[McMelchior]

What makes for a good learning strategy completely hinges on how your friend is wired.

People are way more different in what way they can learn and what kind of education/training they benefit from than most are aware of.

Take for instance learning to read. Some kids pick it up like in no time. I (for instance) enjoyed reading John Steinbeck's novels after only 7 month of school. That certainly doesn't mean I was a prodegy (I have been playing NLHE tournaments daily for 5 years now, and I'm still far less than proficient). Reading was just easy for me to pick up. Other kids still had a hard time spelling their way through "age-appropriate" material in 3rd grade - not because they were dyslexic, but because the education program didn't fit their needs well.

Some people learn best by reading and appropriating the basis foundation of a subject before they venture into "reality". Other's gain nothing from it, but can only advance via a hands-on strategy (your friend sounds a little like that).

Most people learn a new field of practice through heuristics: Play these hands under these conditions, never fold AA preflop, always raise TPTK if there's a draw on the board etc. Learning the heuristics by heart makes it possible for them to practice without having their butts handed to them. When the heuristics have become second nature it's time then to challenge them with the underlying assumptions and theories. Until then these are of little value.

Generally an apprentice-model with reflection in action provides for the most efficient form of learning. Sit with your friend while he plays (not you, he'll gain little from that because of the enourmous gap between your understandings) and discuss the hands as they unfold. Or spend time going over the HHs after the fact.

If you want to start your friend out with a book I suggest a real beginner: Lee Jones Winning LLHE. It contains exactly the kind of heuristics that your friend can learn by heart in an afternoon and apply with enough success to continue being motivated (this is important - you need to be motivated to learn, and without frequent success the motivation will wane).

Best,

McMelchior (Johan)