Unleash Your Hidden Poker Memory: How to Win at Texas Hold'Em by Turning your Brain into a Poker Tracking Machine
192
Unleash Your Hidden Poker Memory: How to Win at Texas Hold'Em by Turning your Brain into a Poker Tracking Machine
192eBook
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Overview
Gain a massive edge on the competition with tested memory strategies
Going beyond the common poker strategy book, this one-of-a-kind guide utilizes basic memory techniques designed to enable a player to easily keep track of poker statistics during a live game. A variety of engaging imagery is provided, teaching players how to remember approximately 10 to 100 times the information an untrained player would have at a tournament or cash game.
Covering everything from how often a player plays to memorizing tells, this is the ideal companion for both serious amateurs and professional card sharks.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781770902305 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | ECW Press |
| Publication date: | 04/01/2012 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 192 |
| File size: | 722 KB |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
Unleash Your Hidden Poker Memory
How to Win at Texas Hold 'em by Turning Your Brain into a Poker Tracking Machine
By Bennett Onika
ECW PRESS
Copyright © 2012 Bennett OnikaAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-77090-230-5
CHAPTER 1
UNLEARN WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED
I know what you are thinking. Chapter T? I am returning this book — it's horrible. Well, before you do, be advised that everything in this book has a purpose. As you will find out, there is a reason it is Chapter T and not Chapter 1. Before we delve into the real study part of the book, I need to eliminate any old myths you have about your brain and how you have been told it works. Your brain works vastly differently than you might think. All the reading I have done from the leading researchers on the way a "normal" brain works and how a memory is processed trumps anything any schoolteacher told me about studying. I was always told that studying and recalling information is hard and that you have to work at it. I am telling you right now: your memory is either trained or untrained. Once you train it, you will be able to remember more information than you ever thought possible.
Having made a wager or two, I am willing to bet that you were just like me before I trained my mind to remember things. In fact, I always knew I was a fairly bright guy: maybe not Einstein or Newton, but certainly smart enough to figure things out. I never had any trouble understanding the concepts teachers were teaching. I found school incredibly boring because teachers taught at an incredibly slow pace. Also, my parents always told me that studying was hard and tedious, that nothing worth learning and truly understanding was easy. To put it simply, I was just a horrible test taker. When it came time to remember things for a test, I was horrible at it. In fact, in grade 10, I had forgotten about a test on U.S. geography that tested us on the 50 states and their capitals and just found out about it that morning. I studied them as hard as I could for 20 minutes before the test and flunked it miserably. I think I got maybe 10 states and a few of their capitals right. I would have had to spend hours using rote memory even if I had known about the test in advance.
It bothered me so badly that, when I first learned the techniques for memorization, I wanted to have another chance at that 20-minute window. I memorized not only the 50 states and their capitals but also their slogans and the order in which they came. I did it in just 18 minutes. I was also able to recall the information in its entirety two days later without review. I was shocked at how easy it was.
I am telling you this not to brag about how great I am but to illustrate how easy it is to train yourself. In fact, I am proud that I can memorize a shuffled deck of cards in under 10 minutes. You might think that is amazing. Do you know that the world record is under 25 seconds? Now that is amazing.
Also amazing is that the average poker player will only have three to five pieces of information on you at the poker table — if he is lucky, seven or eight. He will also categorize you as a certain type of player and expect that, once he has "figured" you out, his work is done. He is loose passive and bets hard with top pair. When he flares his nostrils, he is bluffing.
Now you will be the extraordinary poker player. You will be the card player who has an encyclopedia of general bluffs and strong tells memorized. You will know the exact percentage of hands played by each opponent at the table. You will be able to memorize a catalog of hole cards played by all players at the table in each position played and whether they raised or limped. In Texas Hold'em, you will have all 169 hole cards memorized in rank — yes, you will know that K7 off suit is ranked the 97th best hand out of 169. You will be able to store in your memory whatever you want for a live game of poker. You will be able to play a live tournament or cash game and have virtual computer knowledge on all your opponents while they question your raise in their heads and say, "Well, he hasn't raised in a while, he must have a hand."
To move forward, I am going to quote Yoda, one of my favorite Jedi masters from Star Wars: "You must unlearn what you have learned." Below are some myths you might believe; we are going to unlearn these myths and relearn new realities.
MYTH: My memory is what it is, and I will never be able to improve it.
REALITY: You are born with nearly 100 billion cells called neurons. When you learn, these neurons form pathways with other neurons — up to 10,000 pathways between each neuron. In short, your brain is the most complex computing system ever created and has incredible power. The more you work your brain, the more pathways will form, and your ability to recall information will become much better. Stop using your brain and eventually you die. Researchers have confirmed that, when you retire from work, you are far more likely to die sooner if you shut down and do nothing. If you volunteer or have a part-time business or job, you are far more likely to live a long and healthy life.
MYTH: You can't teach this old dog new tricks.
REALITY: Although you have a fixed number of neurons when you start out in life, you still have 90 percent of them by age 80. Your age can cause you a bit more of a time lag to recall the information, but the brain continues to form new pathways even after this age with the neurons that are left. With the right techniques, you can still train your memory to be effective whether you are 20 or 80.
MYTH: I have a photographic memory.
REALITY: Many researchers are now calling photographic memory a myth. That someone can look at something once and instantly remember every detail has rarely if ever been done. In fact, the world memory championships are won consistently by extraordinary people who have yet to claim photographic memory. Thus far, all have used memory-training techniques to develop their memories.
MYTH: I am not smart enough to do this.
REALITY: Unless you have a disease of the brain, your general knowledge is a function of your memory and ability to recall information. Think back to high school: all the best students were the best test takers who could remember concepts when they wanted to. In high school, was there ever a course on how to effectively memorize and recall the concepts? That course didn't exist for me. My system will not only help you to remember things for your life but also give you a tremendous advantage at the poker table. Moreover, most memory champions were average students at best before they learned their systems! In fact, Ben Pridmore, World Memory Champ from England (and also the person who memorized a shuffled deck in under 25 seconds), to this day frequently misplaces his keys and forgets names if he isn't concentrating on them. Yet he memorized pi to 50,000 digits!
MYTH: This system of memory is a lot of work.
REALITY: In the beginning, it will seem that way because, to memorize the first few ideas, you have a brain not used to remembering items. As your mind is trained and forms more pathways, your ability to recall information will become easier, and you will have less work in memorizing huge quantities of information.
In the words of Henry Ford, "Whether you think you can, or think you can't, either way you are right." If you believe in yourself and work at this, you will achieve a skill that few people in the world have and even fewer in the poker world.
For your first assignment, I have a basic memory test for you. I would like you to take out a deck of cards and shuffle them. Once you have shuffled them, pull 10 cards out of the deck without looking at them and then go through the other 42 cards, looking at them one by one and trying to remember all of the cards that have been played. Take as long as you want to go through the deck, but remember to write down the time. Now see if you can list all 10 cards that you originally pulled out of the deck. Now, if that seems too hard, write down "Way too hard!" Or you could start with just one suit and shuffle the 13 cards and pull one out. Now try to remember just the last card that wasn't played. Whatever test you do, write it down along with the date and time spent.
Now I want you to put the 10 cards back into the deck and shuffle it up. Go through the entire deck, looking at each card, and try to remember all of the cards in sequence. Again take as much time as you need and write down how many you get correct in a row as well as how long it took you and the date you did it.
If that's too hard, try just 10 cards in sequence and write down how long it took you. Come back in 25 minutes and see if you can still remember them in order.
Write your results now.
The reason for these exercises now is that I want you to be blown away by your ability to remember sequences and information. You will look back on the numbers you see above and think, "I can't believe how fast I am." I know what I said: "That's incredible!" I want you to look back on your results in awe of your newfound sense of recall. Once you see that your brain is the most powerful computer ever created, and believe you can memorize even the most complicated information quickly and easily, it won't be long before you have the confidence to memorize bigger amounts of information, which will help you to take down any opponent — pro or amateur — you face at any major tournament in the world.
You now know your brain is an incredibly powerful computer capable of amazing feats of recall. You are also likely skeptical at this point of your own abilities. Let's move on and make you a believer.
CHAPTER 2THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF MEMORIZATION
Everyone has heard the saying "A picture is worth a thousand words." Well, in memory training, nothing is closer to the truth. I would argue that one picture is worth more than any couple of paragraphs of description. The ultimate building block of memorization is pictures. If you are going to succeed in this endeavor, you must understand that every abstract thing you see can easily be remembered if you turn it into a picture.
A study conducted in 1973 showed 10,000 images to average people over five days, and then they were immediately tested on which images they recalled seeing. Over 80% of the images were recalled accurately. This test showed that we as humans have an acute sense of perception. What is better is if you close your eyes and visualize a picture: your brain cannot tell the difference between an image you actually saw and one you visualized. To your brain, it is all the same. In contrast, it is harder to remember abstract things. Numbers, letters, words, and playing cards all fall into this category. That's why we catch ourselves on four flushes checking what suit our card is. We know it's red, but is it a diamond or a heart? We wouldn't have this problem if we played with a four-color deck since each suit would have its own color.
This chapter focuses on turning everything you find abstract into a vivid image. It is important to note that, the more ridiculous your image is, the easier it will be to remember. Let me give you an example. What were you doing September 10, 2001? What about September 11, 2001? I would be willing to bet you can remember exactly what you were doing on the 11th versus the 10th right down to the slightest detail. September 10th you probably have little idea because it was an ordinary day. September 11th was a day of disaster that cemented what you were doing that day into your long-term memory. Every detail right down to the smell of the cup of coffee you might have had is forever ingrained in your long-term memory due to the emotional upheaval of that day.
Let's try to use this knowledge in everyday life. When you try to recall something, create emotionally charged, weird images, and you will remember them no problem. If you want to remember where you last placed your keys, the next time you put your keys down picture them exploding and not only blowing your hand off but also putting a gaping hole in your expensive oak table. Try to forget that image. When I go to the mall, I look at colors and images in the parking lot. Then I pretend my car is affected by them, so when I think of my car later I think of the image and color. For instance, the last time I parked it was Nevada green. So I pictured my green car smashing into the sign on the Las Vegas Strip. Then, after it crashed, a whole bunch of green slime oozed out of it. Give your brain a picture it can't forget, and remembering will be easier.
The first thing we are going to do is equate the first 10 numbers with the 10 basic sounds in the English language. Each sound has an assigned number. We want to easily interchange a sound for a number, so if we have two numbers we want to turn them into an image using the sounds we have. An example is 4154. For 4 we have an R sound, 1 is a T sound (hence Chapter T), and 5 is an L sound. For this number, I have picked the image of a retailer. So now, if you want to remember the number, you remember RETAILER; every sound in the word tells you what number it is in order. RTLR or 4154. If you don't like retailer, you can use RAT LURE or IRATE LIAR — whatever you want — just make sure the RTLR are in order. Don't ask me how or why T is 1 and 5 is L, but they seem to be the standard for all memory training.
So you can know the sounds and their associated numbers, I have provided an easy way to remember them. If these images do not work for you, find ones that do work after you have read this book and developed your memory. In the meantime, learn these images as well as you can — they are the building blocks for future knowledge. I call them your body of base knowledge. Why? Because I place them on your body in order. That way it is easier to memorize them. This system was created a long time ago and is called the LOCI method. The ancient Romans created it to make their speeches easier to remember by placing key ideas on specific places in their villages. They would associate an image with a topic in the speech and then with a particular building. For example, if they had a speech on horses and carriages, and the first topic was wheel redesign, they would picture a huge wheel on their house, the first place they left in the morning. Then perhaps it was the hitch attached to the horse they wanted to talk about, so in their minds they would associate a hitch with the next stop, which might be the blacksmith, and so on. Then they would simply "walk through" the rest of their village and see the objects on the buildings to bring up the next topics. This is an easy way to remember things in order.
In this case, it will be your body. Let's start at your toes.
1 = T/D for toes
2 = N for knee (starts with a K but sounds like an N, so don't worry about the K)
3 = M for muscle (use your quadriceps on your leg)
4 = R for rear end
5 = L for liver
6 = SH or J or CH for shoulder
7 = hard C for collarbone
8 = F or V for forehead
9 = B or P for bald spot (top of your head)
0 = soft C for ceiling
This phonetic alphabet has been well documented in several memory books, notably The Memory Book by Harry Lorayne, and on the Internet by several authors, as well as Remember Media's remember playing cards. You require this training as a precursor to applying the systems later.
Again, I'm not sure how or why these particular sounds were associated with these particular numbers, but any reading and research I have done on the mind and memory have the same sounds associated with the same numbers. I can't stress enough how important it is to know these sounds like the back of your hand — they should come as automatically as breathing. I would practice by writing out numbers with two to four digits and then converting them into images and back again. When you become adept at this, move on to the next chapter.
In review, we know that the brain thinks in pictures and that stronger emotions are tied to those memories that are stored. And we have memorized the 10 basic sounds in the English language and associated them with numbers.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Unleash Your Hidden Poker Memory by Bennett Onika. Copyright © 2012 Bennett Onika. Excerpted by permission of ECW PRESS.
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