Alec Torelli
- Entrepreneur, Keynote Speaker and Co-Founder at Spinther LLC
Poker pro & coach | speaker & author.
Lessons from poker on decision making and risk.
Founder @ConsciousPoker
Code "ALEC" on @phenompokerapp
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Articles by Alec Torelli
A Complete Guide to Poker Table Positions
Download Article Learn ll the poker positions & which ones have the biggest advantage Download Article If you’re ready to try your hand at poker, you’ll need to know about the different positions at a poker table. It may seem a bit confusing, but don’t fret. We’ve partnered with a professional poker player to explain poker positions and their advantages. In this guide, we’ll provide a breakdown of the for a 9-handed table and (early, middle, late, blinds).
How to Play Texas Hold’em Poker for Beginners
1 Play with a standard 52-card deck and use poker chips to place bets. For a regular game of Texas Hold’em (and most other poker games), use a standard 52-card deck with the Jokers removed. To make your game feel like a real tournament, use poker chips to place your bets (if you don’t have any, though, you can use anything you like—coins, game pieces, or any little knick-knacks you can find work!).[1] In a pro game at a poker club or casino, it’s common to use 2 decks with different colored backs.
Poker Cheat Sheets: Hand Ranks, Odds, & Table Positions
Download Article Learn the winning hands and strategies for poker with our pro tips Download Article If you want to improve your poker game and have better chances at winning the pot, using a cheat sheet is perfect for beginners. Cheat sheets help you learn the different and the best things to do based on your , and we’ve got everything you need to know all in one place! Keep reading to learn the different poker hands from highest to lowest, the best starting hands, and how to for each hand.
Alec Torelli: If I could go back, I'd tell my younger self two things
Poker has evolved more in the past ten years than in the hundred before them. Solvers changed everything. Before solvers, poker strategy was an art passed among a small group of elite pros testing new ideas in live and online games. Concepts spread through a kind of telephone game — starting in high-stakes online MTTs and cash games, then filtering down through training sites, streams, casinos, and eventually to local home games. By the time they reached the masses, the message had changed.
Mastering the Mindset: How to Stay Focused and Play Consistent A-Game Poker
Today, I want to talk about a topic that's crucial for any poker player looking to elevate their game: mastering your mindset. Consistently playing your A-game isn’t just about strategy and skill; it’s also about maintaining mental focus and composure, especially during crucial sessions and key moments where the pressure is turned on. We all can relate to the feeling of being a deer in headlights, sitting there on the river facing a big bet and “going blank.” You go deep in the tank but freeze up.
Back in Time: Analyzing a Key Hand from the 2023 WSOP Main Event
It’s that season again. All eyes are on the WSOP, in particular the Main Event. As I prepare once more for the epic battle ahead, I’m reviewing my notes from my 11th-place finish last year. As my readers know, I document every hand I play (60+ poker hands per day over 8 days) and study them diligently. In the meantime, I want to share a crucial hand I played on Day 5, which propelled me forward.
How to Master the Art of Hand Reading in Poker
Today, I want to share with you a system that has been instrumental in my success at the poker table: my “Hand Range Funnel.” This methodical approach has helped me navigate some of the biggest games in the world, including my 11th-place finish in the 2023 World Series of Poker Main Event, and I'm confident it can elevate your poker game as well. Hand reading is arguably the most critical skill in poker. It allows you to make informed decisions and exploit your opponents effectively.
A Poker Players Guide to Investing in Options
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📺 Nik Airball Is PISSED OFF With Mariano On The Poker Table
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The Ultimate Guide to $FOCUS | Decentralized Social Media
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How to Find Better Deal Flow
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How to Manage a Venture Portfolio
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This Hidden Principle is the Key to Making Profitable Investments
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The Ultimate Guide to Friend Tech
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The Greatest Bet in the History of the World
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The World on a Bitcoin Standard | The Future of Money P12
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The Next Crypto Cycle
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This Nootropic Company is About to Explode | Natural Stacks Review
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All Roads Lead to Bitcoin
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I Meditated Every Day for 8 Years. Here's What I Learned.
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5 Factors for Choosing the Best Housing Market in 2023
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Everything Has a Price
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How African Scams Make Me Bullish On Bitcoin
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How Game Theory Applies to Investing
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5 Tips to Win in a Bear Market
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Heads Up With Jonathan Little: An Exclusive Interview
PokerNews India went heads up with 2-time WPT winner, Jonathan Little for an exclusive interview on his life journey as a poker player. He’s a stalwart of the global poker community and above all a really nice guy to know! He’s the author of numerous bestselling poker strategy books and also one of the best poker coaches on the circuit today. Following is our chat: PokerNews India: Tell us about your poker journey thus far?
The Hand I’ll Never Forget: Around The World With Jaime Staples
It’s the hand that put you into the money. Or the two cards that propelled you to a nice cash. Everyone has “the hand” — that one that you remember no matter how many tournaments or cash games played. PokerNews takes a look at those hands that stick with players and relive the glory, or misery, depending on the results. Jaime Staples, who hails from Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, is one of the young players bringing poker to the Twitch generation and helping to grow the game among the gaming crowd.
Win Your Seat to the Lucky Hearts Poker Open at Seminole Hard Rock
Attention PokerNews Members! Enter here for your chance to win a $3,500 seat in the Lucky Hearts Poker Open $2 Million Guaranteed Championship now! Tournament poker returns to Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida from Jan. 11 – Jan. 24, 2017 with the Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open (LHPO).
Learning How to Read Your Own Range; or, Think With Your Hands
When making a postflop decision, it's important that you think not just about what hands your opponent could have, but also about your own range. Think of the strongest hand you can have in a given spot. Think of the weakest. Now look at the hand you actually have. Where along the way does it lie? If we think of the times you raise the button, maybe your range starts at pocket aces and ends at -offsuit or -suited.
Join in the RedKings Christmas and New Year Celebrations
RedKings is delighted that the festive season is upon us and is asking you to celebrate Christmas and the New Year with them. Running on Christmas Day, Dec. 25, are two special freerolls for you to play while munching on your Christmas dinner. At 3:00 p.m. on Dec. 25, the Christmas Turkey €500 Freeroll 1 kicks off. Five hours later at 8:00 p.m., the Christmas Turkey Freeroll 2 shuffles up and deals. Both are free to enter and have €500 added to the prize pool.
PokerStars $25M GTD Winter Series Kicks Off on Christmas Day
Winter is here but fear not, for those of you who live beyond the wall of the United States and in a jurisdiction where PokerStars operates, can play in the site’s final series of 2017. PokerStars is wrapping up an eventful year with their third-largest series, guaranteeing over $25 million across 152 events starting on Christmas Day, Dec. 25. The two-week-long Winter Series runs through Jan. 7 with four separate buy-in tiers, each with 38 events to choose from.
Tim Mitchell Wins 2017 WSOP Sydney Monster Stack for $88,684
The two-day 2017 WSOP Sydney Monster Stack Event took place in a packed Star Poker Room where the Main Event was also underway this weekend. The field was one of the largest of the series, welcoming 403 players to the felt to climb their way to the top prize of $88,684. This event brought in plenty of local and national poker talent including Tony Hachem, Gary Benson, and Mitchell Watson. Day 1 saw some aggressive action as is often the case when players are armed with a large stack of chips.
Daniel Negreanu Reacts to Big Changes Coming to PokerStars Events
The PokerStars Players No Limit Hold'em Championship Trailer begins, "A poker tournament is the ultimate player competition." With the announcement earlier today, PokerStars is showing its commitment to its player community by not only bringing back its most popular tours, but by creating the ultimate player competition with the PokerStars Players Championship set to debut on January 19th.
Three More Key Ingredients of Successful Bluffing
In my last column I wrote about the three key ingredients for successful bluffing: telling a convincing story about your hand, considering how bluffable your opponent is, and considering your image in your opponent's mind (including how tight he thinks you are). In this column we'll address three more ingredients that you should consider when you bluff: your opponent's likely strength, your position, and your back-up plan.
Circuit Grinder Suing Caesars for Fraud
A poker player who qualified for the World Series of Poker Global Casino Championship and was subsequently banned from the event by Caesars has brought suit against the company for fraud and other charges, according to court documents obtained by PokerNews. Robert Anthony "Tony" Lay seeks an unspecified amount in excess of $75,000 for damages he contends were inflicted upon by Caesars.
Energy’s 25 Prizes of Christmas
Remember when you were a kid and you would come home from school around December 1st to find the house suddenly decorated and there, by the tree or on your bed, was a Christmas calendar? Do you miss those days?
2017 PokerNews Holiday Gift #5: Harry's Razors
Sick of overpaying for razors? You’re in luck, because Harry’s is here to help. Harry’s is so confident that you will love their blades, they are offering a trial shave set for free when you sign up at Harrys.com/pokernews and pay for shipping only. Jeff and Andy are two ordinary guys that started Harry’s to fix shaving, fed up with paying for overpriced razors.
Win a Free Package to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure!
Don't let the winter blues get you down. You can get out of the cold and into the sun on a perfect poker getaway to the Bahamas and play in the $10,300 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event at the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort on Jan. 9-14. The best part of it all, is thanks to the relationship we enjoy with PokerStars, you can potentially pack your bags for a tropical poker vacation of a lifetime absolutely for free, and here's how. From Dec. 1 to Dec.
£400K Grosvenor UK Poker Tour Grand Final Runs Nov. 23-26
The curtain comes down on another successful Grosvenor UK Poker Tour season this week with the £400,000 guaranteed 2017 GUKPT Grand Final at The Poker Room, formerly known as The Vic, in the heart of the British capital. This has been the 10th consecutive season of the GUKPT and the tour continues to thrive. Each of the nine legs hit their guarantees (£100,000 for the £550 buy-in events and £200,000 for the £1,100 buy-in events) with some blowing the guarantees clean out of the water.
Hand Review: Two Monster Hands Clash in WSOPE Main Event
Covering live poker tournaments for a living affords me the opportunity to see countless thousands of hands played out, many of which offer interesting and potentially valuable insights into how players — both amateurs and professionals — play the game. In this ongoing series, I'll highlight hands I've seen at the tournaments I've covered and see if we can glean anything useful from them.
Forecasting Pennsylvania's Online Poker Marketplace
At the end of October, Pennsylvania became the fourth U.S. state to legalize Internet gambling after the state's Senate and House of Representatives approved a gaming bill and Governor Tom Wolf signed it into law.
Taiwain's Lin Hong Chang Wins 2017 BPT Macau Final for HK$1.27 Million
Taiwanese poker player Lin Hong Chang became the champion of the 2017 Boyaa Poker Tour Macau Final on Wednesday, Nov. 1, putting to an end the five days of poker tournament organized by Boyaa at the Babylon Casino in Macau. The final table of the 2017 BPT Macau Final started at 1:30 p.m. with nine players coming from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, Romania, China and Korea, respectively.
Is it Time? Should the 'Action Clock' Become Standard in Tournaments?
Among the many changes and innovations brought to tournament poker over recent years has been the introduction of a “shot clock” or (more appropriately) an “action clock” that sets a limit on the amount of time players have to make decisions. After years of experimentation with action clocks, it has now become a common feature on several tours, especially in high rollers but also in main events (such as on the World Poker Tour).
The $1 Million Red Spade Open Returns to PokerStars Dec. 4
PokerStars is bringing back the $1 million guaranteed Red Spade Open in December after the $55 buy-in tournament took a hiatus in 2016. A staple at PokerStars every autumn since its debut in 2011, the event did not take place in 2016, but is back in the Events tab of the PokerStars client with satellites already running. PokerStars launched the Red Spade Open event just six months after Black Friday in 2011, and began as a $55 buy-in $1 million guarantee with a $200,000 first-place prize.
Three Reasons to Travel to WPT Uruguay
Punta del Este is world famous for its gorgeous beaches, and Enjoy Punta del Este, the resort where WPT Uruguay is being held from October 31 to November 5, is located just steps away. The southern peninsula of Uruguay is engulfed in sun and sand, making Punta del Este the perfect location for your next poker vacation.
Steven Van Zadelhoff Talks Winning WCOOP Main Event, Future Plans
On Sept. 26, 2017, Steven "SvZff" van Zadelhoff won the 2017 World Championship of Online Poker Main Event, besting a field of 2,183 entries who put up $5,200 each. The 38-year-old Dutchman, currently residing in Malta, earned the biggest score of his 15-year poker career and cashed an astonishing $1,624,502. We caught up with Van Zadelhoff and talked about his victory and goals for the near future. PokerNews: First of all, congratulations! How did the WCOOP go?
Negreanu, Monnette Won't Chase Ferguson in WSOP Player of the Year Race
A trip to the European continent brings plenty of bracelet battles this week and may ultimately decide the World Series of Poker Player of the Year. With a few players still in the running, a trip abroad for the World Series of Poker Europe with some nice finishes may ultimately may determine who secures the title. Much of the race was decided in Las Vegas. The player at the top of the leaderboard after the WSOP received a free buy into the €10,000 WSOPE Main Event. The WSOPE kicks off Oct.
Olivier Busquet Goes Undefeated to Claim King of the Hill 2 Title
The finals of King of the Hill II took place at Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as Olivier Busquet and Parker Talbot, aka “TonkaaaaP,” squared off in the finals after winning their first-round matches against Shaun Deeb and defending champ Phil Hellmuth, respectively. Ultimately, Busquet won the second edition of Poker Night in America’s heads-up competition after sweeping both Deeb and Talbot in two matches each.
Cash Game Festival Heads to Dublin Oct. 11 and Tallinn Nov. 15
The Cash Game Festival will be closing out the year with two more stops in Dublin, Ireland on Oct. 11-15 at the Village Green Card Club and in Tallinn, Estonia at the Olympic Park Casino on Nov. 15-19. As has always been the case, the festivals will feature more than 120 hours of nonstop cash game poker action and plenty of side events for players to enjoy away from the tables.
Poker & Pop Culture: Games Among Co-Workers and Friends in TV Sitcoms
Finishing a short survey of television situation comedies that have used poker as a means to generate plots and humorous conflicts, let's look at a few more recent examples — again, all coming from (ultimately) long-running TV series that used poker relatively early in their runs to help establish characters and dynamics between them.
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