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For about two decades, thousands of young aspiring poker players have been looking for ways to get into the game and turn their love for it into a profitable side job or even a full-time profession.
Back in the early days of online poker, there were fewer learning tools, but the opponents one would face were also far less competent. Today, the landscape has changed dramatically as the countless new training tools have made the playing field much tougher.
With so much information about poker readily available through many different sources, one has to consider all the various ways of learning poker and try to find the best ones.
In this article, we will discuss the many possible ways you could go about learning poker in 2022 and the value we believe each of them has for a beginner as well as for a more experienced poker player.
Before you can learn any complex concepts and start winning in high-stakes games, you must learn the basic things every successful poker player must know.
I am talking about simple things like basic rules of the game and hand rankings, as well as basic mathematical concepts like odds and outs, equity calculations, etc.
These basic concepts are not too hard to learn, but you will still need to master them first before you can move on to anything more complicated.
Nothing has changed regarding the basics of poker since the early 2000s, which means you can still learn the way we used to back in the day. Simple strategy articles on our site can teach you these basic concepts, and signing up for free or affordable poker coaching for beginners will teach you these same things in a more interactive way.
In either case, mastering the basics of poker should not take you more than a few weeks, and with a little practice, you will become fairly proficient at playing what we often refer to as ABC poker.
The years of the Poker Boom made many poker players into international superstars, and many of them even wrote books on poker. One great example is Phil Hellmuth’s “Play Poker Like the Pros,” which may be one of the least helpful poker guides ever written.
Books like these tend to oversimplify poker, discuss vague concepts in certain terms, and generally offer you wrong ideas about how you should approach the game.
With so much modern material and quality poker sites out there, there is little reason to read these obsolete books, and avoiding anything written more than 5 years ago is usually a good idea.
After all, poker is constantly evolving and changing, and you will be playing against people who play the modern game of poker, which means a modern approach will definitely be better.
Once you have mastered the basics and can hold your own against semi-competent players, it will be time for the next step in your poker journey.
You should be able to master the basic concepts needed to play poker on your own and without much outside help, as there is plenty of great material on such topics.
However, once you reach a certain skill level, it will be time to jump into deeper waters and learn the more complicated poker skills.
Free poker articles won’t do the trick anymore, but talking to more experienced players who have undergone poker coaching or have been playing for many years might.
Probably the best way to get some amazing poker tips without spending a dime is to talk to other players and ask their advice, and there are several different platforms where you can do so.
The big poker forums are the first place to go. Here, you can post hands you have played, ask for advice, or even ask about general concepts and read the topics other players have posted.
By reading through the numerous posts in these forums, you can discover how other players think about the game and learn from some of the most successful players out there who don’t mind publicly sharing some of their knowledge.
If you want to get into the nitty-gritty, getting into some Discord groups where poker is discussed daily could also be a great idea.
Join the Pokercode community and find your own study group!
The next step you can take in your efforts to learn poker in 2022 is to sign up for one of the top poker training sites and pay for poker coaching.
For the most part, paid poker training programs are aimed at players who are already somewhat proficient at the game, which means you should probably get them after mastering the basics and getting at least some experience playing the actual game.
Back in the day, poker coaches charged by the hour and would do one-on-one sessions with students, which often proved to be very expensive and not always effective.
Today, you can buy pre-made poker courses for a fraction of the price and get access to valuable insider information from some of the most successful poker players in the world.
The right time to go for a paid poker training program is when you find yourself stuck in a particular form of poker, such as MTTs or cash games. If the free resources are no longer enough to keep your game progressing, you may need to pay for one of the more advanced courses.
While the price tag on some programs may seem high initially, you will quickly realize that you are only paying a few average buyins to gain knowledge that could turn you into a successful player.
One very important thing to remember is to find the right poker training course and coach for you, as not every site is right for every player.
Once you have the right course, you should dedicate the time you need to understand all the concepts discussed in it, and you will be well on your way to mastering poker in 2022.
Click here to learn from the pros!
Perhaps the biggest downfall of many aspiring poker players is the lack of patience. Many expect to learn poker nearly overnight, especially once they have spent money on poker coaching.
However, the truth is that becoming a great poker player takes time and dedication, and it does not happen overnight, regardless of what kind of poker coaching you pay for.
You will need time to adapt and master the concepts and experience playing the game and applying your knowledge to truly excel. In the meantime, your results will probably not be great, and if you happen to run badly, they could even be very bad.
This is why it’s important to exercise proper bankroll management and remain dedicated to your mission to learn how to play poker at a high level in the long run.
If you are not patient and expect results to come overnight, you are probably best off not trying to master poker at all, as no one can guarantee they will make you a winner in a short time span.
Psychology has always played a great role in the game of poker, and now when the games are tougher than ever, it plays an even more important one.
Learning how to handle defeat, manage your expectations, and deal with adversity will be necessary if you turn into a successful poker player.
Many poker training courses don’t deal with these aspects and only teach you how to play cards. However, focusing on cards alone will not be enough.
If you want to be a great poker player in this day and age, you must have a very strong mental game and avoid tilting at all times.
This means avoiding short-term tilt, which causes you to play badly and avoiding long-term tilt, which could cause you to quit the game or make poor decisions with your bankroll.
Awareness of how variance affects results, the kinds of win rates you can reasonably expect, and the kinds of beats you should expect are very important for a successful poker player.
If you are an emotional person and easily tilt when playing poker, you may want to find a mental game coach to help you separately with this aspect of the game.
Ultimately, your poker skills will not matter if you are prone to dumping your chips after a few unlucky beats or your entire bankroll just because you feel like you are due for a big win.
The process of learning poker has changed a great deal over the years. Today, far more resources are available than in the past, but the games have become much tougher.
If you are completely new to the game of poker, I recommend taking your time to learn the basics while playing for small stakes and gradually building up your skillset.
Make sure you understand the basics well before you graduate to paid poker training courses from professional coaches.
The number one thing to keep in mind is to find your own pace of learning the game and not to expect the results to come too fast. Enjoy learning the game and new skills along the way, and things will fall into their place over time.
Regardless of what anyone may have told you, poker can still be learned and mastered in 2022, and there is plenty of money to be made in this game if you approach it the right way.
If you have the feeling you need to sharpen up your game then Pokercode is a great place to start. Sign up for a free account and set your first steps towards becoming a better poker player.
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