9 Best Poker Forums for Improving as a Player

Chris Moneymaker started the poker boom by being the first WSOP champion who qualified at an online poker site in 2003. After that, hundreds of different websites, dedicated to poker, were launched. Enthusiasts were quick to adapt, and in just a few years, we’ve seen several forums that focus on helping others become better poker players.

One of the best poker forums for improving as a player is TwoPlusTwo. It’s currently the biggest and most active community of poker enthusiasts. Run It Once and CardsChat are excellent sources of information if you’re looking for daily active coaches, giveaways, and VIP deals.

There are other options when looking for the best poker forums for improving as a player. We’ve scoured the web to provide you with a comprehensive review of these forums to help you find a community that you can use to play better.

The Biggest Poker Forum: TwoPlusTwo

2+2 is the biggest poker forum
2+2 is the biggest poker forum.

Even before the poker boom, TwoPlusTwo was already a poker brand. Mason Mallmuth founded TwoPlusTwo in 1998 as a publishing company for poker enthusiasts. The company started it’s own poker forum in 2008, making it one of the oldest communities today. As a publishing company and a poker forum, you can expect to gain a lot of information from roaming around the site. 

What Makes TwoPlusTwo One of the Best?

Currently, TwoPlusTwo has over 500,000 active members—all poker enthusiasts—and more than 50 million posts. Imagine this: you’re staying in a large room, together with half a million poker players talking about anything related to poker that you can think of; game formats, strategies, news, gossip, bad-beats, brags, and random discussions.

All the information you need about poker, stored in one place, and you can have access to all of it just by becoming a member. The forum is so active that, anytime you visit the site, you’ll find hundreds of people actively engaging in discussions and occasional flame wars.

What Can TwoPlusTwo Do to Improve?

There’s a caveat to joining TwoPlusTwo, though. Any forum of this size can be troublesome to moderate. They have active moderators who monitor the boards, but you’ll still encounter trolls who can mislead new members. It has a massive knowledge base for players of all levels, but if you’re new to the site, or in poker, it would be best if you’ll only interact with credible, long-time members of the community.

Pros of TwoPlusTwoCons of TwoPlusTwo
500,000+ membersTopics covered are too broad
50 million+ posts related to pokerTrolls that can mislead new members
Professional communityAds fund the operation
Active moderators cleaning the boardsNo premium content
Pros and Cons of 2+2 poker forum.

TwoPlusTwo is the best poker forum that you can join if you want to improve as a player. Most of the members are willing to provide you with all the answers that you need, but you need to be careful when interacting with them. I would suggest that you keep reading the threads first to familiarize yourself with the members before you even start talking to them.

Freemium Poker Forum: Run It Once

There are free and paid poker forums with various pros and cons. If you don’t like getting stuck in free forums with hundreds of trolls lurking, and you don’t want to pay for information that you can get for free, then a “freemium” poker forum like Run It Once is a great choice.

Run It Once poker forum.
RIO is a great freemium poker forum.

What Makes Run It Once One of the Best?

Freemium forums are cleaner than free forums that are mostly bombarded with ads to pay for their operation. However, they’re not charging anything for their members because its membership site (it is on our list of best poker training sites) pays for the cost.

Run It Once is a well-funded community with almost every information you need to improve as a player. They also have active moderators whose job is to keep the boards safe. So, you’re getting the same experience as you would on a paid forum, but you’re not paying anything. It’s also where you can get some of the best content from real-life coaches like Phil Galfond, Jens Kyllönen, Jason Koon, Sam Greenwood, and Joni Jouhkimainen.

What Can Run It Once Do to Improve?

Activity is the only thing that stopped us from putting them on the top of this list. The more people learn about the forum, the more activity it gets. If they can keep doing what they’re doing, it won’t be long before they start to get the same traction as TwoPlusTwo.

Pros of Run It OnceCons of Run It Once
Clean, minimalist designTiered access to content
Active poker coachesNot as active as TwoPlusTwo
Professional communityNot the best for new players
Premium content for paid membersPossibility of information overload
RIO forum.

It’s hard to find a poker forum with the same level of information and a clean browsing experience available for free! Being in the same community with some of the best poker players in the world is a goldmine for anyone who wants to become a better poker player. It’s not as big as TwoPlusTwo, but the quality of content is a step higher with coaches actively participating in the boards.

The Poker Goldmine: Full Contact Poker

Many wouldn’t agree to include Full Contact Poker on the list of the best poker forums because only a few people may have heard about it. It’s also not as active as other forums we have on this list. However, if you want to improve as a player, it’s one of the best places where you can get free resources.

Full Contact Poker Forum
Daniel Negreanu is the owner of Full Contact Poker.

What Makes Full Contact Poker One of the Best?

Full Contact Poker has a modern design that doesn’t look like a forum from the 2000s. It doesn’t have ads anywhere on the site, putting it on the same level as Run It Once when it comes to user experience. There are also active moderators on the site who keep the boards clean and safe for members.

One of the reasons we have it high on this list is its content outside the forum. It has a blog and podcasts that can help you improve as a player. We’re quite sure that you’d want to have access to it because it’s from Daniel Negreanu (one of the best poker players), the owner of Full Contact Poker.

What Can Full Contact Poker Do to Improve?

If there’s something we didn’t like about Full Contact Poker, it’s the number of off-topic boards. Aside from poker, which covers more than half of the posts, they also talk about religion, politics, and other sports—topics that attract flame wars. The forum has over 3 million posts, but only about 1.9 million talks about poker.

Pros of Full Contact PokerCons of Full Contact Poker
Clean, minimalist designSmall community
Daniel Negreanu-owned siteOverwhelming for new users
High-quality contentMany off-topics
Professional membersNot easy to find information
Pros and Cons of Full contact poker.

If you believe that improving as a player depends on the quality and not on quantity, Full Contact Poker is an excellent forum for you. They have a community where you can interact with other poker players and talk about anything. The off-topic discussion boards are an excellent addition for enthusiasts who want to spend a smidge more time talking to other players.

All-In-One Poker Resource: CardsChat

CardsChat has been a poker forum longer than TwoPlusTwo; it started in 2004 and has seen a steady increase in the number of members. They have over 300,000 members from 190 different countries, making it the most diverse community of poker enthusiasts on the internet.

What Makes CardsChat One of the Best?

It remains one of the most active poker communities, discussing almost everything about poker—strategies, news, promos, tutorials, and training. They have hundreds of elite members, posting regularly about live poker, tournaments, cash games, how you can start as a beginner, and even where you can play poker online. It also has random off-topic discussion boards where you can interact and socialize with other enthusiasts.

CardsChat is a popular poker forum.
CardsChat forum.

CardsChat was one of the first to adapt to the poker boom, and you can expect it to be one of the best archives of information that you’ll ever find. You’ll even find some of the celebrity players today, trying to learn how to improve as a player. Being a member of CardsChat is like having access to everything that happened from 2004 up to where poker is now.

What Can CardsChat Do to Improve?

One of the reasons it has remained relevant through the years is adapting to the fast-paced world of poker. It was only a forum when it started, but they slowly became one of the best resources for anyone who wants to play better. However, someone who is new to poker may experience information overload with all of the information they have on their homepage. Intermediates and professionals may find it useful, but it could be overwhelming for new players.

Pros of CardsChatCons of CardsChat
300,000+ membersOverwhelming homepage
Hundreds of active daily usersTopics are too broad
Professional communityTrolls that can mislead new members
Offers and promos for membersPossibility of information overload
CardsChat

We picked CardsChat as the #4 best poker forum because aside from an active community, it serves as an all-in-one resource for anyone who wants to improve. You can get almost anything from their website, and you can have access to all of it for free!

Home of MTT Celebrities: Pocket Fives

If you’re planning to move from cash games to MTT, Pocket Fives is an excellent forum. Many tournament celebrities consider it as their home forum, even before they were crushing tournaments. So it’ll serve as one of the best resources for you to improve as an MTT player.

What Makes Pocket Fives One of the Best?

They’re covering almost everything that you need to know about multi-table tournaments. Most of the forum’s threads are in question format, so you can expect that dozens of enthusiasts will share their opinions on the best ways to play a hand. You can quickly skim through the content and read everything to improve your performance in tournaments.

Aside from the forum, they also have the most comprehensive resource for anything related to multi-table tournaments. They’re also reviewing online poker sites, with some of the best deals that you can get. Many players consider Pocket Fives to be the gateway for players who want to move from cash games to tournaments.

Pocket Fives poker forum is the best if you are an MTT player.
Pocket Fives is a great forum for MTT players.

What Can Pocket Fives Do to Improve?

The only thing that we didn’t like about Pocket Fives is the user interface. Instead of making it look like a resource for players, it has a similar vibe to the ones that you can see in most online casinos. It can also be a bit overwhelming for new members, with all of the information available, posted on its home page. Even after spending years on the site, we still find it challenging to get the information we need at times.

Pros of Pocket FivesCons of Pocket Fives
MTT-focused topicsTiered access to content
Offers and promos for membersOverwhelming homepage
Professional communityNot the best for new players
High-quality contentPossibility of information overload
Pocket Fives MTT’s focused forum.

We have yet to find a poker forum that is so focused on MTT but still serves as a massive resource for many players. Pocket Fives isn’t your all-in-one poker resource, but if you want to become a better MTT player, it’s the best and only forum that you need to join!

Free Poker School: PokerStrategy

PokerStrategy was one of the early-adopters in online poker. In fact, it was a forum long before the poker boom. It has served the poker community since 2002 and was previously the largest poker forum with enthusiasts from all over the world coming to the boards every day. When more aggressive forums launched, PokerStrategy suffered a steep decline with their membership.

PokerStrategy was also the first membership site that I joined, and it is where my journey as a winning poker player has started.

What Makes PokerStrategy One of the Best?

Despite losing most of their members, it still has some of the most valuable information available for poker players. They capitalized on their celebrity members, such as Tobias Reinkemeier and Pius Heinz, to establish themselves as the best resource for anyone who wants to be more competitive.

PokerStrategy also transitioned from being a forum-only platform to creating a school for new poker players. As a member of the website, you’ll have access to the member-only forum content and tutorials from Aaron Lambert, Collin Moshman, Faarcyde, Jens Kyllonen, Jonathan Little, Jungleman, and Phil Shaw. The best thing about the platform is that you’re getting access to high-quality content for free!

PokerStrategy forum is a great free resource for poker.
I became a winning player after joining PokerStrategy.

What Can PokerStrategy Do to Improve?

The forum has lost most of its traffic, and it’s most likely not getting back to its former glory. Although the forum serves as one of PokerStrategy’s pillars, they’re not that much reliant on its activity because it offers training courses, deals, and other promotions to members. So, unless it gets a spike in traffic, the forum’s activity will remain the same for the foreseeable future.

Pros of PokerStrategyCons of PokerStrategy
Great for all skill levelsNo longer as active as others
High-quality contentOld design and challenging to navigate
All-in-one resource for most game formatsPossibility of information overload
Free membershipSlow to update information
PokerStrategy

Despite the decline in their member’s activity, PokerStrategy was one of the first to serve as a resource for many top players. So it wasn’t that hard for them to transition from a forum-only site to a full-blown poker school with millions of members worldwide. 

Fastest-Growing Poker Forum: Poker VIP

If you were surprised to see Poker VIP on this list, you’re in for a treat. Poker VIP was one of the first websites to provide a complete resource for anyone who wants to play poker. It has everything that you need from hand histories, strategies, and reviews of the most popular poker sites. Now, it’s one of the fastest-growing poker communities on the internet. 

What Makes Poker VIP One of the Best?

You may think that Poker VIP is one of those forums that doesn’t have a lot of activity, which is true at times. However, it has seen a rapid increase in their membership due to the quality posts that they have. The boards have dozens of real-life coaches who are willing to provide valuable advice to new and intermediate players.

The forum includes different sections dedicated to poker: blogs, hand histories, a marketplace, and even a poker lifestyle section. Another reason why it has seen rapid growth is because of the community that they’re building. Unlike other forums, filled with trolls whose intention is to mislead new players, Poker VIP has hundreds of friendly and helpful members who can help you improve.

Poker VIp has a poker forum.
Poker VIP poker forum.

What Can Poker VIP Do to Improve?

The only thing we didn’t like about Poker VIP is that they cover too many poker topics with minimal traffic. If they can find a balance between distilling the topics they’re covering and the type of players they’re getting, they may see an increase with their membership.

Pros of Poker VIPCons of Poker VIP
Clean, modern designSmall community
Active monitoring of boardsLimited information
Newbie-friendly communityNot the best for professionals
Great for all skill levelsNo premium content
Poker VIP

If you’re looking for one of the best resources that can help you improve as a player, check out Poker VIP and see what this forum can provide you. It has one of the best communities with players who are sharing all of their experiences in poker. We’re sure that you’re going to love the content they have! 

Home of SNG Players: HUSNG.com

SNG is one of the game formats with very few resources online, but HUSNG.com consistently served the poker community with valuable content since 2007. If you prefer playing heads up, sit and go and spin and go, it’s the best forum that you can join.

What Makes HUSNG.com One of the Best?

The website’s setup resembles PokerStrategy with all of the content, tools, and strategies that you need for SNG. It’s not as active as other forums on this list, but it’s the best in providing valuable content for SNG players. Despite their old design and a homepage filled with products that you can buy, many SNG players still visit it to improve and share some tips.

The forum’s user-experience is exceptional and easy to navigate. It’s also one of the cleanest boards that we’ve seen because it doesn’t rely on ads to fund operations. Whether you’re new to SNG or a seasoned player, you’ll find another member who can help you play better. The moderators are also actively monitoring the boards to keep the threads well-categorized, making it easier for anyone to skim through the topics.

HUSNG poker forum for heads up sit& go players.
If you want to crush HU SNG’s, then HUSNG forum will be of tremendous value.

What Can HUSNG.com Do to Improve?

What we didn’t like about HUSNG.com is it’s more of an online store than a forum. Sure, the forum can provide you with valuable insights into the game, but it can be confusing for anyone who visits their homepage. However, the tools that they have are some of the best that you can use if you’re an SNG enthusiast who wants to play better games.

Pros of HUSNG.comCons of HUSNG.com
Lots of tools and productsThe site focuses on selling products
SNG-focused contentOverwhelming content
Professional communityNot the best for new players
VIP deals for membersPossibility of information overload
HUSNG poker forum – Pros and Cons

The lack of sites that provide resources for SNG players is one reason why HUSNG.com remains the biggest and most active forum for SNG. They lack information about other game formats, but it has the broadest topics that cover SNG.

All-Around Forum: Reddit.com/r/poker

No “best forum list” will ever be complete without Reddit—the gateway to the internet. It has a subreddit for almost any topic that you can think of, including poker! Reddit.com/r/poker is the biggest subreddit for poker enthusiasts, with close to 150,000 members. It’s so active that you’ll find hundreds of members online at any given time!

Despite being one of the most active communities for poker enthusiasts because of the content’s quality, we’re putting it at the bottom of our list. It has some excellent posts from members, but there’s also a lot of random stuff. That’s why it can be challenging to look at older posts that can, sometimes, be an excellent resource for new players.

Reddit has a poker subreddit. Sometimes includes strategy, sometimes just random stuff. Oh, and if you want to know what that Will Ferrel quote is about, then check this video on YouTube.

If you’re not visiting it every day, it can be challenging to keep track of everything that’s happening on this subreddit. You may also find it challenging to monitor your favorite posters because of the navigation options.

Pros of RedditCons of Reddit
150,000+ membersTough to keep up with updates
Active communityNo premium content
An excellent resource for all skill levelsNot the best for new players
No off-topic discussionsPossibility of information overload
Pros and Cons of Reddit poker forum.

Reddit.com/r/poker is a place where poker enthusiasts talk about everything. It’s not solely for strategies, but most of the things that you’ll read are about hand histories and opinions from other players. It’s a great platform that can help you improve as a player, but navigating through the old posts can be difficult.

Why Should You Join a Poker Forum?

Throughout history, many poker forum members have gone from being casual players to celebrities. It has an enormous impact on how a person plays the game because it gives everyone easy access to advice, strategies, and tips to help them improve.

There are a lot of things that you can get from being a member of a poker forum. If you’re still unsure whether you should join one, and if you have hesitations because of the stories you’ve heard about people getting ripped off in forums, keep reading.

Here are 6 of the biggest reasons why you should become a member of a poker forum:

Easy Access to Strategies, Advice, and Tips

If you’re in a room with tens or hundreds of thousands of poker enthusiasts, you can be sure that there’ll be gold nuggets that you can pick up. No other online training site, even the best ones, can provide you with the same level of information as what you would get from a poker forum.

Forums are perfect for people trying to improve as a player because it gives them easy access to information. With due diligence and keen interest to learn the game, you’ll be able to stitch together everything inside a forum to help you crush the tables

Real-Time News and Gossip

Poker gossip on a poker forum.
Forums are a great resource for the latest gossips in poker.

When a large group of poker enthusiasts gathers in one place, you can expect that news and gossip will cover most of the topics they’re discussing. It includes almost everything, from the biggest tournaments up to issues related to withdrawing funds from an online poker site.

Poker forums became so big that poker sites can’t ignore its impact on their business. In fact, the biggest poker companies have dedicated support staff whose job is to monitor forums and address even the slightest concern that a person has with their product or service.

Staking and Investment Opportunities

Making money with poker isn’t all about crushing the tables. There are many different opportunities in the poker industry, and forums are the best places you can go to if you want to make some investments. You can also use forums to buy action in tournaments and cash games, and there are thousands of players who are posting their results and staking offers. 

Accurate and Reliable Tournament Information

Social media is full of fake news about tournaments because it’s easy to say something and control the flow of information from other people. If you’re a member of poker forums, you can be sure that you’re getting reliable, accurate information about tournaments. That’s because forums have a huge impact on different tournaments that the hosts always have dedicated staff to provide you with all the information that you need. 

Sharing Expenses and Accommodation

Sharing expenses for live games.
Once you are more known in the forum community, then finding someone to share expenses with while going on a live tournaments, is not a problem.

Playing live poker games has one huge drawback—the cost of expenses. It’s one of the reasons why online poker sites gained a lot of traction. Without a forum, you’ll shoulder all of the costs that you need when playing live poker games.

However, if you are a recognized member of a poker community, it’ll be easy for you to look for people willing to share the expenses and accommodation with you. Although not for everyone, a lot of poker enthusiasts do it for the chance of building their network in the poker industry. 

The Best Tools in One Place

Finding the best tools that you can use for your poker games is also easier when you’re in a poker forum. Unlike the reviews that you’ll find on the internet, the reviews that a product gets from forum members are genuine. What you’re getting are real experiences that people had with a product, allowing you to make a more educated decision with your purchases.

Conclusion

Poker forums will remain one of the best ways for you to improve as a player. Many of the celebrity players that we know today learned the game from forums, and you’re sure to find the best free resources on these websites. The only thing you have to do is find the best out of all the forums dedicated to poker players.

We’ve researched for you. In fact, we’ve been using some of these websites for years. So we’re confident that you’ll find great value from one of these poker forums:

  1. The Biggest Poker Forum: TwoPlusTwo
  2. Freemium Poker Forum: Run It Once
  3. The Poker Goldmine: Full Contact Poker
  4. All-In-One Poker Resource: CardsChat
  5. Home of MTT Celebrities: Pocket Fives
  6. Free Poker School: PokerStrategy
  7. Fastest-Growing Poker Forum: Poker VIP
  8. Home of SNG Players: HUSNG.com
  9. All-Around Forum: Reddit.com/r/poker

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