How to Choose Poker Content for Studying?

Ask an amateur player, a rising poker pro, and an old-school legend about the best source of knowledge in poker and you’ll have at least different three answers.

In this day and age, we have countless ways to learn about the game and hone our poker skills but no one methods works across the board, let alone for every player. So, in this article we’ll try to introduce you to some available sources of poker knowledge and help you to understand how to identify what is works for you (and what doesn’t).

Basic Rules About Studying Poker

Different coaches and players will probably give you their own descriptions for the most effective way to study poker. With that said, they’ll all probably be rooted in the same basis.

Make Sure That You Want to Study

In one of his YouTube videos, Johnathan Little says:

If you don’t want to do something, you’re not going to do it very well. It’s just how it is. It’s the nature of human beings so you need to figure out a way to actually want to study now and why would you actually want to study.

In poker terms, it’s vital for you to approach studying because you truly want to. Without desire you just won’t be focused on the process or interested in the results.

Before even attempting to study, take account of how your feeling, both physically and emotionally. Take account of your environment as well. You’ll need to identify any and all sources of displeasure, distraction and annoyance. If there’s something off then don’t force yourself to study — you should deal with your distractors first and focus on studying later.

For those overachievers who’d like to know everything that Jonathan Little had to say on the matter, we’ve also included his full video below!

Stick to the Structure

If deep dive into GTO strategies without knowing what equity is — you’ll never understand advanced games and will probably end up with a bunch of information that messes with your head. So, if you’re looking to study effectively, you’ll need to respect the step-by-step learning schemes.

Of course, you can try and create structure by yourself if you have enough knowledge and understanding to do so. If you don’t, they you can always google advice, hire a poker coach or just take a queuefrom poker schools like RaiseYourEdge of Ben “bencb789” Rolle.

For instance, here’s a short version of one of the simplest structures from RaiseYourEdge:

1. Study pot odds, outs and equity
2. Study open raising, calling vs 3-bets and cold calling
3. Use special software for equity training
4. Study shortstack strategy

Experiment With Sources Until You Find What Works

If someone improves on their poker skills poker after constantly watching streams — it doesn’t mean you’ll also end up with the same result. While similar, our brains are still very different and while someone can absorb knowledge from plain texts, others have impressive results from listening to podcasts or studying infographics.

You won’t achieve good results by pushing yourself to sources that aren’t suitable for your mindset. It would be effective to spend some time on searching for the right resources instead of learning from the wrong ones.

Make Studying Continuous

You can’t have a successful career without spending hours on end with your nose in a book (or stream for that matter). If you want to become a winning player, you need to be ready to make an effort. For self-improvement, learning, and staying ahead of the game. Chance Kornuth sums this point up nicely in his thread on X (ex-Twitter):

https://x.com/ChancesCards/status/1792948038849212583

Types of Educational Poker Content

First of all, let’s draw a line to distinguish between content sources and poker software.

The most popular third-party poker software — like calculators, solvers, trainers, trackers, etc. — don’t actually offer educational content. With that said, they s still serve other purposes such as gathering specific information, checking spots, sharpening acquired skills or helping automate the decision-making process.

With that in mind, this part of the article won’t be focusing on poker software. Instead, we’ll give you a bit of insight into a few useful poker sources.

Poker School Courses

The poker industry has an enormous number of poker schools, coaching communities, and funds with the same goals: help players improve their poker skillset and make some real money.

One of the most common poker school tools you’ll come across are study programs — courses or bundles — with a mix of written content and videos as well as access to group and even personal coaching sessions (depending on what the organization offers).

Pros	Cons
Simple structure and convenient information presentation	The most informative courses have substantial prices
Division of topics with an option to choose a preferred one	Often no free trial before purchase
Mixture of knowledge sources	Freely available courses rarely contains up-to-date information

Poker Books and Written Sources

A part of the poker community will surely argue that poker books are an outdated source of knowledge. However, in 2024 we not only have expertly written books and fresh releases from experienced players but a few solid old-school titles with excellent narration.

If you’re an avid reader who absorbs knowledge from books, love reading or just want to try it — check out video from Jaime Staples’ book club with his recommendations from December 2023:

Aside from books, you can also look for written poker content in more contemporary sources such as articles on poker websites, newsletters from coaches and professional poker players or posts on social media.

For example, Faraz Jaka has a great newsletter for amateur players, Ben Rolle regularly publishes useful tips and advice for players of all levels, and Phil Galfond sometimes writes informative articles from time to time.

Pros	Cons
Broad spectrum of topics and authors with specific styles	Some written materials could just be nonsensical SEO texts
Oldest method of systematic training	Written materials become outdated awaiting publication
Countless examples and personal experience in one place	Not visually illustrative enough to help readers

Here’s just a taste of what you can find if you know where to look:

https://x.com/FarazJaka/status/1793329926088937600

Poker Videos On Demand 

Poker VODs are similar to written materials in terms of information load but have two advantages when compared to the latter — visual and voice narration with almost absolute absence of text. For many people, listening to information is more comfortable than reading. This can also be true for dynamic graphics or clips from the game, which could be informative than simply reading about them.

If you like to learn as you listen, 2024 is the ideal year to find some VODs that suit you preferences.

Pros	Cons
An abundance of visual narration styles	Can become out-of-date quickly
Option to pause or re-watch when needed	Some do not contain valuable information being created only for attention
Can be included in poker courses or available on social media	Not every content creator has an ability to speak

Real-Time Streams With Poker Coaches

The style and structure of this type of poker source will differ from coach to coach. With that said, this type of resource can also provide various ways to acquire knowledge under one idea: providing direct access to a professional player who will answer during a stream.

Obviously, this format isn’t ideal for poker beginners because it’s often restricted in length and isn’t intended for simple or beginner questions.

Pros	Cons
Direct dialogue about a specific topic	Time limited and confined to a specific topic
Dedicated to the most relevant topics at the moment	Intended for players with more advanced poker knowledge
More voice and graphic advantages compared to VODs	Cannot be paused or re-watched

Poker Streams and Live Games Broadcasts

Poker streams and game broadcasts could just be the most unique resource for poker. To use them effectively you need to have a knack for gathering information from watching poker games that aren’t necessarily accompanied by very useful comments. This makes streams and broadcasts hard to use for two main reasons:

1. In a commented broadcast of an event, comments can be misinterpreted or distract from the game
2. In a stream of online poker session, you can run into a bad player without knowing it, or into a silent player and learn near to nothing. 

However, during streams and broadcasts you can ask streamers or commentators any questions in real time with a good chance of getting some answers.

Pros	Cons
Chance to study rules and style of play from dynamic videos	Comments can disorient, disinform and distract you
Chance to get answers from streamer or commentator in real time	This type of content isn’t necessarily crafted to teaching
Show the real play of real players	Cannot be stopped like streams with coaches