When we talk of having leaks in our game we think of things that happen at the table, such as defending too widely out of position when stacks aren’t deep enough. The way I see it, however, the biggest leak any player can have is not spending enough time away from the table working on their game. Ironically, you won’t spot your ‘in-game’ leaks if you don’t spend time away from the table getting better.
So how do you go about this? Clearly there’s more than one approach. Back when Doyle Brunson was a Texas road gambler and Super System was just a twinkle in his eye, his poker resources were his friends, Amarillo Slim and Brian ‘Sailor’ Roberts. This trio would talk about hands for hours using each other as sounding boards for ideas, and the three made a lot of money as a result. Fast-forward half a century and talking about poker with friends is just as useful, because people play hands very differently and there is often more than one viable approach. However, in the last few years the number of resources to tap into has exploded, and if you ignore all this you’re giving up an edge that others are taking full advantage of.
Internet explorer
Of course it goes without saying that the nature of poker training has evolved massively since the online boom. While books and magazines still have their place, there are many other, more interactive and personal resources that can target your needs much more specifically. For starters, there are poker forums like PKR’s, where you can post hands and learn from players with more experience. These should be a regular port of call for any player looking to sharpen their game. Secondly, there are some great free programs out there like PokerStove where you can plug in hand ranges to work out how hands play against different ranges. It’s a great idea to play around with this sort of software and get a feel for the strength of certain hands in various situations.
If you’re willing to take the next step and part with some of your bankroll, I’d strongly recommend signing up to a training site like Bluefire Poker (get some for free here). I’m personally a member of two and it’s the best poker money I spend each month.
Another option is one-on-one coaching. I’ve had several four-hour sessions with an experienced poker coach and although expensive it has more than paid for itself over time. If that’s beyond the reach of your current bankroll, it’s also possible to get coaching, of a sort, for free. By using programs such as Skype and TeamViewer you can get a friend to hook up to your PC and watch your game remotely, ‘sweating’ your play and giving you live feedback on your decisions.
Poker is a game that is constantly evolving, and if you don’t utilise the tools off the table, you’ll get left behind on it.