EPIC 500TH POST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Not really....

I think all of us from time to time forget that in every medium of life there will always be someone who is better than us at what we choose to do.i think that speaks true even more so in poker than any other meduim.i think we all have Egos the size of texas and beleive in what we say and beleive in the ideals that we have accepted in our own minds.

Unforunate for us the Human mind is flawed,and most times will lead us by emotion than rational thought. example, I definately want to be the best poker player in the world. i have the desire,for the most part i have the time. but i lacked Sincere motivation, and most of all natural talent. id venture to say that the bulk of us that post here feel the same way. Desire, time, but no real self motivational skills to speak of.

I see us on this fourm posting hands and stratigies based on what we have tried to learn from others and incorporate into our own game these very same ideals.and until recently i havent seen anyone touch the topic of learning. and how to learn properly.

The best way,From what i can tell, when you lack the natural talent, is to get a coach ASAP. i still plan on doing this as well when i feel like i can dedicate myself to that persons time. but for someone that is wanting to learn to beat the games this is the best way to learn, from someone who sees differently than you, and knows how to win consitantly.

Studying your own HH and making notes on each hand after a few games every time you play.this may sound time consuming and tedious, but if your wanting to get better, then this will DRANTICALLY improve your game. you will see things differently than you did in game and you can compare the two. i cant stress how much more ive imporved since ive started doing this. this also helps you to see your hands for thier true value and you can help aleviate tilt from doing this consitently, you will notice a quick improve ment if you do this regularly.

i havent taken the time to watch any videos so i cant comment on this form of learning but common sense would dictate that watching a great player play and hearing thier though proccess would be invaluble.

discuss hands alot on this fourm, and take all veiws into consideration. none of us are the best in the world (exept spamz maybe) so i cant imagine that we all have the right answer all the time i think having an open mind to all ideas is a good way to learn things the best way possible for any particular style of learning.

hopfully some better players will post there opinions, and some insight,with more tips and better ways to learn this game.

This process of reviewing HH's, thinking about the game, discussing with other players, posting on 2+2, being/having a coach etc. is called Deliberate Practice. It is supposed to be 10 times more effective in teaching skills than just practice alone (ie playing games) in terms of time spent and knowledge/skill gained. There are a lot of good books about Deliberate Practice and how to apply it. One good book that I read about this subject (in the context of trading but it can be applied across the board) is "Enhancing Trader Performance" by Brett Steenbarger (http://www.amazon.com/Enhancing-Trad.../dp/0470038667) it gives an overview of how great performers are made and looks at various high level athletes/musicians/etc. and how they got to that level. I recommend this book if you are looking for an extra edge on how to help yourself attain the next level. Please feel free to PM me if you would like to discuss anything I mentioned in this post or if you want to talk poker/performance etc. Hopefully this helps.

*Great Idea for a Post Deewhizzle

awsome response to my awsome thread.....

Please to be telling me how to..
But srsly, nice post.

There are thousands of different theories of education, but all of them agree that in order to learn anything well, you must do three things: prepare, practice, and reflect. Every theory goes in different directions with these, and has different ideas about how this can be achieved, but these three principals are consistent.

How you get there is up to you. And what is most important is that you (and everyone learning anything, for that matter) gain a sense of how you learn. We talk about the importance of the meta game in poker, but in all learning endeavors "metacognition" is a skill that none of us can do without. And the truth is that each and every one of us learns differently. We all have distinct preferences. For instance: reviewing HHs as a practice of reflection is a good general strategy, but what we do when we review should be different for each person. If you take notes, what do you write? How do your organize? How do you reference them in the future? All these considerations should be addressed with consideration to our metacognitive styles and preferences.

I agree with what you say about motivation. People with only some talent, and tons of motivation will be better players than people with all the raw talent and no motivation or discipline. This has been proven and written about ad nauseum in education, performance improvement, and business literature. None of us will get to an elite level of play unless we are driven to understand every detail of ourselves, the game, and how we approach it. Talent of course helps, but talent alone is very very overrated.

my spelling/typing skillz mirror that of my poker skillz. god i lol'd at my stupidity for a min over that. well done sir!

good post ty

Nice post. I have been reflecting a lot recently on my game, my skills, and my weaknesses. One of the main things HU poker has done for me is open up my mind. I remember a year ago when I was playing cash games as a losing player (but thinking I was a winner), I would laugh and think someone was a donk if they min raised or "clicked it back" in a big pot on the turn. Only when I could admit to myself that this put me in a difficult spot did I realize there is more than one way to play poker well and you have to be open to different lines and different spots. Sure I have odds to call with a marginal hand when they click it back, but how difficult of a spot on the river am I going to be in an inflated pot? Is calling with odds going to make me lose tons on the river in the long run because I don't know what to do?

People are way too quick to call someone an idiot, bad player, donk, etc. Don't get me wrong, there are some terrible players out there, but most players are at least decent and are thinking more than you give them credit for.

Only when you are open to the possibility that your opponent is better than you, will you actually be ready to be better than him.

Tyler Durden?


i wish i would have saw your posy about playing sum HUSNG @ $5-$20 i would have been down.

We can do it another time, I'll PM you next time I have a drunk session

i self excluded myself after a swong to re-evaluate my pokah prowess.

ill be Gone till November...... but we can hook up after that for sure, im sure youd like to beat the craps outa me for the suck out in the 2+2 tourny =)

Yeah, I think TNixon is the one that beat me in the semis. I was the one doing all the suckouts before that

all you need is 10.000 hours of Deliberate Practice. EZ game

i was working on my 10k hrs of ignorance to perfect it but i may look into this =)

Yea the magnitude is really large. Somewhere around 10 years to become an "expert"...hence where the motivation/dedication to excellence comes in.