Learning While Teaching
Most people believe that learning through teaching is the best way to perfect the understanding of an idea. The same holds true with poker, and throughout my entire career I’ve always discussed strategies and theories with my colleagues. It’s important to flesh out properties of the game that may be confusing at first, and by incorporating additional points of view, issues can more readily be cleared up.
Currently I teach at the
When I began to learn about poker I received most of my education from books and online poker discussion groups such as rec.gambling.poker and the 2 + 2 forums. Players would post situations and, from all around the world, players would chime in with their advice. Interestingly enough, strategies sometimes differed from the
I’m sure a camp like the
Although I prepare my seminar presentations in advance, no two seminars are exactly the same — because the discussion among the attendees pushes the ideas in one direction or another. The questions shape the discussion, just like on an online forum, except your answers come immediately; and with pros like Phil Hellmuth, Joe Hachem, or Annie Duke as teachers at the WSOP Academy, the answers will be as well reasoned as possible. Students may ask questions about things that I haven’t thought about in years, or ask about topics in different ways than I’ve considered. As a teacher, I have to be on my feet and ready for these questions, and I can’t tell you how many times that I’ve stood in the front of the room wondering why I hadn’t seen a certain point of view before. Teaching poker has paid off in more than one way, since listening to the others at the seminar has helped me as well.
I’m going to challenge you to improve your game by becoming a teacher. Teaching is a valuable poker strategy, but the number of teachers and mentors are limited. Have you ever tried teaching poker to a friend, co-worker, or even girlfriend or wife? Did you succeed? It took me many attempts to perfect my thinking in order to explain the game well enough that my pupils could succeed. However, each time I attempted it, even if I failed, I took something away from the experience.
Now take a strategy that you aren’t very comfortable with. Think to yourself why you would even try this method and what you would be trying to accomplish. Discuss the essence of the strategy behind it. Grab some friends who are willing to listen to you talk poker, whether they know the chosen strategy or not, and explain it to the best of your ability. Choose your words well and thoroughly work through the essence of the idea. If you do a good job, you’ll reach the moment where you fully understand the topic and not only will your “students” take something away from it, but you will as well. When your students ask you a question, listen to them as their confusion can only lead to clarification. Through teaching you will constantly remind yourself of the key concepts that all poker players need to reinforce from time to time.
Think about a golfer who goes to the driving range once a week. Going from club to club, he’s reminding himself of the fundamentals that he needs to use to hit a great shot over and over again. Then, when he’s ready, he’ll go to the course and try to do the same thing in real life. Poker’s driving range is the classroom — wherever that may be. Start with pre-flop play and then move onto the post-fl op strategies. By explaining to others, you’ll refine your game to the point where you know immediately what decisions to make when you’re sitting at the tables.
Mastering poker comes from practicing and being involved in situations that you’ve never experienced. Teaching about these situations has ensured that I’ll be more prepared the next time the situations present themselves. Put yourself in a position to learn through teaching and interacting with others. If you prefer a more formal environment, head to one of our
