Elliot Roe emphasizes that technical skill is the foundation of success in poker and that an A-Game Player focuses on maximizing profits with the skills they already have while also constantly improving. The chapter breaks down the optimal approach to studying poker, explaining that how and what you study is more important than simply spending hours on study.
The Key Mindset Shift: Studying Efficiently
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Past poker eras: The best players improved by playing and adapting on the fly.
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Today’s game: Off-table study is essential, but most players study inefficiently, leading to wasted time and little improvement.
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The goal: Focus on the rate of skill acquisition—how efficiently and effectively you learn and apply new concepts.
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The key question to ask yourself before studying:
“What can I study today that will earn me the greatest ROI over the long run?”
The Three Stages of Effective Study
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Acquire – Learning New Concepts
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Watching training videos, taking a course, reading a book, discussing a new strategy with a coach.
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The danger: Only consuming knowledge without applying it can make players think they are improving when they are not.
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The problem: Learning new things doesn’t guarantee immediate improvement—it often makes results worse before they get better.
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Review – Deepening Understanding of Existing Knowledge
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Going over concepts you already know to reinforce and integrate them into your skillset.
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Watching a video again, taking detailed notes, asking coaches questions, and discussing hands with peers.
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The goal: Take what you’ve acquired and embed it deeper into your subconscious.
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Practice – Applying and Mastering Skills
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Taking a specific skill and drilling it repeatedly until it becomes second nature.
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Examples:
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Hand Review: Pulling all hands from a specific leak and analyzing them one by one.
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Preflop Range Training: Looking at opening ranges and comparing them to your actual plays to see where you deviate.
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The more you drill a skill, the faster it becomes automatic, freeing up mental energy for tougher decisions.
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Why Most Players Struggle with Study
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They only do Acquisition (watch videos, read books) without Review or Practice.
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Their study is random and unfocused, rather than targeting high-impact areas.
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They treat watching training videos like entertainment rather than serious work.
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They do not deliberately drill skills, meaning they never fully integrate what they’ve learned.
Solution: Focus on fundamentals over obscure spots, spend 50-80% of study time on Practice, and systematically drill high-impact skills.
How to Optimize Your Study Process
✅ Step 1: Assess Your Current Study Habits
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Estimate how much time you spend on:
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Acquire (New Knowledge)
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Review (Deepening Understanding)
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Practice (Drilling and Mastery)
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If Practice isn’t the majority of your time, shift your focus!
✅ Step 2: Choose the Right Areas to Study
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Ask: “What can I study today that will earn me the greatest ROI over the long run?”
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Focus on fundamentals (preflop ranges, bet sizing, common postflop spots) over rare situations (tricky river spots).
✅ Step 3: Structure Your Study Time for Maximum Efficiency
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Acquire: Watch a theory video with focused attention, take notes, and generate questions.
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Review: Re-watch the same video later, discuss it with peers or a coach, and refine understanding.
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Practice: Isolate a key concept and drill it repeatedly (e.g., running preflop range drills, reviewing hands in a specific spot).
✅ Step 4: Track and Adjust Your Study Plan
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Don’t study randomly.
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Have a clear plan that ensures you are progressing in high-impact areas.
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Regularly assess whether your study time is producing results—if not, tweak your approach.
A-Game Exercise: Analyze Your Study Process
📌 Step 1: Write down your current study routine and estimate your % breakdown:
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Acquire: ___%
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Review: ___%
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Practice: ___%
📌 Step 2: Be brutally honest—is your current study approach working?
📌 Step 3: List 3 ways you can improve your study efficiency.
📌 Step 4: Identify 3 high-impact areas to focus on and create a study plan using the 3-stage process (Acquire, Review, Practice).
Key Takeaways
🔹 Skill acquisition is the biggest edge in poker today—but only if done efficiently.
🔹 Most players waste time in the Acquisition phase without ever deeply Reviewing or Practicing.
🔹 Deliberate practice is the fastest way to integrate knowledge and improve.
🔹 The best ROI on study time comes from mastering fundamentals, not obscure spots.
🔹 Shift at least 50-80% of your study time into the Practice phase.
🔹 An A-Game Player always studies with a structured plan and clear goals.
By applying this optimized study framework, you’ll outlearn, outpractice, and outplay your competition, rapidly accelerating your path to poker mastery. 🚀