Why you don't learn poker from TV Event Coverage

[BlibbityBlabbity]

Rookette asked if watching TV was a good way to learn and improve her game during the TPF Tourney last night.

IMO, I have learned a lot from TV poker, but I can't say that it has helped me much in the low limit games I play. The TP tourneys are one instance where some of the same "type" of plays happen online.

Some reasons I can think of why TV poker is misleading:

1) It is shorthanded It is very dangerous to an aspiring player to take what they see on TV to generally (he raised with A3os from first position, I should too). Shorthanded it is not possible to wait for the best starting hands (due to blinds), so you have to loosen up your starting hand requirements.

2) They may have reads from earlier in the tourny These players have been playing together for some time before gettign to the final "TV six". So, say from even the final 3-4 tables they will be playing at the same table and seeing play from full table to SH. The better players will be categorizing, watching, and taking mental notes of who will lay down a hand, who raises a lot, who bluffs, who raises with marginal hands, etc, etc... So when someone calls an all in with KQs and flips it up as if they KNOW they have the best hand, they might have a good reason for that call(where, sitting at home, a TV viewer might get the wrong idea and think "hey, I will call all ins with KQs too").

3) You are only seeing the dramatic hands The producers for these shows edit out the "raise, fold, fold" hands. They would be very interesting to see, IMO, but would make bad TV for the action crowd.

In general, a lot of poker advice starts with two little words...it depends. Poker TV takes out a little bit of the insight into the elements that make up good poker decision-making, IMO.

The suggestions at the table last night were to read books and practice. watching poker on TV can be entertaining, but don't take it too literally. Books (the better ones- there are a bunch of threads on which ones are good here) can be a great help to your game, if you are committed enough to it to sit down and read them.