POKER CODE REVIEW: PREFLOP PLAY

Following the short intro, the course proceeds to the first theoretical part, which is the preflop play. This section covers several large areas, namely:

• Preflop fundamentals
• How to Defend the Blinds
• Playing in Position
• Facing 3-bets

Within every section, you’ll find several videos addressing smaller subtopics of the particular category. What I like is the fact that individual videos aren’t too long, which makes it easier to follow. So, Holz tries to get into the crux of the issue at hand as fast as possible.

As you all know, every hand starts with preflop. Thus, building a solid strategy in this particular segment is very important. Fedor Holz shares his strategy and begins by explaining very fundamentals of the preflop game and gradually proceeds to cover more advanced concepts. On top of that, after each lesson, you will be able to take a quiz to asses how good you understand the content.

This approach makes the Poker Code course a good fit for those new to poker and more advanced players alike.

I won’t go into too much detail about what every video in this segment covers, but I will try to give you a quick overview of it so that you know what to expect.

Preflop Fundamentals

In the Preflop Fundamentals section, Fedor Holz first goes through some basic concepts that are crucial to developing a strategy for later streets. Things such as pot odds, stack depths, and how these correlate to our hand selection are discussed in detail.

From these fundamentals, the course moves to more advanced concepts, such as the general playability of hands.

Splitting hands into several different categories, Holz explains how to approach your hand selection based on these categories while paying attention to everything that’s been discussed in the previous video.

The Poker Code course also breaks down the GTO strategy but in very simple and understandable terms. For those wondering what the GTO stands for and how it should be implemented in real games, Fedor Holz offers a pretty good explanation.

He also explains that knowing GTO is important for the sake of better understanding the game even if no one can play the perfect game at this point.

The rest of the videos in this section covers the open raise strategy and blind vs. blind play. So, it’s a nice round-up of this introductory preflop part, making sure every important topic is touched. In the later videos, some of these things are discussed in much more detail.

What I like about Poker Code is the fact that Fedor constantly reminds you that it is important to stay flexible at all times. Instead of advocating the one-fit-all approach, he suggests hot to adjust your play based on the opponents and the situation at hand.

How to Defend the Blinds

If you aren’t completely new to poker, it’s no secret that playing out of the blinds is one of the toughest things you have to deal with. So, in this section, the Pokercode course takes you to the next step and talks about how to play from the small and big blind positions efficiently.

Of course, it’s impossible to win from the blinds, but the goal is to lose as little money as possible in these unfavorable positions. Fedor Holz breaks down the topic according to stack sizes to show optimal strategies for the deep stack, medium stack, and short stack play.

Videos in this section cover the kind of topics you’d expect to find, such as:

• What hands to call in various situations?
• When to 3-bet & why (bluffs & value)?
• What comes into play when selecting hands?

Now, as I mentioned, most of the videos are quite short and straight to the point. Those that are discussing the blind play last about 10 minutes each (BB, SB, and squeezing & overcalling) and Fedor manages to explain the topic at hand very well.

He doesn’t try to discuss dozens of different hand combos, which would not make any sense. Instead, he tries to explain general concepts for different types of hands and does a pretty good job at it.

Why would you rather call with a hand such as 92s than A2o when deep-stacked? What is it that we’re looking for in these situations?

Clearly, what Fedor Holz is trying to do with his Poker code training course is to get you thinking about poker. While it is not the easiest way, it can help you become a proper thinking player instead of trying to memorize hundreds of charts.

Playing in Position

From the blind play, the course moves onto the play in position. This particular section is quite short, with few videos covering deep and short stack play and squeezing and overcalling.

In these Poker Code videos, Fedor Holz explains how to build calling and 3-betting ranges based on the original raiser position, your position, and the stack depth.

He also emphasizes the importance of having a mixed frequency so that you have good coverage and make it harder for your opponents to play against you.

On top of that, he covers adjustments against weaker opponents, which is a nice touch. It feels like this is a topic that’s often overlooked in some coaching programs these days.

Not everyone at your tables is going to play the perfect game all the time (not even close). So, you want to adjust accordingly against weaker players, especially when in position.

Facing 3-Bets

The final topic in the preflop section deals with 3-bets, more specifically, how to react when facing a 3-bet in and out of position. It also contains the video called “Fedor’s Adjustments” (which is found in some other categories as well).

Holz begins by defining three main factors to consider when facing a 3-bet:

• Your hand equity vs. opponent’s 3-betting range
• The 3-bet size
• Realization of your equity

These three factors are key to properly building your ranges in these spots. Whether you’re in or out of position plays a big role in how these concepts apply.

So, Pokercode goes on to explain how you should adjust based on your position in relation to the 3-bettor and the rest of the factors. For example, are they going with a smaller sizing, how likely you are to realize your equity, etc.

Once again, lessons are quite short and to the point. You’ll see a graphic representation of the ranges and hear the reasoning behind them. But, you won’t have to listen to an hour-worth of explanation for every hand combo, which I really like.