When Tomski came out with VPSM, Tom needed to come out with the next step which was game selection (after much hem and haw, he decided to build TSI v2.0 and then proceeded to give it away for free -- I still own half the rights to TSI v1.0. The original goal was to integrate WinPoker, VPSM, TSI, and other software, etc as modules -- however, Tom is too nice of a guy so TSI v2.0 is free). After TSI, the next step was tailoring VP strategies -- i.e. low-variance based VP strategies meaning you tradeoff EV for lower variance. For example, in Pick'Em, the simpliest example was to always hold High Pair to any 3-card royal flush. Another form of strategy building was looking at "conflicts" or why people make "mistakes." A "conflict" is when you have two or more "correct" choices for a given flop and please note not all VP strategies are EV-based. I gave Tom the algorithm, and unfortunately, he other pressing projects so it never got started.
In VP, the first rule to developing a strategy is to determine if a dealt hand interferes with strategy or is independent of strategy. For example, you always keep two-pair or trips in 9/6 JOB but you will break pat straight (or flush), respectively. That is to say 2-pair and trips is independent of the strategy but the dealt straight is dependent on the strategy, respectively. This is important because there is a "CONFLICT" between a dealt straight and a better hand (say 4 to the royal flush). My theory is you make a mistake by failing to identify or correctly weigh the "conflict(s)". Had Tom worked on the software, it would have pointed out those conflicts you missed.
That said, I can give you a low-cost, low-tech method (which is free, thus saving you $50 for an extra software). All you need is a marker and a stack of 3.5" blank index cards and some time.
Here's what you do (I use WinPoker 6.0):
1) Set the training mode to "none"
2) Review the strategy (or better yet -- write out the whole strategy on a piece of blank paper)
3) Practice your hands (I practice 100 hands at a time)
4) See if you have any mistakes after the session (repeat steps 2 and 3 until you make mistakes)
5) For each mistake, copy the the 5 card flop on the front side of index card -- on the back, write the hold you made and the correct play and then find the conflict, i.e. the root cause of your mistake. [Btw, Tom's software was designed to print out these cards and with the nice pictures of the cards on the front, the EV on the back for your hand, the best play, and the conflict.]
5) Before you practice again, review or write out the strategy and review your index cards of mistakes!
6) Practice more hands. If you make a mistake for a second time on the same conflict, you then had to make five (5) cards of that hand; a third mistake on the same conflict would entail you making ten (10) cards of that hand, etc.
7) You learn by doing and understanding because as you write out the card 5 times or 10 times (for some people, it may be more), the activity of writing the same mistake over and over again forces you to face that conflict again, again, and again, until you never want to make that mistake again.
A couple of side notes:
1. Tom's software was to print out the strategy (sorted by "buckets"), popular sample hands that contain conflicts (for basic strategy as well as perfect play), and accumulated hand mistakes. For example, on the front of the card would be the graphics depicting the 5 card flop, and the underneath was a question: Which hand is better listing popular choices (thus showing the conflict)? The back of the card, was a list of the EV top 3 or 4 (out of 32 hands like hand analyzer in WinPoker) -- in case you were curious how close the two or three hands were, the correct play (obviously!), and the answer to the conflict.
2. Some AP I know use (mailing) labels when creating these index cards, i.e. the hand for the front of the card and the answer for the back of the card -- meaning the back of the card may have 1,2 or more labels.
3. Remember how some of us learned new vocabuary words or studied for the SAT using the "index card" method? Tom's software would have generate flash cards for vp gamers and allowed people to practice or learn a strategy without the use a computer.
Good luck.
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--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, fivespot <fivespot55@...> wrote:
i already own two VP software packages, FVP and VPW, which is more
than enough. ... i want directed training. my VP trainer should look at my errors, identify my problem areas, and give me more hands like the ones that gave me problems.
.