Does playing against better players make you a better player?

[LukeSilver]

I think its all about gradual steps not giant leaps. there are plenty of training videos books and coach's out there. but you will never get there just by reading and studying you need experience applying it and ultimately the only way to progress is to play tougher oppenants but its a gradual learning curve and not a straight sprint.

for example I have had a lot of success at sngs and i do feel for my grame variant that I have hit the ceiling for my game variant's earning potential, i know with work i could squeze a little bit more out but not much.

so in the new year i will be targeting fixed limit cash. now ideally i want to be beating $3/6 and $2/4 which i think is realistic. beating $5/10 and up i am just not sure if i can but if i gain success at $3/6 i will take my shot.

you could argue that i should target $5/10 as the standard there is much higher and "I could learn a lot". However I will lose several hundred highly likely and the play won't be much i can acquire because it will be several levels above me.

recently i moved to targeting 25/50c fixed limit the hourly rate i can win and lose is very minor compared to my bankroll but the direct experience lets me know where i stand and where i need to improve. I found that I do very well here but the hourly rate way to low.

so my next step will be moving to 50/1 if i cannot achieve a win rate there then i can look at why and directly learn until i can. If i can then move up again.

my poker bank roll is currently $2300. now if we follow bank roll management it is normally recommended 500 big bets. this means that i am rolled for $2/4 fixed limit. I wont play there yet though because its against the philosophy of step learning.

I will play until i can beat the next level gradually moving my way up the stakes as my results justify it.

think of it this way, if you went straight into a masters degree course and remained there for 20 years without any pre schooling how much would you ever understand?

if you went to normal school gradually progressing then went for a year how much would you understand probably nearly all of it.

If this wasn't true education systems would not bother with first school and everyone would attend university straight away.

I highly disagree with those that say you can learn from training videos and forums alone the only way to truly master is doing if you never play better players i doubt you will ever be much of a better player but you need to climb the ladder gradually and my way makes it affordable.

if you regularly beat $2 NL move to $5NL if you beat that regularly move to $10 NL etc but if your beating $10 NL but struggle against say $25 NL jumping into a $100 NL game to try and learn to beat the $25 NL game is a big mistake.

gradual learning slow and steady.

the best part is doing it my way means when you take a hit against "better players" you only lose your own winnings and this is why i keep my poker roll separate to my life roll. Also remember coaching videos and poker hardware (large monitor mouse etc) poker software (poker tracker, holdem manager table ninja) subscriptions (shark-scope card runners, deuces cracked) are all importat necessities on there own they wont make you win millions but with experience and applying it right they could contribute towards getting you there.

my actually roll would be closer to $5000 if I had not had to cash out to pay bills due to employment difficulties at one point, and also the training sites software hardware and coaching.

if you want to progress in poker you have to treat it like a business, and grow proportionally without taking unhealthy risks.

baby steps hope this helps.

 

[Luan]

I think so for Quality regulates our knowledge at poker and are all Regular!

 

[Jacki Burkhart]

I agree with the theme of small steps. yes, if you incrementally play against better players then you will slowly adapt your game to beat a tougher game, or you'll drop back down in limits, or you'll go broke. One of those three things has to happen...eventually.

If you take a skier from the bunny hill to the double black diamond he'll probably break a leg and quit the sport. if you keep the skier on the bunny hill because he is "crushing it" then he'll get bored and quit the sport. if you take the skier from the bunny hill to the cat track, and then from the cat track to the medium hill and so on and so forth it will stay challenging while increasing the general skill level. There is only so much you can learn on the bunny hill and no amount of "talking" about bigger hills is going to increase your actual skills. At some point you have to make a risk assessment and take the leap. No risk, no reward.

 

[BullWink]

Hopefully, it won't teach you to quit poker

yes, playing with a better player, will make you better PROVIDING that you are paying attention and can understand what they are doing and why. You will learn new strategies and techniques (and tricks) that you can then add to your game and improve it.

Just don't try to jump too many rungs up the ladder, or the lesson you may learn is that you don't really have the skill to really play poker.

 

[Luan]

I think so 'cause you learn a lot asking for information to them!

 

[misko]

I think yes,but you must learn fast or you are go broke

 

[makaay1]

Yes i think so, but for a fact when you play with newbies and fish etc, you wont get better imo.

 

[starting_at_the_bottom]

No, I dont think it would.

I mean if I went and got a game playing for Barcelona would it make me a better footballer? of course not, because my skills have not improved, I have just started playing with more talented players.

How is sitting with better poker players going to make you better? are they transmitting new skills to you by osmosis? I mean most of the time you will be playing way below them, and will have no idea what is happening as they level you into oblivion.

You become a better player through gradually learning new aspects of the game (eg when to c-bet, when to 3bet, learning about implied odds and the hundreds of other topics). You them improve more when you are thinking about them hand after hand, you have then improved further when you dont even need to think about them, they are whats known as unconscious competence.

Just moving from 10nl to 400nl will not make you a better player, it will make you broke.

Im surprised how many people think yes.

 

[PokerFunKid]

Not directly ofcourse, but playing in a few majors gave me insight in things i didn't have before. So yes you do learn from playing against better players, but you must be open to learn and also want to learn from it. Just sitting at a table with lets say... Phil Ivey doesn't make you a better player, it can make you a better player.

 

[boris 3ca]

i think that if you vs pro player on start you cant learn more than you play against normal player because if u are not very hight lvl in poker than u cant learn to many of hight player. thx

 

[Kenzie 96]

Don't know. I'll let you know when it happens.

I have set at a table with Roy & I'm certainly better for the experience. :musicus:

 

[thetick33]

in 2006 for about a 8 month period i primarily only played PROS recognizable names held own for the 8 months.

That is when I knew had game and could play for real. Now saying this I have been off poker for a few years except live here and there. So level of competition is just one factor. My game needs some work. Am playing freerolls am winning making a small stake slowly on sites but my game is not where it was

If you have the drive and are not rich so money matters yes level of competition will improve your game

 

[guicor30]

I think the most important thing in poker is to be prepared mentally for improvement.
no matter who we play what matters is knowing when we accept earns a bad hand and to recover from that.

 

[StackedBluff]

i think so yes i like to watch high stakes poker and pro games, my game has improved after watching how the better players handle big situations.

 

[mange1234]

Playing with better players make you better.

That is a "no-brainer" for sure, you are going to improve your game by playing with better players. I'm not sure how long your BR will last. But, you will definitely improve your game.

Like the old adage: hang out with people smarter than your self. That should be self explanatory. lol

 

[rancidcarp]

humans are still on the planet because of the ability to adapt. ly learn from what a successful player does and figure things out and become better . It's like like learning math skills. You accumulate knowledge and build on it.

 

[SloPowers]

I think playing with good players could and should help to make you a better player. But you have to be willing to learn! Some players just want to play their own game and have no interest in learning or becoming better!

 

[mrmochapb]

i think to start play vs reg players but vs pros you learn alot on how they play \certain hands and position

 

[horizon12]

Does playing against better players make you a better player?

Poker is not a game where to play against a strong opponent, will bring you the skills You only lose your money and did not understand how to play , you should avoid good players..

Only the analysis your own games, will bring you profit and understanding of the game...

 

[sryImPro]

What makes you a good player would definitely be your graph or your profit If your profit is worth of respect than you are a good player in my opinion

 

[freestocks]

Playing against better players has made me better. I may not get to use there own tricks against them, but I've learned them and can use them later.

 

[Mark Gavr]

Yes worth it, because the players with the highest level of the game than you do you increase your level .