Poker School Online Logo

Poker School Online was the brainchild of Mark and Tina Naploitano –who also own and operate pokerpages.com; one of the top poker portals on the web—and was the first site of its kind. Poker School Online was started in 2001 as a private group for players to learn, and compete against each other in the poker arena.

In April 2009, Poker School Online merged with its sister site PokerPages.com, creating the first truly free poker training site. The site can boast the largest collection of content -- articles, videos, forum entries, and blogs-- of any training site (remember, PSO was started in 2001: Before the poker boom!)

PSO’s instructors/contributors comprise some of the biggest –and most respected--names in the poker world: Harman, Brunson, and Caro are but a few of the people you will learn from.
PSO is also the only training site to host its own poker software, allowing players to compete against one another in free tournaments and leagues –you can even win a seat to the WSOP through the schools leagues, and they offer sponsorship programs.

Site Features:
Forum: Yes
Pro Blogs: Yes
Member Blogs: Yes
Hand History Converter: No
Site Navigation: Good

Payment Methods:
Credit Card
Paypal
PokerStars Transfer
Absolute Poker Transfer

The biggest strength of PSO is the sheer volume of content, and also the diversity of said content.
PSO’s articles –conveniently broken up into courses in many instances— can help a player of any skill level: From sheer novice to hardened pro. Their content is also graded as either beginner, intermediate, or advanced; which is helpful in navigating the large amount of content.

The 150+ videos feature mainly Mike Caro (in his usual quick nugget of wisdom style) and Al Spath (Spath’s videos follow the more conventional route that players from other training sites will be familiar with), ‘Dean’ of PSO. There are also numerous videos by ‘Hitman’ one of the first PSO members from the early days in 2001.

PSO’s main group of instructors consists of the following six people:
• Al Spath
• TJ Cloutier
• Nolan Dalla
• Russell Fox
• Rolf Slotboom
• Hitman

Their past and present contributor’s list features names such as:
• Doyle Brunson
• Mike Caro
• Bob Ciaffone
• Andy Glazer
• Jen Harman
• Matt Hilger
• Lou Krieger
• Jan Fisher
• John Vorhaus

PSO’s article area is immense with dozens of writers –PokerStars pro, Daniel Negreanu among them. The site also encourages the average player to write articles for them; creating the most extensive archive of poker articles anywhere.
PSO offers the most comprehensive training approach for the absolute beginner anywhere. If you know nothing about the game of poker PSO will be a lighthouse for you; helping you find your way during the most difficult period any player goes through.

The lack of training video content is a glaring hole: Especially when the two contributors lack the poker resume that other training sites offer their members. This is an area of the site that needs shoring up if PSO wishes to be considered a top-notch training site.

Another weakness of PSO (to some players anyway) will be the amount of beginner oriented content, and the generality of many of the articles. When I think back to poker pre-2003, I remember a much simpler game: There was no poker on TV to help educate beginners; there were maybe a dozen or so books in print (compared to the 100’s found today); and most players were unaware of any poker concept (people didn’t even know what a check-raise was! And most people thought it was an illegal move!). This makes some of PSO’s content very run of the mill, and common knowledge in today’s poker climate.

Video Library Summary:

Videos – 150+ broken up into 4 main categories
• Tutorials
• Courses
• Training
• Caro’s Tells Series

Written Content:

The definite strength of the site: PSO’s main article archives –featuring professional players and writers-- can be accessed through a drop-down menu below each author’s profile.
PSO also boasts a very active forum and blog area.

Goodies:

• PSO also offers players some older, but still usable, audio lessons.
• With the merger of the two sites, PSO members have quick access to everything from a worldwide card-room directory, to tournament results, to player statistics, and all the other information you would expect from a top tier poker portal site.
• PSO offers its own poker software (formerly the real money site Bugsy’s Club) allowing them to host their own tournaments and leagues.

The Verdict:	Score: 5/10
As expected with a free site, the content on Poker School Online is mediocre at best. For players who are serious about improving at poker, we advise to look at an alternative poker training option.

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