Poker Strategy

FTR will turn you into a winning poker player!

Welcome to FTR’s Poker Strategy section! We currently have 508 free Poker Strategy articles in our ever growing archive.

These strategy articles contain as much information as you would find in multiple poker books – for free! Make sure you take advantage of this free poker strategy and poker training, on all of the topics shown below. Whether you’re a beginner, seasoned professional, cash game grinder, or tournament specialist, there is something to help take your game to the next level.

FTR has been featured by many poker websites and magazines over the years. In Bluff Magazine, Lee Jones mentioned that FlopTurnRiver.com has absolute golden information you can use to improve your game. Poker pro Chris “Wallace” Fox also recommended FlopTurnRiver.com as a free poker training site in Poker Pro Magazine. We also have many reader testimonials from our members saying FTR made them a winning poker player.

To discuss any of the poker strategy articles you find on our site, make sure to sign up for a free account in our poker forum. Let us help you become a winning player!

Categories in Poker Strategy

Beginner Poker

112 Articles
Basic strategy concepts to teach new players how to play poker.

Cash Games

58 Articles
When the value of your chips actually means something.

Heads Up

6 Articles
Learn how to battle and beat your opponents, mano y mano.

Limit Hold'em

38 Articles
Strategy articles that help you bet, raise, 3-bet, and cap your bets.

Live Poker

38 Articles
Learn how to transition from online play to your local casino.

MTT

35 Articles
We teach you how to make the final table and lock up a big score.

No Limit Hold'em

182 Articles
What are the two most powerful words in poker? I’m all-in.

Omaha

14 Articles
When two cards just aren’t enough.

Open Face Chinese

4 Articles
Learn how to get those Queens up top for Fantasy Land.

Poker Dictionary

1,236 Articles
Learn the lingo and terms used by poker players.

Poker Psychology

67 Articles
The power of the mind in poker: There is no spade.

Poker Rules

14 Articles
The rules of the road. Learn how to play various forms of poker.

Poker Tools

37 Articles
Improve your game by learning how to use the tools of the trade.

Poker Videos

98 Articles
Watch and learn from the best in the world.

SNG

41 Articles
For the players who only have two decisions, shove or fold.

Play Online Poker



$88: No Deposit Required

All new players can claim up to $88 absolutely free.



Mobile Poker

Play from any device – PC, Mac, Mobile, or Tablet.



$600 Exclusive Deposit Bonus

FTR players can claim up to $600 on their first deposit.



Easy Deposits, Fast Cashouts

Many payment methods available for instant deposits.

Claim Your $600 New Player Bonus at 888

Get $88 free, no deposit required, just to try poker at 888! When you’re ready to make your first deposit, FTR members will receive up to $600 free. Don’t hesitate, sign up today!

Visit 888 Poker

Featured Poker Strategy Articles

The Psychology of Losing

by aokrongly | May 27, 2019 | Featured Poker Psychology, Featured Strategy, Poker Psychology, Poker Strategy | 1 Comment

You can’t win every hand or tournament when playing poker. But an extended losing streak can often have severe emotional repercussions that may compound over time, causing you to lose even more. Learn how to break out of the cycle and start winning again.

Spenda’s 5 Biggest Leaks of a Losing NL Player – Leak 1

by bigspenda73 | June 3, 2019 | Featured Strategy, No Limit Hold'em, Poker Strategy | 0 Comments

If you’re a losing No Limit Hold’em player, then you probably have big leaks in your game. Always remember to consider the value of position at all times. Another thing that losing players have a problem with is controlling the size of the pot.

Taking the Next Step

by bigspenda73 | June 13, 2019 | Beginner Poker, Featured Beginner Poker, Featured Poker Psychology, Featured Strategy, Poker Psychology, Poker Strategy | 0 Comments

In poker, it’s important to keep improving your game so that you can move up in stakes. By carefully considering bankroll management, studying the player pool at your new level and approaching the bigger game with the right mindset, you can increase your chances for success.

Bankroll Management 101

by a500lbgorilla | June 24, 2019 | Featured Poker Psychology, Featured Poker Tools, Featured Strategy, Poker Psychology, Poker Strategy, Poker Tools | 0 Comments

Bankroll Management Calculator Current Bankroll: Show Clear Cash — 100 BUY-INS Conservative — 40 BUY-INS Recommended — 20 BUY-INS Risky MTT — 100 BUY-INS Conservative — 75 BUY-INS Recommended — 40 BUY-INS Risky SnG — 75...

How, Why and When to Double Barrel in No-Limit Hold’em

by carlcarlsoniv | June 9, 2019 | Featured Strategy, No Limit Hold'em | 0 Comments

In this week’s column, we look at tons of different ideas that govern how, when and why to double barrel on the turn in no-limit hold’em games.

Tactics vs. Strategy (Part 1): The Study of Tactics in Poker

by spoonitnow | June 8, 2019 | Beginner Poker, Featured Strategy | 0 Comments

The study of tactical play in poker is about figuring out which plays are likely to work well against certain player types and against the field as a whole.

Poker and Life

by BooG690 | May 23, 2019

All serious poker players are familiar with the idea of tilt. Tilt is a change, for the worse, in our poker play due to emotions. Most players recognize tilt as a negative reaction to play on the felt: a bad beat, a cooler, or even winning a large amount of money can...

FTR SNG Strategy: Maximizing value in HU situations

by Filik | May 23, 2019

Grinding 18 or 27 man sit & go’s, most of the profit comes from heads-up situations. This time you will see a review of 3 hands played heads-up and the thinking behind maximizing your profits on each...

Win MTT Poker 03 – Tilt, Patience

by soupie | May 23, 2019

Point 9: Thou Shalt Not Steal From the Wounded. Anyone every notice that when you are losing you can’t wait to play again and when you are winning you are just looking for a polite way to hit the door and bank those winnings. That is common to all investment...

ISF – Adjusting

by IowaSkinsFan | May 23, 2019

When I interviewed Kingsofcards for my weekly interview, one comment he made about heads up changing his game rung a bell with me. Until after playing HU, when playing 6 max I never really took into account bet sizing, timing tells or things like that nearly as much...

[FTR Quick Tip 001] To C-Bet or not to C-Bet (That is the Question)

by carlcarlsoniv | May 23, 2019

[FTR Quick Tip 001] To C-Bet or not to C-Bet (That is the Question) by carlcarlsoniv | May 23, 2019 | Poker Videos FTR Quick Tip: Helping you plug leaks in 5 minutes or less. In a new weekly poker strategy video series, we look at a few different situations and ask...

No Limit 2-7 Single Draw Strategy (Part 4): Pre-Draw Overview

by spoonitnow | May 23, 2019

By using the shortcuts we have developed over the course of this series, it’s not all that difficult to figure out what percentage of hands you’re playing in any given situation.

Don’t Be a Poker Pansy

by DaNutsInYoEye | May 22, 2019

“Don’t be a Poker Pansy.” Apparently you can’t make a post in the Beginner’s Forum without attaching some cheesy phrase to it. That’s probably because most beginners are slow thinkers and incapable of comprehending anything beyond...

Low-Hanging Fruit for Newbies in No-Limit Hold’em

by spoonitnow | May 22, 2019

We want to help you to boost your win-rates by fixing the six most common mistakes we see with new players by looking at their stats and hands.

Limit Holdem Conclusion

by elipsesjeff | May 22, 2019

If I haven’t mentioned these points, then add them to the list on things to know: 1. Always play within your bankroll. 2. Only play games in which you are comfortable playing. 3. Don’t try to play opponents better than you. Find the players worse than you...

Poker, the Beautiful Woman

by PokerJanitor | May 21, 2019

Yes, poker is definitely like her. It can give you feelings of great exhilaration, and then bloody annoy you, all within the space of a few minutes. When you first meet poker, you just want more. You can’t stop playing with her, and think she’s the best...

[FTR Quick Tip 004] 3-Betting, Part 1: Three-Betting for Value

by carlcarlsoniv | May 20, 2019

[FTR Quick Tip 004] 3-Betting, Part 1: Three-Betting for Value by carlcarlsoniv | May 20, 2019 | Poker Videos FTR Quick Tip: Helping you plug leaks in 5 minutes or less. In this installment, we talk about preflop 3-betting for value. Learn what situations are good for...

Win MTT Poker 13 – Improving Your Game

by soupie | May 19, 2019

Point 39: Implied Odds A good portion of any reason to call a bet or raise is the estimated odds of being able to achieve a pile of chips should you be lucky enough to hit a monster of hand. The obvious question becomes, how does one estimate these odds accurately...

Full Tilt Poker vs PokerStars Coverage at EPT 9 London 2013

by carlcarlsoniv | May 18, 2019

Full Tilt Poker vs PokerStars Coverage at EPT 9 London 2013 by carlcarlsoniv | May 18, 2019 | Poker Videos It’s the battle of the giants as team pros from PokerStars take on the professionals from Full Tilt at EPT 9 London. Which team gets the upper hand? This...

PLO Books

by drmcboy | May 18, 2019

Just trying to learn PLO here and was wondering if there are any "staple" kind of books for someone trying to learn PLO? Doesn’t have to be a beginner book necessarily. I bought Pot-Limit Omaha Poker by Jeff Hwang and it arrived today and been reading...

Texas Holdem Expected Value Hand Charts – 6 Players

by FlopTurnRiver | May 18, 2019

Below is a table of Texas Holdem starting hands, ordered by their Expected Value (EV) in a 6 player holdem game. These statistics were produced by using millions of hand histories to compute the following results. The unit for EV is average profit in big...