Hi,

Poker piqued my interest in mid-2009 when I noticed that many successful chess players transitioned to its more lucrative waters. As an avid chess player (USCF Class A), I took it upon myself to study it just as systematically and thoroughly.

I devoured any poker material I could find, from online articles, to books and videos. I was obsessed and happy about it. My first $20 from beating the .01/.02 games on PokerStars was one of the proudest moments in my poker career as it provided direct evidence that all the work was starting to pay-off.

By early-2010, I moved to Bodog and found my true love in poker: HUSNGs. HUSNGs are exciting and allow ample room for creativity, as well as clever use of psychology. The latter is especially relevant given that I'm a Biopsychology major at UCSB. Even my Bodog username, Chessica, is a mind game. It's actually a chess reference but people also assume I'm a woman and thus terrible at poker, along with other stereotyped tendencies I can exploit.

I started at the $5 level and was not immediately a winning player but through trial and error, I managed to break-even. Dissatisfied, I joined HUSNG.COM and watched every video I could while noting new ideas, interesting lines and my own thoughts (a document that has since grown to the size of a small book). Week by week, I could see my results improving and by late-2010 I was able to play the $100 games. In fact, I even managed to make the top 10 for Bodog SNG profits. Since then, I've played thousands of games and never needed to move down. In fact, I've climbed still higher in the leaderboards for this year.

 
However, I haven't rested on my laurels. I continue to work hard at poker and my game is constantly evolving. In fact, I choose a few concepts to focus on each month to deepen my understanding (maybe 3-betting much more one month or playing certain textures differently, etc.). Some players are afraid to sacrifice a few ROI points to experiment. It can be scary to push the envelope with certain bluff lines or high variance plays like shoving over 3-bets but in the long term, the learning will pay for itself.

As a coach, I'd like to guide you through the same learning process I went through. However, by using my experience, I hope to improve your game even faster than I was able to myself. Unlike most coaches, it wasn't very long ago that I played far lower stakes so I am intimately familiar with every level from $5 to $100. The coaching is flexible and depends on the student. However, I'd recommend everyone start with a video review to catch any glaring leaks. My current rate for video reviews is $60/hr along with full availability for questions on the video. Specific plans can be discussed via private message.

Thanks,
   
Alex