Tournaments are probably the most popular form of the game of poker. Lots of new players start with this format due to the thrill of tournament success and the potential to win tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars under the lights at a final table.
But, in poker, like in many other things in life, success doesn’t come easy. Long-term poker success is acquired through hard work, dedication, and study.
If you are serious about improving your tournament game or are you looking to move up to some of the largest stakes online, you may have considered taking The Tournament Masterclass – by Raise Your Edge (which I ranked as the #1 training site on the market in my poker training sites roundup page).
It's the most popular tournament course on the market at the moment and for good reason.
Note: All Raise Your Edge courses are now available through Pairrd, a new learning platform built for serious poker players
Bencb789, the head coach of the Tournament Masterclass, has won millions in online poker tournaments, including the 2016 PokerStars WCOOP $102,000 Super High Roller where he defeated Fedor Holz for $1.17 million and $1k SCOOP event in 2019 for $100,000 (reviews of both of which are included in the course).
So Bencb has the know-how and the course has the right content, but what do YOU need?
To be successful with this course, you will need the following:
- To understand fundamental poker tournament strategy. This isn't a poker course for a new poker player in the slightest – I repeat, if you are a beginner, this course is not for you!
- To have the desire, dedication, and willingness to work to become a great poker player.
If you bring those things, Bencb's masterclass will teach you everything you need to know to beat poker tournaments at the highest levels.
To summarise what this course entails and my overall impressions:
The Tournament Masterclass is a top-level MTT course with over 50 hours of content taught by online crusher, Bencb. which is ideal for competent MTT players breaking into mid-stakes and above. It includes highly detailed video lessons, a top-notch preflop range viewer, and helpful quizzes. Our rating: 9.0/10.
So let's take a look at what to expect from the Tournament Masterclass in this review of RYE's most premium content.
If you would like to see what the inside of the course looks like, I'd recommend you watch our detailed review of the Tournament Masterclass:
Tournament Masterclass Course Content
After viewing the introduction and signing up for paired, you’ll be presented with a number of module groups with each having its own subgroup of videos. Below is a general overview of what you’ll find in each of these modules.
Preflop Tournament Play
In this first section, you'll learn all about play playing preflop, starting with an extensive discussion about hand ranges. Bencb789 looks at over 200+ preflop ranges from just about every situation imaginable. He also introduces you to the expert range viewer which is one of the most valuable parts of the course in my opinion.
Next, he moves into talking about the theory behind developing comprehensive open-raising strategies followed by putting those strategies into practice. Afterward, you'll learn strategies behind flat calling and 3betting preflop and also about aggressively defending your blinds.
The final two sections will cover more advanced preflop concepts such as 3betting, 4betting, and squeezing with 40bb+ all of which are extremely powerful if used correctly on the table.
Postflop Tournament Play
The next section of this course focuses on post-flop play starting with an extensive two-part series on playing in position. Topics include:
- Typical Mistakes Made in Postflop Play
- Choosing to Cbet or Check back
- Playing Against Check Raises
- Turn Play & Betsizing
- Delayed Cbets
- River Play
- Blocker Plays
Then, he covers playing out of position as both the preflop aggressor and as a cold-caller. You will also get into more advanced concepts such as playing in 3bet pots and playing as a cold-caller in position.
Shortstack Play
This section has a wealth of information regarding short-stack play. It is an excellent module for those that have trouble playing the short stack as the RYE masterclass covers all of the following topics:
- Typical Mistakes in Shortstack Play
- What to Consider When Shoving
- Minraising vs. Shoving
- Calling All-Ins
- Learning Push & Call Ranges
- Restealing
- And More
ICM
The ICM, or independent chip model, module is only available for the expert class and is split into two videos of preflop and postflop. The preflop video is a 90-minute long video covering 9 different discussion points. If you haven't had much experience with ICM before (i.e. you are a cash game player), this section will really improve your game by a larger margin.
First up the basics of ICM are covered i.e. understanding the risk and reward of the scenarios based on the impact of the potential payout.
The most obvious application of this is playing on the bubble where you might play more conservatively in order to ensure that you do not bust without making it into the money. A similar concept can be applied to when you are seeing big pay jumps when at the final table of a large tournament.
A lot of attention is paid to the other 8 points which compose over an hour of the 90-minute video.
Bencb then moves on to the postflop video which is over 1 hour of content describing some of the adjustments you need to make postflop due to the effect of ICM. Most interesting is the quantification of how much “extra equity” to you require to make a move based on the amount of your stack at risk.
If a small portion of your stack is at risk very little extra equity is required while if you are risking your whole stack you will need an awful lot more equity (i.e. +10% more) than would typically be the case.
This gives rise to the common strategy of “applying pressure as a big stack” which becomes obvious since so little of your stack is at risk.
This section is concluded with a number of example hands that help reinforce what has been learned in the previous two lessons.
Heads up
This section was updated after the initial release of the course and is a very welcome addition to the expert class. This section contains 3 videos coming to a total length of approximately 3 hours which are broken down into a preflop video, a practical hands video dives into a range of hands that were played by Bencb in the past, and a play & explain video.
The preflop video contains many nuggets of useful information which helped improve my game. Most apparent was just how prevalent limping is in a modern heads-up MTT game. Limping is often appropriate since you only need to call half a big blind while allowing you to maintain position on your opponent; however, it can be very difficult to balance in practice.
Of course, limping many weak hands should be balanced with some stronger ones (such as even AA) so that your strategy isn't exploitable by a savvy opponent.
Bencb provided the ranges for a whole range of heads-up situations for <25bb deep. Here is an example of one of these ranges for the 20-25bb ranges where you will be either open raising or shoving:
The detail in this is hand chart immense and you can tell an enormous amount of time has gone into developing this to ensure that you are very difficult to play against. The discussion of how you can adjust this strategy to your opponent's tendencies are also very welcome and useful.
Importantly Bencb points you that you should not be afraid to play in a very exploitable manner when you arrive at the heads-up battle – you will likely never play with this particular opponent again, and even more unlikely when the same amount of money is on the line.
High Stakes Reviews
As mentioned in the introduction, Bencb has had many big wins over the years including the entire SCOOP 1k 2019 win for over 100k and the WCOOP 100k (final table).
Bencb presents three videos recapping his final table run in the 2016 WCOOP $100k Super High Roller. In this series of three videos, bencb789 breaks down his thought processes and helps you “bring it all together” by seeing how he applied his strategies to win the event and $1.17 million.
There are 11 videos on the 1k SCOOP win where he goes into a lot of detail and reviews many of the hand including using PIOsolver to analyse some of the tough spots. My only critique of this would be it should be more clear at what part of the tournament each video starts from.
Tournament Masterclass – Bonus Content
In the bonus content section, a number of topics are covered.
First, “The GTO bible” dives into the use of GTO and the application of a range of poker solvers to the game. Also included is one of my favorite videos on the “Myths of GTO” play! This section contains 23 videos which range from 10-40 minutes long each.
There is a 10-minute video on fighting tilt which provides some useful strategies as well as roughly an hour of extra PKO (progressive knockout) content.
This section was added after the original course was completed and is an example of the types of updates you can expect in the future for this course.
Raise Your Edge Range Viewer – Find out Exactly What Hands You Should Play Preflop
We already showed the range viewer for the heads-up situation, however, this course also provides you with ranges for almost every imaginable preflop situation. No more guessing what hands you should be opening UTG or calling vs a 3bet.
You can use these ranges as a template to work from whilst analysing your opponent after a session, during a warmup, or cool down. You can even use them in-game if you are only running a couple of tables (note: range viewers are against the Terms of Service of most online poker sites, so be warned).
Truth be told, this is one of the most valuable if not the most valuable part of the course since they are so detailed and well thought out.
Tournament Masterclass Customer Success
Here are some of the testimonials from either crushers who have worked with Bencb or coaching clients.
Last year I reached the final table of the WSOP Main Event. I had three months to prepare myself as optimal as possible for the biggest stage of poker. I came in contact with Ben ‘bencb789’ when preparing for the final table and he really opened my eyes. He helped me out so much and discovered a lot of leaks in my game and taught me various new things. We did a lot of coaching sessions and they were all extremely valuable to me. I still do some coaching sessions with Ben and I learn something new every day. Would recommend!
Kenny Hallaert, November Niner 2016
I had several skype sessions with Ben from RaiseYourEdge to work on my game and especially to prepare myself for some serious tourmaments (WSOP). In this short period of time he pointed out a lot of helpful things which I should consider during tournament play. I can honestly say he brought my game to the next level, I highly recommend his coaching as he has the ability to listen to the students’ needs and tailor-made his coaching. Money wisely spend if you like to improve your poker game and learn from one the best coaches out there.
Dirk Luenzer, Live Tournament Player
I know Ben for the biggest part of my pokercareer already. We were not just studying poker together, but were flatmates for more than a year sharing thoughts and strategies pretty much everyday. His work ethic and professionalism is outstanding and the combination of understanding theoretical concepts as well as applying those to playerpools of all levels is rarely seen out there. I decided to play the highest live tournaments out there myself and one thing I can tell you guys for sure: I’m really happy to not face my buddy Ben out there in the Live-Arena.
GoOse.core!, Cash Game Crusher (up to NL100k)
These Reddit threads(this, this and this) are also worth checking to see the general consensus of people who have bought.
They also have a hall of fame where you can see the biggest winners who have taken the course:
Be Ready to Put in Extensive Work With The Tournament Masterclass
In the introductory video, bencb789 talked about how you will need to commit yourself and put in the work to get the most out of this course. I completely concur, and this course may be more study intensive than any I've encountered in the past.
I knew this course was going to be involved when the first module was an hour of non-stop discussions about ranges. It felt like a complete data dump, and there is no way a person will be able to assimilate the information in just a single viewing short of having an endemic memory.
That's par for the course with this material. This training requires more than just casual viewing. It requires you to put in the time, study and practice to master the material. Don't be surprised if you will need to spend several hours taking in each and every video by watching multiple times.
What I Liked About This Course
Some players can look at a poker situation and instantly come up with different scenarios.
Others (like me) need a more methodical approach — a step-by-step plan for every situation.
Unfortunately, a lot of poker training out there skips this structure, leaving players like us behind.
That’s why I was seriously impressed with the methodical teaching style Bencb789 uses in the Tournament Masterclass.
I'm the kind of player who likes: ✅ A clear plan of action for every spot
✅ A way to prepare for contingencies
✅ A full system for tackling every phase of tournament play
This course gives you exactly that — the tools to plan and succeed from start to finish.
🏆 What Stood Out To Me
✅ Incredible Depth & Structure
The depth Bencb789 brings to every topic is better than any other poker site I’ve reviewed.
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Intermediate players will skyrocket their learning curve
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Advanced players will find the tools needed to break into higher stakes
✅ Homework That Actually Works
Each module includes homework assignments — and yes, they’re worth doing!
The homework drills help lock in the strategies and immediately apply them to your own game.
✅ Supportive Community
Once you enroll, you gain access to both the public and private Raise Your Edge Discord channels.
You’ll find tons of motivated players like you, asking questions, completing homework, and supporting each other's journey.
✅ Continuous Updates
Poker evolves — and so does this course. Since I joined, I’ve seen major updates including:
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✅ Shorter, more focused videos (one concept per video)
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✅ Progress tracking (easily see which lessons you’ve completed)
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✅ Interactive quizzes after modules (to test your knowledge)
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✅ New heads-up and multiway content
It’s reassuring to know this isn’t a “set it and forget it” course — it keeps evolving to stay cutting-edge.
❌ What I Didn’t Like About This Course
⚠️ Heavy on Lectures, Light on Visuals
I'm more of a hands-on, visual learner — and while the course is methodical, it could use more hand examples and visual learning aids.
⏱️ Some Videos Are Too Long
Many lessons used to run 90+ minutes, making them harder to digest.
Thankfully, recent updates have started splitting videos into shorter, more focused lessons for easier learning.
Raise Your Edge Pricing – Updated for 2025
When it comes to improving at tournament poker, investing in the right training can make all the difference. Just like any other serious investment, you might pay a little upfront — but the long-term return on your poker skills can be massive.
Raise Your Edge’s Tournament Masterclass is now available exclusively through Pairrd, offering two streamlined membership options:
🔹 Crusher Package – $627.30/year
Includes the Tournament Masterclass Apprentice Edition (20+ hours of elite content), access to the Pairrd Pro community, a 14-day money-back guarantee, and the ability to upgrade to Champion anytime.
🏆 Champion Package – $1,167.30/year
Includes everything from Crusher plus the full Tournament Masterclass Expert Edition, the full ICM Modules, Bounty Beast (PKO strategy), Slay 6-Max Hypers, Unchained Mindset course, Live Plays, private Discord coaching access, and future updates — over $9,000 worth of content bundled together.
While these are yearly subscriptions rather than lifetime access, the continual updates, access to new materials, and live community support make it a far better long-term value than static “pay once” courses.
When you break it down:
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Crusher costs about $1.71 per day.
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Champion costs about $3.20 per day.
That's a tiny price compared to what even one deep tournament run could be worth.
👉 You can get started today by choosing either the Crusher or Champion package through Pairrd — and benefit from their 10% discount already applied.
🔗 Learn To Crush MTTs With Raise Your Edge Today
Alternatives To The Tournament Masterclass
There are a number of other courses which may also be of interest to someone looking to improve their MTT game.
Upswing poker's Winning Poker Tournaments Course by Nick Petrangelo is one of the most obvious of these and is priced at $999 which is similar to the expert class. This is an excellent course which detailed, comprehensive, and very intense, similar to the tournament masterclass. However, I think the tournament masterclass edges with the sheer level of detail that goes into the range viewer. However, you should definitely check out the full review of Winning Poker Tournaments before making a decision.
If you are quite new to the game, I think the $1000+ price tag for either of these courses is way too much to invest. In that case, I would recommend another professional poker training site for tournaments, PokerNerve's Road To Success course for which the starter course retails at only $104 and the premium course at $517.50. The starter course will cover the fundamentals (which aren't in either of the other two courses) while the premium course covers much of the same strategies and techniques but at a lower level of detail and comprehension.
Raise Your Edge also have a number of other courses which you can check out right here on our best poker training sites page.
Raise Your Edge Poker Review Verdict: The Tools to Beat Tournaments
The Raise Your Edge Tournament Masterclass is hands down one of the best resources available today for serious tournament players.
However, success doesn’t come automatically — you’ll need to put in the time, study hard, and actively apply the strategies taught.
Can an average poker player passively watch and improve?
Actually, yes — if you already have a solid grasp of tournament fundamentals.
From my own experience, I found myself understanding advanced concepts far better after working through the course.
That said, if you’re completely new to poker, this course will likely feel overwhelming.
And for casual players, the investment of over $600–$1,100 per year might not be justified unless you're committed to real growth.
✅ But if you’re serious about moving up in stakes, building a world-class tournament game, and maximizing your EV — this is the program you’ve been looking for.
The Tournament Masterclass gives you everything you need:
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🛠️ Comprehensive, structured training
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🎯 Elite hand range tools
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🔥 Continuous updates as the game evolves
I genuinely believe Raise Your Edge remains the #1 tournament training site you can get your hands on in 2025.
You can get started today through Pairrd, with 10% already discounted at checkout:
🔗 Learn To Crush MTTs With Raise Your Edge Today
While nobody can guarantee what your poker journey will look like, enrolling in the Tournament Masterclass puts you in the best possible position to make your goals a reality.
Free Trial/Money Back Guarantee: 60-day money-back guarantee once you complete the homework assignments and quizzes.
Content Organisation: All content is very easy to follow and find although some videos are a touch too long and could be broken into smaller ones.
Content Depth & Comprehensiveness: Advanced strategies are covered in a lot of detail. Recent changes to the course have improved this. Top marks.
Video & Audio Quality: Audio and video quality are perfect throughout.
Value for money: Quite expensive but great value for money, particularly with the preflop range viewer which is almost worth the price of admission alone.
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