If you’re serious about improving your poker game, you’ve probably realized by now that playing alone isn’t enough. Studying is just as important.
Let’s face it: Poker isn’t just luck. It’s a game of skill, strategy, and constant adaptation. What worked last year might not cut it today. To stay ahead of the curve, you need to split your time evenly between playing and studying. Aim for that golden 50/50 split—half your time at the tables, and the other half hitting the books (or screens!).
How to Study Poker Like a Pro
Plug Your Leaks: First things first, you have to identify and fix your leaks. Every player has them—those costly mistakes that chip away at your stack. Slowly but surely, work on plugging these leaks to shore up your game.
Learn the Latest Strategies: Stay in the know. Watch instructional videos, read blogs, and participate in poker forums. Absorb as much knowledge as you can about current poker strategies to refine your approach.
Study Methods:
- Use a Hand Tracking Program (For Online Players): A hand tracking program, like PokerTracker, is your best friend. Go back and review every hand you’ve played. This way, you can see where you went right and where you can improve.
- Range Your Opponents: When you’re not in a hand, put your opponents on ranges. This practice sharpens your skills in reading hands and understanding your opponents’ strategies.
- Pay Attention to Every Hand: Even when you’re not playing, watch every hand closely. You’ll pick up valuable insights and learn from others’ mistakes and successes.
- Coaching and Group Discussions: Join poker group chats or run hand histories by friends. Additionally, hiring a coach can provide personalized guidance, help you improve faster, pinpoint your weaknesses, and give you specific strategies to work on.
- Take Notes on Live Play: If you prefer live poker, write down hands you’re confused about. This will help you remember them later when you’re reviewing your play.
- Double-Check Your Bust-Out Hands in Tournaments: Always review the hand that knocked you out of a tournament. Understanding what went wrong can prevent similar mistakes in the future.
The 4-Step Study Plan
Step 1: Pick Your Topic
First things first, jot down all the poker topics you feel you need to improve on. Once you have your list, choose one topic to focus on for a week. It’s best to go in a logical order, which we’ll dive into later. This way, you can give each area the attention it deserves without feeling overwhelmed.
Step 2: Learn Your Topic
Immerse yourself. Research and study everything you can about it. Watch videos, ask friends for their insights, review hands you’ve played, read books and blogs, and post questions in poker forums like 2+2.
Step 3: Record and Review
Keep a poker journal and start writing down the important points you learn on your topic. When you’re playing poker, note down any hands that relate to what you’re studying. Later, review these notes and discuss them with friends to get their input and insights.
Step 4: Rinse and Repeat
Just keep repeating this process with a new topic each time!
Now let’s dive into my recommended order for studying poker topics so you can get started!
Study Map
Fundamentals:
- Get comfortable with RFI (Raise First In) ranges, pot odds, bankroll management, SPR (Stack-to-Pot Ratio), and so on.
Pre-flop Play:
- You should know exactly which hands you should be opening and which hands you should be folding before you move on to post-flop play.
- Play around with odds and equities.
Pro Tip: If you’re playing online and like to multi-table, start with 1-2 tables. Gradually move to 4 once you’re comfortable.
Flop Strategy:
- Focus on hand class, c-bet strategy, calling c-bets, and range advantage.
- Once these concepts are solid, start working on your 3-bet game. Study which hands to 3-bet pre-flop and which hands to call 3-bets with.
Turn Play:
- Think in terms of hand class on turn as well. Learn which hands should be checks and which hands should be c-bets.
River Play:
- Understand when you should bluff rivers with your bricked draws.
- Calling river bets will come with experience once you have a solid understanding of range advantage.
Advanced Concepts:
- Once you have a good grasp of the fundamentals and basic pre-flop, flop, turn, and river strategies, you can start working on more advanced concepts like check/raising, implied odds, blockers, blind vs. blinds play, draw play strategy etc.
Pro TIp: You’ll also want to get familiar with the different poker software tools out there.
- Equity Calculators:
- Hand Tracking Programs:
- Solvers:
Remember, Poker is an extremely complicated game that can never really be solved. Even the best pros get confused and are constantly learning. Don’t let that discourage you, stay motivated and keep studying!
