Quote:
Originally Posted by +EVillain
the coaching industry is full of loud voices, few of which i would invest my time with. most of the books are obsolete now, or have less utility than online resources. i would not hire private coaches, at least not at first, for a myriad of reasons. i would not buy the masterclasses either.
Except for bolded, everything else is meh.
Loud voices are mainly the masterclasses and websites that you'd sub to. There are decent books to clarify understanding of Game-theoretic concepts & understanding the underlying principles will make you be able to study by yourself.
I'd hire a 1v1 coach. Have had a coach for my decade+ long career and poker is a different platform for betting your money - the margins are razor-thin so you need all the help you need. Devouring 100hrs+ on videos will teach you less than what you will learn spending 2-3hrs with a good coach. Why? Videos assume too much regarding the viewer. Even ones for beginners forget to emphasize on very important concepts. They are not tailored to you. They don't stop a HH review like a coach does when they see a leak/a bad pattern or habit or a concept you might not be fully understanding.
For all I wrote above, poker is still pretty simple, it's rational and it's basically just math. So a teacher who sees your game on a regular basis will find bad patterns and leaks in your game that will make your play clean, solid and build a logically defensible winning strategy for you. You want some of the common leaks gone from your game asap and also understand why - if you want to go in the right direction then I am assuming the outcome you want is a high level of proficiency and that will only develop under a good coach. In fact, if you are smart enough, and start off with a decent even semi-decent coach - you will still get better and can look for better ones as you progress.
Cliffs: Start with a personal coach.
Players learning the game bemoan micros. THE EASIEST GAMES TO BEAT. People are calling 4bets with T4ss - so play tight, 3b larger sizing, cbet less but with stronger range - remember a ton of money is going in pre-flop so all you have to do is develop a strategy for a game where 37o will pay you off and not run riot by trying to outplay / w/e - this basically explains low stakes games to a somewhat experienced but b/e losing player.
Out of two players with similar winnings/career trajectory - go with the more eloquent of the two - he/she will be able to explain certain strategies in a more efficient manner just from that quality they have, i.e they are better at communicating and should make them better at teaching.
Sophistication higher up the stakes is somewhat of a myth. The same concepts apply, it's the same deck of cards (most people underappreciate how much the deck constraints your strategy) games are tougher not because of uber-talented pros - it's just that tilt is not a thing at HS and all you need is a BR and those same solid fundamentals. Of course, practice will make you better at solvers and how they can be used to identify leaks, see where you can find exploits and well...it's studying, grinding, and putting in 70hrs of total weekly productivity when post-game or next day studying and going over your hands also becomes something you are capable of doing.
I have never seen any video explain micro-low stakes in one sentence - opponents are putting in tons of money with weak ranges, play tight and win win win.
I have not had any video I ever watched explain to me what a value bet is?
It's a bet that you win more than 50% of the time you bet it. Plain and simp, yet I asked this on a RIO forum and got lolreplies full of pseudo-sophistication from 'elite' pros.
Players who don't find a good coach - will never understand why two A high flushes say AQs and A5s are totally different hands. AQs, for example, will more often block combos we can cooler the villain with so b b b line will have a lower EV because the Q is actually a bad kicker in a lot more instances than a 5 is.
Quote:
Originally Posted by +EVillain
this is what i did, and what i would recommend:
1. sub to all the major/credible sites, one at a time, and devour as much info as you can from each. eg: sub to upswing for a few months, exhaust all the major info -> sub to RIO essential, exhaust the info -> sub to RIO elite, etc.
2. begin buying more serious/expensive coaching courses. you can usually keep these permanently (rather than monthly sub) and revisit them periodically
3. buy/learn the software (PIO/monker/GTO+)
grinding in the lab consistently is what most players arent willing to do. If you really want this, then embrace the idea of being a lifelong student of the game.
gl brother
1 and 2 - don't do that. It's a bad recommendation.
3 - agree
