Is it worth adding a new site to your portfolio? The short answer: if you’re a no limit cash game regular, probably. If not, it’s a bit more of a judgment call. The long answer: read the review below.

Visit Drag The Bar.

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Summary
Cost: $30 a month (discounts for 3/6/12 month upfront). No sign up fee.
New Videos: Every weekday +
Hand Replayer: No
Core Focus: Cash games
Notable Pros: Milwaukee2, Dusty Schmidt, “Chipsteela” / “EndlessJ”
Video Quality: High
Download / Streaming: Both available
Archive Size: ~400 videos

Overall Ranking

DTB gets an overall score of 87/100 from the PTP Staff

Sit and Go Coverage

A coach or two devoted to SNG, but definitely not the focus of the site. SNG coverage is mostly MTT SNG’s

MTT Coverage

Solid, with a number of well-known regulars on staff.

Cash coverage

The focus of DTB – they’ve built a small but very solid core of cash coaches, headed up by Stars 1/2 regular Milwaukee2 and Dusty ‘Leatherass’ Schmidt.

Non-holdem game coverage

Looks like PLO will get decent coverage, with at least one full-time PLO instructor. Bonus: Bill Robertie has a backgammon strategy video series available on DTB.

Pros

Lots of good stuff: videos are available as streaming, iPod-compatible and MP4 download (DRM-free). Video viewing options for streaming include embedded and a scalable pop-out viewer.

Pricing is pretty reasonable at about $30/m (no sign up free) with solid discounts available for multiple months purchased upfront. A 7-day free trial is also available at the time of this review, check DTB to make sure that’s still active.

Instructors seem pretty engaged on site, with several hosting active blogs and participating meaningfully in forum discussions.

Content-wise, DTB does a good job across the board. We watched all (or part) of several dozen videos and found production quality to be high and advice / analysis offered to be generally articulate and well-reasoned. The site also offers a few multi-part ‘guide’ series where newer players can get a comprehensive walk-through of the nuts and bolts of MTTs, SNGs, etc.

Cons

Mostly nit-picking here, but small things matter in a market as competitive as training sites. The biggest complaint: the method for sorting videos is clunky and a bit too linear. There’s also no apparent method for you to rate videos or comment on videos, a real drag when you’re looking to pick a video or two from a genre and you’re not sure where to start (community ratings are a great way to help viewers narrow their choices).

Similar complaints for the user dashboard: there’s very little functionality available in this area. It would be nice to see a list of videos you had recently watched, a list of videos you’d likely be interested in based on your viewing habits, etc.

Finally, the community feels a bit thin and DTB offers little in the way of bonus tools (e.g. the Stox EV calculator, the PXF replayer, etc) for players.

If you’re a former PokerSwat customer, be aware that a big chunk of DTB’s library is made up of PS videos, as DTB purchased PS in January 2010.

Overall

The free trial makes DTB a no-brainer for anyone looking to improve their game. Any NL cash player should seriously consider a subscription, and MTT players or generalists will definitely find useful material at DTB, although generalists who can only afford one subscription might want to consider a site with a broader focus first.

Visit Drag The Bar.

Watch Free CardRunners Videos Here.

Summary

Cost: $28 a month plus $99 sign up fee (free memberships available by meeting certain FPP goals at FullTilt; full details here).
New Videos: Every weekday +
Hand Replayer: Yes
Core Focus: Cash games
Notable Pros:Jungleman12, Brian Hastings, Menlo, Taylor Caby, Mickey “mement_mori” Petersen
Video Quality: High
Download / Streaming: Both available
Archive Size: 1000+ videos

Overall Ranking

Cardrunners gets an overall score of 96/100 from the PTP Staff

Sit and Go Coverage

Several dozen videos. Resident pro is Jackal69, good split between holdem and HORSE coverage.

MTT Coverage

Massive, despite being a secondary focus to cash game play. An impressive roster of guest pros led by Timex, Menlo and Adanthar.

Cash coverage

The heart of Cardrunners. CR offers what is far and away the most star-studded roster of cash game instructors, including Brian Hastings, Taylor Caby, Menlo, Jungleman12 and many more. Arguably the best single resource for cash game play available anywhere.

Non-holdem game coverage

The depth of Cardrunners starts to give out here. Good PLO coverage, especially with Hastings, but not much in the way of razz, stud or other non-holdem games. That said, this is a lack all training site sites share, so not really a competitive disadvantage.

Pros
The depth of the archive and the quality of instruction are the two big selling points for this site. You’re going to be hard pressed to find a stronger roster of instructors or a broader archive of available videos than you’ll find at CR. With new videos added daily and a steady stream of new instructors being brought on board, both of those advantages are likely to persist well into the future.

There’s also a good amount of supplemental material, including a solid article library and active forums. Videos are easily sortable by a number of filters and the site is generally easy to navigate. CR also runs a pretty good number of member promotions.

Finally, the biggest advantage is that you can earn CardRunners memberships free with play on Full Tilt Poker through Truly Free Poker Training. For full details on TFPT and how to get free CardRunners, click here.

Cons
The things that stop CR from getting a score of 100 are a bit of a natural by-product of the site’s size. First, CR lacks the curriculum-style presentation of material that other sites seem to be gravitating toward, and without a starting point or a framework for progression, the massive archive can seem intimidating. This is changing as they develop more ’series’ based videos.

Next, while the good videos on CR are better than average, CR seems to have a slightly lower threshold for video release than some other sites, meaning that you’ll have to wade through some weak videos to get to the good stuff. It’s not that the CR videos are ever outright bad. It’s just that sometimes you get the feeling that the instructor just sat down, turned on the mic, and didn’t give too much thought to what they intended to cover before or during the session.

Overall
Any cash game player who is serious about improving should invest in a membership to CardRunners. The $99 sign up fee is a little steep, but the site is a critical resource for staying ahead of the curve. Tournament players might have a tougher decision between CR and some competing sites, but if you can afford multiple subscriptions, CR should be on your list.

Sign up For CardRunners Today.

Summary

Cost: 3M/$45 to 1Y/$120 (discounts for SitNGo Wizard option and rakeback)
New Videos: 4-5 a week
Hand Replayer: No
Core Focus: SNG
Notable Pros: azntracker, darinvg, fultip777
Video Quality: High
Download / Streaming: Both available
Archive Size: ~100 videos

Overall Ranking
SNGG an overall score of 86/100 from the PTP Staff.

Sit and Go Coverage
SNGG is exclusively for SNG’s, so their coverage here is strong. Here’s an approximation of their specific SNG coverage:

20%: 18/45/180 mans
15%: HU.
45%: 9/10 mans
20%: 6 max

MTT Coverage
No traditional MTT coverage; decent coverage of SNG MTTs.

Cash coverage
None

Non-holdem game coverage
None

Pros
Relative to other sites, SNGG is very affordable with great discounts on SitNGo Wizard and integrated rakeback promotions. You’re also getting a good value for the money, as the site includes some of the top sng grinders at the $100+ buy in levels. Not only are the instructors in possession of solid track records, they are also very good at explaining the basic to complex strategies.

It’s very easy to navigate through the site and filter video content, although it would be nice to be able to see a clearer overview of all the available content.

The videos are generally of good quality, with various screen-size formats. Each video allows for for streaming of download and can be transferred to your iPod.

12 month subscribers get a personal HH review from a SNGG instructor.

Cons
SNGG suffers from the same issues that most nascent sites face: limited archives and narrow focus. For example, the main focus for 9 man SNGs is on buy ins $100+ – there’s very limited selection on buy ins below $100.

It should be noted that the recent trend of their video output seems to be toward more low-stakes videos, so this deficiency may be corrected sooner than later.

SNGG only covers No Limit SNGs.

SNGG seems to lack some of the value-added features that PokerXFactor and larger sites offer (subscriber freerolls, HH replayer, Sheet’s tools, etc).

Overall
SNGG has a lot of potential for growth. Once the video archives expand this will be a must for anyone starting out playing sngs. As it stands now, it’s still a very solid value for STT players who are looking to move up a few buy in levels or curious players looking to dip their toes in the mid-buy in SNG waters.

Visit SNGG.

You could easily pay for a training site subscription with rakeback – or earn them for free. Enter your email below to view dozens of exclusive rakeback offers from PartTimePoker and RakeBackNation.

You are primarily a nl holdem cash game player at low to high stakes
In this case, you’re probably going to want to go with CardRunners, BlueFirePoker, PokerSavvy+, LeggoPoker or DeucesCracked. Those sites specialize in cash game play, and offer a wide array of limits, formats, and so on. CardRunners has the largest archive of videos online and a star-studded roster of cash pros like Cole South, Taylor Caby, David Benefield and more. DeucesCracked also boasts a very impressive instructor roster (Krantz, Whitelime) and takes more of a sequential approach to instruction, so videos are often connected to one another by a larger concept or theme, as opposed to the CardRunners model of (mostly) one-shot videos.

Bluefire is a newer site, and has a smaller archive, but boasts Phil Galfond as their lead instructor and has solid instructors dedicated to covering most buy in levels. PokerSavvy Plus has Ansky and Foucault and a a fairly deep cash archive with a nice mix of one-shot videos and more concept-based videos. LeggoPoker has aeJones and a nice mix of midstakes winning regulars, but focuses mostly on session reviews.

All sites have extensive coverage of heads up and six max play; CardRunners has an edge when it comes to full-ring play.

Price-wise, there’s not a ton of difference; the range is about $24-$32 a month, with DeucesCracked, PokerSavvy and Leggo coming in at the cheapest end of the scale and DC and BlueFire and CardRunners looking pretty similar at the $30ish end of the scale. However, CardRunners has a deal with Full Tilt Poker – you can earn free months of CardRunners memberships by hitting certain Full Tilt Point goals, so if you’re playing a bunch at Full Tilt, CardRunners is the cheapest.

Get full details on earning free memberships at CardRunners with FTP play here.

If you had an unlimited budget, I’d suggest all three. Assuming you don’t, it’s a tough call between the four. I’d grind a bit on FTP to earn the free membership at CardRunners and then pony up for a BlueFire subscription if I was already an advanced player and opt for PokerSavvy if I was looking to work more on fundamentals.

You can also purchase a subscription to BlueFirePoker using PartTimePoker Rakeback points.

You are primarily a nl holdem cash game player at micro stakes
In this case, the decision comes down to CardRunners and GrinderSchool. CardRunners has fairly good coverage of micro-stakes, and GrinderSchool is basically devoted primarily to micro to low stakes. Play at micro limits tends to be much different, so it’s important that you’re getting advice from instructors who are familiar with the norms at those levels, and both sites provide that.

Grinder School has payment plans that allow you access to their micro-stakes videos for $10 a month; CardRunners has the option of earning free months via FTP. If you’re already playing at FTP at a volume that can earn you free months, CardRunners is probably the way to go. If not, it’s a close call between CardRunners and GrinderSchool and likely comes down to whether or not you a) have a couple extra bucks a month to spend and b) are interested in the rest of the CardRunners archive (well over a thousand videos versus a bit over 200 for GS).

Turns out Phil (aka mrsweets / OMGCLAYAIKEN) had plans to develop a site of his own, plans that became public with the highly anticipated launch of BlueFire Poker in early 2009.

Tip: Get training site memberships FREE with PTP Rake Rewards.

Summary

Cost: $29 a month plus $99 sign up fee, discounts for 6 and 12 month advance payments
New Videos: 4-5 a week
Hand Replayer: Yes
Core Focus: Cash games
Notable Pros: Galfond (!), Samoleus, Giggy
Video Quality: High
Download / Streaming: Both available
Archive Size: ~400 videos

Overall Ranking
BlueFire gets an overall score of 95/100 from the PTP Staff.

Sit and Go Coverage
BFP recently added an extensive SNG team to their roster, so expect increased SNG coverage over the next few months.

MTT Coverage
BFP hasn’t developed much MTT coverage as of yet.

Cash coverage
This is the core focus of BlueFire, and they’ve assembled an impressive team. To be honest, I’d pay the money just to see 5 videos a month from Galfond, but the rest of the starting roster boasts pretty impressive resumes as well. Low to midstakes players will be especially interested in the Giggy videos.

BFP does a pretty good job of balancing varying formats and buy in levels – you can watch Galfond at the nosebleeds (and some levels below) and then fire up a SoCalQuest video covering .25/.50 NL immediately following.

Non-holdem game coverage
PLO gets a lot of attention on BFP, but there’s not much in the way of other games. It should be noted that Galfond’s extensive PLO record makes this site a unique resource for PLO players.

Pros
The heart of the site is, at the moment, Galfond. Truth be told, if you’re going to build your site around one pro, Phil is a pretty damn good one to pick, so this is a massive asset for the site.

I like the design – it’s clean, easy to navigate and does a good job of suggesting related videos without crowding the scene. The videos are by and large well-produced and feel well-thought out, as opposed to the rambling messes you’ll sometimes find populating the release pages of some other training sites. The videos are all DRM-free as well, which is a nice bonus.

There’s some supplemental content – blogs and articles – that add to the value of the site, if you’re interested in that sort of reading. There are also forums, which offer users a great opportunity to interact with the Bluefire pros.

Cons
Basically the only drawback to the site right now is its newness – you just don’t get the depth of archives that you’ll find on some other sites. The video release frequency is a little lower as well, but BFP seems to have a quality over quantity mentality that makes the release frequency pretty much a non-issue, in my opinion.

As mentioned above, the core of the site is cash games, so if you’re a tournament player or mix formats and want a site that covers both cash and tournament play, BFP isn’t for you.

Overall
BFP hits the higher end of the market price-point wise. That said, serious cash game players (or those attempting to become such) are doing themselves a serious disservice if they pass up the opportunity to get inside the head of Galfond and co.

Visit Blue Fire Poker.

Don’t Forget: Memberships to trainings sites like this are available free via PTP Rake Rewards.

FTPA also includes interactive content in the form of ’skill challenges.’ Completing part or all of the challenge earns you points that can be spent in the FTPA store (still in beta). Store items look to eventually include things such as Cardrunners memberships, FTP points, FTP gear, and so on.

The FTPA offers players another reason to consider playing poker at Full Tilt. Sign up for Full Tilt Poker through PartTimePoker and you’ll automatically receive:

- A deposit bonus of 100% up to $600
- 27% rakeback on cash play and tournament play, deposited weekly into your account.

Sign up for FTP here.

Poker training sites continue to grow in popularity, with new sites springing up on a regular basis to meet the increasing demand. A relatively new entrant into the field is PokerPwnage, a MTT-focused training site that’s now approaching its first anniversary.

Visit PokerPwnage.

Summary

Cost: $35 signup, $25 a month – signup fee waived with 6-12 months upfront.
New Videos: Roughly 3-5 a week
Hand Replayer: No
Core Focus: MTTs
Notable Pros: GhettoFabulous, USCPhildo, Assassinato, +more
Video Quality: High
Download / Streaming: Streaming only
Archive Size: ~200 videos

Overall Ranking

PokerPwnage gets an overall score of 86/100 from the PTP Staff

Sit and Go Coverage

PP has some SNG coverage, but the focus of the site is primarily on MTTs, so even the SNG coverage focuses on MTT SNGs.

MTT Coverage

The heart of PP. The site has a great core of videos focusing on MTT play from a roster of very successful players who have a variety of styles. You’ll also get videos that span a wide spectrum of buyins, field sizes, and formats.

Cash coverage

Limited at the time of this review.

Non-holdem game coverage

Limited at the time of this review.

Pros

This is one of the best rosters of MTT instructors online, hands down. The videos from USCPhildo and GhettoFabulous are worth the price of admission alone, in my opinion; adding well-known players like TitanTom, Sketchy1 and Assassinato only increases the value.

The variety of MTT coverage is also an asset – you get a nice mix of live recording, hand history reviews, deep runs in major tournaments like the Sunday Million and shorter runs in low buyin tournaments. If you’re a MTT player, you will find useful advice here.

Most instructors are also available for coaching.

Cons

The relative newness of the site means the archive isn’t as deep as other sites, but that problem will diminish with time.

The focus on MTTs is great if you’re exclusively a MTT player, but undermines the value a bit if you’re looking for help across a variety of games and formats.

The navigation of the videos felt a little under-developed – sorting options were limited.

Overall

If you play MTTs online, this is a resource you can’t afford to ignore.

Get Free PokerPwnage Subscriptions with the PartTimePoker Rakeback Rewards Program!

Visit Leggo Poker.

Summary

Cost: $30 a month (small discounts for 6/12 month upfront)
New Videos: Every weekday +
Hand Replayer: No
Core Focus: Cash games
Notable Pros: MYNAMEIZGREG, aejones, luckychewy
Video Quality: High
Download / Streaming: Both available
Archive Size: 600+ videos

Overall Ranking

LeggoPoker gets an overall score of 90/100 from the PTP Staff

Sit and Go Coverage

LP focuses primarily on cash games. No SNG coverage as of this review.

MTT Coverage

Same as above, except LP does have a handful of MTT videos.

Cash coverage

The core focus of LP. A good mix of low to mid-stakes no limit cash coverage at HU, 6 max and full ring.

Non-holdem game coverage

A dozen or so PLO videos, but not much for other non-holdem games.

Pros

While Leggo Poker has been around for a bit now, it’s a relatively recent entrant into the online poker training market. That said, they’re certainly getting off on the right foot. They’ve assembled a team of instructors who, while light on name-brand recognition, are heavy on skill and teaching ability. Videos are focused, clearly articulated and professionally done.

Leggo is also working to create a full suite of resources for their community. They offer custom coaching programs, a hand converter, a mod and hot key script database, blogs from their instructors and an active forums where instructors participate on a regular basis. While it’s still early in the development of the site, they certainly seem to have good ideas about offering a comprehensive learning experience for users.

The specific focus on no limit cash is also an asset, as it keeps the videos and community discussions all working toward a fairly narrow goal, which allows the site to offer a greater depth of knowledge and insight than some sites with a more generalist focus.

No sign up fee.

Cons

The majority of issues I have with the site are likely a result of growing pains, and it seems like LP is already moving to correct them. One example is the lack of a framework for instruction – while sites like Stox and DeucesCracked are evolving into sites that offer a curriculum, the meta-structure for LP is still evolving.

This is a site geared to cash game players, so if you can only afford one subscription and want broad coverage, you might want to think twice.

Overall

If you’re a low to mid-stakes no limit cash player and you’re looking to get insights from regular winners at those games, Leggo Poker will be a worthwhile investment that should pay for itself in short order. Plus, no signup fee.

Visit Leggo Poker.

Visit Poker Savvy Plus.

Summary

Cost: ~$24.99 a month (no signup fee)
New Videos: Every weekday +
Hand Replayer: No
Core Focus: Cash games
Notable Pros: Bond18, Foucault, Sir Watts, Isaac Haxton, + others
Video Quality: High
Download / Streaming: Download or streaming
Archive Size: ~500 videos

Overall Ranking

PokerSavvy+ gets an overall score of 90/100 from the PTP Staff

Sit and Go Coverage

PS+ has basically no SNG coverage as of the time of this review.

MTT Coverage

PS+ focuses primarily on cash, but has a growing MTT archive. Justin Rollo is the resident MTT pro, and the site seems intent on snagging quality guest pros (like Bond18) to round out the roster. Dani Stern chips in a few tournament videos as well.

Cash coverage

Extensive. PS+ has one of the most talented cash game staffs online. Dani Stern, Isaac Haxton, Evan Roberts and Chris Rhodes form the core of a roster that provides great coverage of no limit full to short to HU, along with solid limit coverage as well.

Non-holdem game coverage

Omaha coverage is growing, especially with the addition of Matusow. No coverage to mention for non-standard games.

Pros

The roster at PS+ is the biggest advantage the site has over some competitors. These aren’t just good players – they’re good teachers who are in touch with a wide range of skills and strategies and more than able to communicate their knowledge in the video format. What’s even more encouraging is that Poker Savvy Plus seems focused on continuing to expand their roster of pros and dedicated to bringing users a nice stable of guest pros as well.

The site is nice and stripped down, making it easy to navigate. Videos are easy to find and sort, and supplemental material is well organized and labeled. The pros participate frequently and substantially in the forums, and the pro blog area is active as well.

I’m not sure exactly why this is the case, but the high-stakes cash game instructors at PS+ seem more in touch with lower stakes when they drop down for a video – an instructional aspect that’s certainly lacking from some other training sites.

The lack of a sign up fee and the obvious dedication to ongoing improvement (along with all of the above) makes this site a solid value. PS+ also offers a 7 day free trial.

Cons

The relative newness of the site means that the video archive is a little thinner than some other major sites, but with the current rate of output, that shouldn’t be an issue for long.

PokerSavvy+ offers a bit of a simplified version of the online poker training model, which can be a pro or a con depending on your preference. The site doesn’t situate videos (or other content) within any type of a broader curriculum. Instead, videos are generally stand-alone entities with a generalized focus.

Overall

An extremely solid value for the cost. I’d imagine that the lack of a sign up free and free trial offer will end sooner than later, so I’d look to invest in the site quickly.

Visit Poker Savvy Plus.

You can earn free memberships to online training sites simply by getting rakeback through PTP – and you’ll earn hundreds or more to boot in cash. Learn more about all of our exclusive rakeback deals, powered by PartTimePoker and RakeBackNation, by completing the form below:

While training sites are an invaluable tool for most players, their cost is not insignificant – the signup fees alone can represent a decent chunk of a typical player’s bankroll. Hopefully this article will provide a bit of additional insight that will allow you to deploy those hard-won dollars for their greatest benefit possible to your game.

Some notes on this table … Pricing: Most sites offer some discounts for multiple month purchases, etc, so our cost reflects an average price. Rating: Ratings are based on the utility of the site for an average poker player, so a site that covers many formats and limits (Cardrunners) will rate higher than a specialized site with videos of equal, or even superior, quality (PokerXFactor). Recency: We do our best to keep this information up to date, but sites are dynamic. Confirm the information provided at the site itself before signing up.

Note: We’ve recently launched a promo with Cardrunners that allows you to earn free CR memberships by playing on Full tilt Poker. Read more about how to earn free Cardrunners here.

We also offer memberships to several of the below sites as products in our Rake Rewards store. Read more about Rake Rewards here.

Click on the name of any site listed for a full review of that site.

See an error in this table? Want to suggest a site for inclusion? Contact us.