Learning poker on Twitter with Gareth James
We chat to Barry's favourite Twitter follow for poker learning about keeping your poker study simple and effective.
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I invited you for a chat because recently you have become in my opinion the person using Twitter best to teach the game, and I think others should follow you for that.
Gareth James: Six months ago I hated Twitter and thought it was really toxic. Then I saw some people outside of poker posting short-form content and I realised the best way to explain anything was to keep it simple in 280 characters.
I decided to take it seriously since June last year. I posted a HRC sim from a pocket eights punt hand from the World Series of Poker and it got half a million impressions and doubled my followers overnight. It's amazing how much a screen shot of a chart resonates with the audience.
A lot of your content is on how to learn, rather than the specific hands themselves.
Gareth James: Yeah the one thing missing from a lot of strategy content is where do you start, and how do you get the most out of it?
I've been reading a lot about learning lately and it seems that simply telling somebody the answer is not enough, they have to arrive at it themselves to learn.
Gareth James: When you did maths at school the answers were always at the back of the textbook. If somebody had coaching with me I can give them the answer, but it's not that helpful. In school, you always got points for explaining how you got to the answer and that's the most important thing, guiding somebody to arrive at the right decision themselves.
"Focus on your biggest leaks"
You also help players understand what to learn on Twitter too, which I think is an even bigger hurdle for some players.
Gareth James: Given there is so much content out there it can be overwhelming. A remember a teacher at school telling me 'keep it simple, make it work' which always stuck with me. With students, I like to concentrate on "what are your biggest leaks and how do you fix them?"
Watching a 'turn double barrel video' on YouTube is not going to help you much if you are opening the wrong hands in the first place. Concentrate on really honing in on big leaks, rather than thinking you are making progress by watching Twitch.
You wanna know just HOW BAD that shove is with 88?
Let's find out
[🧵} https://t.co/xA1IKSQxz8— Gareth James (@gazelligpoker) July 19, 2023
You also are a big advocate of drilling the same spot over and over in a solver.
Gareth James: Single raised pots in position and out of position, Button vs Big Blind, Lojack vs Button, plus Small Blind vs Big Blind, preflop and flop - that's the game in a nutshell. Even though the pots are bigger on the turn and river, and the most money is at the final table, getting good at what happens most frequently will help the most.
"Poker videos should be specific to your leaks"
How would you advise people watch poker videos to avoid passively consuming them?
Gareth James: I like poker videos to be content-specific and address specific leaks. If its an area you need to work on. You should know what you are trying to fix, then find the video that addresses that.
There are 19,600 possible flops, 1,755 of which are strategically different.
Here's how I group them to make things easier to learn:
1. ABB
2. ABx
3. Axy
4. 2 broadways
5. BBB
6. K/Q+2
7. J/T+2
8. J/T connected
9. Low connected
10. Low unconnected
11. Paired
12. Monotone— Gareth James (@gazelligpoker) January 24, 2024
In 2024 I have set a goal to review 365 hands. I am also using a flash card system to memorise key concepts and making GTOWizard drills to hammer specific leaks I have. Does that sound like a good system?
Gareth James: That sounds really good, I'd just want you to make sure it remains fun. As soon as it becomes like a chore or a job. Spaced repetition is important but if it starts to feel a bit samey, mix it up a bit with new techniques. I'd also do a database review every three months to create a roadmap for your improvement.
You can follow Gareth James on Twitter for more great advice.
