I really am not sure if this is the appropriate forum for this question. My apologies if this post is misplaced, I wasn't sure where to ask about this, but if a moderator wants to move it I understand.

My question is whether or not there is a general guideline about how much one should be willing to invest of their current bankroll in a coach. If there is a formula that you should be willing to invest X number of buy ins at your regular limit for an hour of coaching, what is X?

IMO, you should not use your bankroll to pay for education. Use your monthly withdraws or deposit some money. So, X = 0.

I understand what you are saying in a way but I'm still not sure what kind of money in general one should be spending on coaching.

Assume for the sake of argument that I have exactly $2k in my poker bankroll and wish to be a winning 50NL player. Is it worth hiring a coach to be successful at this limit or should I just press on alone and not bother hiring a coach before (or perhaps I should I say if) I reach 200NL? If it's worth hiring a coach, what is my line?

Hmmm, I'm kind of frustrated that my earlier posts didn't really made it entirely clear what I am asking. I've been having trouble communicating lately in text.

I guess I have two questions

1) Is it worth hiring a micro-stakes coach or should one go it alone?
2) I think maybe my main question is where should someone be as a player before it is even a consideration to buy sessions with a coach. Like, what level of success should one achieve on their own first, if any. Then how much should one invest in a coach at whatever level.

I don't know if I am explaining myself very well at all. I am having a slow day today.

The amount you should be willing to spend on coaching should be a reflection of how much you expect to be playing.

If you are a break even 10NL player but plan on playing a million hands then your expected increase in profit from coaching is going to be enormous.

On the flip side, if you play 1000NL and plan on playing like 20 hands a week then you probably shouldn't even be putting a BI into it.

Beyond this, you need to consider how capable you are of teaching yourself. If you are already crushing your current stakes on your own then I wouldn't suggest coaching at all until you begin to struggle.

You need to consider how much money you will expect to make without coaching and how much you expect to make with coaching. Anything less than the difference should be what you are willing to pay.

Wow, that is basically the best response I have ever gotten on a public forum in my life.

Thank you very much for helping me understand the questions I needed to be asking to begin with. I seriously appreciate it more than I can express.

If you can't beat 50nl - that means you have serious fundamental misunderstandings.

Videos can just as easily teach you the basics.

For a couple of hours of live instruction you can get a month's worth of vids at many video sites.

Many of the sites have whole series designed to teach the basics (CR, Stox, Poker Savvy, etc).

If you play enough you can even get STox and CR for free.

If you really want coaching I'd say use 100% of your RB but keep your winning in your roll.


50nl:

Iso the weak fish. CB but don't try to run big river bluffs. When in doubt - value bet. Consider a 3b very strong until proven otherwise.

Easy game.

I can not agree more with this, I have had a few students who i have told the best thing for you is to sign up with a training site and learn the fundamentals it is the best way your money will be spent right now, then get coaching in the future. If you cant beat 50nl i wouldn't say you don't know the fundamentals but i will say you cant beat 50nl without knowing the fundamentals. wow that sounded weird but i thought i should chime in and tell you my experience as a coach.

If I were you I would sign up with a couple of training sites. I don't know what stakes you are playing, but for a few hundred dollars you could test out a few training sites and see what you like the best. It really makes sense to learn the basics from the videos before you are paying a coach to show you the finer points of the game. If you don't know the basics, you are going to spend the first 5-10 lessons trying to pick them up anyway, which will cost you years worth of tuition at a training site.

Gl,
Taylor

What site would you suggest? I heard poker VT was good.

Someone once said that you should get coaching when you've exhausted all your resources (stickies, books and videos).

Join a study group too.

Actually, that definitely sounds like it applies to me. I'm by no means a stupid person, but I am very inexperienced at playing poker competitively and know I have a lot to learn.

This sounds like great advice. From what I've read so far, rakeback is an absolute must for people who want to play seriously. Right now I haven't even downloaded software through a rake affiliate or made a deposit since I'm unsure if I should just go with the site which offers the highest rakeback (which I think for US players is Cake) or if I should lean towards a site with more players. Any advice on this? I know it's slightly off topic.


How do I isolate myself? j/k. Sounds like very solid advice from someone who's been there. I appreciate you taking the time to offer tips.

No, it doesn't sound weird at all. I totally get what you are saying and it makes perfect sense.

Wow, it's funny to find you here responding to this post since I just got done watching your free sample videos for CardRunners on youtube. I thought they were really informative and I'm definitely considering getting a membership with Cardrunners, though I might check out the 24 hour trial first just to make sure there are enough videos that aren't way over my head. Believe me when I tell you I'm a noob. I'm also planning to maybe check out deucescracked.



Thanks for the replies all, I appreciate it.

'public suicide':

If you are completely new to the game then I would strongly suggest that you join Stoxpoker.com. They have a few different instructors that make small stakes videos. They also have instructors such as Ed Miller that will help teach you the fundamentals of NLHE. Stox is what I would suggest to most small stakes players. After that I would suggest looking at cardrunners and deucescracked.

I have experience and/or am a member at all the training sites and strongly believe stoxpoker will benefit a small stakes player more than the others. You can join the others when you get a better feel for the game and want to seek other ways to improve your game.

My 2c.

1. Play lots, while trying to learn from the experience - have an attitude of 'whatever happens I will at least try to learn something from this hand or session'

2. Read lots of books - there's loads and loads out there, some are good, some are mediocre, and by reading them all and deciding for yourself what advice you like and why, you start to understand poker and good poker strategy a bit better. I can't stress 'active learning' hard enough, though - try to read Schoonmaker early. If and when you decide your tilt problem is becoming your biggest stumbling block, THEN you fork out for Tommy Angelo - the best poker book you will ever read.

3. Find other people around or better than your current level of poker skills - it's very important to be able to discuss concepts and analyze hands with friends. Have those friends develop along a similar pace to you, and you both benefit. Poker's not an easy game - you're much more likely to develop quicker if people around you are playing lots also.

4. Join the training sites - depending on your game of choice, probably start with cardrunners/stox, deuces, leggo. Again, as specified with the books, active learning is not only encouraged but VITAL to making your $ back and more.

5. Play a bit more - start to incorporate all your learnings into your game, while putting in more hands/hour, more hours/week, and hopefully see a drastic improvement in your winrate.

6. Only now, if you feel you still haven't made as much progress as you'd hoped (and you must still allow time and objectivity their due process), should you consider getting a coach.

nice level

i lol'd