How I'd Start Learning Poker in 2024
It must be overwhelming for unstudied players to enter the world of learning poker today.
The way some players around you speak about the game, you'd think they know exactly what to do in every situation. You'd think they have studied charts and sims 30 hours a week for the past decade.
People throw around buzzwords that you almost understand, and some that you’ve never heard of. (Spoiler alert: They often don't understand them either.)
There are countless books, tools, training sites, coaches, courses, and communities – each of which sounds like a great place to start, at least according to their advertising!
Today, I’ll tell you how I'd start learning poker in 2024.
The Problem
So, you're willing to put in a little effort to get better at the game and give this a real go, hoping to become a semi-professional or at least a consistent winner. But where do you begin?
Not only are you met with an endless stream of potential starting points; you're up against the fact that most of them would be bad first steps.
Algorithms tend to promote the most entertaining and (often) least educational content. If you haven’t truly studied, it’s hard to tell the difference between good lessons and bad. (And even the rare good ones aren’t usually designed to take you from A to Z.)
If I told you that the best way to combat someone with a high flop check-raise frequency is to call them down when they check-raise and barrel off, and you took my advice without question, you’re not ready to learn from poker streams.
If I told you that, in theory, you have to always defend half of your range against a pot-sized bet so that your opponents can’t profitably bluff everything, and you believed me, you don’t understand theory well enough to become a strong player.
If I told you that the right adjustment to a loose-aggressive player who keeps barreling every street with a really wide range is to call the flop more often because their range is too weak, and you nodded, it’s because you aren’t equipped to analyze the game properly.
Where to Begin
I would start with a basic theoretical foundation.
There’s a common assumption that “GTO” is only for the more experienced players. In many ways, it’s true – I’ve argued against mimicking GTO strategies, especially for beginners, and in many cases, even for experts.
But waiting until you’re winning to understand how poker really works (and why) is the wrong approach. You need some basics to navigate the ocean of content you’re faced with, incorporating the good advice and discarding the bad.
Step 1: The Basics
So I would start with how game theory works in poker, generally speaking – not detailed GTO strategies street by street, but the concept.
What is the actual purpose of a bet?
What do “one minus alpha” and “MDF” mean, and how and when should they be applied?
How does the AKQ Toy Game work, and why is studying GTO ranges without understanding it a waste?
Next, I would learn basic strategies for the game type I want to play, such as preflop play and postflop basics. (Many people learn this before the above – no problem.)
I’d use the knowledge I gained from learning the building blocks of GTO strategy to visualize the way the game works, starting from the river and working backwards, so that I can evaluate the basic strategies and tips I pick up.
Step 2: Logic and Exploits
From here, I would learn how exploits work.
When someone plays an overaggressive style, how should I counter that, and why?
If someone is calling my c-bets too often, how should I adjust?
What risks am I taking by choosing a certain exploit? How exploitable have I become, and how likely is my opponent to be able to attack me?
While it’s going to be hard to make big exploitative adjustments as a beginner, I would want to get my brain going – practicing the type of logical reasoning that informs proper exploits. This is critical because almost all of the content available out there is either too theoretical to be very useful in small-stakes games or based on an exploitative framework.
If it’s the latter – strategies that work in small-stakes games because of the way the fields tend to play, I’d want to be able to tell the difference between good and bad advice. Once I know basic theory and how to think about exploits, I’ll (hopefully) be able to follow the reasoning of the person I’m learning from and see if it makes sense.
I’d also be able to tell when someone is spouting nonsense using fancy terms they don’t truly understand because my foundational GTO knowledge would have covered that.
Step 3: Soft Skills
Lastly, before embarking out into the vast world of opinions and strategies, I’d want to develop some basic soft skills.
How does rake work, and how does it impact my potential winrate?
What stakes should I be playing for my bankroll? Or, if I don’t have an official bankroll, for the money I’m willing to risk?
What’s a good approach to game selection? To managing my mental game?
The soft skills in poker aren’t ones that you continually build upon in the same way as the other knowledge I’ve listed above, but they are important to learn right away because they are guardrails that prevent you from veering off the road before you fully know what you’re doing.
Where to Learn
I’d learn in four simple stages:
1) Structured Content
I would invest in a book or course that can teach me the above, ideally from someone whom I trust knows what they’re talking about.
Yes, I would start with a small expense because I’d spend much, much more money by learning on my own – not to mention the massive amount of time it would save.
2) People
Once I understood the basics, I would look for people to study with. A friend, a community, group coaching, or a 1:1 coaching program.
Learning with others is a hack unlike any other.
3) Practical Experience
I wouldn’t just study forever without stepping into games. Too many people consume ideas and things they “should do” only to never take action. You know… watching forty videos on how to lift weights before stepping into a gym.
You learn so much better if you’re learning and doing, in my opinion, than simply learning.
So, I’d take my newfound knowledge and support system and bring it to some real games, within my bankroll.
I’d choose low-stakes games where there are plenty of inexperienced players. The last thing I want to do is burn through my bankroll by playing too big or in games where I’m massively outclassed.
4) More Content
Once I had a support system, actual experience, and enough understanding of the fundamentals to tell the difference between good and bad advice, I’d be ready to open up my doors and walk into the bright sunlight of available poker content.
Depending on my bankroll and expenses, I’d either invest in more training, or I’d consume free content. (What I actually did early in my career was a lot of both!)
My Solution
I’ve been thinking about this more and more over the past year – what most of the people consuming my free content need to understand in order to avoid confusion and begin growing their games more effectively.
I won’t tell you where to go for steps 2 through 4, but I created something specifically to solve for step 1.
I set out nearly a year ago to build the course I’d have liked to start with, and I’m excited to say it’s finally here!
It’s called Foundations.
It’s 49 videos for a total of just 4.5 hours, meaning that you could be a different player in a day if you wanted to.
By investing only those few hours and a small pot in a $1/$3 No-Limit game ($49.99), you’ll get the course we worked on for months. It comes with GTO-based starting hand charts I’ve modified for ease of use, three add-on PDF resources (Basics, Poker Math Made Easy, Bankroll Management), and a free month of Run It Once Essential ($25 value).
We’ve intentionally underpriced Foundations, not out of the goodness of our hearts, but in the hopes that some very satisfied customers start winning more and, down the road, buy higher-priced poker training products from us.
If You’re Ready to Start Seeing the Table Differently
You can get Foundations here and be a smarter player within the week. Congratulations on taking a meaningful step towards the poker future you want — and away from that river!
If You’re Not Ready
Cool! Your journey, your pace. I’m glad you’re here with me.
See you soon.
