Poker coaches

Hey guys

Just wanted to get CC users oppinions on whether or not u think coaches are a good tool for improving your game.

I play exclusively MTTs and have been a member of a couple of training sites and found the videos helpfull, so I was thinking a coach would be moe helpfull but obv more cash to.

Also if you guys woyuld reccomend coaching what do you think would be a reasonable % of ur BR to spend on it. Or to put it another way what would you think is about right for Small stakes tourney player looking to move to med-high stakes pay.
Thanks

TD

I have a sng coach and he has been great for my game. As far as how much - just make sure you leave enough of your bankroll to play the level you want to play.

thanks for the reply I have been toying with the idea and wanting to get a coach for a while now but never took the plunge, but feel like I just might this time

I also got coaching, for NLHE cash game play, and was very happy w it, well worth the money and time I spent.

Suggestion, though - Dakota may have a different experience, but I found it very important to be prepared w specific questions, situations, things I felt were weak in my game, etc. prior to the sessions. Don't count on your coach to design the sessions for you.

Yea mine is quite different. He does all of the prep work and has the sessions laid out with what he wants to cover with me. He starts every session with a classroom type topic and then in most sessions we do a sweat session where I try to focus on that area in my games with him watching. Sometimes I have had homework but not usually - he usually just wants me to play as much as I can working the new things I have learned into my game.

He also video records the sessions and sends them back to me. That is huge for me because I usually need to hear things more than once to really grasp them. So I am in the middle of reviewing them all now since we took a break from sessions over the holidays.

I've considered getting some kind of coaching. I know I'm a good player but there are just holes in my game that cause me to either fall behind or break even. Seems I have trouble with bubble play, I guess. I'd like for someone to watch me play a couple tourneys and give me some criticism.

i thought about coaching also after having a horrible 09 poker wise. But i am trying out Badugi. Anyone know any coaches for badugi?? I figuired im doing pretty decent at it and it seems like a niche for experienced players so it should be profitable for me.

I've gotten coaching as well.. it was *well* worth it.

however, be prepared to spend a reasonable amount on it and stick with it for at least a month or two (if not more) for it to be worth while.

I'm not really sure why such a question is asked in the learning poker section - when you are a beginner just ask a friend, read a book and watch some videos.

Coaches are fantastic for beginners imo.

do you use colin, debi? whoever it is sounds fantastic... not that I play SNGs

thanks for all the responses guys I am not a total beginner just didnt really no where to put it...well I think i will have a few sessions and see how it goes

No -I do plan on getting a few lessons from him one day but I am not ready yet. However my coach was trained by Collin and they are good friends -live in the same area. (It is Greg - Positive EV at Stox).

I have some one from CC who coaches me... And I have to say much my game has improved!

At times it's just worth someone watching your play. Because different ways play and leaks people see!!

Sharky - do you use someone from CC in the UK or online? I'd just be interested in checking out coaches but wouldn't know where to start looking in the UK.

I would suggest that the less experience a person has, the more they stand to gain from a great coach.

Years back I was involved in competitive skydiving. 4-way (four person) teams. Everyone looked for the best talent/skill set to balance out their team. The best team in the world in 1980 was the US Army's Golden Knights. They inverted the dominant paradigm. When 2000 jumps was low-average for a nationally competitive team member, The Knights couldn't have cared less. They scoped out military and civilian drop zones for folks with around 100 or 200 jumps who could get along with not only the discipline of the army, but the freedom of skydiving in general.

Then they'd wrap the Golden Knight method around the to-be team member and by next season, they were approaching (or on) first string. In three years they were the best team players in the world. Soon, civilian teams understood that the ability to learn and hang out was infinitely more important than experience and skill-sets. Arizona Airspeed dominated the sport for ten years, something that people thought could never be accomplished by a non-military team. And the sport experienced a revolution. Teams were faster, smarter and had more fun. And they started from a place where ten years prior they would have had trouble getting invited on a decent skydive. Another revolution was the observation (duh) that womens' bodies had certain advantages in certain positions an now the majority of the top twenty 4-way teams are mixed. When I started in '79, there was a brainless rule against mixed teams.

Sorry to blather on, but I predict within five years there will be a top player who placed his/her first bet on the felt (be it virtual or real) after an organized coaching session including a bit of socratic wisdom.

I don't think he would mind me telling but Snowmobiler has been coaching me for the last month or so and I have stepped my game up enormously!

It is an unofficial relationship that we just kind of fell in to while I asked advice, he responded, then he railed me a few times and made suggestions. I actually catch myself thinking "what would snow do?" in certain situations, which I think is what coaching will ultimately lead to, that is answering that question correctly.

For everyone here the forums are a form of coaching, in particular the hand analysis forums. Post a hand, ask for tips, ignore the snarky comments , and try out the suggestions!

Bottom line, informal coaching can be a great help for you.

From my experience as an (athletic) coach and as a person who's been extensively coached (chess, skydiving, tennis), the only time a coach is not worth it and a waste of your roll is when the coach truly sucks (not when you truly suck).

This is much more rare that I once thought as feedback is a powerful motivator both to the coach and their potential client.

A coach can be very helpful. I have never had one, but have reviewed lots of poker videos, books and blog strategies. Some players are better at coaching than actually playing poker. I have checked places like sharkscope to validate this and some very good coaches actually had worse ROIs than myself or the persons they were teaching. Note, this does not mean they are a bad coach. Teaching sound poker and playing sound poker are two different things and they don't necessarily co-exist.

Poker strategy blogs are great as one can get several differing perspectives on the same subject and choose what fits their player style. Afterall, in poker and in life, there can be no better coach than yourself. Train yourself well and then follow your own instruction.

Except for a truly "bad beat" or simply no luck at all, when you get knocked out of a tournament, it is usually because you played the hand differently than how you "knew" you should have played it.

GL on your poker...hope to see you on the felt.

Wally

I only play online but would love to transition... where in the heck do I find a poker coach in Montana? Anyone?