Poker Training Drills

I am finding that most poker players do very little to help improve their overall game. A huge majority believe that they'll miraculously improve simply by logging lots of hours playing online, dabbling in home games, and taking a few trips to the casino each year. While time at the tables is indeed an important factor, it is not always an optimal or effective means to personal poker betterment. I always try to encourage poker players to seek out alternate means of poker training. I compare this mentality to that of a coach of any sports team. The coach would never be so foolish as to think that the team will improve by merely scrimmaging. Instead, the coach would have a myriad of drills to promote the fundamentals of the game. We poker players can take these lessons to heart, as well. Let's take a look at a few possible poker drills that have been a tool for some players in the past.

ESPN's coverage of the WSOP included a humorous glance of a relatively silly game called "Blind Man's Bluff." This is a simple game of Texas Hold 'Em with a twist: you hold your hole cards on your forehead for your opposition to see & you have no idea what you have. While this might seem like a goofball game reserved for drunken frat parties, it can actually be an excellent poker training drill. Without any knowledge of your own cards, all of the other important factors in poker reach heightened levels of importance. Position, bluffing, reading your opposition, and calculation of the variations of possible hands are the keys to this interesting and exciting game. When played seriously, this game can be a great exercise in poker psychology. Each player's eyes roam between the hands of each opponent. The length of the gaze at your forehead may be a tell. The way your opposition glances at the flop and then instantly looks at your hand may indicate that you have a flush draw. At the same time, you are concentrating at not giving off tells on the strength of the hands that you can see. Put some money on the table and try some serious Blind Man's Bluff for a new poker drill.

I encourage players to have a good poker book and a deck of cards in their possession. That way, idol moments waiting at the doctor's office can be morphed into productive poker time. Take some time to work the deck of cards. Deal out a few dummy hands and see what might happen with the Flop, Turn, and River. With each card and each hand, see how well you can "feel" the odds and predict the outcome.

Too many players have become mired in memorization of charts, or are used to living through the percentages that appear on the TV screens when watching tournaments. Dealing out hands helps us to get a better feel for the cards and the game. The brain processes these hands more intensely than hands read in a book, simulated online, or even played in live play. The brain soaks in the visual stimuli while it compares expectations to the reality. In live games, we never know the hole cards of the opposition and we are distracted by seeking tells, money management, blind level, etc. Dealing dummy hands is a pure learning experience that old school pros swear by.

Reading people is what we all dream of being able to accurately do at the table. Luckily, there is no shortage of subjects to aid you with this endeavor. Daniel Negreanu used to hone his people reading skills by watching people at the local mall. He'd attempt to identify the emotions and mental state of passers-by by watching their faces, mannerisms, and posture. Joe Navarro is an ex-FBI counterintelligence expert who is using his insights into human behavior to become a wellrespected poker insider. You can work to sharpen your reading skills by watching the world through a different perspective. Watch people from afar in a restaurant or at work. Without hearing their voice, see if you can use their physical cues to identify the emotions. Find a way to always work on your poker skills in new and creative ways. Playing a lot of poker is not enough. Find some poker drills to get you toward your poker targets. .

Now go make it happen.