How to study in poker

[crooked27]

I have not yet ordered my copy of the pokermindset, so maybe it is talked about in the book. I lack greatly in bringing what I have read in articles/Books/Videos to the table when I play. I feel that my mindset is wrong when I'm reading articles/Books and watching videos. I need a different way of studing in poker. I don't play by the books I have read, but I have alot of poker books and I think I'm not taking enough out of them. I was wondering how you guy's study or have studied in the past. Maybe tricks or how many times you have read books you have. I need to be more focused when studying poker. I hope what I wrote makes sense, it did in my head. Any help on any matter relating to this would be great. Thanks guy's

P.S. look forward to the book Pie/Matt

[Taardvark]

After using the standard books to gain a foundation for overall sound play, I now find that I find maybe one or two unique or interesting concepts to try to incorporate into my game.

I test these new ideas in 2 ways. The first is in my weekly home game. We play ridiculously small stakes ($10 buy in, .05/.10 blinds) and if I lose my shirt experimenting it's not going to put a dent in either my bankroll or pysche. The second is that I will then try out the concept online, usually in a small MTT or on a cash table at least one level and sometimes two (depending on the concept and it's potential to lose me money while experimenting) below what I usually play.

I then try out the concept for at least a few days until I have some level of comfort. If I find that is seems to be working, I'll put it in my tool bag. If I find mixed results, I'll continue to test it out for a couple of more days. If I find it's a disaster, I'll first reread the section about the concept and decide if it's me misinterpreting the concept or if it is simply a concept that doesn't work within the framework of my game. If it's the former, I'll readjust and try again. If it's the former, I'll abandon it.

The biggest key for me is to honestly review the results. The forums here are also a great place to get insight and comments from other players. Perhaps they are trying the same thing or some variation and their comments and thoughts can be very helpful.

[toronexti]

Personally, I havn't read many poker books (I think like 3 books fully and another 2-3 like 1/2 way through or something).

I would suggest that instead of reading a book and then trying to incorporate that specific concept in your play; you should instead read about a concept and go back and see where you might have already used it without realizing it. If you can't find an instance where you have already used the concept try identifying a situation where the author would probably suggest for you to have applied it. Then look to see which play (yours or the authors) you like better - if you're not sure post the hand and see what kind of replies you get.

You're gonna learn a lot more from being proactive and discussing strategies and concepts on forums or with friends rather than passively reading a book and trying to apply the concept on your own.

[Musicca]

Try not to expect to much to soon. Everyones learning curve is different and a concept that one person picks up quickly can take another person longer to digest.

I think Taardvark's advice is bang-on, 1 maybe 2 ideas at a time in a hands on learning setting that you are comfortable with. Lower stakes, so any monetary reprocussions will not deter you, and time, to experiment with and re-evaluate concepts if necessary.

[Musicca]

toronexti wrote

[Willem]

I don't really study books, I only read them. Whenever I read something, I need to able to comprehend it directly. If this is not the case, I am not ready for that knowledge. If I try hard to learn something, I only learn a trick which I usually forget after some time. If I read something and it makes perfect sense, the knowledge is directly integrated into my existing knowledge.

This results in the need to re-read books since you don't fully understand the entire book after one read. Digesting simply takes time, there is nothing that can change that.

I don't know if this works for everyone but it works for me.

[janeg]

I will always read a book straight through and highlight any point that jumps out at me. Then I'll go through it a second time, a little more slowly, and try to think about the concepts that struck me and whether I can remember being in similar situations. It also helps to go back through some hand histories and try to spot where it may have applied but I missed it.

Mostly, I try to understand the concepts behind the plays rather than trying to pick up specific plays. If I make the effort to try and grasp the concept find it helps more at the table in recognizing situations where it may apply.

Originally, I focused more on learning certain plays but got killed at the table after reading SSH, I made the plays but because I didn't have a real grasp of the concepts I made them in the wrong situations I think this happens to alot of people based on some of the table play I see.

I'm no where near as structured with my studies as I should be but that's another story

[nsidestrate]

I find that certain books hold ideas that I was incapable of absorbing when I first read them. I have re-read ToP many times and I seem to lock onto different concepts every time.

[mchilger]

Alan Schoonmaker just started a new series of articles in Cardplayer on how we learn. He has only written one article so far but I think it will be interesting and shed some light on this topic.

I think the first thing to realize is that everyone learns in different ways. Some people need visual stimulation, some people need to study in groups, i.e Forum, while others can study on their own. Some learn from lectures while others learn from books. Some learn by doing while others learn by watching someone doing. etcetera.

My belief is that most people learn better by examples. It is one thing to say, motors work like this, and another to actually get a wrench and be actively involved in figuring out the engine. I also believe that repetition and focus is important.

The above paragraph is why I believe ITH was so successful. I tried to create focus by separating key concepts, internet tips, etcetera. I created repetition and focus with the Chapter Reviews. And of course I had lots of hand examples so the reader could actively participate and at least see how concepts were applied in action.

A few years ago hand examples were rarely used in books making the learning process more difficult. Today many authors use more hand examples although not nearly enough (not nearly enough authors and not nearly enough examples)

So one of the first challenges is overcoming the weaknesses in the book you are reading. TOP, THFAP, NLTAP are all great books with a ton of information. As Nside says, you grasp new concepts with each additional reading of the book. One of the reasons for this is that your play has advanced to a level where you can now understand and relate the concept, but another reason it takes multiple readings is just the organization and presentation of the material.

So you ask a good question. How should you read a book? I think the first thing is to highlight key concepts - either concepts that strike you as especially important, or concepts that you don't quite grasp when reading them. This will help with focus and repetition on future readings.

Come back and read through your highlights after the first read. Then give the book and rest for a few months and start applying the concepts. This might include discussing ideas/hands in Forums, etcetera. After a few months, reread with focus on the previous highlights.

While playing, I always grab histories for interesting hands, especially those that relate to something I might be writing or reading about. When you have hands that remind you of a particular concept, like M for example, grab it and post it. Now you can learn by example with Forum discussion to overcome the fact that the author might not have given enough hand examples.

There is a big difference in reading a poker book and absorbing a poker book. I try and read poker books like textbooks. Be sure to cover the answers. Think through concepts and try and be sure you understand the exceptions or the situation-specific conditions. If you only read then you'll often miss some of that and misapply the concepts. For example, you might read that you should push a weak hand in big pots. That can be true, but only if 1, 2, and 3 conditions apply. If you simply read without absorbing you'll miss those conditions.

You might also try interactive learning tools such as The Poker Tutor, pokerxfactor, etc. as another great learning method is to simply do things like the professionals do them. These are also visual which help some players learn better than reading.

Matthew

[crooked27]

Awsome thanks for the your thoughts guy's. I think I just need a better focus when reading and playing. I'm going to try studying a little harder, but also not trying to take in as much right away. Any more thoughts feel free to add.

[AlamedaMike]

Part of the how is the why - if you are asking how then you know the why. But, I thought I would add a note.

If you do not study then you will be like the player on my right in a 6/12 game who open limped with and the player on my left OTB raised with - 2 and a King hit the flop and the river was .

The player on my right won and either he never read a book or forgot what he read. The player on my left is almost as bad because he never read or forgot don't tap on the aquarium because it disturbs the fishes. He berated the bad player for playing a trash hand like 74s.

Knowing what you want to learn (to play better) is part of the study process. You might see this play and wonder if it was a good play - after all the player on my right won the hand. If you then check the books you will see why this was a bad play - that will reinforce the concept and help with the learning process.

Don't open limp with 74s MP fold that puppy.

The player on my right has now learned that playing 74s can make money and will do it again - let's hope that he ignored the player on my left.

[AlamedaMike]

[Buzz332]

Hi guys - only just joined so sorry for reviving an old thread.

Just read this in conjunction with The Journey article. I've been a recreational winning player for 18 months but now I really want to improve my game, I'm readding books, posting hands, discussing concepts. But my number one frustration is finding an overal method to learn and apply - much like an earlier poster I grasp most of the concepts but applying them in a game I find oh so much harder. Study your opponents, calculate pot odds, put your opps on a range, play aggressively, etc etc . I'm yet to find that successful method to really incorporate learning into my game.

Like many I guess I have a day job and I only have a few hours a night to study and play. I want to maximise the efficiency and effectiveness of the time I have - finding that method to effectively learn is something I am still seeking.

So the thoughts above are very useful - what I'd really be interested in is how other successful players did it - how did you make that transition from interested amateur to the experienced artisan. I'm determined to improve at this game - I'm winning at 50nl, but I have a hunger and drive to be successful at higher levels.