Best Way to Study Postflop Play

I’m trying to improve my postflop game, especially turn and river spots. Do you think studying solver outputs is the most efficient way, or is reviewing your own hands with peers more valuable? How do you balance theory vs. practice when learning?

I have this compulsion to play, so I review my own hands as I go. I use the site's hand replayer and critique the play while waiting for the next deal or two.

babyrosejr said:

I’m trying to improve my postflop game, especially turn and river spots. Do you think studying solver outputs is the most efficient way, or is reviewing your own hands with peers more valuable? How do you balance theory vs. practice when learning?

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The best way to study turn and river is to learn to range refine on each street. We do this by using a hand we played and have the HH for and starting preflop define your range and V range. Then on the flop we look at range interaction --who has the strongest range on xxx board. The flop action dictates how you both adjust your range to that board. On the turn what are the ranges now? How did the turn card effect range strength for both of you.
Repeat for river

If you do this many times, it will become second nature for you to understand turn and river actions.
The issue with solver study is many people replicate actions instead of learning the why.

If you can get peers to work with you that is best as long as the peers have more skill than you.

Peer review is most likely best for you. (trick is finding your peers 😉)

The problem with "studying" solver outputs is you are unlikely to understand the "why" of actions taken by the solver and it is this ability to reason about spots that will improve your game (not just knowing what a solver might do in a hand you've given it to solve).

In terms of balancing theory vs. practice, deliberately try to apply theory when you play, so for example how theory dictates c-betting on Axx flops, then constantly look to adjust how you apply that theory in practice, so for example "start cbetting bigger for value on Axx flops because villains just call too often and haven't adjusted to me bluffing small and valuing big". Just a silly example, but point is know the default theory and experiment with adjustments in practice (Don't just "do" stuff though, vocalise the theory in a spot then how you and why you are deviating from it)