Here's what I'm thinking I would like to know:
- What's your track record at my level? How long ago was that?
- What do you do different/better than other coaches? In other words, what are your strengths?
- How will you go about getting to know my game?
- How long will it take for you to get to know my game well enough to help me with a plan to improve?
- What should I expect over the course of the first 2-4 sessions (and in between)?
- What do you expect of me?
- How much do your students interact with each other (i.e., is there any sort of community around your coaching)?
- Do you provide any sort of (written or recorded) summary of our sessions?
- In a typical session what's the ratio of talking between you and your student? Answer for different formats if applicable (i.e., may be different for theory formats vs. live sessions).
- Do you have any sort of structured curriculum/progression for different player types?
- Do you give any sort of "homework?" If so, what is it?
- Rates and references, of course.
That's a few thoughts off the top of my head. What am I missing?
7 comments:
Some sweat sessions wit Baz you dont need to be wasting money on what you have here.
These are great questions and a good coach would be able to answer all of them without hesitation. You would be amazed how little potential students ask.
Most just want to know how much the coach wins (or won) at the relevant level but the problem with that is good winning players do not always make good coaches.
I have to say though I agree with willie. You seem to have enough friends in the poker community to do without a coach, especially as you play a relatively small amount of hands.
Oh - I like the replayer from a few posts back a lot, thanks!
-Steve
Excellent excellent list! You should post this to the forums as I think a lot of people just jump in without thinking things through, potentially wasting their money and time.
i can't see a base you don't have covered. i almost got spooked because i didn't see the references until the end.
i'd have to imagine talking to past students would be on par with talking to past customers in a 'real world' situation (say, when thinking of a new landscaper/dentist/banker etc.)
i think a teacher or a coach can certainly accelerate the process, and provide general guidance and recognition of situations that may exist that you might not even be aware of. errr, let's reduce that last one to "offer improved perspective".
as for whether or not you should get one, that's not for me to say. i guess take a look at the balance of time available to make use of the new knowledge and the costs associated with acquiring it.
oh, one last thing, i'd ask about time windows to see if they line up well enough for things like sweats.
and turnaround times . . . can he analyze a video in two days, or will it take six?
The list seems pretty extensive to me, the only things I would add are reliability and frequency of lessons. Also availability to send difficult hands played to him during a regular session you have for him to have a look at.
Other than that, I would agree with what Robert said from the review time of video's/replayer sessions etc.
Thought of something else, now this may not be realistic, but why not see if you can sit in on a session he is having with a current student to see if his style/approach suits you.
I personally wouldn't bother spending time on questions and stuff. I think reputation is the best way to pick, then expecting you coach to know the best way to coach you.
I'd just take a look at the coaches available on DC and pick one that's a reputable coach. Messiah will be able to let you know who's good to go with. Also I'd check out Isura on Leggo, he's currently offering coaching. Maybe worth giving hookem148 a shout too, I'm with him now, give me a shout for more info. Another place that might be worth checking... http://www.jvelliott.com/poker/coaches.php
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