Poker is a game that a lot of people think is based on luck. While this is true to a point it is completely wrong. Poker is a game that you can study and practice and eventually become better at it. The player who knows the most about poker will normally win the most. Since you want to win as much as you can when you are playing poker it would only make sense to try and learn as much about the game of poker as you can and hope your opponents aren’t.

It is extremely important for anyone who wants to play the game of poker to also become a student of the game. At any point in time during your poker career you will find that the player who knows the most about the game and makes the most correct plays will end up winning the most in the long run. This is proof that the player who educates themselves about poker more will win more.

There are three main sources that you can educate yourself with.

Instructional Poker Strategy Videos

Videos are the most popular form of poker education. In an instructional video there is a player who will play a few tables at once while recording and during this they will explain which moves they are going to take and why they are going to take them. This is very helpful because these players are already winning players and have already learned all of the essentials required to win big playing professional poker.

It is important that you make sure you are learning when you watch these videos. The best way to ensure this is to take notes on the poker strategy videos while you are watching them. This is easy because you have the option to pause the video while it is playing so that you can write down an idea that the instructor is talking about. There are even videos that are done in a classroom style which makes it even easier to take notes on. Poker players cannot control the hands that come up during the session so it makes it hard for them to speak on a specific topic when there aren’t too many situations related to the topic. The classroom style does this a lot better because the instructor then writes and outline for the viewer and fills them in where they need more information.

Just like in school it is important not only that you take notes, but you must study them as well. The difference between school and poker notes is that you aren’t simply taking a test over the information that you learn. You are applying it to your poker game and earning more money by studying.

Poker Strategy Articles

Strategy articles are another great way of learning about poker. There are a lot of great poker players who don’t want to make videos to post, but have no problem writing an article based on an idea and elaborating on it. Much like the classroom style of video strategy articles are a lot easier to take notes on. They are normally done in an outline that is easy to follow and also laid out in a way that makes it easy for the reader to simplify into notes.

The great thing about poker strategy articles is that there are articles out there for everything that you could imagine. If you are having trouble with playing the river then you can read articles that are strictly about playing hands on the river. If you are having trouble grasping bankroll management there are articles that give tips on how to better handle your cash. There will also be a lot of times that you are looking for something specific and you will come across something else that you hadn’t thought of to help improve your game. All you then have to do is read that poker article and you have gone above and beyond simple learning about only things you think you need to better yourself with.

Posting in Poker Forums

There are forums all over that bring the poker community together by allowing players to talk about their poker experiences with one another. It might not seem like talking to other players that are going through the same thing that you are doing would help you out all that much, but it is much the opposite. There are more than likely a lot of flaws that you will share with other poker players that are at the same level of play as yourself. By talking to them about this it allows you to be helping each other fix these leaks in your play. If you are friends with a poker player that plays the same percentage of hands as you do and they realize that they are playing a few hands too many under the gun then they can tell you and you will then both be able to fix that part of your game.

Another great thing about posting in poker forums is being able to share hand histories with other poker players and analyze your game. This is very important in becoming a great poker player. When learning to play poker it is important that you find mistakes and situations that are hard to determine the correct play. This is done a lot easier when you can post your tough situations in the poker forums for others to read and talk about. This goes the same for you when you are playing poker. You can go and read other poker players’ posts about hands they had trouble with and you will get to experience the same hand they were in without risking your own money.

As long as you make sure that you are constantly learning more and more you will stay ahead of your opponents. In the long run you will be the more intelligent more winning player as long as you educate yourself to the fullest.