how to study

[ccwhoelse?]

what is a good, efficient way to study and learn the material in HEFAP, thanks

[Choven]

Here's the way I learned. I first sat down and virtually memorized the hand rankings. But actually utilizing these became a problem while playing. I basically became confused while actually playing poker in the lower limits. To correct this problem, I made a figure on MSExcel with all the hand rankings (suited and unsuited). Within each of these rankings I broke it down into EP, MP, LP, Blinds, Late Blinds (5 columns) within three rows (bring-in, callers, raisers). I then color-coded the cells according to action suggested. This really solidified my knowledge of starting hand requirements while playing online, and this has extended into B&M games. Most everything else in the book was learned by reading, re-reading, notes, analysis, etc.

A word of caution: although my hand-rankings table helped me learn which hands to play in certain positions, you MUST adjust to the game. I blew about $300 in 2/4 and 3/6 playing according to my printout without the slightest hint of what was wrong (I blamed horrible players). I finally realized that I was not adjusting to the situation as described in later chapters of HEFAP.

I continually reread the book whenever I feel my game is slipping or when I have nothing else to read on "The Throne". You'd be surprised at how many phrases and passages go unnoticed the first few times through the book. Good luck and see you at the tables...

[Al Mirpuri]

Students tend to read any material at least three times and make written notes as this aids recall. S & M actually say in the text of HEFAP that memorising the table of hand groups is not what it is about. You have to be able to apply position to them and if you are getting a lot of action you are going to have to jettison most of those hands. Also bear in mind that they are designed for mid-limit Hold'em not low limit Hold'em, so don't take HEFAP and apply it to the wrong games. For low limit Hold'em, Winning Low Limit Hold'em by Lee Jones appears to be a must. If you do not play low limit then you can safely disregard the last few remarks.

[eMarkM]

May I suggest Mortimer Adler's How to Read a Book for great tips on reading a book to increase your comprehension of a subject. Completely applies to the great poker literature out there.

First, I just read it from cover to cover, no notes or anything with little regards for trying to understand it. Adler calls this "inspectional reading". This is just to get the whole flow of the presentation without over analyzing any part.

After that re-read it with pencil and/or highlighter pen in hand and emphasize the main points. Adler suggests taking notes in the book itself. I sometimes use post-its for this. Now you dwell over sections, mulling them over to try to absorb the lesson and make critical remarks of the text in your notes. This is "analytical" reading where you try to discect the author's intentions and message. You may re-read several times this stage. You're done with this stage after you've "internalized" the author's message.

The next and highest level is what Adler calls "syntopical" reading which is reading several books on the same subject to try to come to some "higher" understanding with the combined knowledge of all the books. All good poker players should strive for this level to truly understand the game. Of course, with poker you need the experience, too.

Something that helped me in the past is having all the books at my side when I play online. After some hand you think you played poorly, you can sit out a couple hands and look up the section in the book that discusses it and see what you did wrong and get that immediate feedback.

[Phat Mack]

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