Online mtt coaching from HERSCHELW

[herschelw]

There have been a bunch of requests for me to do a video and that's not really something I'm interested in doing so. I've offered this at another forum and many members decided to take me up on the offer. In the past I have done private mtt, sng, and mixed game coaching for a fee for players looking to improve thier game. I typically charge $50/hr with a 4 hr minimum. I have been thinking for a long time now on a way to offer this same coaching in a slightly more affordable manner to players who dont feel comfortable or are unable to spend this kind of money on coaching. Below is what I have come up with and am currently offering to members of online forums I am a part of.

Coaching package:
I am offering a coaching package that will include a 1hr private lesson with me discussing any issues or concerns you may have about your game. I will answer any and all questions you may have which can range from bankroll management issues to what your options are with 15 players left in the tournament and 15BB's in your stack. During this hour we will probably spend most of the time walking through a HH I have posted on pokerxfactor's HH viewer and teaching you new "moves" and equiping you with new weapons.
Secondly I will review and give you a written critique of one complete mtt HH of your choice. I will address your overall mtt strategy as well as identifying hands of interest and showing you different ways to play them. I will also identify situational plays you should understand. Additionally I will be available throughout the next 30 days(after your lesson) to look at individual hands and critique them as well as address any questions you may have on mtt play.

Group lessons
I am planning to offer stud and stud h/l group lessons. During these group lessons we will be covering cash game and tournament stud strategies as well as the differences between stud and stud h/l starting hand values. These will be $15 per person for a one hour lesson. Groups will be limited to a maximum of 6 students per lesson.
If you are interested in group lessons post here or pm me and I will get back to you with available dates.


References
Two players that I have coached that can attest to the quality of coaching provided and the value you will receive are chomper4(cakepoker and AP) and pokeracer(stars). I think they would both be happy to share with you some of the things they learned from receiving coaching.

What's the cost of the package?
The cost of this coaching package is $100


Skype or AIM
The best way for us to conduct the lesson is over a microphone($10 at walmart). I normally use skype(a free program you can download) for this purpose. I'm also willing to conduct lessons over AIM or a similar program if you dont have access to a microphone.


My mtt experience


Moneymaker Million
I finished 2nd in the moneymaker million final for $300,000 in Jan 2007. There were 840,000+ unique players that entered this tournament online and then 27 players in the live final. This tournament is currently being aired on TSN in Canada and various stations in Europe. Pokerstars informed the participants during the tournament that they anticipated it being aired in the U.S. on ESPN in June or July.


I have recently joined the team at donkit.com as one of thier teaching professional poker players and my seven card stud videos are now available on thier site for purchase.

Mtt stats
Online winnings since last august $250k+
Live tournament winnings since Jan $310k+
Final tables on stars:53(11 wins)
Final tables on Full Tilt:39(7 wins)
Final tables on AP:15(3 win)(stats missing a $5k win)
Final Tables on UB:15(5 wins)


Some notable finishes from Pocketfives.com
Username Date Site Buy-in Place Won
herschelw 10/28/2007 PokerStars $55 1st $12,255
herschelw 8/17/2007 FullTiltPoker $100 1st $8,806
herschelw 10/16/2007 FullTiltPoker $30 1st $6,591
herschelw 8/4/2007 UltimateBet $129 1st $6,552
herschelw 8/6/2007 AbsolutePoker $30 1st $5,119
herschelw 5/10/2007 UltimateBet $215 1st $6,750
herschelw 9/21/2007 UltimateBet $33 2nd $3,274
herschelw 9/15/2007 FullTiltPoker $20 1st $2,290
herschelw 5/19/2007 UltimateBet $129 2nd $4,650
herschelw 2/24/2007 PokerStars $109 1st $7,208
herschelw 5/14/2007 FullTiltPoker $1000 38th $2,724
herschelw 6/3/2007 UltimateBet $530 5th $5,390
herschelw 10/16/2007 PokerStars $1050 28th $2,268
herschelw 8/19/2007 PokerStars $109 10th $759
herschelw 9/19/2007 PokerStars $55 3rd $1,862
herschelw 8/20/2007 PokerStars $109 7th $1,536
herschelw 4/22/2007 PokerStars $109 2nd $5,691
herschelw 9/19/2007 FullTiltPoker $100 6th $1,170
herschelw 8/20/2007 UltimateBet $109 3rd $1,495
herschelw 6/7/2007 PokerStars $109 4th $2,600
herschelw 4/22/2007 PokerStars $109 6th $5,351
herschelw 3/27/2007 FullTiltPoker $11 1st $3,345
herschelw 10/18/2007 PokerStars $55 4th $1,356
herschelw 8/7/2007 PokerStars $55 11th $347
herschelw 8/23/2007 UltimateBet $109 3rd $1,265
herschelw 6/10/2007 AbsolutePoker $162 8th $1,638
herschelw 6/14/2007 FullTiltPoker $100 5th $2,012
herschelw 8/3/2007 PokerStars $109 10th $495
herschelw 10/20/2007 PokerStars $55 2nd $1,180
herschelw 5/5/2007 FullTiltPoker $100 5th $1,740
herschelw 10/12/2007 UltimateBet $129 6th $1,133
herschelw 6/10/2007 FullTiltPoker $150 9th $1,185

Please feel free to post questions here or to PM me.

[herschelw]

Below are the group lessons I will be offering.

What is a group lesson?
I am offering one hour group lessons that cover a specific topic that you choose to signup for. Lessons will be conducted over skype and can be done with or without a microphone. If you dont have a mic then you will simply be listening to the lessons and typing questions you may have. Topics will range from, "The basics of understanding pot odds" to "Fundamentals of low limit stud h/l". During this hour we will spend most of the time walking through selected HH's I have posted on a hand history replayer. The posted HH's will specifically illustrate the singular topic we are covering. you will leave the lessons with a strong understanding of the topic we covered.

Additionally I will be available throughout the next 30 days(after your group lesson) to look at individual hands and critique them as well as address any questions you may have that relate to the topic we covered.

References
I have coached a large number of online players that can attest to the quality of coaching provided and the value you will receive. Chesters dad(stars), chomper44(AP), Pokeracer(stars), Daomonk(stars) and many others. I think they would both be happy to share with you some of the things they learned from receiving coaching if you sent them a quick PM.

Recent post on an online forum from Chesters Dad(stars name) regarding the private lesson he took:

"Herschel is not only brilliant at playing poker, he is also superb at conveying what he knows to others in the most helpful ways possible; I felt the effects of one lesson instantly, and I learned a few tricks about chipping up early that will be invaluable forever. I have been playing poker for years with a good amount of success, and learned a lot. I highly recommend his lessons to people of all skill and experience levels."


Cost?
Each 1 hour group lesson will be $15 per person. This should be affordable even for the lowest limit players and I promise you that the info you learn will give you the skills to earn well over the $15 it will cost you. groups will be limited to 6 students maximum.

I'm also(by request) offering a package of 4 for $50.


Signups
Please post which topic you'd like to signup for and I will contact you by PM letting you know available lesson times. The $15 must be recieved 24 hours prior to the start of the lesson.

Topics

1. Understanding Pot odds in NL holdem
2. Chipping up early in NL Holdem mtt's
3. Blind on Blind play in tournaments.
4. Fundamentals of low limit stud h/l cash games/ stud h/l tourneys
5. $2/4 to $5/10 stud cash games/ stud tournament play
6. Making the transition to larger buyin tournaments
7. Mid-late game strategy: Riding the big stack.

If you have questions please post here or pm me.

[Talking Poker]

I wish you the best of luck with this and have no problem with you advertising here... but I do have a couple of questions:

Is doing this really worth your time for $15 a head? I guess with 6 people, that's $90 for one hour of your time, but isn't that well below your hourly win rate? Wouldn't you be better off (financially) playing instead of conducting the lesson?

If the answer to that is yes, and you say you are doing this more so out of the goodness of your heart to help out fellow forum mebers and such, why charge any fee? Better yet, you talk about giving support and commenting on HHs for people who sign up for the next 30 days - why not do this for free (for everyone) anyway?

Surely you didn't pay for all of the knowledge you have gained from forums over the years... so why not give something back and become a more active participant in the community, without charging people for your advice?

My .

[herschelw]

You definitly raise some valid points. I value your opinion and I definitly respect you as a player. Below is my response to the points you raised.

Most tournament players have an hourly win rate closer to $50/hr. Cash players are much higher and I do make more playing cash games but dont enjoy it much. Adding coaching to my schedule gives me a piece of my income that is stable. There's something to be said for that.

I'm always available to review HH's preferably by PM. I try to comment on publicly posted HH's where I have expertise. Those who have purchased coaching time receive priority in terms of receiving responses. I get bombarded on other forums and the ad was copy and pasted for the most part.

Most of my personal development has come from books and personal trial and error. Obviously I have gained some from forums and I enjoy the discussions most of the time. I've invited a lot of people to come be a part of this forum and have advocated people using it to develop thier cash game strategy. What I really get from forums more often than not is a pulse on what "everyone" thinks is the right way to play a hand and I generally do the opposite(for mtt's).

As far as why not do it for free: First there is the time issue. There's significant demand for lessons and I couldnt set aside enough time to meet that demand if it were free. This ad has been up for just under 24 hours on another site and I have 15 signups most of which are for multiple topics. Secondly, giving away your strategies definitly has a negative financial impact on your results. The top players that are putting out videos all the time are seeing major dips in thier results because of it. If you read the recent interview with Johnnybax in cardplayer magazine he even states that he feels doing pxf videos has had a major negative impact on his results this year.

[Talking Poker]

Fair enough. Thanks for the response/explantion.

In mostly unrelated news, is there any chance you WON'T be playing poker next Sunday (11/18) and would want to meet up with me and Reel Deal at or after the Jags game? I know Sunday is the big MTT day, but I'm going to be in your neck of the woods, so I thought I'd at least mention it.

(Feel free to respnd via PM if you want to keep your thread on topic)

[herschelw]

There are group times available this Saturday. "Chipping up early in NL mtt's" at 5pm(est) and 8pm(same course just offered twice because of high demand). 6:30pm "Blind on blind play"(covers standard strategies most professionals use, theory on play from the blinds and also my own unorthdox theories on how to create predictability from your opponents when you are playing from the small blind) 9:30pm "Moving up to larger buyin mtt's" If you'd like to signup for one of these times please post here or PM and me and ship $15 to herschelw on stars or Ftp for each course you would like to come to. the classes are limited to 6 participants in each group and may fill up soon.

[Talking Poker]

I'm not available Saturday, but I hope someone takes herschelw up one of of these. I'd be interested in reading a detailed review.

In fact, tell you want, I'll pay the $15 for someone here to take one of these courses (your choice - but I think "chipping up early" will be much more interesting) if you will post a review for the forum. I don't mean to post every piece of strategy you learn, of course, but I'd like to see a general summary, plus your honest opinions on how much this helped you, if it was worth it, if you'f recommend it to others, if you plan to do it again, and that sort of thing.

Apply here. I'll pick someone later today. You definitely need to be a regular in this forum, and I'd prefer to have an already winning player do this (I don't care what stakes you play), but I'll consider anyone.

herschelw - If you have a problem with this for some reason, say so, and I'll withdraw the offer. I'm kind of assuming you'll think it's a good idea.

P.S. This doesn't really fit in the "Looking for a Backer" section, so I'm going to move it to SPAM. I'm not really sure where it fits best, but it's basically an ad, so I think this will do.

[Invigilator]

I would be interested in this. (the chipping up part 5 pm on saturday)

I would have to set up AIM or SKYPE, but that is not a problem. (they are free right?)

I have experience writting reviews of seminars both for work and my dojo (one of which was then used as a testimonial for the person doing the seminar).

TP, I will PM you the examples.

I would love the opportunity not only to learn for myself but to offer a review of the experience for the rest of us.

[Reel Deal]

[Talking Poker]

Done.

I'm shipping the $15 to herschelw on Stars now for Invigilator to be part of the 5 PM Saturday Chipping Up class. I'll let you two take it from here as far as how to join the chat and all that...

Can't wait to hear how it goes!

[Invigilator]

TY for the opportunity.

Herschel, AIM or SKYPE?

[VeryMoonFunk]

I'd be interested in the 5PM "Chipping up early in NL mtt's".

Please let me know if there is availability and I will ship.

[herschelw]

Download skype from and add herschelw prior to lesson time. You will also need to signup for a free account from pokerxfactor.com because we will be looking at a bunch of HH's on thier hand replayer.

[VeryMoonFunk]

I'm in and shipped as well, for those interested.

[Invigilator]

I am all set up with the right stuff and things.

[Invigilator]

I finished the 5:00 session a few minutes ago. (love the southern accent) I am going to grab some dinner and then review the notes. I'll have a review of the experience this evening.

I believe VeryMoonFunk is also doing a second session.