Help in improving my game... (1 Viewer)

[MattyMatt]

What helped me was reading Sklansky's book on NLH. It's dated and math-heavy. But while Gordon's is more accessible I feel some who follow Gordon's suggestions are somewhat more predictable than those who studied basics and develop their own style.

What I did was to learn things in a reasonable order, and every step gradually improved my game a lot. I think it was key for me to learn one thing at a time. Just read up on it, use it in a few games, evaluate of course, and then move to the next. Based on other sources but definitely Sklansky's book, and in rough order;

1. Make damn sure I understand procedure and can read the board correctly. It's no use having math skills if one misses what hands are possible.
2. Memorized and always applied Sklansky's basic pre-flop guide.
3. Started paying attention to a) my position, b) who's sitting where, c) who's in the hand
4. Memorized out odds and how to compare to pot odds.
5. Learned implied odds
6. Blocking bets and betting for information.
7. Improved attempted control of pot size.

To me the progression was sensible because it was what my brain could handle. I'll reiterate that I think it's definitely worth learning one thing before moving on to the next. As an amateur it's hard to memorize and apply it all. And then as I got better at the above I kept on refining things and picking up new ways of thinking.

I think in terms of learning for you there's definitely a benefit to pay attention to whatever is relevant for what you're learning at the time. For example, when I started applying the pre-flop guide all of a sudden I started understanding the problems with playing certain hands in certain positions. And then I started noticing what other people play and how hands develop as a result. And when I started with even the most basic boring out/pot odds considerations I stopped started losing so much, and again saw how people made mistakes. Same with blocking bets. I started noticing how I could manage the pot by betting first - but in conjunction with knowing whom I was playing... and so on...

Too much text, sorry.

It's all doable is what I'm trying to say. Baby steps.

 

[Old State]

If you want to lose a ton of cash, follow Doyle Brunson advise on NLH in the Super System

Another vote for Jonathan Little. His “Small Stakes” series is very good. He isn’t the best writer so sometimes it’s hard to follow...but great info and theory.

 

[detroitdad]

What helped me was reading Sklansky's book on NLH. It's dated and math-heavy. But while Gordon's is more accessible I feel some who follow Gordon's suggestions are somewhat more predictable than those who studied basics and develop their own style.

What I did was to learn things in a reasonable order, and every step gradually improved my game a lot. I think it was key for me to learn one thing at a time. Just read up on it, use it in a few games, evaluate of course, and then move to the next. Based on other sources but definitely Sklansky's book, and in rough order;

1. Make damn sure I understand procedure and can read the board correctly. It's no use having math skills if one misses what hands are possible.
2. Memorized and always applied Sklansky's basic pre-flop guide.
3. Started paying attention to a) my position, b) who's sitting where, c) who's in the hand
4. Memorized out odds and how to compare to pot odds.
5. Learned implied odds
6. Blocking bets and betting for information.
7. Improved attempted control of pot size.

To me the progression was sensible because it was what my brain could handle. I'll reiterate that I think it's definitely worth learning one thing before moving on to the next. As an amateur it's hard to memorize and apply it all. And then as I got better at the above I kept on refining things and picking up new ways of thinking.

I think in terms of learning for you there's definitely a benefit to pay attention to whatever is relevant for what you're learning at the time. For example, when I started applying the pre-flop guide all of a sudden I started understanding the problems with playing certain hands in certain positions. And then I started noticing what other people play and how hands develop as a result. And when I started with even the most basic boring out/pot odds considerations I stopped started losing so much, and again saw how people made mistakes. Same with blocking bets. I started noticing how I could manage the pot by betting first - but in conjunction with knowing whom I was playing... and so on...

Too much text, sorry.

It's all doable is what I'm trying to say. Baby steps.

well said sir

 

[WoodburyPoker]

You could sign-up for Audible. With the free audio book promo, and the included books with the month-to-month subscription; you could have the top 4 poker books.
J. Little
Phil Gordon
Annie Duke
The Mental Game of Poker series
They don't have a audio book of Doyle's book unfortunately, as I would like to hear what he has to say. I do hear it doesn't hold up well.

 

[MattyMatt]

A lot of good suggestions in this thread.... thx!

 

[longflop]

All good advice already stated. Read all you can, books, articles, strategy posts, everything. But most important is play!!! There is no replacement for practice. My brother loves poker, I talk to him about it all the time, but he only players once a year or so. For as much as we talk about it he should be much better at it, but unless you put in the time playing all the theory in the world isn’t that much value.

And if you can’t play on a very regular basis, deal out hands by yourself. Deal 8 hands and go around looking at each one and think how you would play each one in that position. Then deal a flop and think about how each hand would play, repeat for the turn and river. After a while you will start to realize why some hands are better and which hands you should be folding.

@Rhodeman77 really hit it on the head here. Knowing the theory and odds are imperitive, but you have to put it into practice. Most importantly, you need to know how you will react in "live" situations. Nothing you can read will simulate reps. Tons and tons of reps. Plus its fun.

Something that helped me was learning to play freely. I had to convince myself to stop being afraid of losing. It sounds so simple, but it was hard for me. If you continually put yourself in good positions, that's all you can do. Sometimes its not going to go your way. Maybe even spectacularly unfairly sometimes. As soon as I came to terms with that, I shed my tight passive play. Surprise, surprise, I started winning more.

 

[DrStrange]

I encourage a “virtuous” cycle that goes something like this:

First, study. read a book, watch video, peruse the internet. Fair warning - most study items require multiple uses spread over months for the concepts to make sense.

Then play cards. Take notes. Practice remembering hands. Don’t drink. Spend your time outside of hands watching. Start making guesses about what hand you think each player holds.

Reflect on your sessions the next day. I use my excercise period as my time for reflection. Keep in mind that winning a hand does not mean well played nor does losing a hand mean badly played. Try to look at a hand from several points of view.

Post hands in strategy. Criticism is not personal but it might mean you made mistakes. Learn things even if the path is a bit bumpy.

Then go back to study. Progress will be slow and uneven. Few people get better really quickly. If it were easy everyone would be a winner.

DrStrange

 

[Anthony Martino]

I'll give you some helpful tips from my long-in-development book, Play Poker Like The Schmoes:

If you can't call...…..RAISE

If you see every hand to showdown, you'll win every hand you're supposed to and you can NEVER be bluffed.

Thank me later!

 

[RoyalBluff]

I saw that Daniel Negreanu has a Masterclass for $120 and I've heard good reviews. I think it's a good place to start, specially where he goes through lessons on how to read people. I haven't done this class myself but intrigued. Has anyone seen this?

 

[Anthony Martino]

I saw that Daniel Negreanu has a Masterclass for $120 and I've heard good reviews. I think it's a good place to start, specially where he goes through lessons on how to read people. I haven't done this class myself but intrigued. Has anyone seen this?

Everything you do at the table conveys information. You can't be all loosey-goosey, talking on your phone, eating a sandwich!

 

[Perthmike]

Everything you do at the table conveys information. You can't be all loosey-goosey, talking on your phone, eating a sandwich!

Ah shit, that’s my mistake. I take a bite from a sandwich everytime I bluff.

Thanks Daniel negreanu.

 

[CantSpellPoker]

I saw that Daniel Negreanu has a Masterclass for $120 and I've heard good reviews. I think it's a good place to start, specially where he goes through lessons on how to read people. I haven't done this class myself but intrigued. Has anyone seen this?

There's a thread on the class itself somewhere on here if you dig around with the Search tool.

I've done the class (skimmed through it, at least - I would go back and watch each lesson multiple times if I were to take it more seriously). It definitely has a ton of info. It appears to be geared toward a player who is better than a novice, but nowhere near accomplished.

Is it worth $120? I have no idea. Personally, I paid the $180/yr for All Access and I've enjoyed some of the other material on the site, so it might be worth it just to buy access to the site.

 

[RoyalBluff]

There's a thread on the class itself somewhere on here if you dig around with the Search tool.

I've done the class (skimmed through it, at least - I would go back and watch each lesson multiple times if I were to take it more seriously). It definitely has a ton of info. It appears to be geared toward a player who is better than a novice, but nowhere near accomplished.

Is it worth $120? I have no idea. Personally, I paid the $180/yr for All Access and I've enjoyed some of the other material on the site, so it might be worth it just to buy access to the site.

Great! I'll take a look at that thread. For $180/yr all access I think it is worth it. I'm an avid cook and I saw previews of Ramsey and Keller classes would come in handy. Thanks for the tip!

 

[CantSpellPoker]

Great! I'll take a look at that thread. For $180/yr all access I think it is worth it. I'm an avid cook and I saw previews of Ramsey and Keller classes would come in handy. Thanks for the tip!

I'm halfway or so through the Keller class and have enjoyed it so far.

 

[Minraiser]

Hey guys. I play in small cash games locally, usually once a week for the past year or so. Every now and then, I attend some small local tournaments but nothing major. $50 buy ins. And have not yet been to the casinos to play. Reason being, I need to understand the game more. A couple of guys I play with really understand the game and have a very good analysis of the hand, with their outs and percentages, or they understand their pot odds. I am not that quick to see or understand that stuff yet. Besides practice which is understandable, what can I do to understand better?? Do most of the people you play with analyze this every hand??

Took me about 30 min to write this because I couldn't figure out how to say it. Hahahaha.

It says your play tournaments. So I would google Preflop starting Hands ranges based on position and stack size and implement push/fold strategy