Hi,

I tried to keep this short, turns out it's hard to be succint when typing out your poker life story.

I've been playing poker for years. Started out on play money at age 13/14 then>SNGs>small stakes cash>tourneys.

At the moment, I play on mobile - playing on laptop isn't the most convenient. I understand this is bad, as I'm unable to track HH, study spots and what not - it is what it is. I'll rectify this in future.

I've played most of my years purely trusting my gut. For the most part, it has served me well. I used to FT fairly frequently, failing that, I'd still usually run pretty deep (small stakes). My reads were usually accurate, or as accurate as can be given table info, villain bet sizing, etc. I usually knew when I was behind or ahead, which imo is arguably one of the most important aspects - it allows you to act accordingly.

Then, I started trying to study a little bit...

Learned names of table positions - never knew before (as I said, intuitively understood - early position = bad, late/in position = good and... it worked). Tried to learn a bit about bet sizing. Tried to learn a bit about bakroll mgmt, something I had never really considered - I'd spend $50 or whatever and almost guaranteed make it back at the end of session. Also tried to learn a bit about ranges (not much tbh).

After 'studying' (nowhere near as much as I should, although my reason will be explained at the bottom). I went on a rather long downswing trying to implement this newly learned info... My bet sizings were off - opponents calling when I want them to fold, folding when I want them to call. My timing was off. My reads terrible - everything went haywire.
'Studying' had the opposite effect of what I desired.

I had never really tried to build a bankroll up until recently. Deposited 150, built it up to around 500 or so in 3/4 weeks, whilst managing to take a 2-2.5k or so profit. Thought I had figured it out - playing my most consistent game, building my bankroll and cashing/FTing pretty consistently across all my stakes (made 3 FTs in one day, personal record). Then... I fkd it all up in a couple of poor sessions.

The reason I'm posting is - I don't know where to start studying and whether studying at all will help my game? I'm hoping so. I feel overwhelmed with the amount of info out there and I'm unsure where would be best to focus my energy. I used to arguably play better when I just went with the flow and now I don't think I could revert back to that if I tried. I have tried researching, just end up going round in circles though.

I really want to get back to previous form/improve on that, I enjoy playing poker - nothing beats it.

I understand some of my downfalls - poor bankroll mgmt being one of the main culprits.

I feel like I had more to add at the end here, but, it's late and I honestly can't think. Regardless, hopefully I've explained enough for anyone who has any words of wisdom.

I appreciate anyone who has took the time to read this - thank you.

If you are committed to learning and becoming the best poker player you can be then the first skill you need is discipline. Discipline is the foundation. Bankroll management, emotional control, commitment to studying, observing every hand to gather and analyze data; every aspect of becoming a better player relies on discipline.

After that I recommend understanding the math as the next important step. I'm a book guy so here are my recommendations: "Poker Math That Matters" by Owen Gaines and "The Mathematics of Poker" by Bill Chen.

Red Chip Poker offers a structured online course. Here is the syllabus: https://redchippoker.com/core-syllab...e-of-contents/

Thank you for taking the time to reply, I really appreciate it.

I agree, I'm definitely lacking in the discipline department to some degree, across all aspects mentioned. I still play poker essentially for fun, not fun when losing however. I'd like to take it a bit more seriously and improve results. My bankroll mgmt overall has improved, although still very (emphasis on the very) far from perfect. My hand observation was better previously, hopefully I'm able to try figure that out and start making better reads and more informed decisions again.

I appreciate your recommendations, I'll look into them.

Had a look at redchip and pricing seems very reasonable, I think I'll start there. Also, it's exactly what I'm looking for - everything structured how I'd imagine it should be structured.

Thank you