Which is more +ev, study time or play time?

[igotBlackJak]

i am worse than your grandmother at using this search tool, so I need to start a new thread to answer my question.

In your opinions, is it more +EV to study (Books/2+2forum/handreplayer/reviewing histories/and crap like that)...

Or actually playing STT's?

I have a limited amount of time each day for poker related activities... I am always torn between playing 2-4 games at once (taking up whole screen), or playing 1-2 and reading material at same time...

Are there any opinions on this?

[J-Lo]

play 4 and read during the first 4 levels.

[KramerTM]

I often wonder the same thing. My feelings are...

Play as much as you can until you get "bored" of playing. Instead of pushing through this boredom, use this time to read up on 2+2 or whatever poker book you prefer. Now you read until you either get "bored" of reading or miss playing. By the time you hit the felt (or mouse) again, you'll be fresh, on top of your game, and sporting some new strategies you recently read about.

It's been working for me. Let me know what you think.

[DasLeben]

I play, then read/review, play, read/review, etc.

Once I'm satisfied playing tourneys for the day, I sit down and replay my tourneys, plug them into eastbay's program, and surf 2+2 some more. I seriously think that right now, 80% of my time is spent preparing for playing rather than actually playing.

[jgunnip]

A lot of it depends on your goals. IMO playing is going to be your best +ev decision since you can't put a price on experience. It might suck at first, losing some money but sometimes it takes get smacked in the face a couple of times before you finally put up your hand to block it. Also once you play, replay the tournament and watch yourself in action, this is probably the second best thing you can do along with posting in these forums. maybe somebody can provide you with a link to the replayer.

Damn I can't get the URL to work but if you use the seach tool, Look in One-Table Tournament and search "four hours" in subject and body over the last month. you'll see a post be me, i think it's the second one. That thread has very similar discussion to the information you are interested in. hope it helps.

[igotBlackJak]

i am really curious in people's ideas on this. Obviously reading while you play is the best, but that has to be -EV.. at least for me...

I am playing so many T's a day now(relative to what I used to)that I dont have time to replay them all... Should I be? while I am first starting out with these SNG's...

[pergesu]

[ QUOTE ]
A lot of it depends on your goals. IMO playing is going to be your best +ev decision since you can't put a price on experience. It might suck at first, losing some money but sometimes it takes get smacked in the face a couple of times before you finally put up your hand to block it.

[/ QUOTE ]
The problem is that poker doesn't necessarily reward skill in the short term. Someone can be playing correctly, lose a shitload, and just give up. We can say you gotta deal with the rough times, but if you start off in one, it's no good. Likewise you can play horribly and go on a massive heater (I've been doing this for a little over two years now), thus think you're a solid player.

If you're brand new, I think it's better to spend more time studying then playing. Go out prepared. I read TOP and HEFAP before I played my first hand of poker, and kicked ass from the start. Ran well to begin with, but then eventually became less sucky. Then make it a good 50/50 mix once you've been playing a bit, and then do whichever one interests you at the time. If I've been playing for four hours, I take a break and read a bit. Just be sure to do both.

[igotBlackJak]

i have the replayer and use it often. Also, during this learning phase of the past 3 months... I am not losing money. I am playing in the 11s and 22s with 30% and 55% ROI respectively. (#250 11s) (#55 22s) I am not saying this for any reason other than to say I am not losing and donot know which is better for longterm EV, study or play...

thanks for replies...

[jgunnip]

Also, if you play on Party I'd be willing to exchange HH with you. I find it's a good tool to try and figure out what a person other than yourself is thinking and why they played a hand/tournament the way they did. PM if your interested.

[jgunnip]

I agree, and I think I should say what I mean by you should play as the best learning tool is not to play as many as you can each night just to play, try to get at least 4 or 5 everyday if you single table and a few more if you multi. Give youself a chance to constantly be involved each day in playing the game and reviewing it.

To the OP, also check out Gigabet's (someone correct me if I'm wrong) thread titled "The difference between winning and losing." It's a must read in order to get your head in the right frame of mind if it isn't already.

[jgunnip]

Sorry for teh triple post, but I can't seem to PM you back either. I'll give it another try tomorrow, BUT, I should say it's important to look at BOTH winning and losing plays/tournaments since like pergesu said, you can be winning but making bad decisions and losing and making the right decisions.