If you want to take your game that little bit further, it’s time to sign up to an online training site. Jon Huckle explores the options.
“Knowledge is power” or so the saying goes, and nothing could be truer when it comes to poker.
“Poker is gambling”, so the other saying goes, according to the ignoramuses in power in the USA. I’ve had this conversation many times with the horse racing and football betting loonies who are happy to let other people have control over the money they invest. What separates poker from gambling, however, is that poker players make a conscious decision when playing which affects the outcome, and, as was ruled recently in a Pennsylvania court, “the money flows from the weaker players to the strong players” and skill predominates over chance. QED, Texas Hold’em is not gambling. This ruling is very good news for the poker world and sets a precedence for all future arguments on poker in the USA.
But looking at it a little closer, what separates the rank beginners and the social players from the small stakes pros and the world superstars? Luck, balls, intuition, The Force - all of these things may play some part but it’s experience and an in-depth knowledge of the game that truly separates the men from the boys. This sort of knowledge takes years to accumulate through purely playing the game so we have to look to poker training tools to get us there.
So what’s out there? Books, of course, are the first point of call for most players as they are cheap and readily available and although they can be a great source of knowledge they give more general information than specifics that you may find useful. And last month I talked about bankrolling companies and how they offer mentors to guide you and help improve your game whilst providing a bankroll in return for a cut of the profits.
A lot of winning players, however, want to improve but say, “Why should I give up percentages of my profit to try and get better?” In life, the student is only as good as his determination allows him to be and as knowledgeable as the resources at his fingertips. Fortunately there are companies springing up that offer knowledge without bankrolling and I’m going to highlight some of them here. Whether you just need a few tweaks to your game or if you’re trying to climb through the levels, these companies can be a serious help to getting you there. This is just a selection of the many on offer, but should give you a good idea of what’s out there.
CardRunners
First up is CardRunners. The site was founded by successful and approachable poker players Taylor “Green Plastic” Caby and Andrew “muddywater” Wiggins, who set out to create the best learning community for members of all levels of experience. Their members include beginners, experts, casual players and serious students. They all share at least one thing in common - they rely on the variety and depth of poker training resources to improve their skills.
They have assembled a large collection of poker training tools including videos with expert commentary, friendly forums, hand analysis utilities and other tools designed to give them an edge over their opponents. The videos in particular are well-presented and clearly set out without overloading your head with information. Clips cover everything from $1 STTs to $50/$100 heads-up cash but personally I find Jeff “ActionJeff” Garza excellent for my MTT play (like conveying the importance of finding a good spot to get your chips in, often regardless of your cards, based on the dynamics of the other players at the table).
The site also has superb tutorials for both STTs (featuring seasoned SnG pros like “jackal69”) and all cash games. They have amassed over 7000 members and have a reputation for offering an excellent overall package for a reasonable price.
Most videos run from between 40-120 minutes, so don’t expect to turn into an all-conquering deity overnight. Users have to be willing to put in the hours to significantly benefit from the team’s teachings.
A 12-month subscription costs $336.00 for a single user license, but you can buy a 24- hour pass to have a good look through before you commit.
Shark Poker School
The more cosy Shark Poker School believes that a profitable career in poker is an amalgamation of factors both at and away from the tables and varying from player to player, dependant on their individual strengths and weaknesses. Their more player-specific approach of one-on-one mentoring combines existing training tools with in-depth discussion and analysis of the game and player concerned.
Utilising existing training techniques such as videos and technical tools with the latest tracking software, they can analyse your game, understanding that each individual brings different skills to the table. The school sees where strengths lie and works on ironing out weaknesses, both technical and emotional.
Shark Poker School’s group of mentors, which includes established pros John Tabatabai and Paul Jackson, has the ability to work on your game whether you are playing at nosebleed levels or simply grinding out the micro-games, both live and online. Your ‘poker education’ may last as long as you deem it to be beneficial and will be managed uniquely on a person-to-person basis.
Combine these factors with a vocal forum where you can exchange ideas and information with other members, a useful resources section and the site believes that they have the tools and integrity to make your poker dreams a reality.
Of course, success is utterly reliant on their ability to make you, “the player”, succeed. Your choice of a career in poker is treated with the professionalism it deserves and offers you the huge rewards that are an undoubted bi-product of you performing at the highest level!
PokerVT
Poker VT (the "VT" stands for "Virtual Training") is the first poker-training platform of its kind. It combines one-on-one virtual lessons with Daniel Negreanu and other poker experts such as PokerStars hotshot Adam Junglen, a proprietary virtual training system, and ongoing testing so that users can track their progress and improvement over time. The site also includes a maths course by stats guru Professor Charley Swayne who has taught seminars on statistics and probability all over the country.
You can get inside the minds of the VT Pros as they explain what they're doing and why they're doing it during actual online games. They use headsets to capture the real-time workings of pros and amateurs and then go back and analyse their plays and thought processes.
Two additional features are the interactive games like D's Nuts where users can practice until they are able to quickly identify the first, second and third "nuts", and the N-SPAT (Negreanu-Swayne Poker Aptitude Test), a comprehensive test that measures your understanding of the poker maths and Negreanu’s lessons.
All told, Poker VT offers more than 300 interactive training modules and will add new training material regularly. There’s something for all levels of player from beginner to the most advanced. |
