Sources that will improve my thinking speed.

[zigmaster]

So last week I decided to leave the comfort of my bedroom and the anonymity of playing online and ventured into a cardroom for the first time. Predictably I was phased by this first time experience and was bullied out of pots and didn't play my hands aggressively enough for the first couple of hours before I realised why I wasn't doing as well as I'd hoped.

What I found really hindered me, however, was not my knowledge of strategy (the game was pot limit hold'em) but that I was not able to calculate odds or remember previous hands quickly enough. So while I was still adding up how much was in the pot before I knew it I had a 6'5'' Glaswegian (from Glasgow) man mountain who was as wide as he was tall telling me "You're no playing that internet pish anymore so hurry the [censored] up."

So basically I've decided to go right back to basics and have spent the last week working on my memory so that remembering cards is now second nature to me. But the point of this post is that I was wondering if anyone can recommend any books, websites etc. for improving my basic maths and applying it to poker so that totalling the pot and calculating odds on the fly becomes second nature to me. Also could you recommend any sources that will help me apply my memory for cards and card sequences specifically to poker-such as remembering specific hands played by a person and hands discarded in 7-stud.

Much appreciated if you do.

[jvphish]

imo, online poker has pretty much trained my brain how to calculate odds and outs and all that jazz out of second nature. you see so many hands it just kinda happens. cant explain it. i dont see how/why that shouldnt translate to an in person game...it does for me.

[zigmaster]

What I was trying to say is that my thinking speed and basic maths isn't quick enough and good enough for any sort of poker-online or otherwise. It's just that it took until my visit to the cardroom to realise it and I was looking for sources to improve these basic skills as it is significantly affecting every part of my game.

[sin808]

Find a good speed mathematics book. I have this one and it's pretty decent. I think most of them teach the same basic shortcuts though. Either that or just simply practice.

[IlliniRyRy]

Do some coke.

[poker-penguin]

(Politely) Tell the big glaswegian (whether he's a glaswegian from glasgow or the rarer kind from anywhere else) to STFU. Unless you're playing in some dodgy club, the worst that will happen is he'll glower at you.

"I'm new, I'm losing, please don't be so impatient".

Also it sounds like your first problem is keeping track of pot size. That takes practise with live games, although with PL, you're surely well within your rights to ask for a pot count?

[TexArcher]

Maybe you should play limit next time you play live and just focus on counting bets? It's a lot easier to calculate pot odds and implied odds and it would give you some confidence in your reads.

[Jeebus]

[ QUOTE ]
Do some coke.

[/ QUOTE ]

I can honestly say I have found this to work. Unfortunately with the rising price of cocaine these days its hard to pay the expense.

For real though one of the best tips for improving both memory and thinking speed is to count doubles. Normally starting with 2, so 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048, etc, etc. Get to where you can get up to the hundred thousands and keep it straight then move to 3, 3, 6, 12, 24, 48, 96, 192, 384, etc. Your are doing math in your head quick enough that you recall the last number while going at the next one. Trying to determine square roots is another fun one to do but that makes my head hurt. I don't recommend that.

[Guthrie]

[ QUOTE ]
I was not able to calculate odds or remember previous hands quickly enough.

[/ QUOTE ]
What do previous hands have to do with the current hand?

[Sinnister]

Its a coincidence u write this post a friend of mine recommended books by tony buzan. supposedly best mnemonic books out there