Steve7stud Training Program

[El Guapo 8]

So you think its better if FWP starts a new thread called: Why Steve sucks? ;)I think its best all contained in here. If people want to post bad experiences or their comments, thats part of what you open yourself up to as a business imo. Its well known that FWP doesn't like anyone that gets more/takes away attention from himself. I think most people don't have a hard time figuring out whats up when its FWP vs Steve7stud/Vick12/AASnake/checkymcfold/nutzbuster/wrto/tb17/wiskyvi/hblask/mikeysong/cobaltblue etc etc...QFT. I think thats pretty important. If you suck at playing Stud or NLHE or whatever you play, Steve isn't going to fix that. (although the other players in the group are always helping each other improve) If you are someone who wants to learn what being a poker pro is like, how to conduct yourself, how to deal with the mental side of the game, then I think working with Steve is for you.Mark

I am by no means a professional poker player and I have said many times on here I play for fun, and of course I am competitive and I like to win. I feel that I am above average at poker, I have been playing for almost 20 years and I am only 30. Enough background.....with that beings said, I was driving around with my wife and son yesterday and for some reason this thread got stuck in my head, and I have seen enough about Steve on here to beleive he is for real, So I started telling my wife a little about it (I would have the same issue as BG BTW, wifey does not understand gambling), and I told her that if I was in a different place in my life, e.g. w/o the family and financial comittments that I have, I would jump on this in a heart beat. I think it is an amazing opportunity and 3K for coaching for a 6 month period of time is pittance (even if you are playing lower limits). I am an investment advisor and we constantly get "coaches" coming to our regional and naitonal meetings pitching their sercvices and they can be as high as $500 an hour, although I have never sprund for one because I have got my mentoring/coaching for free, they can be worth it. FWP why would you assume he gets it tax free? If he is a pro player he files his earnings every year vs. his expenses and he may include this, but if he doesn't why would you care? He is the one that would have to sweat an audit, not you.So that is my endorsment for Steve w/o have ever met him, and to my knowledge not even sure if we have taked back and forth on here.

[Mercury69 3]

Pretty sure this thread was originally intended to see who (if any) wanted or would be best suited for Steve's unique brand of mentoring. It wasn't meant as a debate as to whether or not Steve's program is worth it. FWP's response is a little inappropriate.Steve has a much different take on poker than most are used to. If you are chosen, and once you are through the program, you will see, approach and play the game much differently. It is also more geared towards and will greatly benefit the most the players who play poker for a living.It is NOT a poker 101 curriculum. It is for better players (imo) not beginners, people with talent but who will benefit from some expert nudging and direction from a guy who has been there done that (for over 11 years and at some of the highest levels possible) and who himself has been taught and mentored by some of the games best.You still may suck when it's over...but probably not. Is it for everyone?...no. But who better than Steve himself to decide who it's right for and who it's not right for? Save your personal criticsms for another thread.

I'll deduce that this wasn't directed at my post. As for FWP's criticisms, I do think they're out of line and, possibly, inappropriate, but I agree with Mark's post in that, if there's a "place" for it, then here it is. I think far too many people here have respect for Steve and what he's done/doing to pay much mind to FWP's posts. I'm simply saying you can't prevent someone from airing a grievance, regardless of how misdirected it is. Personally, I wish I had the BR and money to apply for Steve's program, although I probably don't fit some of the profile reqs. That's life and I'll just try and become a better player without a mentor/tutor for now.

[nutzbuster 7]

I'll deduce that this wasn't directed at my post. As for FWP's criticisms, I do think they're out of line and, possibly, inappropriate, but I agree with Mark's post in that, if there's a "place" for it, then here it is. I think far too many people here have respect for Steve and what he's done/doing to pay much mind to FWP's posts. I'm simply saying you can't prevent someone from airing a grievance, regardless of how misdirected it is. Personally, I wish I had the BR and money to apply for Steve's program, although I probably don't fit some of the profile reqs. That's life and I'll just try and become a better player without a mentor/tutor for now.

Sorry Merc, not meant towards you at all. And I agree fully with Marks take for sure, never meant to imply that I was against open debate, good or bad. Just seems like this thread was getting a little sidetracked and I wanted to defend Steve and his program. I got a ton out of it, for many many different reasons, and not all of them were directly related directly to poker. The relationships that resulted alone were more than worth the price.end rant.

[Mercury69 3]

Sorry Merc, not meant towards you at all. And I agree fully with Marks take for sure, never meant to imply that I was against open debate, good or bad. Just seems like this thread was getting a little sidetracked and I wanted to defend Steve and his program. I got a ton out of it, for many many different reasons, and not all of them were directly related directly to poker. The relationships that resulted alone were more than worth the price.end rant.

10-4, bro. LET'S STICK WITH THE PROGRAM, PEOPLE!!!!PS: ISO, cheap ass mentor...lol

[WhatArunAA 0]

I think an important question for the possible candidates is what separates Steve from other top players?.. why should they choose Steve and not some random guy??..itd be neat to hear what some students have to say.

[dfmaicher 0]

How old you are?(you must be at least 20)What you play?What stakes?Why you feel you need training?What you do for a living?29N/L Holdem, Limit Holdem, 7 Stud, 27 Triple Draw2-5I would like to go to another level. I have slowely built a bankroll off of onlin poker (bodog).I am a solutions development anaylst - techy

[nutzbuster 7]

I think an important question for the possible candidates is what separates Steve from other top players?.. why should they choose Steve and not some random guy??..itd be neat to hear what some students have to say.

Daniel himself once called Steve the best player that no one knows....I've seen him sweat David Oppenheim in Bobby's room at the 2000/4000 game....I watched him take apart a Mixed game table with Chow Giang (sp?) and Huck Seed...the list goes on and on.

[Dratj 0]

Sorry Merc, not meant towards you at all. And I agree fully with Marks take for sure, never meant to imply that I was against open debate, good or bad. Just seems like this thread was getting a little sidetracked and I wanted to defend Steve and his program. I got a ton out of it, for many many different reasons, and not all of them were directly related directly to poker. The relationships that resulted alone were more than worth the price.end rant.

First off, I always enjoy reading your posts nutzbuster. Especially your trip reports. So, don't get mad at the following question. It's just open discussion.I'm curious as to whether 3k wouldn't be better spent at some of the other courses offered by the big name pros? e.g. Hellmuth's course, the WPT camps etc. ? I mean, making friends and all is great but you can do that for free. The point of a course to get better at poker, no?

[nutzbuster 7]

First off, I always enjoy reading your posts nutzbuster. Especially your trip reports. So, don't get mad at the following question. It's just open discussion.I'm curious as to whether 3k wouldn't be better spent at some of the other courses offered by the big name pros? e.g. Hellmuth's course, the WPT camps etc. ? I mean, making friends and all is great but you can do that for free. The point of a course to get better at poker, no?

Agree. But so much of poker is mental, and much of what makes you better player is the ability to network with truly talented friends and discuss hands technically as well as emotionally. This is HUGE and is a large part of the training. Not so much what you did, by WHY you did it.The training will not cover so much technical hand issues, that must be understood. You should already have a decent understanding of the technical side of the game(s) before doing this. That said, Steve will introduce you to other games and the other folks in the group may be able to help as much as they can. Everyone has their specialties.

[Mercury69 3]

First off, I always enjoy reading your posts nutzbuster. Especially your trip reports. So, don't get mad at the following question. It's just open discussion.I'm curious as to whether 3k wouldn't be better spent at some of the other courses offered by the big name pros? e.g. Hellmuth's course, the WPT camps etc. ? I mean, making friends and all is great but you can do that for free. The point of a course to get better at poker, no?

Also, in correlation with Nutz's response, I'm thinking that those "camps" are far less personal and nurturing (don't call Steve Mommy...). Much of the positive I've heard of Steve's approach (aside from the great poker) is the relationship aspect and you're not going to find that at a WPT bootcamp.

[mbreon 0]

First off, I always enjoy reading your posts nutzbuster. Especially your trip reports. So, don't get mad at the following question. It's just open discussion.I'm curious as to whether 3k wouldn't be better spent at some of the other courses offered by the big name pros? e.g. Hellmuth's course, the WPT camps etc. ? I mean, making friends and all is great but you can do that for free. The point of a course to get better at poker, no?

I have always thought of the WPT boot camps and Hellmuth's course, etc. to be ways to learn how to play the cards better (i.e. more in tune with a beginning player). None of those aforementioned courses truly covers the mental aspects that it takes to play poker for the long haul and to be a winning player over time. Playing your "A" game at all times is something that few actually accomplish.I am interested in the course because I am possibly pursuing poker as a full-time job within the next couple of years. The insight on how to stay tough mentally, keep your confidence high, playing your best game at all times from someone who has done it at a high level for a number of years would be more valuable to me than learning how to play AK UTG in a tournament (or things of that nature).There are lots of courses and websites (Cardrunners, etc.), that can teach plenty on how to get better at playing the cards, how to improve your NHLE game, or whatever, but seldomly do you come across a course that will teach you how to think and act like a long-term winning professional, and how to handle the mental ups and downs and psychological tortures of the game.The course doesn't really look like it's for everyone, but I think the high praise spoken from Steve's former students shows that it can be a very valuable experience when delivered to the right student. /soapbox

[El Guapo 8]

First off, I always enjoy reading your posts nutzbuster. Especially your trip reports. So, don't get mad at the following question. It's just open discussion.I'm curious as to whether 3k wouldn't be better spent at some of the other courses offered by the big name pros? e.g. Hellmuth's course, the WPT camps etc. ? I mean, making friends and all is great but you can do that for free. The point of a course to get better at poker, no?

I'll respond for Nutz... Hellmuth course compacted into I believe a couple of days, this is 6 months long people!!! That is only $500 a month, its a big car payment. If that is too much for you then, you probably do not apply to this discussion. Also from what it sounds like the other courses are on game theory and tells etc. which are important, but from what I understand this goes much much beyond that. More into the mind of a successful high stakes players. Also to those that have balked at the 3k. Now knowing the stakes Steve plays at, that $$$ amount is probably just to make sure the student is serious, I am sure it is not making or breaking his mortgage payment.

[hblask 1]

First off, I always enjoy reading your posts nutzbuster. Especially your trip reports. So, don't get mad at the following question. It's just open discussion.I'm curious as to whether 3k wouldn't be better spent at some of the other courses offered by the big name pros? e.g. Hellmuth's course, the WPT camps etc. ? I mean, making friends and all is great but you can do that for free. The point of a course to get better at poker, no?

I can answer this. I have done a WPT Boot Camp and S7S training. S7S, FTW, AINEC.The boot camp was VERY fun, and it provided a few tidbits here and there that still help me. But WPT Boot Camp is more about an adventure in poker than about the training. It's a fantasy camp, not really for serious players wanting to improve. Steve's training is about a lifetime of how to think about the game. It has changed my view of the game comletely, and I'm not even one of the star students. I'm putting the pieces together and expect to be one of the top students within a couple years (hopefully shorter, but I'll be realisitic). WPT Boot Camp is about fun. Steve's training is fun, but it's about poker.

[20TN40 0]

I know that this isn't the exact best place to post this question, but it does apply. Do any of Steve's students move on to taking on students? I don't have the BR at present to even PM to enroll in Steve's program, nor do I think I have the skills needed to play at that level. But I certainly would be interested in a program that "prepared" someone to move up to Steve's training. Anyone?

[Vick12 0]

I think an important question for the possible candidates is what separates Steve from other top players?.. why should they choose Steve and not some random guy??..itd be neat to hear what some students have to say.

Since u want to hear what I have to say....I can't compare him to other mentor's, since he is basically my only mentor. As far as what seperates Steve from others, I would say Steve's ability to LISTEN to what U have to say etc. and THEN go from there. I would assume that other coaches spend a great deal of time telling their students how great THEY ARE as the teacher. As in...(Now...I play a hand THIS way because I crush 5/10 NL so listen to what i say). Steve is more like..."OK...how was did u come to your decision on that hand?" Then as u explain your angle, he may say "OK....have u ever thought about it this way?" Basically Steve does very little to change you as a player. I mean...I am TAG (some even say nitty....blasphemy!!!) and Mark and Jeet are very LAG. At no point in time did Steve tell me to become a LAG or them to become TAG. He takes the skill set u have and works to enhance it that way. Also...Steve does an INCREDIBLE job of making u look into yourself as a player. Through his training, you learn to tell yourself hard things like...Adam u SUCK TODAY!!! I spent a long time hammering out all of my weaknesses and learning to strengthen the skills that were already strong.Again...I don't have a basis for comparison, but I think Steve can help any player of any skill level. I used to be a Volleyball Coach myself...so I understood more than most what Steve was tackling when we started. I used to pride myself as a coach on having the ability to adapt to my players. There's an expression "Don't try and fit square pegs through a round hole" and I basically used that as my coaching mantra. I had "my system" and beliefs, but I never tried making a player do something he wasn't capable of doing. I think Steve has captured this ability as a coach as well. He takes what u have....makes your strengths the backbone of your game...and takes your weaknesses and gets them as close as he can to your strengths.And if you still aren't convinced....I have over 150k reasons that his course works wonders!!! /end infomercial

[TB17 0]

I think an important question for the possible candidates is what separates Steve from other top players?.. why should they choose Steve and not some random guy??..itd be neat to hear what some students have to say.

Most random guys charge XXX/hour, and then leave you high and dry. They'll go over one or two hand histories, you'll learn a lot of technical things, but when the hour(s) is over, they're done with you.And all I can say is no matter how many times I'm sure I annoyed steve he answered all of my questions, whether technical or about how to succeed.

[rdtedm 0]

Since u want to hear what I have to say....I can't compare him to other mentor's, since he is basically my only mentor. As far as what seperates Steve from others, I would say Steve's ability to LISTEN to what U have to say etc. and THEN go from there. I would assume that other coaches spend a great deal of time telling their students how great THEY ARE as the teacher. As in...(Now...I play a hand THIS way because I crush 5/10 NL so listen to what i say). Steve is more like..."OK...how was did u come to your decision on that hand?" Then as u explain your angle, he may say "OK....have u ever thought about it this way?" Basically Steve does very little to change you as a player. I mean...I am TAG (some even say nitty....blasphemy!!!) and Mark and Jeet are very LAG. At no point in time did Steve tell me to become a LAG or them to become TAG. He takes the skill set u have and works to enhance it that way. Also...Steve does an INCREDIBLE job of making u look into yourself as a player. Through his training, you learn to tell yourself hard things like...Adam u SUCK TODAY!!! I spent a long time hammering out all of my weaknesses and learning to strengthen the skills that were already strong.Again...I don't have a basis for comparison, but I think Steve can help any player of any skill level. I used to be a Volleyball Coach myself...so I understood more than most what Steve was tackling when we started. I used to pride myself as a coach on having the ability to adapt to my players. There's an expression "Don't try and fit square pegs through a round hole" and I basically used that as my coaching mantra. I had "my system" and beliefs, but I never tried making a player do something he wasn't capable of doing. I think Steve has captured this ability as a coach as well. He takes what u have....makes your strengths the backbone of your game...and takes your weaknesses and gets them as close as he can to your strengths.And if you still aren't convinced....I have over 150k reasons that his course works wonders!!! /end infomercial

Nice post & braggaments incognito.

[El Guapo 8]

I used to be a Volleyball Coach myself...s

You just lost all cedibility

[Vick12 0]

You just lost all cedibility

Don't be jealous just because I got to watch athletic 18 year old girls in spandex for most of my life!!!

[Dratj 0]

I can answer this. I have done a WPT Boot Camp and S7S training. S7S, FTW, AINEC.The boot camp was VERY fun, and it provided a few tidbits here and there that still help me. But WPT Boot Camp is more about an adventure in poker than about the training. It's a fantasy camp, not really for serious players wanting to improve. Steve's training is about a lifetime of how to think about the game. It has changed my view of the game comletely, and I'm not even one of the star students. I'm putting the pieces together and expect to be one of the top students within a couple years (hopefully shorter, but I'll be realisitic). WPT Boot Camp is about fun. Steve's training is fun, but it's about poker.

Thanks for the insight. This is the best response so far.

[Vick12 0]

Nice post & braggaments incognito.

[WhatArunAA 0]

I was originally going to stay away from saying anything but I feel like my input is needed. Back in January Steve was taking more students for a 6 month course.. I decided to give it a try.. at the time my bankroll was low and I couldn't agree to pay the 6 months up front.. we agreed on a monthly payment system where I would just ship 400 or 500 every month and thatd be that. The first night I was officially signed up I got intrduced to the past students and current students of Steves program... Everyone that I met that night in the chat room was very kind and comforting..In fact even though I was only in the program for 3 weeks I still talk to many of those same people on a regular basis. A typical day with Steves training.. I would wake up .. play a session and then i'm supposed to e-mail steve a daily report on how I did.. at night we would all meet up in the chat room and message each other, sweat, rail all that... Steve would show up for only a very little bit of that time and then he would be out doing something.. Within the first couple days I actually got to the point where I asked myself if i'm paying money to chat with poker players and not even helping my game technically. Maybe I wasnt in the group long enough to reap any benefits but I personally didn't think it was remotely worth the 3k for the lessons or whatever. I remember going into the program wanting to enhance my tourney game... well to be honest the main focus wasnt tourney play ( from what I noticed) and I didn't feel like learning 2-7 and all those other split pot games. It appeared to me that while everyone was spreading time to all of their games that I wanted to spend all my time improving on my MTT game. I felt that Steve couldn't help me from a tourney stand point because I already felt that I was thinking on a higher level tourney wise then him. I'm sure that this course is great to improve your mindset and make you a better poker player for life, but I think if Steve really wanted to help the community he wouldnt charge outlandish prices. 500 bucks a month is ALOT of money to alot of people on this forum(myself included) and I think that we get too caught up in the fact that he is Daniels friend and is a Oppenheim product that we lose track of reality. Its not hands on training if thats what you are looking for.. hes not going to teach you to float the flop or 3 bet with air because of a certain read... if you are looking for technical help I highly advise you to find another means. I can't comment on the psychological effects of his training because I frankly wasnt around long enough to be a part of that. Sorry if I made anyone upset in posting this but i'm sick of the testimonials.

[rdtedm 0]

I was originally going to stay away from saying anything but I feel like my input is needed. Back in January Steve was taking more students for a 6 month course.. I decided to give it a try.. at the time my bankroll was low and I couldn't agree to pay the 6 months up front.. we agreed on a monthly payment system where I would just ship 400 or 500 every month and thatd be that. The first night I was officially signed up I got intrduced to the past students and current students of Steves program... Everyone that I met that night in the chat room was very kind and comforting..In fact even though I was only in the program for 3 weeks I still talk to many of those same people on a regular basis. A typical day with Steves training.. I would wake up .. play a session and then i'm supposed to e-mail steve a daily report on how I did.. at night we would all meet up in the chat room and message each other, sweat, rail all that... Steve would show up for only a very little bit of that time and then he would be out doing something.. Within the first couple days I actually got to the point where I asked myself if i'm paying money to chat with poker players and not even helping my game technically. Maybe I wasnt in the group long enough to reap any benefits but I personally didn't think it was remotely worth the 3k for the lessons or whatever. I remember going into the program wanting to enhance my tourney game... well to be honest the main focus wasnt tourney play ( from what I noticed) and I didn't feel like learning 2-7 and all those other split pot games. It appeared to me that while everyone was spreading time to all of their games that I wanted to spend all my time improving on my MTT game. I felt that Steve couldn't help me from a tourney stand point because I already felt that I was thinking on a higher level tourney wise then him. I'm sure that this course is great to improve your mindset and make you a better poker player for life, but I think if Steve really wanted to help the community he wouldnt charge outlandish prices. 500 bucks a month is ALOT of money to alot of people on this forum(myself included) and I think that we get too caught up in the fact that he is Daniels friend and is a Oppenheim product that we lose track of reality. Its not hands on training if thats what you are looking for.. hes not going to teach you to float the flop or 3 bet with air because of a certain read... if you are looking for technical help I highly advise you to find another means. I can't comment on the psychological effects of his training because I frankly wasnt around long enough to be a part of that. Sorry if I made anyone upset in posting this but i'm sick of the testimonials.

I think this has been said in less words. Many people are testifying that he helped their game in a less technical matter - not sitting down and going through HH's, him telling you how to play what when, etc. I think he, himself, addressed that he is not a NLHE tutor, and that his program isn't for people that just want to get super-good at NLHE. I think what he offers, although less technical than some may desire, is still a great ingredient in the recipe for a winning poker player.

[El Guapo 8]

Don't be jealous just because I got to watch athletic 18 year old girls in spandex for most of my life!!!

Wait thats a whole different story, you didn't say you coached Womens volleyball, now I'm jealous!BTW, my wife played Volleyball and so did a bunch of my friends and I give them all crap for playing that sport. I played and coached Basketball, so I actually understood what you were saying.

[zimmer4141 0]

I'm going to speak honestly here about why some people on this forum have a slightly worse opinion of Steve. The main fact is that whenever he makes the first post for a training service, he makes it sound like a free service to the FCP Community that he is going to do to benefit other players out of the goodness of his heart and because he enjoys it, and likes most of the people here. The fact that he never mentions a fee for his services in his OP is just a little shady in the eyes of many people.That's like somebody saying "Sir, I am ready to give you a brand new car!""Really, a new car?""Yep, just $450 a month for this brand new car!"The way he puts it out there is kinda shady, and the way most FCPers adore him for putting out this "Great service to the FCP Community" is ridiculous. He could find students anywhere, he just knows that there are a lot of players here, and a lot of good players who would benefit, and most importantly are willing to put up $3k for 6 months of training.The final thing is that most of us here don't get the training. Everytime I look at one of these posts, the question still remains "Soooo... What exactly does he do?" The whole "Teach you to be a lifelong winner" thing just seems weird when they say he doesn't go over technical aspects of hands. I spoke with TB17 at Turning Stone and I didn't really feel like I got an exact answer out of him about what Steve did.I am sure the training is very helpful for those who have it, and I wish everybody the best of luck who does decide to train with Steve, I'm just pointing out some of the reasons some of us have a slightly lower opinion of Steve.