Improving your poker game with Poker Hand Analysis [14:45m]:
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Poker players are always looking for ways to improve their games and take it to the next level.
Lets focus on Poker Hands and how by taking information thats freely available you can improve your game.
1. Hands are for more than those amazing plays and lucky catches that you see online.
By capturing a poker sessions key hands, and analysing how well you played you can gain far more understanding about the plays you are making while at the poker tables. This information can be invaluable to working on particular aspects of your poker game.
Add notes to your hands to include additional info about the hand, including:
- Your mind-set going into the hand e.g. playing tightly, aggressively, on-tilt
- The range of hands you put your opponents on
- Mistakes you made/ how you would have played the hand differently
Thats not to say that when you hit Quads, or a Royal Flush that you shouldn’t post the hand, but used correctly, analysing hands can be more than just an ego-boost.
2. Find holes in your game and work to fill them.
Every poker player has certain aspects of their game that they need to work hard on improving, it’s what separates the good poker players from the great poker players. By analysing your hands while at the tables, you’re able to give your game the edge and gain insights about how you play in ways that you never expected.
Possible holes in your game, or aspects that can be improved include:
- Card options that you are struggling with e.g. AK, KQo, TT
- Bets that you need to work on e.g. pre-flop, post-flop, turn, river.
- Ring positions that you find trouble you e.g. early-position, middle-position, late-position, blinds.
- Adapting to the styles of the players around you at the table.
3. Track your Poker Hands over time.
Find the same hand from your hand history and analyse how you played the hand differently. It’s important here to fill in the grey area of the hand by including additional information with the hand notes.
Possible additions to the hand that help over time include:
- The current situation of the game or tournament.
- Players you’re playing against and their playing styles.
- Previous hands that could have affected the play.
By tracking how you are improving over time, and your hands over time, you’re able to develop potential weaknesses of your game into strengths.
4. Working on your Poker Hands can be as much about getting other players advice/comments about your hands as it is for your own analysis.
There is no better way to improve your poker than by asking other players about playing different hands and positions. By tracking and using your poker hands, you can make sure you’re getting the best advice for how to play better poker.
- Send the link of the hand to let them come to their own conclusions about the hand. No more being unsure exactly what the pot odds were, or what came out on the flop.
- Get other players/friends to comment directly on the hand and how you played. Hand observers can post different ways you should have played the hand, things you did well etc.
- Get other players in the poker community to rate the hand and find how well you are playing your poker hands overall.
5. Hands aren’t only for the times when you win the pot.
By posting hands in which you lost, you are able to find your weak points and work on improving your game.
Some key hands for gaining improvements include:
- Track the hands that you made an exit from a Tournament.
- When you take a bad beat, track how you could have gotten away from the hand.
- If you find yourself constantly being outplayed after the flop, track hands in which you lost and find how you can improve.
It can be tough on the ego to post hands in which you were taken down or caught in a trap, but by working these aspects of your game can save you a bunch of money down the road.
We’ve covered here some of the more general concepts of Poker Hand Analysis, and some of the reasons why tracking your key hands can make such a difference to improving your poker game. In further posts i’ll be digging a little deeper into exactly what to look for when you analyse your hands and how you can use these new insights to take your game to the next level.
Good luck at the tables.
