Will Poker Training Courses Help You?

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Lately, it seems that “poker courses” from some of the game’s top players have been hitting the market. The latest course comes from Fedor Holz. He is launching PokerCode that is advertising itself a the “World’s Most Complete Poker Course.”

Holz has joined players like Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey, Doug Polk, and others who have gone into the realm of poker coaching. The question on many player’s minds is “will this course help me get better at poker.” Today we will take a look at why poker players like Daniel Negreanu go into coaching and whether these types of courses will help you.

Poker Coaching is a Variance Free Revenue Stream

The first thing to realize is that players like Daniel Negreanu and Fedor Holz are not doing these courses out of the “goodness of their hearts” or to “help grow the game of poker.” Rather, these courses are additional revenue streams to these players.

Sure, there may be SOME altruistic influences behind their training motivations, but they are ultimately doing this to earn additional income. Poker coaching is a variance-free income stream and a way for a player to use their likeness and their knowledge to make money at poker.

What Types of Players Benefit From These Courses?

By and large, the players that benefit the most from online training courses like those put together by Holz, Ivey, and others are players approaching the intermediate skill level. If you have never played a hand of poker in your life, these courses are going to largely be nonsense or difficult to assimilate.

When a poker player starts approaching the intermediate skill level, they are usually looking for additional tools to help them improve their game. They have a basic understanding of the game and may even understand some intermediate or advanced poker strategy concepts of the game. Poker courses like those offered by Holz help those players apply the principles of intermediate and advanced strategy to help them win more at the tables.

Not For the Lazy

Too many players try out poker coaching expecting it to produce immediate results. While there are concepts and ideas that can be immediately applied, often a player needs to dedicate additional time and study to improve their game.

Training courses are not one and done deals. They are courses that require study and application in order to be successful. Watching Daniel Negreanu talk about poker for an hour may give you a couple of ideas to use short-term, but studying that course and applying that information to your game long-term is how you improve.

Be Prepared to Pay Up

Poker training by some of the game’s top players is not going to be cheap. For example, Fedor Holz’s course is on preorder for $1,179. There are many beginning poker players that don’t have a total bankroll of $1,000, much less that much to spend on training.

However, if you are a poker player that is looking to become serious about the game or are even remotely considering playing professionally, you will need to invest in your future. Paying $1,000 or more for training may sound like a steep investment, but realistically you are looking at about 4 to 6 buy-ins at a $1-$2 NL Hold’em cash game.

Not Everyone Will Benefit from Poker Training Courses

Poker training courses are only a guaranteed win for those offering the courses. Once they put the material together, they just sit back and wait for players to sign up. However, the result of the courses depends on the individual buying them.

For some players, training courses will dramatically improve their game and will help them get to the next level. There will be players that will take the concepts learned and become winning players and may even turn pro.

However, there will be others that cannot adequately apply the concepts or do not put in the work required. As such, they will find this to be a waste of their money. These are generally recreational players that lack the ability or desire to do what it takes to improve their game.

So will poker training course help you? Maybe. You will have to evaluate whether you’re ready to put in the time and financial commitment required to improve your game. If you find you’re lacking in any area, you may want to skip these courses and save your money.