How Not to Suck at Poker Part 10

How Not to Suck at Poker: Discuss the Game

By Sean Lind

User rating:

5

5

5

5

5

(86 votes)

Guess who's getting the better deal out of this exchange? The finale in our 10-part series for the beginner poker player, this article looks at talking about poker away from the table - one of the most profitable things you can ever do.

Anyone who has spent time playing sports will tell you this: they almost always perform best when playing against or with someone much better than themselves.

Unfortunately, it's hard to raise your own poker game simply by playing against better players.

Most of the decisions players make at the table are done privately. You can't emulate another player when you have no idea what they're doing and how they got to that decision.

The only way to get a glimpse into the mind of a better poker player is for that player to willingly share their thoughts and thought processes.

And a solid discussion with a better player about specific parts of the game can be more useful than any book or article.

The reason is simple: the exact questions you have are answered and there are no holes left lingering after the lesson.

Who to Look To

Although talking poker with anyone can be beneficial, certain people can offer much more insight and advice than others.

Negreanu discussing some numbers.

First, you want to be talking to someone who is stronger at the game or knows more than you. The discussion may be fun, but it's rare for you to pick up any useful advice from someone who knows far less than you.

Second, you need to consider the person's ability to communicate their thought process. Doing something really well, and being able to describe how you do it, are two very different things.

It's better to have a discussion with a strong $5/$10 NL player who can clearly explain his thoughts than with a tight-lipped Phil Ivey.

What to Discuss

The way the majority of humans learn best is through practice - trial and error, learning from our mistakes.

To learn from a mistake, you have to:

1. Make a mistake
2. Understand and admit it was a mistake
3. Figure out what the correct choice would have been
4. Figure out why that is the correct choice
5. Apply it to your game.

This mistake formula is crucial to becoming a great poker player.

Technically, you can use it with great results by yourself, but discussing with a friend, peer or coach can greatly expedite the process and make it even more successful.

Some players will try to discuss poker whether you're interested or not.

Here's the key to discussing the game: the best discussions come from you bringing up a legitimate situation where you think you made a mistake.

Hypothetical situations and abstract poker theory can be good, but nailing down a specific situation you've encountered will, for most people, be much more helpful.

Take the situation with your mistake, describe it with as much detail as possible, and then discuss.

You'll be using everything you learned in the first nine steps of How Not to Suck at Poker as the building blocks of your discussion, from evaluating your hand selection to counting outs to paying attention when you're not involved in a hand.

The more mistakes you can fix using the above formula, the fewer holes you'll have in your game. And every mistake you eliminate will be one more step towards not sucking at poker.