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Pierre Deissler
Pierre Deissler has been playing tournament poker for five years. He says his “first few years were not good. I was dead money!” After meeting some of Tournament Poker Edge’s top online pros and getting to talk strategy with them, he says his game slowly started to get better. He had minor success in both live and online play, but was still disappointed that he had not been able to crack anything very big with all the time he was putting into the game.
Pierre told us, “I knew I had some leaks I needed to work on and felt like I was aware of most of the issues but I just didn’t know how to fix them. It was obvious to me that the successful players out there were investing a lot into their games and I knew if I wanted to keep up, I was going to have to do the same.” After spending a lot of time in the Tournament Poker Edge forums and watching hours upon hours of their videos, Pierre was starting to improve and was even more sold on the fact that he needed to invest in his poker education. He adds, “I know these guys have already spent so much time and money working out the same kinds of issues I was dealing with, so why do the same myself when I could just shortcut my way to success by paying them a fraction of what it cost them to learn the same things?” “In September 2011, I was lucky enough to meet Lee Childs at the Borgata. I knew who Lee was and his accomplishments, so I was excited to meet him. He had an Inside The Minds class coming up in November, but I knew that I was not going to be able to make it to that one. Lee was kind enough to talk some poker strategy with me, and I could tell right away that this dude knew what he was talking about! I was sold and was going to do my best to make the next class.” In April 2012, Pierre finally attended both Inside The Minds training sessions at Borgata. The first was the group tournament training session, the second a full day of nothing but hands-on analysis with the pros. “Lee Childs and Jason Young were the lead instructors and they brought in some other superstars to both speak and help us analyze hands. Dwyte Pilgrim and Bill Blanda gave us some very motivational talks at the beginning of the session. Matt Glantz, Gavin Smith and Mike Wolf really added a lot in the hands-on portion of the class as they all are really deep thinkers about the game. The professionalism and insights these guys all have really blew me away.” “It brought a new perspective to my thoughts of poker in a variety of ways. Not everyone plays the same or has the same style. Lee really stressed the importance of developing your own game, and I was able to do that after the class by listening intently to everyone and taking various new strategies to fit into my core game plan. I feel that they plugged so many of the leaks that were holding me back from getting to final tables in large events. Since the class, I have cashed in 14 of 42 live tourneys, including some with fields of 200-300, reaching the final table of 4 of those as the chip leader!” “I wouldn't have done this without the help from Inside The Minds & Tournament Poker Edge. The instructors at Inside The Minds were very good at answering everyone's questions. Lots of situations were covered and I can't imagine getting better training from a live group. I will definitely be attending more classes with the ITM crew. I'm a firm believer that you should never stop learning whether you're a PRO or part-time serious grinder like myself. A big trophy is in my future thanks to my friends at ITM & TPE.” You can follow Pierre on Twitter at @PierreDeissler and chat him up in the Tournament Poker Edge forum, where he goes by P-Aire146 |
Antonio "Anthony" Payne
Anthony Payne is a family man and a businessman. He not only has been working at American Airlines for 26 years, but also runs his own photography business. He has been playing poker since 1995, but only seriously the last 3 years. He started playing home games with friends, small tournaments in Atlantic City and some of the free bar leagues close to home. He rapidly developed a passion for the game and quickly exceled above his competition in these games.
He started playing poker on a higher level December 2011. He and lot of his friends thought his game was solid enough to move up. He headed off to AC for the WSOPC circuit events at Harrah’s and cashed in one of the three events he played, finishing a strong 18th out of 288 for $1,705. But even with that, he says, “I felt I was lacking something.” After a semi-successful trip to LA for another WSOPC stop, He made the journey down to the West Palm Beach Kennel Club for their WSOPC series. This is where he says his “poker life took a turn for the better,” adding, “I met Lee Childs and was introduced to his Inside The Minds training classes. I was already a good player but I needed that edge. I knew about Lee’s background, success and strong teaching ability, so I knew I was in good hands.” In April 2012, Anthony signed up for the Inside The Minds class at Borgata. “This was an amazing eight-hour class of non stop action from soup to nuts. Lee Childs, Matt Glantz, Dwyte Pilgrim, Jason Young, Gavin Smith and Mike Wolf! That is truly an all-star lineup if I ever saw one! $500 is such a bargain for eight hours with that crew! Each instructor bought something different to the table, which is what makes it great. Lee led the group and taught a lot about developing and maintaining the right mindset, fundamental mistakes most players are making and how to keep your game consistent. Jason explained his aggressive style and how to establish and use your image and position to both win more and lose less. Dwyte stopped in for about an hour and shared his early success stories and how to remain humble and appreciative about the wins. Matt Glantz also popped in and did some phenomenal hands-on analysis with us. And, Gavin offered so many insights into how he combines everything the other guys talked about to create his winning style of play. Mike contributed a lot about the mental side of the game as well, and the dedication it takes to grind out a living as an up-and-coming young professional.” Anthony played a few more tournaments before heading out to Vegas for two trips in the summer. He had some nice runs, but didn’t quite have one of those runs we all dream of until his second trip out to play the WSOP Main Event. He knew he played great all day, but ran into a huge cooler to end his Main Event hopes late on day one. “This was the worst day for me as a rookie pro!” Dejected a bit, but you can’t keep this man down! Just one day after busting poker’s most prestigious $10,000 event, Anthony took that disappointment and turned it into pure desire. He decided to win! He entered the $235 Rio Daily Deep Stack tournament, which attracted 839 runners. “It just came together for me. I knew I was the best player. I just had to put the skills I had developed with the concepts I integrated into my game from Inside The Minds, and put it all to work! 15 hours later I was at the window cashing $34.166 for the win!!!” Now armed with a more solid game and even more confidence, Anthony made another deep run in the next tournament he played, finishing 128th out of 1602 in the Caesar’s Main Event! “I was not a beginner when I took the Inside The Minds class but I knew I needed an edge. Their class will help players at all levels. Whether you have only been playing for a short period of time, or you are an established player like myself who just needs some tweaking to their game, they will certainly help anyone plug leaks and elevate their game. You just have to be open-minded and put their instruction to use. Each of the instructors are always working on their own games and I know that they will continue to have more and more to offer their students.” Lee Childs adds, “Anthony is one of the most driven, up-and-coming poker players I have ever met. He comes to the table with such a high level of confidence. His desire to win and self-awareness is amazing. His fundamental game really strong and I’m really looking forward to working with him more in the future. He knows that to succeed in this game you have to consistently work on your game and invest the time and money into learning more. I respect his commitment to win and I can assure you that you are going to be hearing a lot more about his success at the tables real soon!” You can follow Anthony and his success on Twitter @Anthony_1Payne and his blog at www.teampropayne.blogspot.com. |
David Holloman
David, who primarily plays in local bar-league tournaments, recently sent us a message to let us know about his success since attending a two-hour training session with Lee Childs. Here is what he had to say.
"Lee, I really appreciate the coaching you did with us. This past weekend I played in three tournaments. I came in 2nd/58 Ebro Poker Room. Two days later I won a tournament at Beau Rivage and later that day finished 6th in another one at the Beau! Three final tables and a victory in two days! Spending just two hours with you really helped me eliminate many of my leaks and take my game to a much higher level!"
"Lee, I really appreciate the coaching you did with us. This past weekend I played in three tournaments. I came in 2nd/58 Ebro Poker Room. Two days later I won a tournament at Beau Rivage and later that day finished 6th in another one at the Beau! Three final tables and a victory in two days! Spending just two hours with you really helped me eliminate many of my leaks and take my game to a much higher level!"