Ok, you've hired a poker coach, good for you. Now start the preparation to get the most out of your decision.

So many poker students begin a session with absolutely no idea of what they want to get out of the session. If that's the case, save yourself and the coach some time and drive down the interstate throwing the money you had budgeted for poker coaching out the window. Without taking the time to set goals and an agenda of what you want to accomplish, you are wasting your money.

Review your most recent playing statistics, maybe the last month, and compare it to your longer term statistics. Write down weaknesses that you spot, then go back over them and try and come up with solutions on your own. This exercise will give you a starting point with your poker coach.

Remember, your coaching session is about you. Take charge of your coaching session and get it focused on what you want from the session. As your initial goals are attained, new ones will pop up - new challenges, new perceived limitations along with new possibilities. Come to each session with a direction in mind, a list of issues, questions, and things on your mind right now. Know what it is you want out of the session and out of the experience. Be pushy, pointed, be direct, and be relentless in moving the conversations in the direction that best serves you. It's very difficult for a poker coach to guide you when you yourself don't know what direction you want to go.

Communicate with the coach about what is really going on, where you believe your poker game is right now, where your head is right then. Don't put fluff on it, don't sugar coat it, just be honest and direct. And make sure the coach is hearing what you are trying to say! An ambulance can't respond to an accident without knowing the intersection, right? So, this is about speaking the truth and living with the results because you're the one driving the session. It will make your connection with the coach a whole lot more effective and meaningful.

So now you've made the tough decision on who to hire and you've done your preparation. Now what should expect to take away from your first poker coaching session? If you have been honest and diligent in your prep work, you should expect a bunch. Going into the session you had specific issues and topics which should have all been addressed. You should be able to go through the list of weaknesses and recount the solutions discussed with your poker coach. Next comes putting the solutions into real game situations and reviewing the results they produced. Some may need further discussion and debate. Others may get checked off the initial list and be replaced with higher levels of poker theory. This constant ebb and flow of issues is the learning process, plain and simple. Basic poker issues are replaced with more complex poker theory.

For more on finding and getting the most of your poker coaching, visit us at http://onlinepokercoaching.com

About the author:

John DeBoer is a long time online poker player and webmaster of several gaming related websites.