How much practice is needed?

coldcards2 · #1 07-13-2005, 01:20 AM

If I want to become a great hold em player how many hours do you think I hsould spend a week working on my game and getting experience. How many hours, roughly, should I try to get a week???

jman220 · #2 07-13-2005, 01:28 AM

A lot. Start off playing the micro-limits on stars or something similar, and read SSHE by Sklanksy.

JeanieJ · #3 07-13-2005, 01:33 AM

It's an odd question.

You could spend your whole life practicing poker and never become a "great" hold em' player. So I suppose it depends on what you consider great. Study when you can, play when you can, read forums and books. If you're good enough, you'll know it. If not, I'm sure you'll have fun trying.

x2ski · #4 07-13-2005, 02:22 AM

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If I want to become a great hold em player how many hours do you think I hsould spend a week working on my game and getting experience. How many hours, roughly, should I try to get a week???

[/ QUOTE ]

I think the issue is how many hours, roughly, you want to get in per week. Try to be more clear when you post.

Anyway, it's not "quantity", but "quality". Don't just crank out hands (like I do), try to focus on your plays based on the reads you have on your specific opponents.

Read and post in the strategy forums (unlike I do)...

Micros , Small-Stakes , Mid-High [if you're a LAG], and apply what you learn to your own game (at the appropriate times, of course)...

In the long-run, you should be fine.

sthief09 · #5 07-13-2005, 02:53 AM

give credit where credit is due. Ed Miller wrote SSH

Niediam · #6 07-13-2005, 03:36 AM

60+hours/week

If you just want to be a solid winning player I'm sure an intelligent person would be fine with 20hours/week.

AngryCola · #7 07-13-2005, 04:28 AM

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60+hours/week

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This is silly, and it's clearly a number you just pulled out of your ass.

How long should you play 60+/week before you become a "great player"?

Forever?

Playing that many hours per week may actually hurt more than a few people's game.
Practice is very important, but let's not get carried away with some of these recommendations.

krasserpan · #8 07-13-2005, 04:47 AM

Hey, isn't poker just like any other sports? I mean, you can also practice a lot, if you want to become a football star, but this doesn't make you a Ronaldinho. It differs from person to person and how talented the person is. OK, you can compare poker much better with chess, but there you will find the same. Hope you get it [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Niediam · #9 07-13-2005, 04:49 AM

It's possible that there are some prodigies out there who can get by with less... but the 'average' highly intelligent person will have to almost devote their life to become a GREAT player.

Btw, when I said 60+ hours I week I don't mean actually playing... I'm including reading books, 2+2, and thinking about poker in general.

AngryCola · #10 07-13-2005, 04:51 AM

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Btw, when I said 60+ hours I week I don't mean actually playing... I'm including reading books, 2+2, and thinking about poker in general.

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This is completely different, and I don't disagree with it.
Great players think about the game almost constantly.