People can connect to their idols and sporting heroes in ways we could only have imagined 20 years ago. It is possible to follow poker players in new and interesting ways, through social media or YouTube, or just by reading their blogs. Poker is known for its glitz and glamour, so it can be fascinating to peek behind the curtain of the players’ lives.
Those with a taste for the game are likely to want to know all about the top players. What are their golden rules for creating a poker strategy and playing the game? Where did their first interest in poker spark from? Some pros who have made millions of dollars have an open-book policy and are happy to share some tips.
How Amateurs Can Learn From Pro Poker Players?
Those who are just playing poker as a hobby still want to be as good as possible. There is money as well as pride at stake and the skills that professionals have shown around the table can come in very useful.
Whether an amateur is playing at an in-person tournament or playing poker online real money is on offer. Why wouldn’t a player want to get the most out of their ability and try to win something?
Poker strategy is complex. There are different approaches to the game. People decide their own attitudes to aspects like aggression and betting strategies, and every player needs to think about how they’re going to take the game on (and keep a cool head).
There are loads of resources made by poker lovers, for poker lovers. Players want to learn from the very best, so how can they absorb the knowledge that top poker pros have built up over the decades?
The best ways to learn from poker pros include:
- Watching them play. Luckily, a lot of poker tournaments are now televised and this means there are opportunities to watch the professionals in action. This is where it counts, with their money on the table and the pressure on.
- Following them online. A lot of poker players now have YouTube channels or other online platforms such as blogs. They may not share all their secrets to winning tour events, but players can still pick up gems of knowledge.
- Taking courses. Some of the very best and most famous poker players have courses online that anyone can learn from. Masterclass is one of the top sites for this kind of learning, and both Daniel Negreanu and Phil Ivey have courses about the strategy and mindset of poker.
Let’s look at some of the poker pros who are currently active online and sharing information regarding their lives, or just running interesting YouTube channels you might want to check out.
Daniel Negreanu
There aren’t many better places to look for poker knowledge than inside the head of a six-time WSOP champ.
We’ve already mentioned that Negreanu shares information via Masterclass, “Daniel Negreanu Teaches Poker” which has been online since 2018.
He’s also got a YouTube channel with over 779K subscribers, and there are examples of gameplay on there as well as some golden information shared by one of the most successful poker pros ever to play the game. The Canadian poker legend is an excellent example for aspiring pros to follow.
Doug Polk
Another poker pro that people tend to follow online is Doug Polk. He has earned more than $10 million throughout his career so is certainly an excellent poker player. His YouTube channel is one of the best-known in the poker niche, with hundreds of thousands of active followers.
He shares a lot of industry-related content along with controversial things that happen in tournaments. If you prefer informative written content then Polk has also written content for Card Player’s website.
Maria Konnikova
“Who on earth is Maria Konnikova?”
On our list of poker professionals, she is certainly not the best known, but her story is fascinating and one that you can follow online.
Konnikova started research for a book she was writing and found that she was so good at poker that the book got put on hold while she played in tournaments and won hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The book became called “The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Take Control and Master the Odds” and this is a good read for those who are finding their way in poker. It also has lessons for life.
The book had input from poker pros including Erik Seidel, Jason Koon, and Isaac Haxton. As well as releasing many more books she has also written for the New York Times.
Conclusion
Learning from the best is always a recommended strategy. Whether a player’s goal is to become one of the best in the world or just learn a few extra skills when playing in small poker rooms, the three professional players above can be a good starting point to explore what the world of poker is like, and the journey to becoming a top player.
