PlayGreatPoker.com was started in 2018 by Mike Matteo, a 60-year-young software developer with a passion for helping others improve their poker game. The site gets 20,000-60,000 visitors a month. PlayGreatPoker.com is an online resource dedicated to helping you play great poker. The site offers a list of recommended poker books, a poker terms glossary, how to play the game, and much more. The newest addition is an app called “The Poker Coach,” which teaches fundamental game strategy.
Mike Matteo is not a poker celebrity or a player of televised high stakes games. He is an online cash game grinder who has the stats to back up his game. Mike has been playing seriously since 2013, and his story is similar to many other poker players. He signed up for an online poker account, made a deposit and soon found himself obsessed with the game. Mike read every poker book he could find, listened to podcasts, watched training videos, and even signed up for a few training sites. Poker consumed his spare time, and he put a lot of work into improving his game. In 2016, Mike published a book titled, “Fundamentals of Playing Online Texas Hold’em” and soon after started PlayGreatPoker.com.
The new The Poker Coach app teaches fundamental game strategy. When you sign up you will be redirected to Gumroad, an app that helps manage content. You will be allowed to name your own price to purchase the app. You will then be provided a license key, which is also sent to you via email. You will need this license key to register for The Poker Coach. It took me a couple of tries of clicking back and forth before I realized that I had to go back after registering and click on “Start Poker Coach” to access the app. I suggest you use a browser that will not automatically delete your browsing history, so that the next time you use the app, you won’t have to register your license key again.
Once you have opened The Poker Coach, you will be presented with options to view stats, start a game, or clear the stats that have already been stored. The first time you enter the app, you will not have any stats to view or clear. The basic layout of the app once you start a game is similar to other digital versions of Texas Hold’em that you play on your computer. However, there is an advice button that you can select. When you click on the button, a pop up will appear and offer advice on what action you should take. If you want further information about the advice given there is a button at the bottom of the box that says Coach’s Notes. Here you will see additional information about the advice. There is also a Report Issue button. If you click on it, a form will appear and allow you to select a topic and write a short message about your issue. The hand will play out normally, and you are free to make your own decisions. Once you fold, if there are other players left in the hand, you will be able to see their cards so you can see how the hand plays out.
The poker strategy is offered by The Poker Coach is sound. It is great for someone who is just learning the game or a player who knows the rules but wants to improve their game. If you have studied poker theory or use solvers for your study, then this tool is not intended for you. The advice given by The Poker Coach app is generally tight aggressive. The advice does not lead you into advanced concepts, as the focus is to make you aware of position and good starting hands. The recommendations tend to be a little value-heavy, but I think this is good for someone starting out in poker. The bet sizing is standardized and kept simple. If you are a beginner, you should be focused and build a foundation of a range of hands to play. The Poker Coach app’s advice will point out concepts such as position, trending action, and hand reading. The information is short and to the point. If you want to learn more, you should be able to find something on each topic on the internet.
Overall, this is a great product at an awesome price, free! I would recommend this app to anyone who is just learning and wants to feel like they are getting practice through experience. There are more features in the works that will slowly be added to the app. Mike hopes to keep this app accessible to everyone, but does say that if there is a need, he might charge a small fee.
