How Much Should We Study Poker Compared to Playing?

[Kpaprince]

One question I often ask myself is how to properly balance studying poker with actually playing the game. When I started, I believed that playing more hands was the fastest way to improve. Over time, I realized that without structured study, progress can be very slow.
Studying hand histories, reviewing mistakes, and learning new concepts have helped me understand why certain plays work, not just what to do. At the same time, too much studying without enough real-game experience can make decision-making feel mechanical and slow.
For me, the best improvement came from combining both—playing with focus and then reviewing key hands afterward. Even short, regular study sessions seem more effective than long, irregular ones.

 

[ammje]

I haven't been studying much lately, because I don't have time, I'm regularly playing on my cell phone while I work, and in the evenings I'm very tired and I don't feel like studying. But before I studied a little every day, watching streamers like abarone68 on twitch, or zerospoker videos on YouTube.

 

[99TERRANCE99]

I think it really depends on the person and where their skill level is at to how much you do of both

 

[Newzooozooo]

One question I often ask myself is how to properly balance studying poker with actually playing the game. When I started, I believed that playing more hands was the fastest way to improve. Over time, I realized that without structured study, progress can be very slow.
Studying hand histories, reviewing mistakes, and learning new concepts have helped me understand why certain plays work, not just what to do. At the same time, too much studying without enough real-game experience can make decision-making feel mechanical and slow.
For me, the best improvement came from combining both—playing with focus and then reviewing key hands afterward. Even short, regular study sessions seem more effective than long, irregular ones.

80% playing, 20% studying.
I think that would be a balanced and optimal ratio. But unfortunately, it is quite difficult to maintain such a ratio. For most players, playing takes up 100% of their time.

 

[Noobgila]

It's hard to find time to study...

 

[christovam]

For total beginners, the recommendation would be: Dedicate about 80% of your time to studying and 20% to playing. The focus should be on learning the rules, hand rankings, and basic mathematics before risking significant capital.

 

[WrongUsername]

u get experience by playing not studying.

 

[Dimidrol2]

I just play, and experience is the best teacher.

 

[Kerasuss28]

One question I often ask myself is how to properly balance studying poker with actually playing the game. When I started, I believed that playing more hands was the fastest way to improve. Over time, I realized that without structured study, progress can be very slow.
Studying hand histories, reviewing mistakes, and learning new concepts have helped me understand why certain plays work, not just what to do. At the same time, too much studying without enough real-game experience can make decision-making feel mechanical and slow.
For me, the best improvement came from combining both—playing with focus and then reviewing key hands afterward. Even short, regular study sessions seem more effective than long, irregular ones.

I think if you are 5years + in experience, you don’t need any study anymore, you know everything enough

 

[Ruslan L]

I think 20 minutes a day to study the game is the minimum that is needed and I think this minimum can be afforded by most players. It is better if you have the opportunity to devote at least an hour a day to studying the game. I think this would be optimal.

 

[kunkgreen]

I believe the ratio of study time to playing time will depend on other variables.

Your skill level, your average buy-in, available bankroll, available time, and long-term goals, of course. (among others)

Beyond that, I believe we can start with a principle of 50% for each and adapt it according to our goals and the tools we have.

 

[Jyco]

Honestly, I think I study very little compared to how much I play. Most of my study time is just reviewing my own hands that I feel I didn’t play well. Since there aren’t that many, I analyze what I did and what I could have done better, and that’s it. The rest of the time I’m just playing. So if I had to put it in percentages, I’d say around 10% studying and 90% playing.