Poker Looking for a Mentor or a nice Poker Boot Camp.

Hi guys, the title says it all. I live in the Washington, DC area. Looking for someone to help me advance my poker game or looking for a good boot camp to do the same.

If anyone has had experience with boot camps, please let me know what bootcamp you attended, price and location.

Thank for your replies, in advance.

 

Boot camps are good, but very fast.. There are several coaches/mentors already in this forum, check each out, find out who is right for you, have a conversation and find out how they will assist and about their availability and cost (discounts for multiple bookings, or being a member of this community, or other ways to reduce your costs, while getting ample time and instruction from that person, whoever YOU choose).

In the interim, decide your focus and purchase books that are proven to help players increase their chances to win more often.

Tournament players - purchase "Winning Poker Tournaments One Hand at a Time" Vol. I & II to start.

reviewed here - http://www.gamblingforums.com/threads/book-review-winning-tournaments-one-hand-at-a-time.70/

Cash players (not novices) - purchase "Winning No-Limit Hold'em"

reviewed here - http://www.gamblingforums.com/threads/book-review-book-review-–-“winning-no-limit-hold’em”-by-ashley-adams.150/

 

Thanks for the info Al. Enjoyed talking to you today. I will be in touch with you soon.

 

There is a third volume of Winning Poker Tournaments One Hand at a Time out. I'd recommend to read it too and to do the three books in order.

 

Yes, I left it off the post (but it's covered in the review I believe). The entire series is outstanding and won't find it's way under any "computer monitors" as a prop, like other books written and unused.

 

Sl

 

Al,
How to get a "book " review as above.
This is not a book but my 1 hr seminar lecture on poker math & odds made simple. Thanks

 

Thomas, I've been around the poker world some 25 years and publishers and authors send them to me to review, and I post online, in Ante Up Magazine, or in other publications the past years, along with at PokerPages and PokerSchoolOnline when I was Dean of the school.

 

I love the books Al mentioned and definitely second his recommendation. I'm also a big fan of James "Splitsuit" Sweeney for low limit cash games - his book is Dynamic Full Ring Poker. He also has a ton of videos on youtube which you can view for free, of course.

For tournaments, Jonathan Little has a series - Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker (Volumes 1-3) which helped my game immensely. As a point of full disclosure, we wrote a book together (Positive Poker) but I studied his books well before we started writing together.

In my humble opinion boot camps can be an expensive way to learn. They move fast. You can put that money into one on one coaching and will likely be better off. In order to make the most of coaching, I'd read a lot first to master the fundamentals - then play hands and take notes on trouble spots. A coach can go over the specific hands and situations that give you trouble.

If you are playing online, use a HUD (like hold em manager) to gather data - most coaches can do a HUD analysis and discover areas for improvement.

For live games, have some method to record (notebook, on your phone - whatever). Make sure you note effective stack size, position of all relevant players, bet sizes, SPR (stack to pot ratio) as well as any reads, tell, info you have on opponent's tendencies. Include all actions.

If you do this, you'll have plenty to discuss with a coach.

Of course, participating on the forums is a great way to get feedback, too.

Hope this helps!

Tricia Cardner

 

First look at your game and be specific. Ask yourself the following and write it down in a journal.

Yes I love my phone for electronic extemporaneous record keeping, however when you're looking at improving your game, it is a process.

So what I'd like for you to do is get yourself a notebook. Yes, pen and paper rather than doing this on your phone or computer. Why is that?

Because manually writing connects you more with the process vs simple record keeping.

Here are your 2 simple questions to get you started:

1. What is my greatest strength in my game?
2. What is my biggest challenge?

Once you identify strength vs challenge take some time to expand on each.

Even tho you likely start by focusing on your challenges than strengths (which is natural), shift your focus and delve into your strengths.

Write down specific examples of your power. Start with an overview with each situation and expand.

As you concentrate on your pluses, you raise your energy vibration and you will create more of the same.

It's like looking in the mirror and liking what you see rather than only seeing your flaws.

I'm still guilty of being too self-critical. Whenever I keep thinking about how I made a stupid move, my game suffers as well as my life.

However, when I look back at a glitch, a hiccup or an oops in my game, and look for the lessons WHILE forgiving myself for making a mistake, my self-confidence and self-esteem improves, so does my game.

Our game is directly connected to our mindset. We do have the power to shift our mindset in a moment when we know how.

When we disregard our ability to mind shift and continue to focus on our loses, we open up our holes and more money and energy leaks away. It's a fact.

Starting this simple way by journaling to grow your game is powerful. It will improve your life because poker mirrors life and vice versa.

Several years ago my clients told me I was more than just a poker coach. I asked them to re-label me

They created my handle Poker MindSet Coach, and I am grateful.

So get a journal and start downloading your experiences. Now!