Introduction:
Hi guys, many of you know me or have some idea of who I am. But to those who don't allow me a brief introduction. I joined FTR last year and was playing $2nl in January. I played full ring games while dabbing at 6max on the side throughout the micros and have worked my way up into small stakes. I hit about the 25nl mark or so and came to a bit of a stop in terms of understanding what was going on, so I ended up getting a coach myself and I can't even begin to describe how beneficial it was for my game. I managed to transition smoothly into 100nl last fall and so far the move to 200nl has gone well (although I'm taking a step back for awhile and playing 100nl for numerous subtle reasons). I have turned a $50 bankroll into over $20,000 in profits and I strongly believe that almost anyone can do this as long as they put forth the time and effort.

So what is this about?:
I've taken plenty out of FTR and now it's time to give something back. I would like to host an 'Essay contest' for those interested in getting free coaching from me. I will guarantee 3 one hour sessions (I'll likely end up going beyond the 1 hour mark so you're really getting an extra hour altogether I imagine). The structure of how I design my sessions will be based on the chosen applicants needs so I won't be posting anything about what it is we'll be doing yet. This essay will be your application for my coaching and should include all relevant information I have stated further below (see ‘Essay Guidelines’).

I came up with a short list of qualifications for those interested. This is fairly loose so don't be afraid to apply if you don't meet a couple of them, although if you’re playing on a 10 buy-in bankroll you can forget it :P

Basic Qualifications:
1) must meet my minimum bankroll recommendations
2) have teamviewer(free) skype(free) and have AIM/MSN/Yahoo or some messenger (you can download all of these and make accounts pretty easily if you happen to not use any)
3) must not be regularly playing stakes higher than 25nl (failed shots at 50nl would make you a really good candidate though)
4) must have played a certain number of hands (not really sure what I'm looking for here, but basically would expect you to have a certain amount of playing experience so please include the number of hands you have played in your essay!
5) willingness to learn, seek out information on your own, be willing to do ‘homework’ I provide (if any)
6) have an attitude geared towards improving and excelling as a poker player
7) be active in the forums (I’m not looking for an arbitrary post count but let’s just say this is reserved for those who have joined earlier than just this week)
8) spend a reasonable amount of time playing/studying poker per week (if you only play 5000 hands a month and spend 2 hours a week reading something poker related my coaching probably isn’t for you)


My coaching may not be for everyone, so I will be taking the application process very seriously - for your benefit. The last thing I want is to take on a student who doesn't need my coaching or won't get enough out of it to make it worthwhile. I mainly play full ring (small samples of 6max games) though I think I've done well enough at the 10nl/25nl levels of 6max (where most of my hands are played) to coach 6max players anyway. My coaching won't be unique for just for one game though. Essentially it will cover alot of theory concepts that are applicable to all situations, whether you're playing 9 handed or 6 handed. Remember, even if you miss a couple of my basic qualifications don't shy away from applying. I may find that you are what I'm looking for based on other information provided so get writing!

Also, if you happen to be playing 10nl or 25nl full ring you probably have a higher chance than someone at 2nl or 5nl. The reason being with little experience, you'll likely get more out of using FTR and reading through the digest/bumped threads and participating alot on the forum than through personal coaching. I feel as though personal coaching needs to have the student meet a certain level before they can really take advantage of it. So don't feel bad if you aren't chosen because there is always plenty you can do to improve your game. Check out the IRC if you have any poker related questions, there's plenty of players in there willing to help you out!

Essay Guidelines:
Please provide me with the following information so I can be well informed to make my selection: (The more information you provide, the increased chance of your essay being chosen)
-tell me a bit about yourself (student? working? family? interests? goals? etc)
-your poker screen name/site (you can keep this private if you want, just say so in your essay and you can give me this information via PM - I can assure confidentiality in your alias)
-stakes played
-hands played at that stake
-total hands played
-your poker background (how long have you been playing, etc)
-your bankroll management strategy
-weaknesses/areas you feel you are lost/need improvement
-how many hours a week you play/plan on playing in near future (i.e. once I hit ‘x' stake I will play ‘x' hours)
-how many tables you play
-what you have been doing to learn/study
-your poker goals (short term is fine, looking specifically at long term goals)
-what do you hope to get out of coaching? (ties in with goals)
-and anything else you can think of

The essay you write will probably be long, but that’s expected. I’ll give you guys a week or so to come up with one and announce a deadline soon. I hope everything here was clear (though I’m not going to lie I typed it up pretty fast). If there’s any questions for me please don’t hesitate to ask, thanks.

Good luck!

-m2m



Cliffnotes: 3 free coaching sessions (>60min each) for meeting qualifications + writing exceptional essay. If you skipped to the bottom to read this first, you're likely not the candidate I'm looking for.