Hi, recently my friend asked me about how long will take to master poker, because he is new to poker. I dont know how to tell bcz I think it depends on the talent and practice. What do you guys think`?

Master poker... Interesting... Maybe after 500 years. Maybe.

In my opinion you can never master poker. Way to many variables from hand to hand. You may be able to master an opponent,but never the game.

A couple of months to be a winning player. To master it? Probably a lifetime.

I think it's kind of a loaded question. It's one thing to understand the theories that drive the play. But it's another to manage your own emotions and limit damage from tilt. That is just as much as part of "mastering poker" than playing the cards. And then it's to understand what drives your opponents and possibly being able to predict their moves before they know what they will do in some instances.

Of those three areas that I mentioned, the most straightforward one, IMO, is to understand the theory that dries the play. Mastering your emotions and understanding your opponents? I think those are the skills that will take you a lifetime to master.

You can master skills but that doesn't grantee a win. Technically you cant master anything that has chance. Poker is a game of chance. Gambling.

Even though it has recently been debunked I like to think to become an expert or master a skill you need 10,000 hours of practice. This common rule of thumb, was popularized by Malcom Gladwell in his bestseller Outliers: The Story of Success. The rule is flawed because it focuses on the amount of time spent practicing, and not the quality of the practice but I think it still give you an idea of the amount of deliberate practice you need to master a skill.

Dont think you can ever master it, it seems like the game is constantly evolving.

The answer is never!!! There’s some many things in poker that you can’t simply master it. It’s constantly evolving

never say never people, the master he talk is the is how be a "great" player not the "unbeatable" one

I think some will never master kkk

It really never ends i guess, when number are involved, well just like numbers it never ends!

About an hour to learn and a life time to master.

Just incase no one has said it yet - never.

You guys are right - the way the game is navigated by top level players is constantly evolving. When you think you know all there is to learn - that is when the others who are willing to work harder than you - leave you in the dust.

I too think that you can't master like really master it, if you think that you did then I'm sure you didn't

learn the rules for long !! understand the game for many years !!! I play 9 years and still have not understood the game 100%

It depends on what goals your friend has set for himself. In my opinion, to study the basics of the game, three months is enough. But it takes at least three years to make a regular profit.

It may take a month or two months to play well. In the future you will improve your game and so on ad infinitum.

Every game teaches you to be a master. There is no limit to perfection.

Online, if you have good math skills, I would say a couple hundred hours playing to be proficient. If you don't, try bingo.

What an amazing question. Simple, yet unanswerable.

There have been about 1900 chess grandmasters in the world, out of 800+ million chess players. Chess is a game that can be mastered as it is a stable game with no randomness (with the exception of the competition). This is an extremely small % of players. The poker equivalent might be the Poker Hall of Fame which has 58 people in it and has been in existence for less than 50 years, as opposed to 180 yrs for the chess grandmaster title. But this is really not a fair comparison as the PHOF is a US only thing and may have a bit of a different function than the committee that defines who qualifies as a grandmaster.

Poker is not stable (it is changing constantly) and it has randomness (the 52 cards) at its core. We can understand poker and we can become proficient at poker until we move up in stakes and then we have to do it again. There are a few masters - we all know their names, but notice how the names change over time. This speaks to the lack of stability and constant change. If it were stable, I suspect there wouldn't so much rollover in the names at the top, though new names would certainly appear.

Some names do continue to appear through the decades. These are the poker grandmasters. The common man will never become this person. These people have special traits and characteristics and a unique drive that allow them to become who they are. You must decide why you play. To have fun? To become good enough to win? To become the best in the world? These are all much different levels of commitment.

Good luck in your journey. Have fun!

your life time, and Eternity after your first life. Good Luck!

How long will it takes for you to earn the most money in poker history?

1326 lifetimes! ( Assuming 80 year lifespan)
So it might take awhile, but if you last that long, you should have the game figured out!

But everybody can become a semi master at nl2 )))

Perfection does not have a chapel, in exceptional cases of talent it will not take a lot of time, but for mere mortals a practice with tens of thousands of distributions.

Very simply, devote your entire life to poker and then in about 2 or 3 reincarnations you'll master it.

The average master has maybe won 10 to 20 bracelets after 20 years of play.

Originally Posted by Rahatis

Master poker... Interesting... Maybe after 500 years. Maybe.

Times 2

Being a web developer, I hear this type of question all the time "how long will it take me to learn everything and master this language" This is basically the same as this question you are asking and I will answer it with the same answer I provide to them.

You do not have enough years left alive to master it, when you are asking this question, what do you consider to be "mastering" poker? You are never going to reach a point where you know everything, it just isn't possible. Look at the poker pros that have been playing for a huge part of their life, won millions and millions, but still they have a coach? Because there is still always some part of your game that can be improved.

Now if your friend means the basics, like hand strengths, how antes and blinds work and the different types of poker games/formats. Then this information can be learnt within a day for sure, within a few months of studying, he could reach the stage of being a winning player if he takes it serious and puts in the work.

You can learn as much as you can for as long as you can, but there will always be something to learn tomorrow.

I don't think it can be mastered by a human. Robot maybe.

To know the rules of the game or to be a professional, these are different things, it seems to me that it is impossible to master poker completely, it is possible to raise the level of your skill

Takes a life long Journey to Master Poker. But always remember to learn from your mistakes. If You don't you will never Master Poker. And always Trust your Instincts. Good Luck at the Tables.

To master poker you need a lifetime, maybe :-)
To just become profitable — at least several months.

Poker takes 5 minutes to learn and at least 6 minutes to master.

In my opinion I think that mastering poker is a hopeless fantasy. When you can predict the outcome of every hand and win every game or tournament you play then I believe you have mastered poker. The reality of this is that I have not seen anyone close to this level....sorry.

I say never!!!!!!! lol

Originally Posted by Datdude1

In my opinion I think that mastering poker is a hopeless fantasy. When you can predict the outcome of every hand and win every game or tournament you play then I believe you have mastered poker. The reality of this is that I have not seen anyone close to this level....sorry.

Its impossible even for ideal master (ii programm of future)... If you even use the best decisions in every hand, you ll never win all tourneys which you play... Probability of winning tournament for ideal master about some percents...

Correct. That's why I believe that poker is a game that will never be mastered. Shuffle up and deal and enjoy the game.

I think poker can be mastered in a few hours. But to become a good poker player takes a long time, it all depends on the person and his goals in poker.

A lifetime to master, keep tryin only Yoda knows better!

You need to have the talent or/and you need to study/practise as well . Some people don't have a natural talent , but by studying really hard they are mastering a more and more evolving game , others with no enough knowledge of the game , who don't study to become better , they will not master the game in this life .

Mastering poker takes a lifetime according to Doyle Brunson and I agree. My take on his meaning of the statement is you will never truly master poker. You will only achieve a higher skill level and be a constant student of the game as the years go by.

Originally Posted by alfadog85

I think poker can be mastered in a few hours. But to become a good poker player takes a long time, it all depends on the person and his goals in poker.

You cannot master anything in a few hours. However,you can learn the basics of anything in less than an hour.

I think the first thing to do is ask yourself, but what does the concept of "play well" mean? Since there is a hierarchy in poker, your level of play and knowledge is a relative term.

3 weeks should do it,,,

Originally Posted by Twisterman

Hi, recently my friend asked me about how long will take to master poker, because he is new to poker. I dont know how to tell bcz I think it depends on the talent and practice. What do you guys think`?

I'm going on 18 years and I still suck and can't win.

Originally Posted by FullStrength

You cannot master anything in a few hours. However,you can learn the basics of anything in less than an hour.

Hello!
Learn the game of poker can be a few hours. There would be a desire. But further study will require a lot of time and effort.
Good luck!

You can always improve... And you need to adapt to new trends (when i was watching first tournament on TV 3bb was standard raise, not any more)

I don't think anybody ever truly "masters" poker. The best players know that there is always more to learn and ways to improve.