Tadas Peckaitis of MyPokerCoaching.com stops by to share 3 critical aspects to effective poker study.

I love everything he discusses here, especially his idea of the balance between poker play and study, and their circular relationship with the level of your skill edge. It’s a very interesting and smart concept.

Listen to this Podcast Episode from Tadas:

Here's a bit of what Tadas discusses in the episode. Click the play button above and follow along below to get the full story.

1. Devote Time to Off-the-felt Work

You must combine poker play with study to improve your skills.

Study gives an edge over your opponents who study little or none at all.

2. The Play and Study Balance

Once you study and play enough to build a solid foundation, follow a play:study ratio of 60:40 to 70:30.

There's a circular relationship between playing, studying and the skill edge you have over your opponents.

• As your edge decreases, you should study more and play less. This makes financial sense as less skill = losses, so play less to avoid excess losses.
• As your edge increases, play more and study less. This makes financial sense as more skill = profit, so play more to earn more.

3. How to Study the Right Way

1 hour of structured learning > 10 hours of random learning.

One thing at a time:

1. Where to focus? Concentrate on the weakest parts of your game which are also very common spots. Fundamentals such as preflop ranges, cbetting and folding when necessary are good areas of focus.
2. How to study? Learn the fundamentals through coaching, a training site or solvers. Put strategies into practice and review your hands.
3. Always review your play session. Do this with a concentration on the skills you're learning off-the-felt and practicing on-the-felt.

A huge thanks to Tadas for doing this guest podcast post for us.

Learn more about Tadas at MyPokerCoaching.com.