If you are interested in No Limit Hold Em, poker training sites are one of the best ways to learn the game. Many players start with poker books, but training sites can provide a more interactive experience that makes learning much easier. Here are some of the advantages that training sites have over the more antiquated methods of learning the game.
Videos
Almost all poker training sites provide videos that not only tell you how to play the game but let you see an expert in action. You can watch a pro as he plays a live session or as he reviews a hand history from a previous deep run. Additionally, many pros make theory videos which take an in-depth classroom approach that teaches you poker concepts for action as opposed to passively watching someone else play. I would say that most serious players learned most of their strategy from watching videos. Tournament Poker Edge offers the most tournament videos of any other poker training site on the market.
Podcasts
Many poker training sites also offer a podcast. These audio recordings are like radio shows for teaching you how to play the game. Like videos, podcasts are a more modern way to learn the game effectively. Unlike books, podcasts can be consumed on long drives to your favorite poker venues. They even make for great listening to the table. Tournament Poker Edge offers several podcasts including the TPE Podcast for strategy discussion, TPE Live for updates from the pros at live events, Mistakes Living for in-depth discussions with successful mid-tier tournament pros, and the Chirp Herm show for a peek into the lives of some of the games biggest winners.
Forums
Every poker training site has a member’s forum. Here, you can ask and answer strategy questions, post any goals or challenges you want to strive for, brag about big scores, and even complain about bad beats. Tournament Poker Edge is known for its friendly member’s forum. In fact, the company was spawned from the owners’ frustrations with negative, unhelpful replies to forum posts on other sites. At TPE, you can feel free to ask any questions you may have without fear of getting flamed for it.
Articles
Most poker training sites have a staff of writers that provide strategy articles to help with your game. Unlike books, these articles are written on a monthly basis, so you will always have the most up to date information. In addition to strategy articles, pros will occasionally write about their latest trip reports and provide other insights on their lives as professional poker players. This can give you an idea of the types of experiences you can expect on your journey as you move up in the game.
Meet Ups
One of the best aspects of poker training sites that you cannot get from a book is basic human interaction. At live events, you will offer have an opportunity to meet the pros and fellow members in person during meetups organized by the training site. Not only is it great to put a face with all the screen names, but these also make for great networking opportunities. I cannot stress how valuable this is in this industry. As you begin to take the game for seriously, these meetups will be the source of some of your closest lifelong friendships. Tournament Poker Edge holds a meet up annually in Las Vegas during the World Series Of Poker.
Coaching
After chatting with the pros on the forums and meeting them at one of the meetups, you may decide to hire them for some one on one coaching. This can accelerate your learning more than any other source of poker training material. They have made many of the mistakes you are currently making, so they can tell you how to get over the hump. Poker training sites often have a page dedicated to requesting coaching from the pros. Here, you can find their rates and what type of guidance they can offer you.
As you can see, poker training sites offer so much more than old forms of learning the game like books. The content they provide is more interactive which means it is easier to learn. When you get stuck you can ask for help online or in person from the people you meet on the site. If you are having trouble understanding a book, the author generally won’t be available to clear up any confusion. For these reasons, poker training sites are the way to go if you want to learn how to crush tournaments in the modern era.