As one of KRANTZ’s early students, I learned firsthand what it takes to be a successful player and a successful coach. Because of the time, money, and energy I invested in coaching, I was able to quit my computer programming/consultant job in late 2006 to begin playing poker professionally (3/6 NL – 10/20 NL). In 2007, I began coaching poker by teaching over a dozen students at limits anywhere from .50/1 NL to 10/20 NL and have now managed to grow my coaching to over 100 students, including many now mid and high stakes professionals. In terms of my own play, you can find me as a regular at 5/10nl through 50/100nl where I’ve made over 7 figures in my poker career.
When I started coaching, I was determined to become the best MSNL/HSNL coach for the price. As the coaching industry has matured, I’m proud to have evolved my coaching to stay ahead of the curve. In this new age of poker coaching, it isn’t enough to simply be a great teacher or a great player. The best coaches today have mastered the arts of preparation, execution, and explanation. I have dedicated myself to these arts over the course of my professional poker career and I feel this is what separates me from the pack. I pride myself on a work ethic that exceeds the vast majority of players and coaches, which has allowed me to excel in putting in volume, staying a step ahead of current game dynamics and trends, as well as the ability to verbalize and objectively explain difficult concepts. I’ve coached players in different countries across the globe from including the US, South Africa, France, Germany, Italy, UK, Russia, Australia and more.
While I’m very proud of my coaching and video creation accomplishments, I do consider myself a player first and a coach second. I’ve specialized in heads up and 6 handed no-limit hold’em while dabbling in tournaments and pot limit Omaha. I think branching out to different games is important, but not until an expert level is achieved in at least one game. Here are some graphs from recent years. 2008, 2009, 2010, and early 2011
Whether you hire me or another coach, you should be on the lookout for someone that cares about your success as a player and is committed to do what it takes to help you improve. Don’t settle for someone who is unprofessional. Find someone that is willing to be there for you during your sessions and outside of your sessions with a willingness to thoroughly explain their thought processes. Because of the amount of extra time I put in to coaching, I prefer to only take students who intend on having a lasting coach-student relationship, but that said, I do not force anyone to continue having sessions with me if they aren’t completely satisfied.
If you’re considering me as a coach, I would encourage you to watch some of my 120+ videos on DeucesCracked to see how I teach and verbalize my thoughts. In particular I would encourage you to watch “Where the Buffalo Roam” and “Showdown at Buffalo Ridge” that features my former student and good friend Jared “jk3a” Kenworthy, who is one of the best poker minds I know. Also my series “Pokersense: A WiltOnTilt philosophy” where I explain my approach to staying self aware and objective with poker and thinking.
WiltOnTilt is a DeucesCracked Executive Producer.
Q. Why do you teach poker?
A. I’m a competitive person and I like challenging myself. I love the challenge of teaching someone advanced concepts and showing people how to make money by playing a game! Telling a student to make a raise or call they might never had made without my help and hearing their “Wow!” response when the chips are shipping their way is one of the things that makes the time spent and detailed explanations all worth it to me.
Q. What are some of your proudest coaching moments?
A. I’ve had students with PHDs give up their jobs for poker. I’ve had students make huge scores in big tournaments (2nd place in the WSOP Europe ME). I’ve had students who I’ve coached from the lower middle stakes up to the high stakes that are now making a half million per year. All of those moments stand out, but some of the best moments for me are simply seeing the light bulb flash for my students as I point out a place they are missing value, or a new place they can run a bluff, or a concept they have never considered before. Those moments are the real fuel for keeping me interested in coaching.
Q. What types of coaching do you do?
A. Generally there are 3 different coaching arrangements I make. They include:
1-on-1 coaching ($400/hour): This is the standard coaching arrangement where I get to learn a student’s game inside and out, help them fix their leaks, give them new ideas to consider. I refine their skills into a much more game flow/situationally aware/ hand range analyzing player with the ability to make the correct judgments based on all of the factors. Typical coaching methods include: video reviews, hand history reviews, live play sweats, and theory discussion. I’m also available between sessions for impromptu discussion over instant messenger or email.
Small group coaching ($300/hour): I host small groups of 2-4 players in similar situations of their poker development where each week we analyze a video created by one of the students in the class. Here I drive the discussion calling on the students and asking them questions to induce critical thinking and working together. The students in these small groups develop poker friendships and participate in private forum discussions where I can help them between sessions. Small group coaching sessions 2 hours long and I ask each member to commit to staying in the group for at least 3 weeks.
Large group coaching: The purpose of the large group coaching is to give people an opportunity to receive my coaching that cannot afford my other rates. More than simply seminars, jk3a and I are pioneering group study programs that combine hand history reviews, video reviews, and classroom style lectures with web cams, headsets, and interactive multiple choice questions to allow interactivity with all of the students at once. These large groups are excellent for players who are interested in getting high stakes quality coaching at micro stakes prices with the added benefit of networking with other like minded students.
Q. What inspired you to create a series centered on math?
A. In short, I did Mathematics of NL Hold’em because no one has done anything like it yet. I feel like math concepts in poker is something that almost everyone can get better at and my series attempts to bridge the gap that many people have in their game. Most know basic pot odds, and I’ll cover some of that, but getting into hand range combinations, advanced EV calculations, Fold Equity EV calcs, and G-Bucks can give players a sense of the reason behind some of the plays they make (or better yet, a reason to change some of the plays they thought were “standard”!).
Q. What inspired you to create the Pokersense series?
A. After spending a lot of time talking to poker players and reading poker web forums, it became very obvious that many people have a hard time being objective and avoiding common logical mistakes, biases, and fallacies. I felt like those aspiring to learn poker needed a wakeup call to force them to think twice about where they get their opinions and why they think the way they do. That’s the heart of Pokersense. The series is meant to be different things in different episodes. I hope that people experience some or all of the following: self reflection, objectivity/self awareness, motivation and confidence.
Q. Where do I go to see what you’ve been up to recently or ask you a question?
A. I host my poker and life on the DC Blog roll. I also encourage you to catch me on Twitter @WiltOnTilt or feel free to PM me on DC anytime.
