I have a lot to learn in poker. But for me to hire a coach well, I'd have to know the coach was worth something. But you will pay big $$$ for a coach that can really help you compete at the top level of the game. And you have to wonder at some point whether the coach is helping you fine tune your natural talent or trying to turn you into a clone of himself. The best teachers will recognize a person's natural talents and try to mold that raw talent by catering to that person's strengths and weaknesses: a bad teacher could conceivably inhibit one's natural talent. I think you have to be careful about who you allow to mold your poker thought process. You will in the end be your own best teacher; BUT, you have to analyze your play and be constantly on the hunt for leaks. If you come to a point where you think you have no leaks, then there is probably a problem: EVERY player has leaks. Go back to the drawing board and attempt to see what you failed to see before (unless you are already competing at the very upper echelon of the game, making millions consistently in which case I might believe you've plugged most of your leaks: but even in this case i would not believe you've plugged them all....there is always room for improvement!)