At the highest levels of tournament poker, there's a constant sense of pressure. Fields are stronger, differences are slimmer, and the margin for error is minimal. Bryan Paris has firsthand experience with this evolution. Yet, instead of chasing complexity, he emphasizes something much simpler and simultaneously more challenging—mastering the basics better than others.
Bryan Paris has held his position among the elite of the online MTT scene for a long time, but his approach is surprisingly straightforward. Many players, he believes, focus on improving in the wrong areas. They spend hours analyzing rare spots, all the while overlooking errors in decisions they make every single day.
The Tougher Reality of Online Tournaments
Online poker has changed significantly. Discussions about bots, real-time assistance, and distrust towards certain platforms are now common in the high stakes environment. Paris, however, sees this situation not as a reason to retreat but as a challenge. Online tournaments are still beatable but only for players willing to work more precisely and disciplined than ever before. The space for comfortable play has vanished. According to Paris, survival belongs to those determined to continually reassess their decisions in the most frequent situations.
One of the most powerful ideas from the conversation is that most players lose not in complex solver situations, but in the very basics. Defending the big blind, responding to continuation bets, and managing stacks in common tournament phases. These, according to Paris, are where the biggest and most costly mistakes are made. These errors aren't dramatic or immediately visible, making them all the more dangerous. They repeat thousands of times and quietly decide who advances and who remains stagnant.
Solvers as Assistants, Not Thought Replacements
Paris doesn't deny the importance of solvers. Instead, he considers them an essential part of modern study. The problem arises when a player stops thinking independently. Learned solutions work only in ideal conditions—real poker is full of deviations, uncommon sizings, and human factors. Therefore, he emphasizes understanding principles over memorizing outputs. A player who understands why a strategy works can adapt in situations that solvers never address.
With the increasing demands of the online environment, Paris finds growing value in live tournaments. Not because of nostalgia, but because of the information that live poker still offers. Player behavior, the pace of decisions, and bet sizings create an edge that simply doesn't exist in online poker. According to Paris, many players miss this edge because they're not truly present. Distractions, phones, and autopilot modes rob them of value that accumulates throughout the tournament with focused play.
Learning as a Way to Stay Ahead
Aside from his own play, Paris is deeply involved in coaching and creating educational content. He views teaching as a way to constantly sharpen his own thinking. Explaining basic concepts to others exposes weak points and demands precision. Here too, he returns to the same philosophy—improvement doesn't start in rare spots but in everyday decisions. Those who master them better than others still have a huge advantage in modern MTT poker.
This episode of Chasing Poker Greatness offers no shortcuts or quick fixes. It provides a sober view of the game, which is more challenging than ever before. Yet it also reminds us that the essence of poker remains unchanged. Tools evolve, the environment toughens, but the winners stay the same. They are players who have mastered the basics, can think independently, and are willing to work where most do not want to.
More from Chasing Poker Greatness
Justin Saliba - Why Sometimes You Have to Fold Kings to Win the Game
Dr. Lara Eisenberg – From Doctor to WSOP Champion
Stephen Baker: Most players know what to do – but don't do it
Jared Alderman: The Mindset that Changes the Way You Win in Poker
Sources – Podcast Chasing Poker Greatness, X, Flickr/PSlive (Eloy Cabacas)
