This is the second in a series of four articles that outline the use of individual Learning Styles to improve Texas Holdem Poker Skills. The initial article “Use Your Individual Learning Style to Develop Your Texas Holdem Poker Skills”, we identified the three Learning Styles, Auditory, Visual and Kinesthetic. In this article, we will focus on the Auditory Learner. If you are serious about improving your Texas Holdem Poker Skills then you will want to be able to learn the game and improve your skills as quickly and effectively as possible. The best way to accomplish this is to ensure that you are using the learning methods and strategies that are most compatible with the way that you learn naturally. The Auditory Learner uses hearing and listening to acquire, process, consolidate and then recall learning. They learn faster and more effectively information that they have gathered through hearing.
So what is your Learning Style? Are you an Auditory Learner? If the following statements sound like you then you just might be.
- At the poker table you like to carry on a conversation even with players you don’t know.
- You like to hum or quietly sing a song.
- You like to discuss previous hands.
- You try to read your opponents by listening to the volume, pitch, etc. of their voices for tells.
- When you have made a new purchase that requires assembly, you ask your spouse or other person to read the direction while you do the task.
- You like talking to others on the telephone to keep in touch. You can talk on the phone for hours.
- You like to listen to a good story-teller or you listen to audio books.
- In conversation you use phrases like, I hear you or sounds good to me.
- Lectures aren’t that bad, you enjoy a good speaker.
- You prefer receiving verbal directions to get from point A to Point B.
- You remember things better if you verbalize e.g. say a new telephone number out loud.
- You talk to the TV in response to what you are watching.
- When giving instructions to others, you present the information verbally.
- You work best around the house if the stereo, TV or radio are playing, they energize you.
- When thinking or problem solving, you verbalize your thoughts, you sometimes mutter to yourself.
This is not a scientific analysis based on years of research, but if you like the sound of these statements and you think that they describe you fairly accurately then you are probably an Auditory Learner. So what works best for you?
- When you are reading for information, read out loud. Stop from time to time and give yourself a verbal summary of what you have read. You can also record what you have just read into a cassette or digital recorder allowing you to play back and listen to the information at a later time. This supports brain based learning research regarding transferring information from short-term to long-term memory.
- Using a voice recorder has many benefits. By taping important information as you acquire it allows you listen to it whenever you have an opportunity. Frequently hearing and verbalizing the information strengthens the neuron pathways enabling quick and accurate retrieval when it is required.
- Read with a friend. After completing a designated amount of information stop and discuss with the friend what you have read.
- Again if you are reading for information, use all the information that is available. Verbalize what you are seeing, pictures, graphs, diagrams or other information that will help you understand or remember what you have just read.
- Have others read information to you. You can discuss the information with the reader or record the reading for future listening.
- Talk with experienced poker players about skills and strategies and any other tips they might be willing to offer. If you can’t record the conversation, summarize it on your recorder as soon as possible.
- If you are watching videos on poker play, skills or strategies, talk to the screen supporting, analyzing or critiquing what you have seen. By involving higher level thinking skills or getting emotional you will also remember more. Brain research advocates involving strong emotions in the learning process.
- Watch instructional videos with other people and engage them in a discussion about what you are seeing and hearing. You can stop or rewind the video to ensure that you have not missed information while engaged in discussion.
- Watch televised poker tournaments and make verbal comments about the play. Verbally support, criticize or analyze the action, you can be the commentator.
- When you are playing poker online talk to yourself about how you played the hand or how other players played. Critique your own play verbally.
- Another great strategy is to try to teach someone else what you have just learned. If you have a friend or family member also interesting in learning how to play poker or to improve their skills, deal a few hands and share your knowledge with them.
Some cautions about being an Auditory Learner.
- You like to talk so be careful what you say at the table, you might be giving away more information than you intended.
- Also because you like to talk don’t get so involved in the conversation that you lose your focus.
- You can be spontaneous and blurt out things without thinking, so be careful.
- Being an Auditory Learner you may find loud, sudden or persistent noise at a certain pitch distracting. To combat this at the poker table, you might want to use a head set that filters out or reduces this distraction. Listening to soft, favorite music can also help. But be aware, listening to music can become distracting. Also be aware that complete silent can also be distracting.
- Good players will pick up on things like this and use it to your disadvantage.
As an Auditory Learner, it may seem that there are not a lot of resources for you to use in developing your poker skills. Nobody lectures on poker anymore and audio tapes are a thing of the past. It is important that you take the things that are available and adapt them to your learning style. The learning strategies that have already been outlined can help you to use other people, books, DVDs and television shows to assist you in your Texas Holdem poker learning process.
In part 3 we will examine the Visual Learning Style to determine what the Visual Learner can do to optimize their learning experiences. We will look at the approaches to learning and the types of learning materials that are available to them to help facilitate quick and effective Texas Holdem poker learning experiences.
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