Since online poker began to dramatically increase in popularity in the mid-2000’s, a number of high quality online poker training sites have become available. These sites are designed to provide instructional poker training to online poker players of all skill levels, often in exchange for a membership fee. The best online poker training sites, such as BlueFire Poker and CardRunners, offer a number of features and services including training videos, strategy articles, blog posts, forums, quality customer service and affordable membership rates.
Instructors And Teachers
The best online poker training sites are staffed by professional online and live poker players who serve as instructors. Lesser online poker training sites sometimes choose instructors that do not have the experience, knowledge and/or skills necessary to provide poker training.
High quality online poker training sites devote a section of their sites to instructor biographies. Here, you’ll find information regarding each instructor’s preferred game types and stake levels, details regarding their past cash game and tournament success, and general information about the players.Videos At Online Poker Training Sites
Reputable online poker training sites offer the majority of their instruction through poker training videos. Typically, these are videos showing a session of online poker as played by the instructors, with the instructor narrating the video to reveal his thought process for each hand. In other cases, the videos offered by online poker training sites will analyze specific strategies that work for certain game types, stake levels and opponents.
Look for an online poker training site that offers hundreds or even thousands of videos, with more added on a regular basis. Ideally, the videos at these sites should be offered as downloads that can be viewed at any time or as Flash videos that play in a web browser. The best online poker training sites offer instructional poker videos with high quality sound and high resolution video.
Blogs And Strategy Articles
Most high quality online poker training sites offer a site section devoted to blogs and strategy articles. The strategy articles should cover a wide variety of game types, including games such as Stud, Omaha, Draw, Razz, Badugi and mixed games in addition to Texas Holdem. It’s best to seek online poker training sites that cover these game types at multiple stake levels, ranging from micro stakes to high stakes.
The best online poker training sites offer a listing of blogs written by the professional instructors, covering topics from cash games and tournaments to strategy, bankroll management and aspects of the pro online poker lifestyle. Some of the highest quality online poker training sites also allow members to post their own blog articles, and receive feedback from other members and pro instructors.
Player Discussion Forums
User-friendly online poker training sites typically offer a forum area where players can discuss a variety of poker topics with other members and instructors. The best forums maintained by online poker training sites are heavily moderated, and are categorized according to various stake levels, game types, strategy considerations and more. You’ll usually find a few general discussion areas as well, which are intended for non-poker discussion.
Membership Packages And Subscriptions
The best online poker training sites offer separate membership packages, each of which contain various services. High quality online poker training sites often offer a Basic or Guest membership, which allows access to basic site features such as forums free of charge. In many cases, the free membership at an online poker training site will also include access to video previews, which give you an idea of what to expect from the site’s selection of training videos.
Many online poker training sites also offer Full or Premium memberships, which grant you access to all of the site’s features in exchange for a monthly fee, and typically a one-time startup fee. The best online poker training sites usually charge around $30 per month for a membership and no more than $100 for the initial startup fee. Some of the most reputable online poker training sites also offer a free trial for the best membership plan, allowing you to try all of the services before you make a payment.
Help and Support
The best online poker training sites offer customer support for all members via email and FAQ section. Some online poker training sites also offer phone support and live chat. All of these methods should be offered free of charge, though phone support may incur fees in some areas.