Giving a poker training site a try
I recently joined Cardrunners after reading a bigaboom’s related post on 1/13 and threads on 2+2 about training sites. I’d like to share my early impressions.
First off, what I was looking for…I am mostly a live holdem tournament player who is looking to gain some knowledge that can be translated to live cash games. If I learn enough to hopefully be profitable, I’d like to play more holdem online (I used to play holdem quite a bit online, but have found a more profitable game). I currently play $.50/1 or $1/2 PLO online, and I hope the training site will also give me a new edge there. Like I said, I am most experienced (and profitable) in live tournaments, so I will eventually take a look at their MTT section, but I haven’t done that yet, since that’s the area where I need learn the least.
My initial thoughts…I was disappointed that an overwhelming majority of the NLHE cash videos are for shorthanded play. I’ve only been a member for a week, and I’ve already made it through a big chunk of the full ring cash videos. I understand that shorthanded is a more profitable way to play, since you see more hands, and people tend to play like they’ve been possessed by some kind of raising monster, but it’s not for me. I don’t like the increased variance that comes with shorthanded play. Maybe this just shows that I have a lot to learn before I should start playing a lot of holdem online, but when I look on the online sites I see that there are a lot of other players who choose full games. So, I don’t really understand why Cardrunners doesn’t have many full ring videos.
Same story for PLO, but even worse. There are only 25 PLO videos, compared with 493 NLHE videos and only ONE of those PLO videos is for full ring play. One of the big reasons I joined was because of sbrugby’s PLO expertise, but alas all his videos are for six-handed or heads-up play. I did learn a lot from his videos, even though some of the lessons don’t translate, and I’ve caught myself loosening up a little too much after watching them. lol It seems like PLO is becoming more and more popular in the poker world, so I hope they will add a substantial number of videos and experts to their site.
To be fair, their pros encourage members to ask for what they want to see, so I’m going to post something on their boards. Other members report that they do a good job of adding videos when members ask. My impression is that they are very responsive and accessible to their members.
The videos I have watched have been solid. I found the commentary, while helpful, to surprisingly be less valuable than just looking over a successful player’s shoulder while they play hands. I never knew how much I could learn from just watching how someone else does things. It puts me in a good mindset, so I’ve been trying to view one before I go play.
So, like I said, I haven’t really delved into all the site has to offer, but hope this initial impression is helpful, and I can keep someone with the same priorities as me from shelling out a bundle only to find a very limited number of relevant videos. That being said, if you are a short handed player or a new MTT player, it seems like the site would be infinitely valuable to join.
I’m going to keep watching videos, and tonight I’m going to the casino to test out some things I’ve learned, so I’ll report again with a follow up impression.
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I hope the site pays off for you in the long run. I’d be interested to hear how you found it after a month or so. I think what helped me was that I was in a learning rut, not really progressing to the point of regressing.
The PXF does not have any PLO FYI….