How much poker study is too much?

[Hoi Polloi]

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How much poker knowlege is relevant?

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You tell me. How good do you want/need to be? How much of your time on earth do you anticipate spending playing poker? Is playing more important than winning?

That said, my experience with learning (as distinct from knowledge, per se) is you need to study, test, study, test, etc. That is, read/play, reread/play, etc. I haven't gotten to the point where re-reading HEFAP/TOP/SSHE doesn't yield new insights.

Short of it is if you want to continue to improve something like study has to continue, IMO, even if that study is paying attention at the table and working on hand reading.

Posts like these always make me think the OP is tired of the game and wants to get another hobby. No shame in that.

[TStoneMBD]

if you really want to become a good player, read the midhighstakes forums for either limit or potlimit. avoid everything else. i would say that reading every post of every thread every day is enough poker study. i posted there daily for about 8 months and its made me the player that i am. ive been slacking lately and havent been posting/reading there, because my dedication to improving as a player has decreased, unfortunately.

[BoxLiquid]

I really think studying poker text-book wise really has diminishing returns. After you know your odds and etc. It really comes down to practice. Just my opinion but I really think card-reading is the biggest skill you need. And when I say that I mean reading your opponents too.

I heard on this forum that Phil Ivey never read a book on poker but then again he's probably just gifted with his card abilities.
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