Looking for a teacher
Hello everyone
I'm a student taking a year off from the university of guelph so that I can make money and pay for school. I've been playing the local 1/2s and sometimes at the casino when I feel like making the trip out.
I have been doing well in in the 1/2 NL b&m games but I feel that it is time for me to stay away from these games because it doesn't allow me to become a better player. I feel that often times the strategy for these games are punishing weak players for their crappy mid pairs and cheap flush draws but its easy to play a hand when a donk plays back at you. I have had good enough success to move up levels but I want a wiley old vet who has been through the ropes and would most certainly teach me a lesson in poker humility. I find it easy to evaluate my online game but a little harder to evaluate my live game. I would think that I most certainly give off some tells in betting pattern and physical demeanor. I'm willing to drive down to almost anywhere in the southern ontario region, preferably around Guelph/Toronto/NIagra Region.
I need a coach who can take me to the next level, tournament and cash games. I enjoy the cash game a lot more and have had more success in them so I have not had time to refine any part of my tournament game.
I have the capacity and dedication to learn anything a player is willing to teach me. I would assume teaching would start on my approach to evaluating hands and move on to more difficult and higher level thinking afterwards.
I would really like to have a teacher who is interested in teaching an eager young poker player who wants to take it to a new level. Hey, you never know but maybe you will have a better understanding in the mentality of the young poker minds you face on a regular basis in brick and mortar and in tournament games.
There is a plethora of things I can continue to write. At the very least, I just need a person to talk to who has the interest of my poker game in their motives. Feel free to email me or message me or if you would like to speak to me on the phone, that can be arranged as well.
I appreciate everyone's eyes and years and even if you're not willing to take on a student, any shared experience would be listened to.
thanks,
Jay
I'm a student taking a year off from the university of guelph so that I can make money and pay for school. I've been playing the local 1/2s and sometimes at the casino when I feel like making the trip out.
I have been doing well in in the 1/2 NL b&m games but I feel that it is time for me to stay away from these games because it doesn't allow me to become a better player. I feel that often times the strategy for these games are punishing weak players for their crappy mid pairs and cheap flush draws but its easy to play a hand when a donk plays back at you. I have had good enough success to move up levels but I want a wiley old vet who has been through the ropes and would most certainly teach me a lesson in poker humility. I find it easy to evaluate my online game but a little harder to evaluate my live game. I would think that I most certainly give off some tells in betting pattern and physical demeanor. I'm willing to drive down to almost anywhere in the southern ontario region, preferably around Guelph/Toronto/NIagra Region.
I need a coach who can take me to the next level, tournament and cash games. I enjoy the cash game a lot more and have had more success in them so I have not had time to refine any part of my tournament game.
I have the capacity and dedication to learn anything a player is willing to teach me. I would assume teaching would start on my approach to evaluating hands and move on to more difficult and higher level thinking afterwards.
I would really like to have a teacher who is interested in teaching an eager young poker player who wants to take it to a new level. Hey, you never know but maybe you will have a better understanding in the mentality of the young poker minds you face on a regular basis in brick and mortar and in tournament games.
There is a plethora of things I can continue to write. At the very least, I just need a person to talk to who has the interest of my poker game in their motives. Feel free to email me or message me or if you would like to speak to me on the phone, that can be arranged as well.
I appreciate everyone's eyes and years and even if you're not willing to take on a student, any shared experience would be listened to.
thanks,
Jay
Comments
Staying in school, even if it puts you in debt, is still your best alternative. If you are taking time off to earn (btw, I have yet to meet a student who ONLY took a year off to make money...more likely it will be 5 or 10 years before you return to the classroom), then get a decent job, keep your bills up to date, and play the games you're comfortable with to gain the experience you need. While you're at it, educate yourself by reading books (oh no...STUDY??) and getting to watch others play. You'll probably find you learn alot more about the game that way then trying to copy another's style.
Prophet 22
Ohhhhhh, I hate those!
Funny...never offered to take me to the next level. And here I thought you liked me too
Brent
oh. btw. i still have a job working night shifts during the week. I manage to play online once or twice a week during the days and play B&M on a single weekend evening. Maybe two but very unlikely.
Since you are killing the online game why would you want to switch to live??
I would much rather play from my home instead of travelling to a B&M, sit on a waiting list, play and then "comute" back home...
This is coming from someone that is better at live game than online.
Rule 1. Do NOT rely on this as an income. Always have money for living expenses etc behind you.
Rule 2. You can and will run worse than you ever expect (see rule 1). If you are a long term winning player then keep playing that way despite the difficulty. Only you know if your a winning player.
Rule 3. Keep what you are doing mostly to yourself. Unless you want to be seen as some sort of social outcast (and the hours you keep will do this naturally) it's best not to advertise your method of investing your money. I had girl friends dump me, friends ask that I seek help etc. I found it best to have very few people know what I was doing.
On the school part, I finished high school at 18 and got accepted by every Univeristy I applied too. I didn't want that so instead I gambled for a year then took up an apprenticeship which I finished when I was 23. At 24 I went back to school and took engineering. Believe me it's far easier to do it when you're younger. Each year you take off means more expenses when you go back. Of all the people I knew that took time off then went back, only 3 actually finished a degree. Of course there are lots who took time off and then never went back.
Finally if you really want a teacher find one, if Prophet is offering take him up. If others are speak with all of them and find one who suits you. Gambling on your own is an expensive way to learn. I have developed my own "methods" of selecting race horse's, sports teams etc and it's an expensive way of learning. Even at a poker table you may try different things to "learn" whether it's correct or not. Keep records as you will always think your better than what you are.
Good luck
Jay, seems like you have a realistic approach to playing poker. Hopefully the university fund stays put and you don't need to dip into it. There are plenty of tournaments/cash games in the Kitchener area that are advertised on this site that will probably be a good place to continue your poker education (and without the rake of a casino). That way you can meet some of the other forum members and then you can see if any of their playing styles might complement yours. Probably some of the best players in the country play in these games regularly. Good luck in any case.
Anyway, Joe's advice is far better than mine but Poker's a fad that'll die out at somepoint. What happens then? back to school at 30?40?50?
You could always study something that is "related" in some way to poker or something that will translate to the poker world. Human Behavior, Game Theory, Etc.
No matter what anyone else tells you, poker like life, is mastered only through self-realization of how an individual's actions affects the environment around them, not the other way around. I'm sorry if this sort of philosophical thread has made its way to the B&M section of the forum but I think its important for players of all age to constantly re-evaluate their status in poker and in life.
At first, I was just looking for a teacher to teach me poker but I continue to post on this thread in the hopes that other young aspiring poker players are better able to assess their lives and poker game. In that order. I think its imperative that any young individuals become better at evaluating their natural responses to human behaviour than their natural responses to poker behaviour. For anyone having a hard time managing poker and life, I think this is the message for you. Its easy to have someone outside of your life tell you of all the explicit vices in our society, (ie gambling, drugs, excessive video game and computer addiction) but the mistakes being made by our youth is unequivocally larger in scale than in the past. I only hope that anyone reading this will understand the message and begin to live a healthy lifestyle which benfits not only themselves but their environment as well. In the end, poker is only a game of fluctuation. As is all forms of money. This will be my last post of this thread because i feel that it is a frivilous, for both myself and other forumers, to prove that I am in the right mind frame to play poker. But I will end it with a song that I happened to listen to that should hit home to all poker players alike. Thats all for now. Later folks.
Darker Side verse 2 by Jonny Lang off the album Lie to Me
Look at the people, that learn how to lie so easy
They learn how to lie to get what they need
and after they got what they need
It turns into a simple case of greed
When they no longer feel the same
and they've lost all sense of pride
Misery loves company
and its lonely on the darker side
-Jonny Lang
/g2
I've read about 70 poker books.
I still have a huge way to go.
Books can only take you so far..
I find talking with others has a huge effect on my game.
So if anyone in the Hamilton/Toronto area is looking for a student or other people just want to talk shop... give me a PM.
Jeeesh Brent, shouldn't you work on taking your own game to the next level first? lol.....
Just joking bud.....
A coach is an option, but you can always get cheap (ie. free) advice from forums like this. Sure you'll probably get differing viewpoints, but simply generating discussion about what play is the best and WHY will be of use to you (and other people on the board). Post some hands. Include your reads of the other players. If you're crushing 1-2 and your BR allows it, and you're comfortable with moving up then by all means, move up (assuming you are a winner at the limits and you've logged the time to KNOW you're a winner).
In short, your posts seem fairly well thought out, but are a bit short on any poker specific details...
PS: I'll echo the sentiments of finishing your degree first, but I won't beat a dead horse. I don't really see why you can't do both so long as you can balance your time (which is going to be easier said than done while at school).
Edit here.. BBC Z posting while I was.... but you see what I mean......Hey there bud, glad to see you back on a regular basis..... While pointed, your input is very often true...
Although the thought of have a coach appeals to many, the thing that helped my game the most was getting together with other poker players and bringing up examples of hands and situations we found ourselfs in.
The conversation was always frank and BBC.
We would play a single table game and after everyone bet or acted, we would each tell the others what we noticed/thought of the others actions.
My game went to the next level shortly after that.
NegMike
Stay good and play good
I'm also gonna sell my moms car and buy some strippers for the celebration party after i win the WPT!!!
Good luck finding someone, and if you're in Guelph, come out to some of the KW games (like my main event - see http://pokerforum.ca/showthread.php?t=11122
Coaches / poker buddies are another invaluable tool up there with books and experience... try getting a poker buddy (hell, drop me a line), as I find they're awesome if they know what they're doing... right beanie?
Mark