Most poker players watch poker livestreams for fun, but strong players watch them to get better.

In this episode, I break down how to turn any poker stream into a personal training session, so you can learn faster without playing more hours.

Watch this episode on YouTube:

Or, listen to episode #583 as you follow along below:

How to Learn From Poker Livestreams (Instead of Just Being Entertained)

Why Most Players DON’T Learn From Streams

I know you enjoy poker livestreams, and I’m not trying to squeeze the fun out of them.

But, they can also be great learning opportunities. They give you the chance to learn the streamer’s logic behind the plays they make, and critically analyze them as you ask questions like,

“Why did he do that?”
“What would I do there?”
“What kind of player is he up against?”
“What’s the plan for future streets?”

You can still enjoy the stream, but let’s try for some active leaning, too.

My Recent Livestream Recording

Yesterday, I had a great livestream with my Poker Forge members.

I played two tables of bomb pots on America’s Cardroom.

• It was a fun session.
• I ran well.
• I made some good reads.
• I made some solid folds.
• I made some good steals.

But, it doesn’t matter that it was a good session for me.

What matters is how you can use it as a learning tool.

Watch the livestream and use the 6-part learning system:

The 6-Part Livestream Learning System

1: Watch and Be Open to Learning

You probably have a strategy focus right now. Maybe it’s:

• Cbetting
• Board texture
• Calling 3bets
• Table selection
• Bomb pots
• Fixing your mental game

You can try to watch the stream to pickup on specific strategies. But, there’s no guarantee the streamer will get into that spot or even discuss it.

Watch with an attitude of:

“I’m going to learn something today.”

When an interesting spot occurs, or the streamer says something insightful, or a strategic play piques your interest… BOOM! That’s your “in” for learning today.

2. Pause, Ponder and Predict

When that interesting thing happens, pause the livestream, then ask a question and ponder an answer. Examples:

• “What’s Villain doing this with?”
• “How would I respond?”
• “What’s my plan for the next street?”
• “What turn cards are good or bad for me?”

There’s no perfect question to ask. Just pick one, commit to an answer, and predict what will happen.

Then, hit play.

Compare your thinking to the streamer’s.

Now you’re moving from being entertained to quality learning.

Livestream Example: QQ on 888 Flop

From the livestream recording above:

• In the very first hand I’m dealt QQ and even though my cards are covered, I tell the chat what I have.
• I open-raise and the SB is the only caller.
• The flop is 888.
• Whoa! Is your interest piqued?
• The SB checked to me.

This is when you’d want to PAUSE, PONDER AND PREDICT.

Ponder: “What would I do here?” Maybe you would check-back such a strong hand. Or maybe you would bet 1/3 pot, or even overbet.

Predict: “Sky loves getting value, I think he’d bet here… maybe just ½ pot.”

So you hit play and see what I do. You see that I purposefully timed down and bet 2/3 pot. I don’t explain my bet size, but, you can pause again and ponder on why that is.

The SB called and a 5 hit the turn (board 8885).

The SB checks to me. This is another great spot to pause and ask, “What would I do now? What is Sky likely to do?”

Watch the video above to see what I do.

So, you can see how this process works. Something piques your interest, you pause, ponder and predict.

You’re not just watching, you’re dissecting and learning.

3. Analyze the “Why”

Most players only notice:

“He bet.”
“They folded.”
“I worked, he won.”

That’s surface-level thinking.

You want the why behind the streamer’s plays.

Ask questions like:

• What’s Villain’s range here?
• What’s Villain’s tendency in this spot?
• What does Hero want Villain to do?
• Does position or stack size matter here?

When you think deeper to figure out the strategic “why” behind a play, you’re one step closer to applying it to your own game.

4. Ignore Results

This is huge.

If a bluff works, people say, “Nice play.”

If it fails, they say (or maybe think), “Oooh, terrible play. He should be ashamed.”

That’s not helpful.

The outcome doesn’t matter. What matters is a strong, logical reason behind the plays the streamer makes.

When watching streams, always ask:

“Did this have a reasonable chance of success? Is it +EV in the long run?”

If the answer is yes, it’s a strategy to learn from.

And, even if the answer is no, it’s a strategy to learn from:

5. Take Notes

If you want to level up faster than 95% of players… Take notes.

It doesn’t have to be fancy. It just has to be things you want to take with you into the future and apply to your next session.

• “3bet bluff with suited Aces for their blocking power and big hand and big draw potential.”
• “Overbet a blank turn when they capped their range with a tiny bet on a wet flop.”
• “Call on the river if you can name a lot of weaker combos they can logically bet.”

Your brain remembers what you write, so help it remember by taking notes.

Get a Free Poker Journal here:

6. Take Action and Practice

Look at your notes and ask yourself, “How can I practice this?”

It may require you to put yourself in specific situations like:

• Defending the blinds so you can check-raise bluff the flop.
• 3bet preflop so you can double-barrel versus turn honest players.

Or, it might require you to look for good opportunities and pull the trigger:

• With every suited Ace you’re dealt, you’ll consider the viability of 3bet bluffing.
• You’ll pay attention to every flop so you can attack on the driest, hard-to-hit flops.

Put your livestream learning to good use. Figure out how to apply it, then apply it.

Watching without application is just entertainment.

Watching plus application is training.

Action Step

Watch my livestream embedded above with the goal of learning something.

When something piques your interest, pause the video, ponder and predict.

Figure out they why, ignore results and take notes.

Then, play a session in order to practice what you learned.