A Structured Approach to Poker Learning

How many books exist that tell you different strategies to use when playing poker? They invariably describe different starting hands, betting strategies, gap principles, psychology of players, and player tells.

Talk to poker players, and while they all suggest reading books is a good thing, they also tell you to find your own game, at your own level and progress your game from there.

I often wonder why some poker players are simply better players than others. Is it their poker intelligence, are they simply lucky, or is there something that I haven't considered yet? I don't intend to answer the question; I'm probably not capable of answering that question.

However, there is definitely an element to the "poker intelligence" that I thought would be worthwhile considering further. Howard Gardner [1] wrote in 1983 that there were multiple intelligences. He listed seven intelligences

• Linguistic intelligence - sensitivity to written and spoken language
• Logical mathematical intelligence - the capacity to analyse problems logically, carry out mathematical operations, and investigate issues scientifically
• Musical intelligence - skills in the performance, composition and appreciation of musical patterns
• Bodily-kinaesthetic intelligence - entails the potential of using one's whole body or body parts to solve a problem
• Spatial intelligence - ability to recognise and use patterns
• Interpersonal intelligence - capacity to understand the intentions, motivations and desires of other people
• Intrapersonal intelligence - the capacity to understand oneself, to appreciate one's own feelings, fears and motivations

Out of the above seven intelligences, I consider three of them to be important for poker; Logical mathematical intelligence, interpersonal intelligence and intrapersonal intelligence.

Logical mathematical intelligence is linked to starting hands, hand probabilities and betting strategies. Interpersonal intelligence is linked to your ability to "read" your opponent. Intrapersonal intelligence is linked to your ability to "read" yourself, such as not giving away information with your body language.

Everyone has a different blend of intelligences, some people are amazing dancers, and this makes them no less intelligent to those that can play "Comfortably Numb" on their guitar.

Poker is traditionally something that you learn by yourself - by playing the game. While most people are happy to give advice about how badly you played a hand, it is only reflecting upon your own game that you are going to improve. You may even have a poker guru giving you advice and recommendations away from the game, but you are still learning the game by yourself.

How can these multiple intelligences help with your poker learning? We've all felt that depressing feeling, walking away from the poker room, cussing everyone who has raised with a weak hand and caught. This is the best moment for introspection, the time to reflect upon your game; the best time to learn.

Rather than putting everything down to "bad luck" - perhaps you can structure your reflection in terms of these multiple intelligences. Consider your complete game, but in terms of these three intelligences. Be honest with yourself, it is very easy not to be; I'm always amazed by the amount of players who will lie about their beat hands, as they don't want to admit that they made a bad decision.

Consider each of your relevant intelligences; are you particularly weak in reading other players? Do you really think that 10-4 is a good starting hand? Do your cheeks flush when you are dealt AA?

Reflect upon your own intelligence within these groups, spot your weaknesses, and once identified, decide how you will improve this aspect of your intelligence. If you take the game of poker seriously, then why not go one stage further and create action plans on various aspects of your game. Each time you play, refine your skills and intelligence, until you find what works for you.

Poker is a game about making decisions. Your decisions are what win or lose you a game. You will always, in every facet of life, use different intelligences to make decisions, whether you are deciding what to have for lunch, or whether to raise with pocket aces.

British Universities often quote the mantra "Lifelong Learning". Lifelong learning suggests that for the rest of your life you will be learning something, and I believe that poker falls well in to this category. Building on your intelligences will enable you to quickly learn (and practice) new strategies, but most importantly situations that you have not found yourself in before.

Of course, there is no accounting for bad luck!

References

[1] - Howard Gardner, Multiple Intelligence and Education, Accessed 13/09/2005

Author: John Dempsey

Copyright John Dempsey, www.rockpokeronline.com

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