Ways to improve using the coaching videos

[leatherass]

Long before I started making videos myself, I would watch coaching videos and improve my game through them. It's hard to say for sure, but a case could certainly be made that the majority of my improvement has come from watcing coaching videos. I started off by watching Stox's NL videos when the site first came about 18 months or so ago. I also watched many of the Card Runners videos. When I first joined these sites I honestly couldn't believe that I was actually going to watch some of the best online players play poker and get to see exactly what they do. Stox can verify that I actually said this, but on the first day I met him I told him that I would probably pay like $1k a month to watch the videos if I had to. I was being serious too!!! Now that probably sounds ridiculous, but getting to see what an expert does in all of these situations I found myself in constantly, just made me so excited to watch the videos. The reason, I think, that not only did I see the videos as being so valuable, but that I improved so much as a result of them, is that I watched them in a way that was very beneficial to me. I really have no idea what other people do when they watch them, but here is what I did before and during a coaching video:

Before:
1. I would take a few minutes to clear my head and be prepared to learn.
2. I made sure that I had a pen and paper (or a notepad on the PC open).
3. I would go in a room and close the door so as to minimize any distractions and turn my cell phone off.

During:
1. I would make sure to pay 100% attention at all times.
2. Take notes on virtually anything that sounded interesting.
3. Anytime the pro would play a situation differently than me I would take note and try to figure out why he did so. If he explained it then that wsa a huge bonus.
4. If he didn't explain it then I would take a note that I needed to do some additional work after the video to figure out why.
After:
1. On all of the things I was unsure about, I would make a list of reasons for and against a certain play he made. If possible (which it usually is) I would try and solve the problem mathmatically. This takes some pracitce and know how which is why TheBryce's classroom videos are so valuable. He teached you how to solve for various complex poker math problems.
2. I would decide if the plays I solved for make sense and if they are worth implementing given that there may possibly be stylisitc differences between myself and the instructor.
3. Save my notes and review them periodically.
4. Whatever concepts the instructor taught that I chose to implement, I would try and review PT periodically and see if they are working. Basically I want some hard proof that these concepts are important for my game.


These are just what I could come up with on the fly. As you can see watching these videos was pretty intense for me. But it did work for me really well and I want to pass these ideas on to everyone so that hopefully everyone's games improve much faster and that you do in fact get your value out of your membership at whatever coaching site you are a member of. This may sound like a lot of work, but I promise you it is worth it.

Thought? Comments?

[stickdude]

Thanks - that nicely answers the question I asked in another thread.

I just finished "studying" my first video (I only "watched" them before, which is probably why I didn't get too much out of them) and came up with a list of questions about different hands - posted in the appropriate thread for that video, of course. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[inverted]

nh should get a sticky

[gregorio]

For a long time, I only had access to a handful of stox videos. After I watched them and had no new ones to watch, I would go back and look for specific things that I was working on in my own game. In each video, stox emphasizes certain things in specific hands, but when I would go back to watch, I would focus on the things I was most concerned about, that might not have been given full attention by stox as he is playing 4 tables and narrating.

For example, I would go through some videos focusing on 3-betting--when stox would do it, when he would call a 3-bet etc. Or I would look for hands with suited connectors and how to play various draws on the flop. Or focus on hands in which stox has an overpair and is raised on a draw-heavy board. These things may only come up a few times in a video, so I would scan a bunch of videos looking for them. Often stoc would comment on the hands, but sometimes I would find interesting things happening on one table, when he was focussing his attention/narration on another.

It is interesting to see an entire session unfold, but it would be great to have videos that are collections of playing SCs OOP, combo draws, getting value out of a set, etc. But since nobody is going to put the time into editiing together a video of highlights, I just scan through a bunch of videos looking for whatever leak I am trying to fix at the moment.

[Bobo Fett]

[ QUOTE ]
it would be great to have videos that are collections of playing SCs OOP, combo draws, getting value out of a set, etc.

[/ QUOTE ]
This would be FANTASTIC, and could certainly give a big competitive edge to any video coaching site that did it.

[Wada]

Excellent post. Thank you.

I was a member of Stox videos for a while. I watched them and thought it was neat to see a pro play. When I watched, I did get some stuff out of it. But my thinking and response was very simplistic. Like "uh huh" or "oh ok" and that was the extent of it. Then I unsubscribed because I did not, at the time, feel it would take me to another level. I just could not see how it could.

But now with this post, I can. Your methodical, in-depth analysis is what I need (or any student). The how and why behind what the pro did and especially your own analysis of what the pro did when he did not explain is crucial.

This makes much more sense and gives me an idea of how I can get myself to a higher level.

When I get home, I am resubscribing to Stox's videos. I just hope my initial sign up fee (signed up long time ago) still applies and all I need to do is just pay the $20 a month fee.

Thanks sharing!

Wada

[StoxPoker]

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I just hope my initial sign up fee (signed up long time ago) still applies and all I need to do is just pay the $20 a month fee.

[/ QUOTE ]

As long are you renew within 99 years of your original Premium membership lapsing, you don't have to pay the registration fee again. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]