A lot of people have asked me “which should I buy? Poker videos, books, or coaching?“…which is always a very tough question to answer. First, the answer is 100% personal to the person asking it. The most important question you should ask yourself before purchasing any poker training material is “how do I learn best?” Do you learn best by reading and processing information alone? Do you learn best by watching videos and listening to the instructor go through his thought process? Do you learn best by interacting and engaging in a conversation while bouncing ideas? Or, maybe you learn best by none of the above.
If you are in the learning process (and let’s be honest, we are always learning!) then you need to know how you learn best. What use is a book if you can’t stand reading and get very little value from it? What use is coaching if you learn best on your own? Be honest with yourself and really understand how you process best. The 3 most common learning styles are auditory, visual, and kinesthetic/tactile. If you don’t fully understand each one, or are interested in some quick cliffnotes, just click this link about learning types
Once you know how you learn best, it’s time to pick a style or two, and start getting to work. Below I will list the 3 learning types and how to best go about improving your poker game:
Auditory Learner:
- Poker videos are a good choice due to instructor speaking the whole time.
- Poker coaching is another good choice, especially if you get bored while watching videos
- If you do decide to read, make sure to read out loud
- Talk while actually playing sessions online. Verbally dictate your options and lines
- Create mantras to help you remember strategic concepts
Visual Learner:
- Poker books are a good choice (assuming they don’t bore you)
- Poker videos also work (especially if you rewatch them a time or two)
- Consider poker videos with text on the screen and/or powerpoint presentations (hint, this is why I make my videos the way I do!)
- Write out concepts while studying. Keep notes and study them from time to time
Kinesthetic/Tactile Learner:
- Poker coaching is a great choice given the interaction
- Consider poker quizzes (either purchasing them or creating them for yourself)
- If you read/watch a video, pause anytime the instructor poses a question
- Write notes while studying
- Run through hands in a replayer and change various aspects of the hand while training
The moral of the story is to figure out how you learn best, and then create a poker learning plan based around it. To quote Sun Tzu “know thyself”. Once you know how you learn best, start finding some poker training material that best suits your learning style and get to work. If you find something is working, keep with it. If something isn’t feeling right and/or you aren’t learning well enough, consider trying something new. There is plenty of training material out there (from coaches to books, and videos to forums), so start improving now! If you have any questions, just email me and I’d be happy to try and help. Good luck and happy grinding!
