I've been reading a lot lately on trying to improve my play. One of the things I can't seem to get my head around is how to implement the things I'm learning during a hand.

I get the ideas about hand ranges and frequencies, and have seen some solver stuff etc etc, which is all nice - but online, we get 15 seconds to make a decision about what to do. It's obviously not enough time to go into any sort of detail so what level of detail are players thinking during a hand? It seems quite hard to even think of just simple ranges in that amount of time, never mind range vs range, frequency, sizing, and tendencies. I feel like players must be doing a lot of approximation and guesswork during hands, but everyone always seems to talk during hand reviews like they had complete clarity.

So what level of detail should I be thinking during a hand, and how would I implement things like solver analysis into that thinking? I'm not ready for solvers yet but I'm asking so that I can understand how to convert very detailed and specific information into something I can work with at the table.

If you are a beginner, you DON'T. Stop trying not to lose and/or implementing ideas that are way above what you are capable of doing.

Do work away from the tables to think about what you would do in various situations. You can see your cards before it is your turn to act - start thinking about what you might do once you see your cards. You say you have 15 seconds - if you're on the button and you're flicking your plums not paying attention until it says "BrainCox69 has requested TIME" then you are doing it wrong. If you are still overwhelmed, play less tables. If you are still overwhelmed after that, then it's your own fault for "have seen some solver stuff" and are trying to prove the Riemann hypothesis before you can count to ten.

You pick one thing to work on and focus just on that.

A good starting point for example is learning a good BTN RFI range.
So next time you play, for an hour, that's the only thing you actively focus on.

After a while, maybe 5 minutes, maybe 5 hours, you will notice you no longer need to focus on the BTN RFI range, you're automatically playing the correct range without thinking about it.

So time to move on to the CO RFI range.

And so on and on, until eventually you're focusing on some very deep concepts that at this time would be impossible for you, because you haven't learned to apply all the requirements for it yet.

Look into the 4 stages of learning:
https://leadershipmanagement.com.au/...ages-learning/

Maybe beginner questions was the wrong place to post the question, my bad. I can beat 2NL at 10BB/100 (I've been playing recreationally on and off for many years), but I only think about my own hand really and I read the strength of my opponent based on his actions. I'm trying to move up now so I want to start implementing more complex thinking, that's the reason for me asking. I take your points though.

I'll give this a try, seems like the obvious way now you say it but I did not think to do it this way.

+1 on both sixfour & Yeodan's comments. Super good information to think about.

The way it works best for me: I study...I take 1 or 2 things from that study session and apply them to my play over X amount of time until I feel comfortable enough not to have to use all my brainpower just to think about what actions to take, where it almost becomes like a reflex. I build myself up to not have to think about it, but it does take time.

Take 1 or 2 things, apply them to your play, go back in X amount of time and re-study, and see how much of a difference your thought process has changed from the beginning...Basically a rinse and repeat until you feel comfortable enough to move on to the next thing.

It really does take a long time to grasp certain things, so 1 thing might be very easy for you, and take you a week or 2 (or less), where other things might take months to fully understand, even after the rinse and repeat. That's just the way it is.

Poker is a journey man, you won't be good overnight, but over time things get easier. Studying is key if you want to get good at anything in life, Poker is no different. You just have to put in the time...

Good luck man!

You need to build a GTO strategy that is somewhat good; at the table, you adjust it based on the pool and some players. That's the preparation and work at the table. The rest is experience that takes the most time, and if you try to roll up, still more time. I am talking mainly about tougher games like the micro fast poker tables (though they under-bluff heavily, but that's about it); the low limit regular games can be scary after that as they can suck pretty badly compared to what you have experienced so far.