Pros and Cons of Different Video Formats

Pros and Cons of Different Video Formats

I’ve seen a lot of discussion lately about the effectiveness of different types of poker videos. I think its great that people are starting to think more about the methods that coaches use to teach them, but I also think many of the arguments against certain types of videos are fairly short sighted. There are basically 3 styles of poker videos. There’s “classic” live-play, replay videos (these include live footage made with commentary recorded later and hand replayer videos), and powerpoint based lesson style videos. I think all 3 formats are very valuable, but they each have particular strengths and weaknesses. I’m just going to discuss the pros and cons of each format, and why I think a balanced coaching program includes all 3 types of videos.

Live Play Videos: This was the original format of poker video where the coach simply fires up the tables and talks about what he’s doing. They have some very distinct advantages that will always make these videos valuable in my opinion. First of all, when we play poker, we don’t get five minutes to think through a hand. We have to quickly analyze the variables and make a decision. In a live play video, you get to see the coach going through that process in the short time frame he has. It also allows the coach to explain his thought process while he’s in the moment, without relying on his memory to recap his thoughts later. I don’t really buy that making live videos is lazy or un-instructive, in general I think it’s a great format because no other format captures the coach thinking on his feet. I’m also a big fan of the spontaneity that’s inherent in live videos, and that’s what makes them my favorite videos to make. They also provide an open platform to talk about other poker stuff that’s not 100% related to the action on the table, and side topics can certainly be valuable as well. You don’t get that with the other formats.

There are a couple downsides. The first one that comes to mind is that the coach often does not have as much time as he would like to talk through a hand, because another interesting hand pops up. As a coach I find myself in this situation fairly often in my videos (and I tend to be fairly long winded as it is), I just stick with 2 tables to minimize this problem. Things can get hectic when I need to overlay the tables with a replay of a previous hand, and that’s another drawback. Of course the action can get slow as well, and that’s when its good to have a couple side topics in mind to fill in the space, or to comment on the hand that’s going on, what ranges I’d put the players on, etc.

Hand Replay and Delayed Commentary Videos: These videos have one very important strength. The coach is not inhibited by the action at the table, he’s got all the time he needs to talk through the hand in question. This allows for more in-depth discussion and analysis than is usually possible in a live video. Furthermore, it provides a great platform for stringing hands together with a certain theme. A hand replayer video can have any theme the coach wants, all he has to do is go through HEM and pick out a bunch of hands that show similar situations. Blind battles, overbet bluffs, big pots, whatever that concept is, its easy to show multiple examples of a single concept. You don’t have to catch the hand on film in order to put it in a video. That’s a powerful tool. The disadvantage with these is you don’t get timing tells, chat-box tells, or that kind of thing.

Delayed commentary of the recorded action has some big advantages too. I’ve tried to make live action heads up videos and I wasn’t too happy with the results. Mostly because you play a much higher % of hands and there is much less downtime in heads up, and that makes keeping the commentary up with the action a serious challenge. Recording a match and doing the commentary later solves the problem. As long as you make the commentary a reasonable amount of time after the match, there’s not much of a problem with forgetting anything. These videos also work especially well for MTTs, because MTTs are several hours long and there can be a lot of downtime (especially early on), a delayed commentary video is great because the coach can skip ahead to the relevant situations. Timing tells can matter a lot in MTTs and cash, and that’s where a delayed commentary video has an edge over a hand replayer. Of course, a hand replayer can much more quickly and effectively jump to different points or pivotal hands in the tournament.

Powerpoint Lesson Videos: These obviously have a lot of strengths. The biggest is that they allow a very clear presentation of a specific poker concept or theme. Powerpoint is a powerful piece of software and it can easily be recorded in camtasia, so often this is the best way to break down and discuss a single concept, especially if math is involved. It can also be a great as an intro to a video. I’ve done a few this way, the “Emptying The Clip” videos I made use this format. They start with powerpoint and then go to the hand replayer.

The downside to these videos is quite honestly the production time. Depending on the coach, these just take a lot longer to make than the other types of video. They also are challenging, because a lot of thought has to go into how to best organize and display the information, you‘re not just turning on the mic and speaking, you have to choose how best to display, lay out, and explain the concept visually. It looks like all you have to do is type up a few slides, but a ton of thought (at least for me) has to go into how to organize those slides and how to phrase the text so its clear and instructive. I’ve also seen complaints about powerpoint vids because there’s not any poker being played, so some people get bored just looking at slides while listening to the coach. I’m pretty ADD personally, so I can relate to that.

So basically, I totally get that some players will prefer different types of videos. However I don’t think that anyone should just write off one format or another. Instead I’d encourage everyone to watch a mix of all 3 formats, simply because they each have unique and important strengths. Also, think about where you are with your poker game, what are you trying to work on? Do you feel like you have a specific leak, or are you trying to figure out where you can improve things? Just because you usually get the most out of one type, don’t write off the others, instead check out the other formats occasionally. Its always good to expose yourself to different coaching methods.