Phil Galfond - Ask Me Anything!

[dlam]

Hi Phil
Can you share which players you consider to be toughest to play against?
Which poker games are your favourite?

 

[Alucard]

Hey Phil!
Great admirer here.
I've been very interesting in the new rio poker site you are creating.
And love the fact you'd be giving away so much rakeback for streaming. I think it's a very cool idea. Which even made me feel that I should stream as well.

Looking forward to new updates.

Wish you all the best! GL!

 

[mtmigmike]

I play freeroll, but never won prizes, can you tell what some tactics of the game to win freeroll?

 

[Figaroo2]

Welcome Phil
Always glad to have another poker guru brain to pick.
I will have a look at your training material.
Funny was that I was off work recently with a busted ankle and watched enless episodes of High stakes poker on You Tube and you were in some of them, looking young and nervous...

So I have over 2 million hands online since 2008, primarily full ring cash games, winning modestly at all levels up to 100nl. I have been through several training courses and have an excellent peer group and mentor around me. I have read and studied the game widely and understand the game well.... but... I still have trouble with aggression issues, my stats are passive and my non showdown red line is bad and I have trouble pulling the trigger on river bluffs when I know I should be bluffing.
So do you have any tips for working on increasing aggression and dragging me out of my comfort zones , particularly from the BB where historically i'm -45bb/100

 

[PhilGalfond]

Hi Phil
Can you share which players you consider to be toughest to play against?
Which poker games are your favourite?

I find Ben Sulsky (sauce123) and Ben Tollerene (Ben86) toughest to play against.

I actually enjoy a lot of poker games, but my favorite is definitely still PLO. I like 2-7 Triple Draw a lot, and I enjoy Limit o/8 but I'm bad at it

 

[PhilGalfond]

Hey Phil!
Great admirer here.
I've been very interesting in the new rio poker site you are creating.
And love the fact you'd be giving away so much rakeback for streaming. I think it's a very cool idea. Which even made me feel that I should stream as well.

Looking forward to new updates.

Wish you all the best! GL!

Hey Alucard. Thank you!


I'm glad you're inspired to (potentially) stream! That's the exact response we were hoping for from people like you when we came up with the program.

 

[andrewallenschutter]

What is the best bankroll management strategy you have for someone who is trying to build a bankroll?

 

[fa1920]

Hi, what's up Phil? I have a very curious question, how friendly are you with Elias? Better known as Zeros or SinKarma

 

[PhilGalfond]

I play freeroll, but never won prizes, can you tell what some tactics of the game to win freeroll?

The great thing about freerolls is that you can just keep trying and it won't cost you anything

People are going to play more wild in freerolls than in real-money settings, so I'd suggest playing strong hands and trying to get a lot of value with them. I'd avoid preflop stealing and most bluffing in general, at least until the end when people are taking it more seriously.

 

[PhilGalfond]

Welcome Phil
Always glad to have another poker guru brain to pick.
I will have a look at your training material.
Funny was that I was off work recently with a busted ankle and watched enless episodes of High stakes poker on You Tube and you were in some of them, looking young and nervous...

So I have over 2 million hands online since 2008, primarily full ring cash games, winning modestly at all levels up to 100nl. I have been through several training courses and have an excellent peer group and mentor around me. I have read and studied the game widely and understand the game well.... but... I still have trouble with aggression issues, my stats are passive and my non showdown red line is bad and I have trouble pulling the trigger on river bluffs when I know I should be bluffing.
So do you have any tips for working on increasing aggression and dragging me out of my comfort zones , particularly from the BB where historically i'm -45bb/100

Ah, I miss the young and nervous days. Now I'm just old and nervous

I can very much relate to your aggression issues - I'm the exact same way!

It has taken a lot of effort for me to up the aggression in my own game to the level it needs to be. I like to ask myself, when I'm considering a bluff that I don't want to make, "Do I not want to make this bluff because I don't think it's the best play, or is it because I don't like how it feels?"

If my answer is the latter, I make sure I pull the trigger and tell myself that whatever happens is okay because I made the best play that I can.

In other words, I don't avoid or attempt to bury my emotions - quite the opposite! I try to address and identify what I'm feeling and make the best play that I can logically, sometimes in spite of those feelings. This kind of self-awareness (which you clearly already possess some of) helps me push myself outside my comfort zone.

I think different things work for different people. My method may not work as well for you, but the self-awareness I'm talking about will hopefully help you find a method that does.

 

[BriceNice]

How does it make you feel, knowing your great great great great great great great grandfather was the wizard from lord of the rings?

 

[romjkenlol]

Hey, everyone! I'm new to CardsChat, but I've long been familiar with your community.

I did an interview based on your questions, which I really enjoyed, a few years ago: https://www.cardschat.com/forum/poker-news-events-63/

I've been a poker pro for 15 years, and have played everything from small stakes online SNGs to high roller MTTs, but my expertise is mostly in high stakes cash games, both online and live.

For the past six years, I've also been trying my hand at some business ventures.

I founded Run It Once Training, which has been the leading poker training site for the overwhelming majority of those six years. More recently, we launched Draftboard, a Daily Fantasy Sports site, and have been working hard on launching Run It Once Poker, an online poker site.

Also launching a baby in December

Ask me anything!

Also, I wanted to throw in a Run It Once offer for CardsChat members:

If you're a new user and Sign up for a month of either our Essential plan ($24.99/mo) or our Elite plan ($99.99/mo), you'll get the 2nd month of that plan on us.

To get your free month:​

• Use this Run It Once link
• Sign up for either the Essential or Elite plan.
• Post your Run It Once username in this thread & we’ll credit you with your free 2nd month.

Please feel free to email support@runitonce.com with anything and we'll be happy to help.

I'm looking forward to answering your questions and getting to know you!

How play with small pair

 

[playinggameswithu]

What are some tips you have for PLO? Like never 3 bet OOP,dont play pre flop poker in PLO, Aces are just pocket 44's, position is super important. Etc?

 

[paulw]

Hi Phill,

I have been with your site for 3 weeks now, and must admit I love it, mind some of it is for far more advanced players than I will ever be, but I can get loads off stuff from it that I can clearly understand, I really enjoy the learning Paths side of the site, but already I have my favourites pro's that I regular watch,

Ryan Martin, makes coaching look so easy, he is so clear to understand, he makes great
videos really enjoy watching him

Peter Clarke also looks to be a great coach, and I enjoy watching his small stakes cash history reviews.

I suppose the video that I have enjoyed most up to now is the Ryan Laplante Fundamentals of MTT 3-betting, it really helps you look into the mind of how an elete player approaches the game with his 3 betting ranges from each position of the table, I like many, would love to see a follow up of this video.

Really glad I joined your site Phill, its first class

cheers paulw

 

[paulw]

Hi Phill,

I have been with your site for 3 weeks now, and must admit I love it, mind some of it is for far more advanced players than I will ever be, but I can get loads off stuff from it that I can clearly understand, I really enjoy the learning Paths side of the site, but already I have my favourites pro's that I regular watch,

Ryan Martin, makes coaching look so easy, he is so clear to understand, he makes great
videos really enjoy watching him

Peter Clarke also looks to be a great coach, and I enjoy watching his small stakes cash history reviews.

I suppose the video that I have enjoyed most up to now is the Ryan Laplante Fundamentals of MTT 3-betting, it really helps you look into the mind of how an elete player approaches the game, with his 3 betting ranges from each position on the table, I like many, would love to see a follow up of this video.

Really glad I joined your site Phill, its first class

cheers paulw

 

[Ahoy]

Hello Phil!

I have been playing poker actively since early 2018 and I tried both Cash and tournaments NLHE.

The farthest I managed to climb was to 10NL zoom on stars, beating it at a decent winrate. I have one question:

I really struggle when playing super-fishy fields. I moved my BR to betting sites where people are known to mostly play horribly, but there is a lot of limping going ahead, a lot of random calling and stupid folding. While winning pretty decently at 10NLzoom stars which I consider pretty decent, I cant seem to be winning at these betting sites with all the fish around me.

While playing zoom I mostly capitalised on being really aggresive esp. preflop and on the flop, stealing and restealing a lot and also raising C-bets on particular board textures. I also put in a lot of time into studying the general player pool tendencies and tried to adapt based on that. However, nothing of this works on the fishy sites.

Could you please recommend me something that could help me with this issue?
Thanks!

Btw I have been a RIO subscriber in my very beginnings. I found the content very valuable, but very complex for my that-time level of play. I might look into it now that I got a bit better. Thanks!

 

[PhilGalfond]

What is the best bankroll management strategy you have for someone who is trying to build a bankroll?

I'm not sure I'm the best person to ask, as my BR management over the years has been a bit irresponsible

Something like 50 buyins for NL cash and 100 buyins for PLO cash sounds reasonable to me, along with a willingness to move down when you're at those requirements for the stake level below yours. I'm not knowledgeable about MTT requirements so I'm hesitant to wager a guess.

 

[PhilGalfond]

Hi, what's up Phil? I have a very curious question, how friendly are you with Elias? Better known as Zeros or SinKarma

I've never met Elias in person, but we talk online every once in a while and I certainly consider him a friend. Elias is awesome!

 

[PhilGalfond]

How does it make you feel, knowing your great great great great great great great grandfather was the wizard from lord of the rings?

Very #proud

 

[PhilGalfond]

How play with small pair

Call

 

[PhilGalfond]

Hi Phill,

I have been with your site for 3 weeks now, and must admit I love it, mind some of it is for far more advanced players than I will ever be, but I can get loads off stuff from it that I can clearly understand, I really enjoy the learning Paths side of the site, but already I have my favourites pro's that I regular watch,

Ryan Martin, makes coaching look so easy, he is so clear to understand, he makes great
videos really enjoy watching him

Peter Clarke also looks to be a great coach, and I enjoy watching his small stakes cash history reviews.

I suppose the video that I have enjoyed most up to now is the Ryan Laplante Fundamentals of MTT 3-betting, it really helps you look into the mind of how an elete player approaches the game, with his 3 betting ranges from each position on the table, I like many, would love to see a follow up of this video.

Really glad I joined your site Phill, its first class

cheers paulw

Awesome! Thank you, Paul, and I'm glad you're getting a lot out of Run It Once!

Did you take advantage of our offer in my OP above? If you signed up after I posted, you can get an extra month free.

I love getting feedback on parts of the site people find useful, as well as which pros they like most. It sounds like Learning Paths were helpful as you got started but less so now that you've got your go-to pros?

You listed some great coaches. We've got a very cool series on the way from Peter Clarke in the not-so-distant future!

 

[Figaroo2]

signed up

Phil
I have signed up for the Essentials program.
My username will be Figaroo2 (the same as on here on CC)
I would like to claim a the free month as you have indicated in the opening of the thread.
Thank you

 

[rgp007]

Congratulations on your brilliant career.


1 - How do you see this fashion moment of tournaments? Everyone joking about it. Will the cash game boil again or not?

2 - Which countries have the most cash games (live) soft today?

3 - How do you see the issue of bots with cash games online.

 

[RunItOnce_James]

Phil
I have signed up for the Essentials program.
My username will be Figaroo2 (the same as on here on CC)
I would like to claim a the free month as you have indicated in the opening of the thread.
Thank you

I just took care of crediting you your free month Figaroo, you're all set. Feel free to PM me on Run It Once (James Hudson there) if you have any questions about the site or the content.

 

[TheHulk7]

Congrats Figaroo, you have chosen an excellent training site. There is some videos from Apotheosis - Chris Kruk, in my opinion one of the best, don't forget to check it out.

Question for Phil, would you sell your wsop bracelet? If you can, please briefly explain why yes or no. Thanks