I spent a weekend not too long ago camping with a group of Cub Scouts, teaching them about the Scientific Method and various physical properties in-between long bouts of sledding, quinzees & hot chocolate. We did Bernoulli’s Principle of flow pressure, Pascal’s Law and Newton’s First Law of Inertia. No, I’m not a sadist; force-feeding them science against their will to live out my Bill Nye fetish. The boys earned special elective awards and pins for their uniforms, so they were rather enthusiastic. But still, it was fairly deep material for a group of 7-to-10 year olds, and I was somewhat hesitant going into the weekend. Would they get it? Would they care?
With every new concept & experiment we tried, a repetitive pattern began to emerge and take shape. I’d start explaining something new: a faster stream of air applies less pressure than a slower stream (Bernoulli’s Principle). Their eyes would glaze over, and we’d get the first complaints how boring science is. Then a couple of simple demonstrations, and they started to understand. When we set off to design an experiment with a flame, an index card, and a straw to show Bernoulli’s Principle in action…their eyes glazed over again. Their confidence waned. I heard “I don’t get it” and “this is dumb” many times. So, we held their hands through the Scientific Method, ran the experiment…and bingo, the Scouts were back on track. By the time we were done, I could talk them through how an airplane wing works, and they understood. Eyes clear.

The key underlying principles of poker are no more complicated than the physical interactions I taught to a bunch of grade-school kids. My 3rd-grader can explain how a 600-ton Airbus A380 can fly…certainly any high-school graduate can learn how to calculate pot odds. Seemingly advanced concepts such as ICM break down into simple algebra. Your rise through the poker ranks can be accomplished with junior-high math until the highest limits and strongest competition. Just because Chris Ferguson and Bill Chen have years of game theory and advanced statistical probability study, doesn’t mean everyone must follow the same course on the path to poker success.

Even though the math is basic…you still have to work at it. The fundamentals are something we’re all smart enough to understand, but it takes time and effort to make them part of our unconscious thought process. And so many players simply can’t or won’t make the commitment to fully understand the game. If your computer doesn’t have PokerStove installed, or if you don’t have a bookmark to the P5s (or equivalent) Card Calculator…you’re kidding yourself, if you think you’re serious about improving at poker.

Grown men and women act like Tiger Cub Scouts the first time they’re presented with a new intellectual challenge. They want spoon-fed hand history analysis or blanket strategies to follow by rote. If everyone who claimed to be dedicated to success actually put in the work to succeed, the game wouldn’t be beatable. Our overall edge couldn’t beat the rake. Fortunately for us, the masses talk the talk, but don’t walk the walk. “Crawling the crawl” may be closer to the truth.

I was inspired about six months ago by something ranked player stevie444 said in response to a question about shoving & calling ranges in a tournament spot. Stevie, with infinite wisdom, responded to the question not with an answer, but with direct advice: “It’s not that difficult to figure out. All you need is a calculator and a little time.”

If you’re looking for starting points for study, review your hand histories and find situations which pop up over and over. Examples I use regularly include:

• Which hand ranges provide me 2:1 odds against my connectors? Suited one-gappers? Ace-rags?

• Which hand ranges do opponents need to call my 20 BB re-shoves if they think I’m tight (Top 20%)? Loose (Top 50%)? Psychopath (Any Two Cards)?

• Which hands are favorites against an ATC range? Top 50% range? Top 20%?

• What are my ICM-based calling ranges on the bubble of the SNGs I play (9-man, 18-man, 45-man) against a tight opponent? Loose? Psychopath?

The first example is crucial, my easy #1 spot to master, because it comes up so often in NLHE tournaments. You’re in the big blind, and someone with 8-10 BBs shoves into you. Including the blinds & antes, you’re getting around 2:1 on your money to call. Putting someone on a tight, loose or any-two range, and knowing what ranges you need against them, simplifies one of the most agonizing decisions in the game.

The more decisions we can make automatic, the more we can save our energy and precious time banks for those remaining spots needing our complete focus and study. If you want to know how someone can effectively play 6, 8, 10 or more tables at a time…this is it. Great multi-tablers have reduced the number of situations which require in-depth contemplation. “This guy’s loose, my KTs is good against that range, BOOM!, call.” “My AJ is probably ahead, but my $EV isn’t good according to ICM, BOOM! -- Fold.” Great players instinctively know more right answers, quicker, than everyone else.

Developing this skill isn’t done on the felt. You study and learn before you sit down to play. Each of the above bullet points only takes a few hours to fully derive a set of answers. Most people spend more time mired in mediocrity each week than it would take to improve by leaps and bounds for the rest of their lives, simply because playing mediocre poker is easier and more entertaining.

Over the last couple of years, I have been one of “most people,” far more than I like to admit. One of my goals in 2009, however, is to re-dedicate myself to serious study of the game. I’m going to sit down with a calculator and figure out my leaks. I invite you to join me in this quest, if you’re up to the challenge.

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Paul "grapsfan" Herzog has been a PocketFives.com Contributing Writer since 2005, and is a successful mid-stakes poker player. He can often be found playing online when he has free time away from his duties as a Software Testing Engineer for a Minnesota firm.

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