The cheapest poker courses cost little or nothing. Poker Skill, which we make, teaches Texas Hold’em in free lessons on iPhone and Android, and its Practice vs AI deals full hands against AI opponents. Among paid options, Red Chip Poker’s CORE course is $5 a week and Upswing Poker sells a $7 crash course beside free charts. GTO Academy gives away two chapters before its $14.99-a-month Pro plan, and Fable Poker Coach’s 50-lesson curriculum is $14.99 a month.
Cheap poker courses, by what you can spend
The five run from free lessons to a monthly plan, and all four paid ones give something away before you pay.
Free forever.
Poker Skill.OursA free Hold'em course in an app
Hold’em lessons in order, from hand rankings to continuation bets, with the Daily Puzzle and coached games against AI alongside. Pick this if you want to spend nothing and learn by answering.
$5 a week
Red Chip Poker.CORE, over 200 lessons
CORE, over 200 lessons with videos and quizzes, for $5 a week. Pick this if you want a full video course for a few dollars a week.
$7 once, for the crash course
Upswing Poker.A crash course and free charts
A $7 crash course and 8 free preflop charts, with paid courses above them. Pick this if you want a cheap first course from a big training site.
$14.99 a month, or $149 a year
GTO Academy.A GTO course in the browser, two chapters free
A browser GTO course whose first two chapters are free, then $14.99 a month. Pick this if you play online and want solver-graded chapters.
$14.99 a month with the curriculum
Fable Poker Coach.An AI coach with a 50-lesson curriculum
An AI coach app with a 50-lesson curriculum on its $14.99 plan and a $4.99 plan for questions alone. Pick this if you want a course you can question as you go.
Free options that aren’t courses, such as video classes and a solver’s free plan, are compared in free poker coaching. Lessons from a famous player or a coach of your own are in poker lessons online, and full training memberships in poker training sites.
Cheap poker courses compared
A weekly, monthly or one-time price makes the five hard to line up, so the table gives each in the maker’s own terms.
| Course | What you get | Free part | Price | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poker Skill Ours | Hold’em lessons in order, the Daily Puzzle and coached games against AI | Every lesson, the Daily Puzzle and one Practice vs AI game a day | Free forever. | iPhone, iPad, Android |
| Red Chip Poker | CORE: 200+ lessons with videos, quizzes and hand breakdowns | A podcast, articles and range charts | $5 a week | Web, any device |
| Upswing Poker | A crash course, then full courses | Blog and 8 preflop charts | $7 once for the crash course | Web |
| GTO Academy | A 17-chapter GTO course graded against a solver | Chapters 1 and 2 of every path | $14.99 a month or $149 a year | Web browser |
| Fable Poker Coach | An AI coach with a 50-lesson curriculum and quizzes | Free to try | $14.99 a month with the curriculum, $4.99 for chat alone | iPhone, Android, web |
Prices and features checked September 2026.
The five cheap courses in detail
Poker Skill
A free Hold'em course in an app
Free forever.
Best for Beginners on a budget who want to learn Texas Hold'em in order and answer as they go.
Skip if You want video lessons from professional players, or courses on tournaments.
Free version The Daily Puzzle, one Practice vs AI game a day and every lesson, paced by energy that refills over time. Poker Skill Plus is an optional subscription.
Where it runs iPhone, iPad and Android
We make Poker Skill. Its lessons run in order, from hand rankings and reading the board to position, preflop raises and continuation bets, and each one asks for your move before the coach explains it. Practice vs AI then deals full hands against AI opponents, heads-up or three-player, with Coach Max grading each decision. Streaks and XP show how far you've come. You don't have to buy anything to finish the lessons.
Red Chip Poker
CORE, over 200 lessons
$5 a week
Best for Players who want the most course for their money: over 200 lessons across cash games and tournaments.
Skip if You would rather pay once than weekly, since CORE bills $5 every week until you cancel.
Free version CORE has no free tier. Red Chip's podcast, articles and range charts are free.
Where it runs The web, on any device
Red Chip Poker's CORE 2.0 covers poker math, preflop and postflop play, hand reading and tournament stages in over 200 lessons, with videos from several coaches, more than 75 hand analysis lessons and quizzes. It costs $5 a week, which comes to $260 over a year, and Red Chip's PRO membership at $50 a month includes it.
Compared with Poker Skill: Red Chip Poker's CORE is the better pick for a full video course that reaches tournament play, while Poker Skill teaches the fundamentals in short lessons, one concept at a time.
Upswing Poker
A crash course and free charts
$7 once, for the crash course
Best for Players who want a cheap first course from a large training site, with free preflop charts to go with it.
Skip if You want a whole curriculum for little money, since Upswing's full courses cost far more: Uri Peleg's beginner course is $499.
Free version 8 preflop charts and hundreds of strategy articles.
Where it runs The web
Upswing Poker points beginners who aren't ready for a full course to two things: 8 free preflop charts and a $7 crash course on postflop decisions, the Postflop Playbook. Above them sit full courses, such as Uri Peleg's beginner course at $499, and the Lab membership, $99 for the first month.
Compared with Poker Skill: Pick Upswing Poker for one short course and preflop charts before committing to a big training site, and Poker Skill for lessons that build a path from hand rankings to continuation bets.
GTO Academy
A GTO course in the browser, two chapters free
$14.99 a month, or $149 a year
Best for Online players who want a structured GTO course graded against a solver, and a real free sample first.
Skip if You want to study in a phone app, or you don't play online, since its analysis reads your online hand histories.
Free version Chapters 1 and 2 of every path, every Hold'em preflop chart and 5 solver walkthroughs, with no card.
Where it runs Web browser
GTO Academy teaches in 17 chapters, from opening ranges to whole hands, and grades every decision against a GTO solver. Its free chapters have no daily hand cap and don't expire. Pro, at $14.99 a month or $149 a year, opens every chapter and street and adds an AI coach for postflop spots and analysis of your own sessions.
Compared with Poker Skill: GTO Academy is where online players ready for solver strategy can study it in a browser, while Poker Skill teaches newer players in an app for iPhone, iPad and Android.
Fable Poker Coach
An AI coach with a 50-lesson curriculum
$14.99 a month with the curriculum
Best for Players who want a course they can question, with an AI coach that adjusts from beginner to pro.
Skip if You want to buy a year at a discount, since its plans are monthly only for now.
Free version Free to try with an account, and its separate Fable Preflop Trainer is free.
Where it runs iPhone, Android and the web
Fable Poker Coach is an AI poker coach you can ask anything, from the rules to GTO play, with answers tuned to your level, a quiz mode and hand analysis. Its Chat plan is $4.99 a month for coaching sessions and quizzes, and the 50-lesson curriculum comes with the Learner plan at $14.99 a month. The app was called Poker Coaching App until a recent rename and isn't PokerCoaching.com.
Compared with Poker Skill: If you learn by asking, Fable Poker Coach is the stronger choice, because its AI coach answers anything you type, while Poker Skill's lessons do the asking and grade the move you make.
What a cheap poker course should still include
A cheap course is a bargain when it covers the game you play in order and checks your understanding as you go. Poker Skill checks you on every question: you pick a move, and the coach shows why it wins or loses over time. Red Chip Poker’s CORE and Fable Poker Coach both quiz you, and GTO Academy grades every decision against a solver. Upswing Poker’s crash course is one course rather than a curriculum, which makes it a cheap first step more than a full path. Weekly and monthly prices add up, too: $5 a week is $260 over a year, while GTO Academy’s yearly plan works out at $12.42 a month.
Who should not pick Poker Skill as a cheap course
Pick Red Chip Poker or Upswing Poker if you want video lessons from professional coaches, and GTO Academy if you play online and want your study graded against a solver. Poker Skill teaches the fundamentals. A tournament player should add Red Chip Poker, whose CORE includes Chris “Fox” Wallace’s tournament course.
How we compared
- What you get
- What's free
- What it costs
Each of the five was compared on what you get, what’s free and what the paid part costs, in the maker’s own billing terms, from its pages and store listings as they read in September 2026. For Poker Skill we used its listings and the app. The fit for each reader is our judgment.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest poker course?
Every lesson in Poker Skill costs nothing, so it's the cheapest course here. The cheapest paid course is Upswing Poker's $7 crash course, a one-time price, and Red Chip Poker's CORE runs $5 a week.
Are cheap poker courses worth it?
They are when you finish them: a $5-a-week course you work through teaches more than an expensive library you never open. Start with a free part, such as GTO Academy's first two chapters, and pay once you know you'll keep going.
Can I learn poker for free instead?
Yes, up to a point. Poker Skill is free. Forever. Its lessons run from hand rankings to continuation bets, and GTO Academy's first two chapters and Upswing Poker's charts cost nothing either. You pay when you want more material or a coach.