About me

Hi, I am Darren I have played poker professionally for 8 years since 2015. I started out as an online player in 2013, 25NL on Pokerstars, then Pokerstars got banned in my country and I gradually transited to $5/$10 live games. From 2016-2022 my main stake was 1K and 2KNL.

These days my volume is a bit less, I like to spend some of my free time coaching and helping others achieve their goals in poker.

2019 - RIO Essential Coach

2023 - Strategy Content Writer for GTOWizard under the name 'CardsAreWar'.




My goals as a coach:

1. Address any poker-related questions you might have. These include theory, exploitation, 3-bet/4-bet game, etc.

2. Identify and correct any underlying misconceptions/cognitive biases you may have and be unaware of; we will use hand history reviews, session reviews, or even a live play sweat.

3. The general syllabus (actual lessons may be different depending on what would be best suited for you)

introductions/HH reviews
bet sizes & frequencies - cbetting IP
ranges and gto 101
preflop
building a defense from the BB on the flop
playing OOP as the PFR in SRPs
bet sizes & frequencies - turn IP
lessons in exploitation, successful study for your future

We can also do different topics on request, like GTO theory deep dives, BVB, 4bp, multiway, live poker adaptations like squid game, straddle, ante, 7-2. Also, we can do HH reviews, live play session reviews at any time.

4. Work with you to improve your play in specific spots that I identified. And your winrate!

5. Set you on the guided path to constant improvement and eventually success in poker.

Approach to poker

Even though I write strategy articles that detail the effective use of a poker solver, I know that poker doesn't work like that in real life.

GTO is not some magic formula. Indeed, I know a lot of people who tried to 'learn' GTO and apply it to their game and start doing silly things that made their winrate go down. For example, 4-betting A5s because 'I need to have some 4b bluffs here' or 3-betting K4s OOP against a calling station. Don't worry, I will coach you on how to not make what I call 'GTO-suicide' which is especially valuable in live games.

GTO serves as a solid baseline. It's up to you how to tune this strategy in a manner that will make you money and EV at your game. People aren't 3-betting light? Stop throwing in 4bet bluffs and fold preflop. People aren't calling the river with bluff-catchers? Start overbluffing until they catch you, then adjust again.


Rates

$150USD/hour, $1400/10 hours

Who is it suitable for?

Players of any stake/background are welcome.

The concepts I teach are based on fundamental poker theory and will serve you well at any stake in any game. As long as you are willing to work hard away from our sessions and come with an open mind and positive attitude, I am confident that I will be able to make a big improvement in your win-rate. Also, we'll work on a program that will be suitable for your needs since every student is different.

Who will benefit most?

People who seem 'stuck' and don't know how to improve, or don't know what mistakes they are making and need some external input.
What will I get for each lesson?

Session video recording
Worksheets with bonus quiz and answers
GTOWizard / Piosolver files for the lesson
My GTOWizard Trainer drill links for training on your own
Suggestions of avenues for further enrichment on your own study time
My closing thoughts (usually a 3-5 pages pdf relating to real-life examples, exploits on the topic)
Link to join a private study group in Discord. I’ll also regularly answer questions in the group

How to pay?

USDT through Binance
Wise
PayPal (small fees apply on Paypal side)

Lessons will be done over Zoom or Discord screenshare.

How to contact me (Discord is the fastest way):

My Discord: CardsAreWar
Or; PM me here on 2+2