really liked this one! def one of the smartest people in the poker world, i hope youre continue to do those even if its not super regularly, theres so much value in those! i think 3 topics im more interested in would be a talk abt personal private coaching vs cfps, a deeper dive into how to study (i know you touched on it in this one already) and maybe more abt how to deal with downswings/mentalgame.
**Key Takeaways from Podcast Episode 9 - "Optimize Your Poker Engine" - Patrick Howard** **1. Preparation is More Important Than Willpower** - Patrick Howard opens the episode with a quote from Bobby Knight: "The will to win is not nearly as important as the will to prepare to win." This sets the tone for the episode, emphasizing that success in poker (and many other areas) comes not just from a desire to win but from a well-prepared approach. **2. Content Creation Strategy** - Howard discusses his personal philosophy on content creation. He believes in only producing podcasts when he has valuable information to share rather than churning out content on a regular schedule. He aims to strike a balance between creativity and avoiding "content for the sake of content." This mindset ensures his episodes maintain high value and relevancy. **3. The Poker Engine Metaphor** - The core idea of this episode is likening a poker player’s overall game to an "engine" with many moving parts that require regular attention and fine-tuning. Neglecting any aspect of your poker engine-whether it be theory, practice, or self-diagnostics-can lead to performance issues. Howard encourages a structured and deliberate approach to ensure each component is optimized. **4. Poker Theory as the Engine Block** - At the heart of the poker engine is poker theory, the "engine block." Howard stresses the importance of a solid theoretical foundation, covering concepts like mandatory defense frequency, optimal bluffing frequency, and expected value. He advises players to engage with daily study using tools like GTO Wizard or POF to ensure they stay competitive in today’s tougher poker environments. **5. Exploiting Opponents and Tuning Your Game** - "Tuning" the poker engine involves adjusting your play based on your opponents’ tendencies. Against strong opponents, adjustments should be minimal, but against recreational players, Howard advocates for making larger exploits. Using tools like Hand2Note, players can study population tendencies and adjust strategies to exploit opponents’ weaknesses. **6. Diagnostics: Detecting and Fixing Leaks** - Regular self-assessment is crucial in poker, akin to diagnosing leaks in an engine. Howard advises players to routinely check their own stats to identify weaknesses and potential strategy leaks, whether through personal stat checks or with the help of a coach. This process ensures that a player can fix their leaks before they lead to significant losses. **7. Testing and Calibration: Drilling for Precision** - Precision in decision-making is essential, and Howard recommends regular drills using GTO trainers to "calibrate" one’s poker game. He suggests players focus on high-impact situations, such as defending the big blind, to sharpen their skills. Incorporating daily drills into a routine ensures players’ decision-making remains accurate under pressure. **8. Upgrading the Engine: Continuous Learning** - Howard encourages players to always seek upgrades to their poker engine by researching new strategies or investing in coaching. Learning doesn’t stop with basic theory; it involves continuously refining your understanding and seeking new ways to improve. Players can choose to be independent learners or invest in external help, such as coaches or study groups. **9. Regular Maintenance: Reviewing Old Concepts** - Just as engines require maintenance, poker players need to revisit and review older concepts they’ve studied. Howard points out that it’s easy to forget previously learned information and that reviewing old material can be as beneficial as learning something new. This "maintenance" ensures that important concepts remain fresh and ingrained in a player’s mind. **10. Cooling System: Avoiding Burnout** - Howard discusses the importance of having a "cooling system" to avoid burnout. Poker can be an isolating and mentally exhausting game, so it’s critical to maintain a balance between poker and personal life. Players should take time off, rest, and nurture relationships outside of the poker world to avoid mental fatigue and burnout. Regular breaks and hobbies are essential for long-term success. **11. Monitoring Progress with a Dashboard** - Howard suggests that players use tools like Notion or simple whiteboards to monitor their progress and set daily, weekly, and monthly goals. Tracking and organizing one’s study process and results are vital for staying on track and improving over time. Howard also advocates for setting realistic goals to avoid overwhelming oneself and ensuring steady progress. **12. The Pomodoro Technique for Time Management** - For managing study time efficiently, Howard recommends the **Pomodoro Technique**. This involves working in fixed intervals (e.g., 50 minutes) followed by short breaks. The method helps players stay focused without burning out. Howard personally uses a visual timer, the **Time Timer**, to stay on track during work and study sessions, ensuring he doesn’t get lost in his work for too long without taking breaks. --- **Conclusion: The Will to Prepare is Key to Long-term Success** In this episode, Patrick Howard highlights that long-term success in poker is not driven by a mere desire to win but by a structured, prepared approach to playing and studying. Just as a car engine needs regular tuning, calibration, and maintenance, so too does a poker player’s game. Howard emphasizes the importance of a solid theoretical foundation, continuous self-assessment, deliberate practice, and balance to prevent burnout. By organizing their study process and focusing on preparation, poker players can optimize their performance and stand a better chance of succeeding in a highly competitive field.
what do you think about spaced repetition? I use anki for some of the memorization stuff like flop sizings, heuristics, and some obscure gto moves. It's interesting because you rely on a science-based method that tells you when it's time to test your memory on concepts you are in process of learning. Greetings Patrick, good pod as usual!
I love your content but you are very difficult to listen too. (i zone out). I think it's your speech pattern, I think if you want to succede in this space thats something you have to work on.
No way, Patrick speaks in a very thoughtful, and logical way. Perfect for "this space". Hes already massively "successful in this space". He already said this is more for his creativity and to talk about poker and be involved in the community with value in a way thats sustainable for him. Hes doin just that and people are very thankful for it
idk if this is a troll but nah Patrick already has done alot in this space? this is just something hes doing for the game and people who want to get better
@@Nateyyyyyyy Not trolling. Was just my honest opinion. I like his content though. And with the quality of his content he should have way more viewers/listeners. But if I feel this way I am sure others do aswell. He ... Speaks ... Like ... This ... (exaggerated)
really liked this one! def one of the smartest people in the poker world, i hope youre continue to do those even if its not super regularly, theres so much value in those!
i think 3 topics im more interested in would be a talk abt personal private coaching vs cfps, a deeper dive into how to study (i know you touched on it in this one already) and maybe more abt how to deal with downswings/mentalgame.
**Key Takeaways from Podcast Episode 9 - "Optimize Your Poker Engine" - Patrick Howard**
**1. Preparation is More Important Than Willpower**
- Patrick Howard opens the episode with a quote from Bobby Knight: "The will to win is not nearly as important as the will to prepare to win." This sets the tone for the episode, emphasizing that success in poker (and many other areas) comes not just from a desire to win but from a well-prepared approach.
**2. Content Creation Strategy**
- Howard discusses his personal philosophy on content creation. He believes in only producing podcasts when he has valuable information to share rather than churning out content on a regular schedule. He aims to strike a balance between creativity and avoiding "content for the sake of content." This mindset ensures his episodes maintain high value and relevancy.
**3. The Poker Engine Metaphor**
- The core idea of this episode is likening a poker player’s overall game to an "engine" with many moving parts that require regular attention and fine-tuning. Neglecting any aspect of your poker engine-whether it be theory, practice, or self-diagnostics-can lead to performance issues. Howard encourages a structured and deliberate approach to ensure each component is optimized.
**4. Poker Theory as the Engine Block**
- At the heart of the poker engine is poker theory, the "engine block." Howard stresses the importance of a solid theoretical foundation, covering concepts like mandatory defense frequency, optimal bluffing frequency, and expected value. He advises players to engage with daily study using tools like GTO Wizard or POF to ensure they stay competitive in today’s tougher poker environments.
**5. Exploiting Opponents and Tuning Your Game**
- "Tuning" the poker engine involves adjusting your play based on your opponents’ tendencies. Against strong opponents, adjustments should be minimal, but against recreational players, Howard advocates for making larger exploits. Using tools like Hand2Note, players can study population tendencies and adjust strategies to exploit opponents’ weaknesses.
**6. Diagnostics: Detecting and Fixing Leaks**
- Regular self-assessment is crucial in poker, akin to diagnosing leaks in an engine. Howard advises players to routinely check their own stats to identify weaknesses and potential strategy leaks, whether through personal stat checks or with the help of a coach. This process ensures that a player can fix their leaks before they lead to significant losses.
**7. Testing and Calibration: Drilling for Precision**
- Precision in decision-making is essential, and Howard recommends regular drills using GTO trainers to "calibrate" one’s poker game. He suggests players focus on high-impact situations, such as defending the big blind, to sharpen their skills. Incorporating daily drills into a routine ensures players’ decision-making remains accurate under pressure.
**8. Upgrading the Engine: Continuous Learning**
- Howard encourages players to always seek upgrades to their poker engine by researching new strategies or investing in coaching. Learning doesn’t stop with basic theory; it involves continuously refining your understanding and seeking new ways to improve. Players can choose to be independent learners or invest in external help, such as coaches or study groups.
**9. Regular Maintenance: Reviewing Old Concepts**
- Just as engines require maintenance, poker players need to revisit and review older concepts they’ve studied. Howard points out that it’s easy to forget previously learned information and that reviewing old material can be as beneficial as learning something new. This "maintenance" ensures that important concepts remain fresh and ingrained in a player’s mind.
**10. Cooling System: Avoiding Burnout**
- Howard discusses the importance of having a "cooling system" to avoid burnout. Poker can be an isolating and mentally exhausting game, so it’s critical to maintain a balance between poker and personal life. Players should take time off, rest, and nurture relationships outside of the poker world to avoid mental fatigue and burnout. Regular breaks and hobbies are essential for long-term success.
**11. Monitoring Progress with a Dashboard**
- Howard suggests that players use tools like Notion or simple whiteboards to monitor their progress and set daily, weekly, and monthly goals. Tracking and organizing one’s study process and results are vital for staying on track and improving over time. Howard also advocates for setting realistic goals to avoid overwhelming oneself and ensuring steady progress.
**12. The Pomodoro Technique for Time Management**
- For managing study time efficiently, Howard recommends the **Pomodoro Technique**. This involves working in fixed intervals (e.g., 50 minutes) followed by short breaks. The method helps players stay focused without burning out. Howard personally uses a visual timer, the **Time Timer**, to stay on track during work and study sessions, ensuring he doesn’t get lost in his work for too long without taking breaks.
---
**Conclusion: The Will to Prepare is Key to Long-term Success**
In this episode, Patrick Howard highlights that long-term success in poker is not driven by a mere desire to win but by a structured, prepared approach to playing and studying. Just as a car engine needs regular tuning, calibration, and maintenance, so too does a poker player’s game. Howard emphasizes the importance of a solid theoretical foundation, continuous self-assessment, deliberate practice, and balance to prevent burnout. By organizing their study process and focusing on preparation, poker players can optimize their performance and stand a better chance of succeeding in a highly competitive field.
Love how raw and honest you are at the start Pat, very refreshing, please keep these coming
I just messed around with Replit the other day to make a RNG as well, seems to be easier than ever to create your own tools which is pretty nice
You the man Joe!
Watch these every week, great stuff always!
what do you think about spaced repetition? I use anki for some of the memorization stuff like flop sizings, heuristics, and some obscure gto moves. It's interesting because you rely on a science-based method that tells you when it's time to test your memory on concepts you are in process of learning. Greetings Patrick, good pod as usual!
Love these. Please keep it up 💪
I was getting worried lol.
Good thing we have a new episode
keep up the good work, Pat. I listen to your pods loyally.
Great episode! 😊
Nice tips man, tks alot!
Great content
Always love your content!
Hi. Where can I find how to install Stat checker into H2N4?
Keeping up with theme: not studying theory is like showing up for an F1 race in a rally car
I love your content but you are very difficult to listen too. (i zone out). I think it's your speech pattern, I think if you want to succede in this space thats something you have to work on.
No way, Patrick speaks in a very thoughtful, and logical way. Perfect for "this space". Hes already massively "successful in this space". He already said this is more for his creativity and to talk about poker and be involved in the community with value in a way thats sustainable for him. Hes doin just that and people are very thankful for it
idk if this is a troll but nah Patrick already has done alot in this space? this is just something hes doing for the game and people who want to get better
@@Nateyyyyyyy Not trolling. Was just my honest opinion.
I like his content though. And with the quality of his content he should have way more viewers/listeners. But if I feel this way I am sure others do aswell. He ... Speaks ... Like ... This ... (exaggerated)
@Daared81 do you know you can watch at 1.5x speed? Even 2x if you want.
I think this says more about your own attention spam than anything else.
Don't Stop! (beeelieeving) :D
Great pod, keep going