How I Use Flash Cards To Study

First, I have to correct something that I said in my previous post (I will go back and edit it as well.)  I said that there were some issues that I can't and shouldn't do anything about because I am on the right track.  I do need to do something about the lack of interaction that I have with my family and I intend to.

Now, the main topic:

I've mentioned before that I use flash cards to study, but I never gave any detail about how that works.  The simple explanation is that there are things that happen at the poker table to which I need to know, automatically, how to react.  That could be what my odds are in a certain situation, or some facts that I need to know.  For example:

I need to know if the pot is giving me the right odds to play a hand.  I know that if the action is on me to make a river bet and I have a heart flush draw, the odds are 4.11 to 1 against me getting another heart to make my flush.  Another way to say that is that I will be dealt a heart just over one time in five.

To make that play profitable over a large sample size, if I have to pay 100 chips to make a call, then there should be just more than 400 chips for me to make a profit with that call in the long run.  It doesn't matter whether I make my flush or not in one tournament, but it matters a lot whether I make a correct call in that situation when I see it more than 1,000 times.

I study not just numbers, but situations.  For example, what are good situations for me to make a continuation bet?  To get that answer I went through a poker book and made two bullet point lists of things that I should watch for.  Here are those two lists.

1. Times to consider making a C-bet:

Against two players, both will miss the flop 42% of the time, making a C-bet profitable.
C-bet dry boards.
C-bet-high card boards.
C-bet on all boards where you have a range advantage.

2. Times when a C-bet might not be a good idea:

C-bet less against good players.
Check if you think that villain is likely to fold.
Consider checking with marginal made hands.
Check when the turn is unlikely to make your hand worse.

Next is putting that information on flash cards.  I have a packet of cards with the title, "Hit On The Turns, Odds and Outs."  I just pulled a card out and on one side I printed "7 OUTS." The other side says  "5.72:1," which are the odds against improving my hand on the turn with 7 outs.  An "out" is a card that would improve my hand.  My packet has 20 cards for drawing with anywhere from 1 to 20 outs.

Now yy continuation bet bullet points are on a clipboard that I can see while I'm playing.  Those lists will be turned into flash cards as well.

Finally, if I have those flash cards, what do I do with them?  It's a very old way of learning, but it works for me.

I look at one card, I say (or think) what's on the other side, then I turn the card over to make sure that I was correct.  If I miss one I write 15 times on a piece of notebook paper, "5.72:1 = 7 outs," or whatever the numbers are.  Then I go through the pile again, except that I pull that card out the card that I missed every other time.  For example, I do the 1 OUT card, then pull out the 7 OUTS card, the 2 OUTS card then 8 OUTS,. 2 OUTS followed by 9 OUTS, etc.  I do not memorize things easily. I need to pound information into my head.

That's what I do with my flash cards.  It's not high tech and it's not sexy, but it works.