How to review your poker hands and improve faster
Reviewing your hands after a session is the fastest way to improve. Save a few important hands, go through them street by street, ask what your opponent’s range was and whether your decision was +EV, and write down one lesson. Judge the decision, not the result.
Which hands to review
Section titled “Which hands to review”- Big pots you won or lost.
- Hands where you were unsure what to do.
- Hands where you folded to a big bet and wondered if you were bluffed.
- Common spots: 3-bet pots, big blind defence, bubble decisions.
Most rooms save hand histories and have a replayer, so you can watch the hand again. Mark hands during play and review them later.
Street-by-street questions
Section titled “Street-by-street questions”- Preflop: Was my hand good enough for my position? Was my bet size standard?
- Flop: What range did my opponent have? Did the board favour me or them?
- Turn: Did the card change who is ahead? Was I betting for value or as a bluff?
- River: Which worse hands could call? Which better hands could I fold out?
- Overall: Was my decision +EV? See expected value.
Avoid results-oriented thinking
Section titled “Avoid results-oriented thinking”Losing with a good call or winning with a bad call tells you nothing by itself. A correct all-in with A-A that loses to a flush is still correct. See variance.
A simple weekly routine
Section titled “A simple weekly routine”- After each session: save 3–5 hands.
- Once a week: review them for 30 minutes, write one lesson per hand.
- Share tricky hands with a study friend or a poker community.
Questions about a hand? Message us on Telegram or WhatsApp and send the hand.
How should I review poker hands?
Section titled “How should I review poker hands?”Save important hands, go through them street by street, think about ranges and EV, and write one lesson per hand.
Which poker hands should I review?
Section titled “Which poker hands should I review?”Big pots, hands where you were unsure, and common spots like 3-bet pots and big blind defence.
What is results-oriented thinking?
Section titled “What is results-oriented thinking?”Judging a decision by the outcome of one hand instead of whether it was correct on average.
Where can I find my hand histories?
Section titled “Where can I find my hand histories?”Most poker rooms save hand histories and have a replayer in the app or client.