In the prior 3 articles of this Studying Poker in 2022 series I helped you:
- Find time in your busy schedule for poker study and play.
- List your areas of weakness so you know where to focus your efforts.
- Prioritize your list of weaknesses so you get the biggest bang for your study buck.
Today, I’m going to help you plan your week of purposeful study and play so you can fix your weaknesses efficiently, one at a time.
This is a simple 4-step process for each week of study (7 days) that fits within the poker time you’ve scheduled and it’s all built around the concept of “learn something, do something”.
Step 1: Commit to Improving ONE Weakness
You prioritized your list of weaknesses for a reason, now it’s time to follow through on that list.
Choose this week’s ONE study topic and it MUST be the #1 weakness on your list.
Commit to focusing on this and only this. I don’t want to see you studying table selection Monday, focusing on 3-betting Tuesday, making more c-bets on Wednesday, picking perfect bet sizing on Thursday and so on.
After you fix this weakness this week, move to #2 next week.
Step 2: Find ONE Item to Study and Take Notes
Do a Google or YouTube search or pick up one of your relevant poker books. Find ONE item (video, article, podcast, book section/chapter) to learn from. It must directly relate to your #1 weakness.
Take notes on the important strategies you want to use in-game. Consider how you’re currently using or NOT using them, and plan for ways you can improve your play with these strategies.
Step 3: Learn Something, Do Something
You just studied a piece of content and learned some new strategies, but this is just the beginning.
Action is the greatest teacher, so for you to really learn the strategies, you must purposefully practice them.
Before your next play session, do a quick warm-up with your notes. Refresh yourself on the strategies you just learned. How do you plan to practice them in the session you’re about to play?
What situations/opponents/stacks/streets/cards/HUD stats need to be in place for you to use the strategies effectively?
Try to practice the strategies you learned as often as profitable throughout the session.
Step 4: Repeat Until Confident
One poker playing session often isn’t enough to get comfortable and effective with new strategies. Repeat step 3 as many times as necessary and force yourself to practice all the strategies you learned in step 2 until comfortable and confident.
Then and only then, can you move on to the next weakness in your list the following week.
So there you have it; simple and straight to the point. The four steps you can — and should — take to planning out your poker study, which will ensure consistent growth and overall improvement.
Take Action!
Now get to work and good luck fixing one weakness at a time.
I hope that this four-article poker strategy miniseries has been a valuable kick off to your 2022 poker journey.
Cheers to you!
