a raise on the flop or turn. Understand donk bets (leading into the pre-flop aggressor) and when they can be effective. Master bluff catching with hero calls when you suspect opponents are bluffing.
Post-Flop Strategy - Live Play and Explain Sessions: Watch 8 complete live play sessions with detailed post-flop analysis showing how to apply c-betting, hand reading, board texture analysis, and bet sizing in real micro stakes games.
Student Leak Finder Reviews: Watch 10 complete leak finder reviews where I analyze submitted student play at 2NL, 5NL, and 10NL on PokerStars, Bovada, 888 Poker, and BWin. See the most common micro stakes mistakes, including playing too many hands pre-flop, misplaying draws, overvaluing weak pairs, missing value bets, and making unprofitable bluffs. Learn exactly how to fix these leaks in your own game.
WHY LEARN MICRO STAKES POKER STRATEGY NOW?
Micro stakes online poker games are the ideal training ground for developing solid poker fundamentals. The games are soft, the buy-ins are small, and the opportunity to learn while minimizing risk is unmatched. Whether you're a complete beginner building your poker foundation or a struggling player trying to identify and fix leaks, mastering micro stakes is essential.
Understanding tight-aggressive strategy, essential poker math, HUD stats analysis, and fundamentally sound play gives you the tools to make better decisions at every stage of a poker hand. These aren't just micro stakes skills. These are fundamental poker concepts that apply at every stake level and in both cash games and tournaments.
The poker knowledge you'll gain through this course applies whether you're playing 6-Max or Full Ring, cash games or MTTs, online or live poker. Master the fundamentals first, and higher stakes become achievable.
PREVIEW OVER 2 HOURS OF THIS COURSE FOR FREE
Scroll down and click the blue "Preview" buttons on 30+ free sample lectures. See the teaching style, live play sessions, and course structure before you enroll.
READY TO DEVELOP SOLID POKER FUNDAMENTALS?
Join over 18,000 students in the #1 bestselling Udemy poker course from an Amazon #1 bestselling poker author with 30,000+ poker students worldwide and 100,000+ books sold. Start building your poker foundation today with 28 hours of expert instruction, 13 live play sessions, 10 leak finder reviews, and complete strategy coverage.
See you at the tables!
Alton