Just curious to read about other people's approaches to studying poker. I don't actually have a decent way of studying and I want to change it so I'm looking for ideas. I tend to just watch videos and make notes, but it isn't enough. Sometimes I go into great detail and look at my ranges and do EV calculations for it etc but this is less practical.
I want something that I can do regularly to benefit my game away from the tables. Ideas?
Personally, I mostly watch different poker streams and that way improving my game by watching "what to do" in different situations.
Another strategy I think is really good, is to use a HUD and go through your database to find out what you are right and wrong. Example: lets say you one day want to focus on your opening range preflop from early position - then filter all your hands so you only see your plays from early position and study those hands. Just directly by looking at the chart you will probably find hands you thought were profitable or losing actually is the opposite.
Originally posted by Malendes
Personally, I mostly watch different poker streams and that way improving my game by watching "what to do" in different situations.
Can you recommend some streamers? I don't know anything about it 
Originally posted by Malendes
Another strategy I think is really good, is to use a HUD and go through your database to find out what you are right and wrong. Example: lets say you one day want to focus on your opening range preflop from early position - then filter all your hands so you only see your plays from early position and study those hands. Just directly by looking at the chart you will probably find hands you thought were profitable or losing actually is the opposite.
This is something I'm pretty unsure of in terms of how beneficial it will be. I will only see problems when I know they are problems - otherwise I will not see anything wrong. I'd like to find a way to actually uncover some of my leaks rather than just to spot ones that I would be aware of.
Yeah, I guess it is different from person to person. Personally I like to analyze my HUD like that, but i understand if it isnt worth it for some people.
But streams are definitely a good way to learn, especially if you aren't a big fan of studying too much - eventhough I learn quite a bit from watching them, I never treat it as studying, as many streams also are entertaining. Even if you just want pure studying, there is also streams for that.
The most popular streamers would be people like:
Jason Somerville
Tonka
Kevin Martin
Jaime Staples
Bill Perkins
- I can recommend to check out all of these streams
Also people like Daniel Negreanu, Liv Boeree and Phil Hellmuth have been streaming in some periods but there isn't as consistent as normal poker streamers
You should also check out PokerStrategy's stream - be aware that there even are community streams (Russian, Polish and so on) if you speak one of those languages.
On the streamers front I would say it depends if you play MTT or Cash for who to watch.
I always start reading books, but I always get tired or bored and I do not follow, I know it's wrong because I have to expand what little I know, but I usually follow my intuition, I want to be better player and my friends always give me some tips and that help me
Originally posted by Catonthemat
On the streamers front I would say it depends if you play MTT or Cash for who to watch.
True. The guys I listed mainly focus on MTTs, but Jason and Bill plays cash too - Jason a lot of mixed games and Tonka plays SNG's. Streamers tend to mainly play MTTs but you should be able to find good cash streams too.
Originally posted by mariale1990
I always start reading books, but I always get tired or bored and I do not follow, I know it's wrong because I have to expand what little I know, but I usually follow my intuition, I want to be better player and my friends always give me some tips and that help me
Back when I began studying I read some books too and liked it. But the things to be aware of when using books, is that there is a risk of strategies in the book getting outdated. Poker always evolve and online study methods are more flexible than books are when it comes to following the tends and strategies. That being said, if you enjoy books, there is still a lot to learn from them 
Originally posted by Malendes
True. The guys I listed mainly focus on MTTs, but Jason and Bill plays cash too - Jason a lot of mixed games and Tonka plays SNG's. Streamers tend to mainly play MTTs but you should be able to find good cash streams too.
Yea that was going to be my point 
I watch Tonkaa and staples a lot but as I mainly play cash if anything it is a negative to the learning 
But still enjoyable.
For cash games I have been watching two that play zoom cash NL50 & NL100; HLMedia and Swarleyyyyy. Really good watch on both and talk through what they are up to, however like with the MTT streamers have to be smart about what you take away from it as things that work at NL50/100 don't always have the desired result at NL2
Thanks, I'll be checking out those streams for sure.
I have always read books and training material, but I'd like to do something a bit more rigorous and active rather than just passive reading/watching. I don't have an issue with running database filters for certain spots, but I need to be aware of these potentially problematic situations before I know what to filter for. And even when I do filter it I may or may not know if I'm doing anything wrong.
I'm playing cash 
On the cash front I have been playing a lot against Snowie recently. Granted my results are terrible, but that is probably more me then the Snowie training. But saying that it does play a lot different to Snowie at NL2, with the profitability of bluff catching going right down compared to what Snowie think's is optimal. In general I find it to be a much more active learning style to reading/watching videos whilst taking notes. I do a mix of hands with live evaluation on and off. My quick review on it in my blog : Link. For the challenge Snowie you only need to pay $35/year, however then you don't have many live hands that can be checked by Snowie (think it is like 500/month).
Cool, yeah snowie is an interesting thought. I'm currently trying it out and might start using it as a pre-session warmup, and for ideas about optimal play in some spots. But I agree it doesn't apply a lot to microstakes because we aren't being exploited and I want to work on things that will actually improve my winrate at these stakes. I don't know if snowie will do this very well. Even if it will, it doesn't seem so helpful in that it doesn't actually teach me WHY a certain play is good - it just tells me I played "extra-terrestrial"...
Snowie plays close to optimal so you are right about that it doesn't fit at the micros so perfectly. At NL2 ppl don't bluff enough OTR so you should bluff catch less and also I believe they call too much so your bluffs are not as profitable. It is still a great tool for learning and you can rarely go wrong with a line that Snowie would use.
It is great for session warmups.
Sometimes when you review hands it will show a tip box where it actually tells why another line would be better. But it is not a coach so most of the times you have to figure out yourself why certain plays are better. If you don't understand something, you can always post it on the forums and we can think together why Snowie would use a different line
Originally posted by la55i
Sometimes when you review hands it will show a tip box where it actually tells why another line would be better. But it is not a coach so most of the times you have to figure out yourself why certain plays are better. If you don't understand something, you can always post it on the forums and we can think together why Snowie would use a different line
Yea with PokerSnowie I review my challenge hands that way so can see the tip boxes. Some of the tips are a bit general but some I find pretty decent.That is one of the drawbacks of SnowieApp imo doesn't ever give tips.
If a tip hasn't been given I like using the hand strength indicator as at least then you know if snowiest is doing something for value/bluff/bluff catching.
The more expensive version also gives snowie approx range for villain. Which I might upgrade to when I get out of the swamps as the ranges would be miles off for most of nl2
Best way to learn how to play poker of course is play poker 
Watching videos/reading might help
Originally posted by arttuzulu
Best way to learn how to play poker of course is play poker
Wellll, that might not be the best option Of course you can learn by playing but learning through trial and error is not the fastest way.
For example figuring out how big bet you can call profitably with your draw is very difficult without knowing what odds and outs are
Originally posted by arttuzulu
Best way to learn how to play poker of course is play poker
I'd also most totally disagree, just playing I am sure you would pick up bad habits. Or as la55i says would take a serious age of trail and error which would be expensive....
If I spent all my money lost on training I am sure I'd be a lot better
Originally posted by arttuzulu
Best way to learn how to play poker of course is play poker
Yeah, that's mainly what I've always done and it isn't enough, hence the thread Just wanted to see if there was anybody out there who has a solid off-table study schedule.
Hmm thats true. Actually if i think it that way i agree. What if i spent all lost money to training ?
And what about a study group? it helps alot of players to talk and discuss hands / difficult spots
Originally posted by rompas
And what about a study group? it helps alot of players to talk and discuss hands / difficult spots
Yeah for sure, I used to be part of a couple of different study groups in the past. One thing I noticed is that if they are not well organised then they often get put aside either because there are too many people or because some of the weaker players of the group end up continuously complaining about losing and the hands that they post are just coolers with no effort to actually improve. This makes the rest of the members not really want to get involved. But yeah ♦ I think I might make a thread for one, thanks
