Your Online Poker Study

Cheat Sheet
The Simple Way to Get You
Studying and Improving ASAP

by
Sky Matsuhashi
G’day, poker learner!
Sky here, and I want to thank you for downloading this Cheat Sheet.
You know, you were never taught how to study poker. The study techniques
you learned in grade school through university don’t work so well for poker.
Studying to just pass one test doesn’t help us green-felt fighters who need to
develop skills to last through our entire poker journey.
Well, with this Poker Study Cheat Sheet in hand, you’re going to have the sim-
plest and most effective study and improvement techniques at your disposal.
First up, you’ll be introduced to my No Time For Study Plan: Perfect for first
time poker learners or those with minimal time to improve their games.
Next is the 41 Statistics and Win Rates Tracker. This spreadsheet will help you
determine how your skills are progressing and where your leaks are.
Once you find your leaks (areas of strategic opportunity), the Efficient Hand
Reviews page will help you review important hands to find mistakes so you
can work to NOT repeat them.
Next is essential for the readers among you: 7 Steps for Poker Book Learning.
The final page gives you 4 of My Favorite Study (& Focus) Techniques. You’re
going to love using these incredible ideas.
Good luck and enjoy your study time. Get excited for poker improvement!
-Sky

www.SmartPokerStudy.com
 The No Time For Study Plan
1. Choose a Topic to Study
As broad as “3bets” or as narrow as “3bet
bluffing from the BB versus the BTN”.
All of your study is centered around this.
2. Record the Top 12 Stats
“You can only improve what you measure.”
Record these and/or the 41 Stats & Win
Rates on the next page.
3. Choose 2 Items to Study
Run a Google/YouTube search for 2 items to
study (videos/podcasts/articles/book chap-
ters, etc.). One for Mon-Wed and the other
for Thu-Sat. Take notes on important ideas
you want to take with you into the future.
Record your #1 takeaway (use a sticky note)
and create an action step to help you practice it in-game.
“Action is your greatest teacher”, so you MUST
Download the Plan
create one of your own action steps.
4. Daily Checklist for Study and Play
On Monday and Thursday, check the boxes after you’ve studied and played.
On Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday you’ll spend 10 minutes
reviewing hands from the day before (refer to Efficient Hand Reviews below).
This is also your pre-session warm-up. Check the box after you do your 10-
minute review.
When it comes to playing poker, Monday through Saturday are all considered
focused play. You’re going to play with purpose and practice the action you
created from the content you studied. Check the box afterwards.
And Sunday is your grind day. This is the day you can play or study however
you want.

www.SmartPokerStudy.com
 41 Stats & Win Rates Tracker
“You can only improve what you measure.”
As you work to improve your skills, the results can be seen in your statistics
and win rates. If you’re studying and playing effectively, you’ll see your num-
bers improve. If THEY aren’t improving, YOU aren’t improving and you have
more work to do.
41 Stats & Win Rates Example #’s:

Download the Tracker

Statistics shine a light on your tendencies. If your opponents use a HUD,

they’ll see that you are flop honest or you only 3bet for value or you call too
much on the river. Your stats also clue YOU in on YOUR weaknesses so that
you can work to strengthen your game.
Win rates show you where you’re losing money (red). You want to target your
study efforts around highly negative and/or persistently negative win rates.
Download the tracker (Excel based) or create your own with the stats/win
rates shown above. Re-record your #’s every 2-4 weeks.
Watch this YouTube video: How to Run PokerTracker 4 Filters
Take action and record your #’s right now!

www.SmartPokerStudy.com
 Efficient Hand Reviews
You just recorded your 41 Stats & Win Rates.
Step 1. Analyze the Results
What stands out to you? Which stats are too high (close to 100%) or too low
(close to 0%)? What about highly negative win rates?
Focus on preflop areas before post-flop areas. And, focus on areas that occur
more frequently first (like calling flop cbets before calling turn cbets).
Step 2: Review Hands from ONE Area of Opportunity
Select ONE area of opportunity and target it for one full week using the No
Time For Study Plan.
Filter for hands within your area of opportunity using your PokerTracker 4 da-
tabase. Review 10-20 of them. Recommendations:
• Big losing or winning hands
• Questionable hand strengths >>> “I called his 3bet with J9s?!”
• A few hands from each position
• Ugly situations >>> called preflop OOP, XC the flop, turn and river w/ 1 pair
Step 3: Take Notes on Mistakes Made
Use your poker journal (a must for any poker journey) to record the mistakes
you made. Noting your mistakes is the first step in NOT repeating them.
“Those who don’t learn from their mistakes are doomed to repeat them.”
Pay extra attention to any mistakes made multiple times (big offenders).
Step 4: Work to NOT Repeat Those Mistakes Again
It’s your job to NOT repeat mistakes in the future.
Do a 5-minute warm-up before your next play session where you read your
mistake notes. Also, read your notes on the profitable strategies you should
be using (from items you’ve studied). It’s your goal this session to make
better decisions so that you do not repeat the same mistakes.
Keep your journal open as you play so you can quickly refresh yourself and to
keep focused on the task at hand.

www.SmartPokerStudy.com
 7 Steps for Poker Book Learning
1. Skim Skimming means you’re only looking for the main ideas of a text;
for key words and important details that stick out to you. The goal isn’t to
read everything, but to internalize the major concepts you are about to learn.
2. Set a Goal Now that you have a basic understanding of the chapter, the
most productive and effective way to read is to know the questions you want
answered beforehand. Learning more about the answers to the following 3
questions is your goal:
What skills can I learn from this chapter?
Why are they important or relevant to my game?
How can I implement them in my game?
3. Read Now that you know your goal (what you want to gain from the
chapter) it’s time to read. Read with a pen and take notes in the margins of
the book as necessary. If something is important, mark it so you can find it
easier in the future. Quiz yourself on any chapter summaries present.
4. Summarize & Analyze After reading, it’s time to summarize as necessary
all of the important points that you want to take with you. You can do this in a
notebook, a Word document, a mind map or Evernote, etc.
Next analyze the info learned. Use your poker tracking software, Flopzilla or
any other software necessary to test the effectiveness of the strategies pre-
sented.
5. Take Action Now for the most important part – taking action on what
you’ve learned. Use FOCUS Sessions where you play only 1-2 tables and work
on adding one skill to your arsenal.
6. Assessment This is a hand history review of the entire Focus Session
played the night before, with particular emphasis on the hands that you
marked. Use the proper tools (tracking software, analysis software, calculator,
pencil/paper) to determine if you made good plays and killer decisions.
7. Rinse, Repeat, Review Now that you’ve made an initial assessment, it’s
time to take action again in a focus session with your new findings, and then
assess again afterwards. Do this as many times as necessary until you feel
you’ve got a great grasp on the skill, then move on to the next chapter in the
book. www.SmartPokerStudy.com
 My Favorite Study Techniques
Sticky Notes
Whatever strategy or skill you’re studying off-the-felt, put the most relevant
and actionable information on a sticky note for quick reference during your
play sessions. Attach this sticky note to the monitor in front of you.
Example: You learn Poker’s Ultimate Question: “What are they doing this
with?” Sticky note it and ask it at every opportunity as you play.
Asking & Answering Questions
This helps to keep you focused on the action at hand as you play and it’s great
for hand reviews as well. Ask/answer a question at every opportunity.
Examples:
• They 3bet: “What are they doing this with?”
• Considering a river call: “Are they betting anything worse than my hand?”
• You want them to fold: “What bet size will get them to fold?”
Tick Sheets
These are perfect for keeping you focused on one specific task as you play.
Example: If you’re working on playing more “in position” poker, use this tick
sheet and make a tick for every flop you see:

Game Tape
Game Tape is the most beneficial yet underutilized self-study tool available to
you.
Record your play session and speak through your decisions. You’re justifying
your actions with your words. This does two things:
1. Keeps you focused on your decisions.
2. You tend to NOT make decisions you can’t justify with logic.
Review the game tape the next day and take notes on the mistakes you made.
Watch this YouTube Video: Quick and Simple Poker Game Tape Setup with
OBS
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 1-Hour Poker Study Workbook
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Hour With This 18-page Workbook
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