The poker MasterClass is worth it if you want to hear how Daniel Negreanu and Phil Ivey think about the game and you’ll watch other classes too, since a $120-a-year membership is the only way to get it. It’s weaker value if you want to practice decisions or study poker in depth. Poker Skill, which we make, has you play the spots yourself in lessons and in Practice vs AI, where you take on AI opponents in full hands, free on iPhone and Android. Red Chip Poker’s CORE and Run It Once go further into strategy.
Who the poker MasterClass is worth it for
The answer turns on whether you want to watch famous players or work on your own decisions.
$120 a year, with every class
MasterClass.Two famous players' video classes
Daniel Negreanu’s 38-lesson class and Phil Ivey’s 12-lesson class, both in a $120-a-year membership with over 200 other classes. Pick this if you want to hear two famous players explain how they think.
Free forever.
Poker Skill.OursPractice for the ideas the classes teach
Short Hold’em lessons that ask for your decision first, the Daily Puzzle and coached games against AI opponents on iPhone, iPad and Android. Pick this if you want to practice what the classes talk about.
$5 a week
Red Chip Poker.A full video course, billed weekly
CORE, over 200 video lessons with quizzes, for $5 a week. Pick this if you want a complete course and plan to cancel when you finish.
$24.99 a month for the low-stakes plan
Run It Once.A video library from working pros
A library of training videos from working pros, with new videos each week. Pick this if you play often and want far more poker video than two classes hold.
Other ways to take lessons, including one-on-one coaching, are compared in poker lessons online, and the lowest-priced courses in cheap poker courses.
The poker MasterClass next to three alternatives
MasterClass holds about 11 hours of poker video in total, while the alternatives are either a practice app or a full poker training library.
| Option | What you get | How much poker | Price | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MasterClass | Two video classes inside a general membership | 38 lessons from Negreanu (7 hr 40 min) and 12 from Ivey (3 hr 30 min) | $120 a year, with a 30-day refund | Web, phone and TV apps |
| Poker Skill Ours | Lessons you answer, the Daily Puzzle and coached games against AI | Hold’em fundamentals, from hand rankings to continuation bets | Free forever. | iPhone, iPad, Android |
| Red Chip Poker | CORE video course with quizzes | 200+ lessons on cash games and tournaments | $5 a week | Web, any device |
| Run It Once | A video library from working pros | More than 3,000 videos on the low-stakes plan, 5 new a week | $24.99 a month for the low-stakes plan | Web, plus a video app |
Prices and features checked September 2026.
MasterClass and the three alternatives in detail
MasterClass
Two famous players' video classes
$120 a year, with every class
Best for Recreational players who want to hear how Daniel Negreanu and Phil Ivey think, and who will watch other MasterClass classes too.
Skip if You only want poker, since the membership is the one way to buy a class, or you want your own decisions checked.
Free version None, but the membership has a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Where it runs The web, phones, Apple TV, Fire TV and Roku
Daniel Negreanu Teaches Poker runs 38 lessons, 7 hours 40 minutes, on cash, tournament and online play, including spotting tells, game selection, stack sizes and bankroll management. Phil Ivey Teaches Poker Strategy adds 12 lessons in 3 hours 30 minutes. Both come with the MasterClass membership at $120 a year, which opens more than 200 other classes, and lessons can be downloaded to watch on a plane.
Compared with Poker Skill: MasterClass is the better pick for hearing two famous players explain their game on video, while Poker Skill has you apply the basics yourself, one graded decision at a time.
Poker Skill
Practice for the ideas the classes teach
Free forever.
Best for Newer Hold'em players who want to practice decisions, not only watch someone else make them.
Skip if You want to hear famous players talk through their own game, or you want tournament strategy.
Free version Every lesson, the Daily Puzzle and one Practice vs AI game a day. Poker Skill Plus is an optional subscription.
Where it runs iPhone, iPad and Android
We make Poker Skill. Where a video class shows you a decision, Poker Skill asks you to make it: each lesson teaches one concept with hands that test it and asks for your move before the coach explains it. The Daily Puzzle grades every option in a new hand each day, and Practice vs AI deals full hands against AI opponents, where Coach Max coaches and grades your decisions.
Red Chip Poker
A full video course, billed weekly
$5 a week
Best for Players who learn from video and want a complete course with quizzes and hand breakdowns.
Skip if You'll study all year, since $5 a week comes to $260, more than a year of MasterClass.
Free version CORE has no free tier. Red Chip's podcast, articles and preflop range charts are free.
Where it runs The web, on any device
Red Chip Poker's CORE 2.0 has over 200 lessons from several coaches, covering poker math, ranges, preflop and postflop play and tournament stages, with quizzes that give feedback and more than 75 hand analysis lessons. It costs $5 a week and you can cancel any time, and Red Chip's PRO membership, $50 a month, includes it.
Compared with Poker Skill: Pick Red Chip Poker's CORE when you're ready to study a complete course with quizzes, and Poker Skill to turn the fundamentals into questions you answer in short lessons.
Run It Once
A video library from working pros
$24.99 a month for the low-stakes plan
Best for Regular players who want new training videos from working professionals every week.
Skip if You want one course in a set order, since the low-stakes plan is a video library you browse and structured mini courses come with Elite.
Free version A free Basic account opens the forums. The videos need a paid plan.
Where it runs The web, plus a video app for iPhone, iPad and Android
Run It Once is a poker training site built on a large pro video library. Its low-stakes plan costs $24.99 a month and adds five new videos a week to a library of more than 3,000. Elite, at $199.99 a month or $1,400 a year, adds nine new videos a week, a larger library, seminars and structured mini courses.
Compared with Poker Skill: Run It Once is where to go if you play often and want a pro video library that grows each week, while Poker Skill has beginners play coached hands against AI.
What the poker MasterClass teaches, and what it leaves to you
The two classes teach how two famous players think. Negreanu’s covers cash games, tournaments and online play, from spotting tells to game selection, stack sizes and bankroll management. Ivey’s walks through his own strategy in 12 lessons. Both are video lessons you watch, so the practice is up to you: Poker Skill’s lessons, Daily Puzzle and Practice vs AI games ask for your move and grade it, which turns an idea from a class into a decision you’ve made yourself. The price works best as a membership you’ll use beyond poker, since $120 buys both classes, about 11 hours of video, plus more than 200 classes on other subjects.
Who should not pick Poker Skill over the MasterClass
Pick MasterClass if you want to hear Negreanu and Ivey explain their thinking in their own words, or if you’d use the other classes in the membership. Everything in Poker Skill is a spot you answer, with no video lessons to watch. Pick Run It Once or Red Chip Poker if you play often and want a deep library of strategy video, and poker training sites compares the bigger memberships.
How we compared
- What you get
- How much poker is in it
- What it costs
MasterClass and three alternatives were compared on what you get, how much poker each holds and what it costs. MasterClass’s facts come from its own class pages and plan terms, read on September 29, 2026. The others’ come from their own sites and store listings, Poker Skill’s included, read the same month. Whether the membership is worth it is our judgment for each kind of player.
Frequently asked questions
How much is the poker MasterClass?
The poker classes come only with a MasterClass membership, which starts at $10 a month billed annually, $120 a year, and covers every class on the site with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
What is in Daniel Negreanu's MasterClass?
It has 38 lessons, 7 hours 40 minutes in all, on cash, tournament and online play, with skills such as spotting tells, game selection, stack sizes and bankroll management.
Is Phil Ivey's MasterClass worth it?
It's worth watching if you want his own account of his strategy: 12 lessons, 3 hours 30 minutes, in the same membership as Negreanu's class. Since the membership covers every class, it's better value if you would watch Negreanu's class and others too.