Best way to learn poker? Yearly Plan Report

[derick]

Hello my 2+2 Mentors!

I'm checking to see if I'm going about learning poker the right way.

I've been playing seriously for a year.

My objectives last year were.

Read 40 good poker books.
Win at .50/1 limit holdem online
Win at 2/5 limit live.
Win at .5/1 no limit holdem online.
Win at 1/2 no limit live.
Play in homegames.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++

Yearly Report Card

************************************************** ********

Read good poker books.


A Done. I also read SSH 12 times and HEPFAP 7 times and about 40 other books.


Win at .50/1 limit holdem online


B Done. 30,000 hands 2.3 bb/100 win rate



Win at 2/5 limit live.


F unmet, 8 sessions down overall


Win no limit holdem online.


B Inconclusive, only 4000 hands 8bb/100 win rate (.25/.50 to 3/5)

Win at no limit live.

F unmet, only 6 sessions, down overall. (.25/.25 , 1/2, 5/5)




Objectives for this year:

Learn short handed and heads up holdem:

Beat 1/2 2/4, 3/6 and 5/10 No limit online. Get in 20,000 hands of NL.

Learn deepstack no limit. I've been just playing shortstack so far.

Read 15 new poker books reread all the best books.

My library (ones I remeber):

2x means I've read it twice.

2x Theory of Poker
7x Holdem Poker for Advanced Players
Tournement Poker for Advanced Players
12x Small Stakes Holdem
2x Getting Started in Holdem
Poker Essays
Poker Essays II
Poker Essays III
Gambling Theory and Other Topics
2x Harrington on Holdem I
2x Harrington on Holdem II
Inside the Poker Mind

Mike Caro's Book of Tells
Ace on the River
Weighing the Odds in Holdem
Super System
Killer Poker (bad book)
Killer Poker Online
How good is your Limit Holdem
Pot Limit and No Limit Poker
Middle Limit Holdem
Improve your Poker
No Limit Holdem /McEvoy & Daugherty
Championship Pot limit and No Limit Holdem / TJ Clouter & McEvoy
Winning Low Limit Holdem (2nd ed)
Internet Texas Holdem

Play Poker Like the Pro's (Bad book)
Ken Warren's Big book of Poker (Bad book)

What books should I read next? I want to read all the poker literature. I plan to speclialze in holdem for a while and then branch out to different games when I can play winning holdem.



Meet good players to talk and discuss hands around Ancaster/Hamilton/Toronto.

Post hands that I have touble with on 2+2 1/week , reply to hands posted daily.

Get a rake back deal // I won't comment on this further if this is inappropriate here.

Figure out why I do poorly live.

Play in some small stakes friendly home games around Hamilton/Ancaster/Toronto


What do you think of my plan?
Suggestions?
What's your yearly plan?

[JonPKibble]

40 books seems like a bit much. I'd focus on maybe 3-5, preferably 2+2 ones of course! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

The best way to become a better poker player is the same way that you get to Carnegie Hall... Practice, Practice, Practice!

[KneeCo]

you're setting out a plan and sticking to it.

One thing you might consider adding to your checklist, if you're goal is actually as you stated (to be a learn poker) is to learn one new game a month (stud this month, omaha next, ...).

Not only will this help you move toward your goal, you might be surprised how much it helps you hold 'em game too.

[MediaPA]

Sorry to say this, but I think that you are being a little too ambitious here.

You list learning alot about no limit, which is good. However, I think that you should just focus on playing a certain level and play it until you are comfortable. How many hands do you need before you know you can beat a certain level?

Reading books is great, but reading and digesting books are completely different. Maybe you are really good at getting what the books are telling you, but in NL I think it'll steer you down a dangerous path (misusing of literature).

Here's a thought on why your live play stuggles. BOREDOM. It tends to kill me unless there's something/someone interesting to help keep me focused. Last session it was my obsession to get every cent out of a guy.

Just a few thoughts. It's definitely a good idea to have goals. I just think you are overshooting a little bit.

[derick]

Thanks for all the replies, I'll address them all when I have more time tonight.

I read about 40 books last year because ... I was a bad player.

I was losing -2bb/100 for about 3 months at .5/1 limit.

I had to read SSH 12 freaking times and play 30,000 hands before I got it up to +2bb/100

Poker doesn't come naturally to me. It has to be pounded into my brain with repeated readings.

I'll post more on this later.

derick

[MyTurn2Raise]

I'll give the OP this, he has dedication--something much tougher to learn than the fundamentals of beating low limit hold'em

[derick]

[ QUOTE ]
40 books seems like a bit much. I'd focus on maybe 3-5, preferably 2+2 ones of course! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

The best way to become a better poker player is the same way that you get to Carnegie Hall... Practice, Practice, Practice!

[/ QUOTE ]

Hi Jon,

Yes last year I went wide in my poker readings and read a lot of books.


This year I think I should go deep, i.e. read HEPFAP/TOP/SSH once each month to keep my limit game sharp while reading HoH and NL&PL to keep my NL game sharp.

I think I'll only read 15 new books this year, but read fewer books more numbers of times....

I think I'm at the stage now where reading is as necessary as practice... so I'm spending about half my poker time not playing but posting and reading....

derick

[Xizor]

Play more, read less. I've played something like 7500 hands last month, while attending school and reading pokerbooks, AND doing other things. You're playing too few hands there imo.

New goal: Drop the books, reread some passages in the books if you feel you need it, otherwise, just play. How about...60.000 hands played this year?

[Sniper]

[ QUOTE ]
I think I'm at the stage now where reading is as necessary as practice

[/ QUOTE ]

Reading is good. Read as much as you can!

BTW, the secret to sucess in poker (and other things) is not practice, practice, practice... it is Research, Practice, Analyze, Repeat.

You seem to be reading a lot but are you learning? The one thing I did not see listed is this:
1.Take notes on every session I play.
2. Write down every mistake I make.
3. Learn why I made the mistake and learn from the mistake.
4. Develop a plan and strategy to stop and prevent this mistake.
5. Write down all the positive, correct or winning hands I play.
6. Write down how you played the hand and what was correct about it, example "I put him on a draw and therefore bet x amount to make the pot odds incorrect for him to call."
7. Remember these plays and add them to your play book and use them when and where needed.
8.From this you should have list of several "correct" plays or moves. Note not just plays or moves to be fancy but plays and moves that are correct according to the book and the "math".

You read a lot of books, try reading a lot of hands. Instead of reading books over and over I suggest that you do what one of the books you have read tells you to do. That is, work on one aspect of your game a time. For example I suggest focusing on improving your hand reading skills and measuring and recording your improvement as you work on it. Use the step procedure above to analyses and correct mistakes in hand reading.

Also since you are reading a lot of books you should form a study group or book reading group. Pick one book and read it with your group page by page, chapter by chapter. When one chapter of the book is complete each member or a few of the members will make several different test on that chapter to be taken by the group.

Do this too with your group, pick one topic or aspect of the game, such as hand reading ability. Discuss with the group; how to do it, how to improve on it, develop a plan and strategy to master it. Write the plan down, try it out in a real game, see how well it works, improve it and refine it to perfection. Read "The Theory of Poker", Sklansky, Chapter 22, page 221, first paragraph.

If you like my idea about forming a group, email me. You and I can be the first two members.

Gene2150@aol.com