Hey guys,

My name is Aaron Barone and I'm the owner/operator of Sixty-Eight Staking, formally Psyduck Staking.



Why the name change? While I'm still a big fan of the yellow platypus (it will remain my avatar and our unofficial mascot), I thought it was best to transition to something not owned by Nintendo, build our own brand based on my username (abarone68), blah, blah, blah. You're not here for that.

About Us:

Since January 2016, Sixty Eight Staking has provided backing and free coaching to MTT players across a wide spectrum of games and stakes.

Currently, the group has ~20 members and with this thread, I'm hoping to add a *few* more. At one point early in our development, we had grown to nearly 40 horses and while the 'more players, more money' model definitely works for some staking groups, it doesn't for us. A smaller group gives me more time to focus on the individual players and help them reach their full potential.

At this point, I provide all of the coaching for the group. Group sessions are held once a week and individual hours/reviews can be requested. In the past, I've allowed horses to seek out and find supplemental coaching if deemed necessary. For example, one particular horse told me he lacked complete fluency with English and would do better in his native tongue, so we found a well-known coach/crusher who spoke it fluently.

About Me:

It's a bit long/tl;dr, but since I do all the coaching I thought I should be thorough.



I'm a 2x SNE, earned over $1M (!!) in my career, and have been a professional poker player for over a decade now. My initial success came at low stakes Turbo 9-Max SNGs under the screen-name 'abarone68' at PokerStars. But as the ecosystem changed and certain games "died," I adapted -- transitioning to higher stakes and newer formats, including 9-Max Hypers, 18-Mans, 180-Mans, Spins, and now MTTs. At each level I've been considered one of the best regulars and I attribute that to my willingness to admit faults and work hard to improve upon them. I've chronicled my development in the PG&C section of 2p2 over the past several years and if you're interested, can find those threads below:

2013:
https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/17...se-up-1283973/

2014:
https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/17...teaks-1400143/

2015:
https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/17...epeat-1499916/

2016-2017:
https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/1...74/?highlight=

2018:
https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/1...ments-1700025/

I've only been playing them full-time for the past ~6 months, so admittedly my MTT sample isn't extensive.



I do, however, have a detailed history of success in formats that focus on ICM play (SNGs) and chipEV (Spins), two of the major components that determine winrates in MTTs. In mid-stakes, people consider a top reg's winrate to be 8 EVBB/100; mine is 11+ over 400,000 hands (at a $60 ABI).

SNGs: This sample is mixture of the formats listed above which help illustrate my ability to adjust to given payout structures, stack sizes, and population tendencies. It also includes KO SNGs which helped me learn about 'bounty equity' an important tool given the frequency (and profitability!) of KO/PKO MTTs.



Spins: While they were my main game, I played the highest stakes available, 6-tabled (Most regulars only play 2-3) and had a 50+ cEV. Can't seem to find a screenshot of my old database, but I made roughly $400,000 from them.

Despite my results, I'd contend that I'm a better coach than a player. Between Spins, SNGs, and MTTs, I have coached hundreds of satisfied clients in many different formats. There are countless success stories within the group, but for now I'd like to highlight two of them:

1) Horse #1: In mid-2016, I bought a horse from another backer. He appeared to be struggling a bit with his results/winrate, but had shown the ability to put in amazing volume. After combing through his schedule and making some serious adjustments to both game selection and a few to gameplay, he had an incredible turn-around.



2) Horse #2: A solid mid to high stakes grinder who I wrote about in my thread, here's the relevant excerpt.

Here is a graph of his results since Sept 2016, around the time where he was added to the group.



In both scenarios, it was undoubtedly a team effort. Not only was I willing to put in extra time and work to get that player back on the winning path, but the player was willing to match my intensity. In a nutshell, that's basically what I'm looking for out of potential applicants. You do your part, I'll do mine, and we'll print.



Simply showing up and hoping to be handed the answers isn't going to work, but if you've got the necessary hunger and drive to improve, then you'll get better and more binks will come. On that note...

Requirements:
Healthy Work Ethic
12-Month Contracts
Meet Minimum Monthly Volume

In Your Application, Please Provide:
Your Name
Country
E-Mail
Usernames/Screennames on ALL Sites
Playing History
Staking/Coaching History
Positive References
Number of games you could play per month
Schedule (stakes/games) to play
Is poker your sole income?

According to forum rules, please post below that you have applied along with your screenname(s). Please do not message before posting in this thread, otherwise you may not receive a response.

Thanks for reading and good luck to everyone!

PM send libormar

Can confirm that Aaron is a very reliable backer. Reloads go very fast, usually in less than 1hr. Coaching sessions run weekly and while very in-depth are still communicated in a very understandable fashion. Apart from that, he enjoys nothing more than discussing single hands or entire HHs 1-on-1.
Besides all of that, most importantly for me, I always feel like dealing with a human being. He is clearly interested in building constructive relationships and also quite frequently attempts to meet some of his players Irl somewhere on this planet.

pm sent

paulo349 at stars.com and stars.frespt

Pm sent MoeJurphy

Pokerstars MoeJurphy

Accept Americans?

Hello Aaron I've been trying to PM you but I'm still unable to
I'm quite interested in working with you, add me on skype kamikazzz37

pm sent mr -denis18 stars

applied, billion$guy on stars, fufffffaaa on party and acehunterxx on 888

pm sent

Kissacek - stars

pm sent

spacecowboyspike - global

All PMs responded to, thread up to date

PM sent

MrOrange on WSOP

Pm sent

Robertcooperiii on acr

PM sent jaxdevils pokerstars.

Cant seem to send a PM, but as soon as it becomes active i will do so, extremely interested in this stable after reading your OP, seems like a real 2 way street as it should be help me help you and all that lol.

Amsosick1888 PS

Let me know if there is an alternate way i can answer the questions Arron mate, just so i can let you know a little about myself, i would do so in here if allowed ? If not i am sure the messaging service will open soon for me.

Pm sent, skadooshh on stars.

I am new to 2+2. Is there an e-mail where I can send you my application?

Thank you in advance,

krusemis on pokerstars.

pm sent silverds88

Hey guys,

Spent the past two weeks traveling/on vacation, but have now responded to all the PMs. If I somehow missed yours, feel free to send another PM as sometimes they fall through the cracks.

For those who can't send a PM, be advised that I'd require incredibly strong/reputable references without a posting history on 2+2. If you have those, I can provide an alternate form of contact.

this isnt a group its a family and anyone looking to evolve their game in a great environment this is the group to be in.

pm sent, whipeer

PM sent, Tjay1000

PM sent