Poker Course Review

Progressive knockout tournaments (PKOs) represent an interesting niche within the large MTT group. To play them well, you first need to have a very solid general understanding of MTTs, then you need to understand the bounty format at large, and finally adjust your play for the fact that bounties aren’t static but they change as the event progresses.

Lastly, Phil Ivey reviews many of his most famous million dollar bluffs in in this poker course and tells you exactly what he was thinking at each stage of the hand. This includes famous poker hands against the likes of Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, Tom Dwan and Doug Polk. The Poker Forge is a poker training site set up by Sky Matsuhashi a successful online poker player for over a decade and a half, and a phenomenal instructor. Enrolling with The Poker Forge is very worthwhile investment for those looking to become serious about poker play and take the study process seriously. READ REVIEW COURSE WEBSITE $49/mo.

Because of all these moving parts, bounty builders aren’t the simplest format to master. At the same time, they provide excellent opportunities for those who take the time and effort to master them as there is a lot of money to be won in PKOs.

The Bounty Beast course by Raise Your Edge represents one of the first courses to particularly address progressive knockouts. Presented by “Bencb789”, the head coach at RYE, and “w3c.RaY”, an excellent player and a theoretical physicist with a passion for stats and numbers, the Bounty Beast course provides all the answers you need if you want to achieve success in this particular format.

The course was initially launched in 2018 but given the fact things change to rather quickly in the poker world, it has been since updated with new content. Inside, you’ll find many sections that contain fresh videos alongside “legacy” lessons addressing the same topics.

You should probably take time to go through all of them if you really want to take full advantage of 9+ hours of the materials found inside. That said, newer videos present fresh approaches to various subjects, which have been proven to work better than the ones discussed in legacy lessons. This doesn’t mean that the legacy content is bad, though. It just goes to show that the learning process never ends in poker, even if you’re very good at what you do.

Table Of Contents

• Bounty Beast Course Structure

A Note On Raise Your Edge's Poker Training

There are over 103 poker training sites live on the internet right now (yes, I counted them all) and so there is a huge selection to choose from. Out of all of these training sites, I ranked Raise Your Edge as my #1 poker training resource in 2020, so I am a huge fan of their content, including the Bounty Beast course.

If you would like more information on the best training sites on the market today, make sure you check out that page here.

Bounty Beast at a Glance

As mentioned, the RYE Bounty Beast course contains more than nine hours of video lessons addressing various important topics that will be discussed in more detail later in this review. In addition to these lessons, you’ll also find useful sheets, HUDs, and instructional videos to help you with the tools such as Holdem Resources Calculator (HRC) and ICMIZER.

Knowing how to use these tools is essential to anyone looking to master PKOs and this knowledge is essential to properly review your own hands and analyze different situations away from the tables.

What’s very important to understand about the Bounty Beast course is that this isn’t a general MTT course. Even creators themselves will warn you about it in the introduction video. Materials contained inside aren’t meant for someone who doesn’t already have a solid grasp of poker theory.

If you were to buy this course without a good understanding of fundamental concepts such as hand ranges, equities, and such, you’d have very little use of it and would have hard time keeping up. It is designed specifically to improve your play in PKOs and starts with the idea that you’re already a somewhat solid tournament player.

The final note from Bencb789 and w3c.RaY is to stay open-minded. There are many theories and ideas about PKOs and not all of them are correct. To make most out of the knowledge provided inside, you should be able to give up on some of these ideas and correct your views. This shouldn’t be too hard to do given the fact even the creators themselves were more than happy to revise some of their lessons and offer new strategies, admitting some of their suggestions weren’t optimal (thus some videos were turned into “legacy”).

Content Guideline

The second video in the Introduction section is well worth watching before you move on to the actual meat and potatoes of the Bounty Beast course. The video contains guidelines on how to take full advantage of the course and also provides information about updates that have been introduced since the course first came out.

This video will also give you a quick overview of what you’ll find along the way. It provides a quick breakdown of things discussed in the course, such as:

• Achieving the right mindset, i.e. accepting that you have to put in a lot of work to be good in PKOs, which includes making numerous adjustments your opening and 3-betting ranges.
• Dealing with bounties, i.e. learning to quickly figure out how much the bounty is worth in real-time. You’ll learn about different approaches that exist and which ones work best.
• Other important considerations. How big of an impact do bounties have on a final table of an MTT? How to properly think about bounties and how things start to change when you get onto the final table?

Finally, you’ll get a set of tips and tricks on how to go through the lessons in the most efficient way. There is a lot of content to consume and a lot of it is pretty hardcore math stuff and formulae. You should take your time, make notes, and let things really sink in before moving on.

Bounty Beast Course Structure

The course is split into several main sections, which are further broken down into smaller groups. As mentioned, this isn’t a general MTT course so you will find very little of the general stuff in there. The bulk of the content is focused on progressive knockouts and adjustments needed to thrive in this particular format.

The Math

The first set of lessons focuses on mathematical aspects of MTTs and PKOs. In these lessons, you’ll find the information about how to correctly value bounties in these tournaments and how things change as an event progresses. Due to the nature of PKOs, the bounty pool decreases as more players bust out, which calls for strategy adjustments.

Using programs such as HRC, ICMIZER, and KOculator, the course provides various examples of situations where adjustments need to be made. In this section, you’ll also find a great number of formulae that describe the math behind these adjustments.

This isn’t the most exciting content out there but it is very important. To understand why PKOs are different from regular MTTs, it is essential to understand how two separate prize pools work together. The only way to do this is by using somewhat complex calculations.

As an added benefit, you’ll also learn about pros and cons of these different software solutions. All three programs have their use in terms of figuring out PKO adjustments but they also have certain limitations. Understanding what these are will help you determine what program to use in different spots for your own studying.

This section also covers two very important topics that are essential to any MTT player, not just to someone playing PKOs: ICM and money bubbles.

Although the course is designed in a way that it doesn’t spend too much time on things that you should already know, the topic of ICM is explained very well. Even if you’re new to this concept, you’ll be able to understand it fully just from watching these videos.

The first couple of lessons address the influence of ICM and the bubble factor in general. In every tournament, ICM plays an important role in the decision making processes as it influences hand ranges quite significantly. Only after going through the fundamentals, the course moves on to the specifics of ICM in PKOs.

Using several examples and going back to the things discussed in earlier videos, the course focuses on ICM adjustments that come into play in PKOs. It teaches you how to correctly add bounties to the ICMIZER to get correct results and come up with appropriate ranges.

Differences in Bounty Tournaments

After dealing with the math, the second part of the course focuses on differences between regular and bounty tournaments. By going through some interesting scenarios, you’ll learn about how things change, especially as the tournament progresses and you reach the final table.

One topic that’s discussed at length is the situation where only bounties are left to play for. This isn’t too uncommon as players might deal for the regular prize pool and then continue to play only for bounties. This takes away the ICM pressure so it may not be in your best interest if you’re up against weaker players who could otherwise play too tight.

Another important topic discussed in this section touches upon some of the common leaks and mistakes in PKOs. Players who aren’t experienced with progressive bounties often tend to have certain misconceptions about these tournaments, leading them to make errors such as playing too tight early on and loosening up on the final table.

There is a seemingly reasonable explanation for these mistakes as bounties get bigger on the final table. However, the total bounty pool is actually smaller and your chips have their own value derived from the regular prize pool. So, you’ll learn a lot about why these misconceptions can have a very bad effect on your bottom line and how to get out of that mind frame.

Practical Hands

Like the title of this section suggests, this is where the Raise Your Edge Bounty Beast course moves away from pure theory and addresses some practical hands and scenarios. If you’ve kept up with the theory this far, these hands represent an excellent opportunity to get things to really sink in.

Some of the topics particularly addressed in these lessons are preflop all-ins, adapting your 3-bet ranges, and open jamming.

All three of these areas require certain adjustments in PKOs. Using the same ranges you would in regular MTTs will usually be a mistake. You need to account for the fact players will be widening their calling ranges as they’re going after bounties, there will be more pots going multiway, and certain hands that may be good 3-betting or jamming candidates in a regular MTT may not play well in PKOs at all.

Multiway

The final set of lessons of the Bounty Builder course addresses play in multiway pots, more precisely multiway scenarios involving all-ins. It probably comes as no surprise that these scenarios require certain adjustments as players have much more incentive to get involved in all-in pots in PKOs. Unlike regular MTTs, knocking out a player comes with an additional cash prize, which is something you need to account for in your decisions.

Tool Usage & Bonus

As mentioned in the introduction, the course also offers a number of resources to help you with your future studying. In this section, you’ll find several lessons explaining how to best use tools such as HRC, how to spot and fix any leaks you might have, and more.

You’ll also get a ready-made RYE HUD that you can download and import with no additional effort, which will be useful for all tournaments, not just PKOs. There is also a lengthy PDF file that contains all the PKO math stuff explained in the videos. Since this is probably the most complex part of the entire course, having a readable version you can refer to as well is quite useful.

Final Verdict: Is RYE Bounty Beast Worth Buying?

There isn’t too much content out there addressing progressive knockout tournaments specifically. The Bounty Beast course is one of the rare resources that target this specific niche and does a very good job at it.

That said, you need to keep in mind that this can be quite an intensive course at times.

There is a lot of math and theory involved and if you want to make most out of it, you’ll need to invest time and effort to understand the formulae and really come to terms with them. This isn’t a general MTT course and its real value is hidden exactly in these sometimes complicated explanations of differences you need to understand and adopt.

The Bounty Beast course retails at $997 but you can get $200 off using coupon code HOWTOKO at checkout – $797 for a course which has this much novel content is a very good deal.

If you are into PKOs as it is or see this format as something you really want to try, then this is definitely an excellent course for you and the money spent will be well worth it. But don’t go into it thinking you’ll find a lot of general MTT strategy inside, because you won’t. if you’re struggling with basic concepts such as opening and 3-betting ranges, you’re better off starting with a more general tournament course.

Once you have your fundamentals sorted out and are ready to conquer PKOs, though, go for it. You won’t regret it.

Every year, about a month before the World Series of Poker rolls around, I like to sharpen my skills by reading a poker strategy book. This year, about a month before the WSOP, the stars aligned as a new book hit the market — Ed Miller'sThe Course: Serious Hold'em Strategy for Smart Players.

I've read and enjoyed many of Miller's past works, so it only seemed natural to pick up his ninth book, which focused on teaching smart players how to win playing poker. However, unlike the majority of books, which focus on tournament play, The Course emphasizes cash games; specifically stakes applicable to me like $1/$2 and $2/$5.

If you see Miller's book on the shelf, you'll no doubt think its' a book about golf (just look at the lead image of this article). The title suggests as much, but really it's just reflective of the book's message that in many ways playing poker is like playing golf.

'Just play the course,' Miller explains in the book. 'In poker, the course isn't you opponents, but it is created by your opponents. Your opponents, by the strategies they use to play the game, decide where the sand traps and water hazards go. They also decide where you'll find the fairways and greens. The more flawed your opponents' strategies, the wider the fairways, and the bigger and more forgiving the greens.'

I'm not a golf player, but I still thought the analogy worked nicely. The book itself is, like the title suggest, for smart players. If you're inexperienced and looking to learn poker, this is not the book for you. However, if you're familiar with the basics of the game and occasionally play cash games in a casino environment, then it's right up your alley.

In my experience, the casual player has a difficult time understanding and subsequently moving up from $1/$2 and $1/$3 games. They either wonder what they're doing wrong or what others are doing right. Miller will tell you, and he'll then give you a step-by-step blueprint on the things you need to do if you hope to graduate to $2/$5. He then repeats the process for moving up from $2/$5 to $5/$10.

Among the topics covered are:

• Don't Pay People Off
• Barreling (you really need to know what this is all about if you hope to be a winning player)
• Emotional Numbing
• Exploiting Aggression

Of course that is just a small sample of what's offered. Giving credit where credit is due, The Course has done more for my cash game than any book I've read (to that end I haven't read many that are geared toward live cash-game players). I grinded cash much in recent years, but whenever I squeezed in a session I found myself walking away a losing. It was demoralizing, especially considering I used to do quite well playing cash. I couldn't help but feel like I was missing something.

Fortunately, Miller, who is on the front lines playing cash nearly everyday in Vegas, was able to bring me up to speed rather quickly. I actually read the majority of his book while playing $1/$3, and much to my surprise it had an immediate impact. I would read something, see it happening at the table, and react accordingly. I started to win, and it felt good. Granted, the $44.99 price tag on Amazon is a little steep, but it's more than paid for itself in the few cash games I've played this summer.

Is The Course limited in scope? Yes, it's for cash game players who play specific stakes. However, if that applies to you, I can recommend no better book.

I had the opportunity to speak with Miller about The Course. Here's what he had to say.

PokerNews: You've written so many poker books. What inspired you to write the course?

Miller: Someone emailed me, and he said he was interested in reading my books, but he asked which one did I think he should read first? I realized I didn't have a good answer. I've written about a lot of different poker topics — hand reading, exploiting TAG players, and so forth — but I hadn't really written a book that tied everything together. The big picture book, the one that took you by the hand and showed you, step-by-step, what it takes to beat no-limit cash games from $1-$2 up through $5-$10.

As soon as I realized I hadn't written that book yet, I knew it would be my next one, and that's what ultimately became The Course.

Do you play golf? The analogy you made with poker worked well.

When I was a kid, every Thursday through Sunday it was always on our TV, because my dad loved to watch it. I'm not much of an athlete, but I played quite a bit as a kid as well. I really enjoy the game, and I'd like to pick it back up as an adult some day. I do think poker and golf share a lot in common.

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It seems most strategy books focus either on tournament or online play. However, this book looks at a game most American play. low-limit live hold'em. Do you feel this book is filling a niche?

Absolutely. A lot of poker media and even strategy content focuses on the tournament circuit and professional players, but just like golf in fact, the vast majority of poker players are part-time and recreational players. A lot of these are smart, successful folks in their professional lives, and they want to be competitive and win in everyday live cash games. These are the people I write for and about.

It appears you published this book independently. Can you talk a little about the current publishing landscape in the poker world and why you opted to go the route you did?

I've been self-publishing for the last five years, and this is my fourth book that's completely self-published. The book business has undergone an absolutely massive change in the past ten years, with Borders going out of business and Amazon all but taking over. During that decade, self-publishing has gone from a cumbersome and unattractive option to, in my opinion, the absolute clearly best option for most authors like me. I'm always happy to talk about self-publishing with anyone who is interested.

You're always writing, so there must be another book in the pipeline. Is that the case? If so, can you give us any idea what you're working on?

Sure. By popular demand, I am planning to write a shorter, mini-book on winning in very loose small stakes no-limit games. After that, I'm not sure, but I have a few ideas kicking around.

Will we see you playing at the World Series of Poker this summer?

Yeah. I'm planning to play the Main Event, and I should be in and out of cash games all summer.

To pick up your copy of Ed Miller's The Course, visit PokerNews' dedicated page in our Book Section.

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