POKER FORUMS – A SIMPLE GUIDE ON HOW TO USE THEM EFFICIENTLY

Thursday, 02 June 2016

If you want to know how to use poker forums to perfect your skills and become a better, well-rounded poker player, this article is for you.

Poker forums are without the slightest doubt one of the richest sources of valuable poker knowledge you can find online. While hanging around poker forums can be both fun, educational and beneficial in many different ways, its use also has the potential to become an end in itself. In order to avoid this and make proper use of its values – you need to put the knowledge you gain to practical use through careful planning.

Since there is, fortunately, a plentitude of different poker forums and communities online and they all offer pretty much the same type of functionality, for this article, we will choose to deal with them in a general way. To put it more simply, whatever you read about using poker forums in this article, applies to all of them.

Get yourself involved.

While it is certain that poker forums can be fruitfully used “silently” – only by browsing, searching, reading and digesting the information that can be found there – getting yourself involved in the community and interacting with the users is an experience you should not avoid. After all, saying hello and introducing yourself is about good manners, just like saying thank you to the people that provided valuable information.

It is easy to take things for granted and not think about the effort actual people put into every single typed letter that you read and make use of. The outcome of this behavior does not necessarily need to be bad, nobody will know and you can still use it and benefit from the goods. On the other hand, the opposite of that – actual involvement – could bring you much more than mere reading. Forum users are people just like you, they look for knowledge and advancement and they are willing to share their insights with the community and interact with it in order to get support and encouragement. In today’s competitive world, unfortunately, these are the values that are sometimes pretty hard to find. This is exactly the reason why forums are so great! And this is also the reason why you should take the chance to get involved, meet your counterparts, share and interact with them – and thus contribute to the whole community and perhaps event to the people that come afterward.

More practically, every forum has a specific place (a thread or an entire section) dedicated to this purpose – use it. Even if your main goal is not to socialize and meet new people, chances are that they will respond to you more openly of you do. The extent of this doesn’t necessarily need to be exhaustive, just an honest, respectful and appreciative approach is (as always) enough to elevate you from the silent anonymous user base and grant you a more open relationship with its active users. It’s definitely worth it.

Hand history analysis

Getting back to more poker oriented topics, the first one we choose to advise on is the line checking and hand analysis section. The use of line checking and hand analysis sections in poker forums is probably the best and most valuable way of learning about the game and developing your strategy. By using these sections, you probably won’t need much time to recognize whose opinion and advice you like and appreciate most. That is fine, but keep in mind that all the other advice you might not like or appreciate can be just as beneficial. While you might not adopt this advice and incorporate it into your personal strategy, it will help you gain an insight into the way other players’ strategies work. You needn’t delve too deep into this but keep in mind all the (often enlightening) things you haven’t thought about before.

In order to use these helpful sections in the most effective way, we advise you make a habit of posting several hands from your poker sessions each and every day. Considering that the play decision is different in each circumstance (for example, whether you are playing a recreational player, an average or a pro), to get the best replies, try to provide additional information such as player notes, stats, hand histories etc.

Stat analysis

Misestimation of our own abilities is common in any aspect of life and play and poker is no different.  Giving other personally unbiased people an opportunity to check your stats can be hugely valuable.

We all make mistakes and as we all know, the game of poker is a risky business and each small mistake can often lead to a losing scenario. One of the most beneficial steps in perfecting your game is identifying the small mistakes you are not yet aware of. Statistical analysis is probably the best way of doing this. Give it a go and be absolutely stunned at what it reveals. This could be a giant leap for your game.

Lear about and discuss various poker concepts

As we already concluded, poker forums are places really rich with valuable information and if you approach it correctly, getting in touch with various poker concepts can only improve your game. Browse, find and learn about GTO, barreling etc. to familiarize yourself with these concepts and try to employ the knowledge in real life situations. Posting or creating your own thread is also welcome because forums are usually packed with people actually wanting to share and show off what they have learned.

Gameplay review

While some forums offer this option and some not, it is always good to explore its possibilities. If the forum you are using doesn’t support this, you can always upload a video of your play to a streaming service and then share it with the community. Many people will surely be likely to offer their evaluation, analysis and advice and make no mistake about it - each one can be valuable.

Off topic discussions are not useless!

Even when it comes down to off topic discussions, you might be surprised how encouraging and comforting it can be to communicate with like-minded people you share a common interest with. Do you ever think about the way you relax after a long poker session or what background music could help you maintain your concentration? These kinds of discussion will not only bring you unexpected benefits in the form of knowledge or advice – they will bring you in a closer touch with people who could be of further benefit in many different scenarios and situations. For example, if you are not a particularly tech savvy person, befriending a tech person on the forum could get you some valuable help to push you a step ahead of the competition.

Staking

After all of this is done and you have gained confidence in your poker abilities, poker forums are a great way of finding someone who will invest in you and back you up on your way to great victories. Gaining a reputation as a great horse could potentially go a long way in moving your poker career at a much faster rate than you can perhaps afford.

In conclusion, poker forums are invaluable sources of information and more importantly - a community of like-minded people who are passionate about their interest. If you use it right and with dedication, this resource will undoubtingly help you dramatically improve your game.