What actually happens in a poker coaching session.
Most coaching pages list features. This one shows the actual methodology - the 5-session arc, the 5 Filters questionnaire, the A→B→C Game state model, and the reframing pattern that makes identity-first leak detection work. Built from real coaching sessions (anonymized examples throughout).
The 5-Session Arc
Click a session to see what actually happens inside it
The framework path is the same for every coachee. The destination is whatever specific goal that player chose at the start. Each session has a specific focus, a tangible output, and connects to the next one. Real coachees (anonymized) say specific things in specific sessions - those reactions are predictable, and that predictability is what makes the methodology work.
Session 01
Life Story + Game Story + Values
Map the player's life trajectory and their poker trajectory together. Where do they intersect? Where do they conflict? What does poker actually represent for this person - escape, mastery, income, identity, community, proving something?
Exercises Used
Chronological narrative: childhood → school → military → career → first poker
9-question Self-Image worksheet (given at end of session)
Values articulation: what 3 values do you actually live by?
Real Output (Anonymized Example)
A successful entrepreneur with 9 gaming-venue franchises identified that he "never takes local $400 tournaments seriously" - and that this came from a deeper pattern: his value of "challenge" was always tied to money, not process. Once that's seen, the fix isn't strategic - it's a reframing exercise.
Session 02
Motivation Mapping
What actually drives this player to play, beneath "I want to win"? The honest answer is often surprising: validation, escape, intellectual challenge, community, financial freedom, proving something to a parent. Misaligned motivation is one of the largest sources of leaks.
How We Find It
"What do you tell yourself before you sit down?"
"What do you tell yourself after a winning session?"
"What do you tell yourself after a losing one?"
The gap between the three is the motivation map
Why It Matters
You can't manage tilt if you don't know what triggered it. You can't sustain a bankroll if your real driver is the dopamine of variance. Once we name what's actually driving the play, the leaks become legible - they're protecting that hidden driver.
Session 03
Self-Perception (Personal Image)
How does the player see themselves at the table? Is that accurate? This session surfaces the gap between self-image and reality - one of the biggest sources of stuck improvement. It also reveals the player's aspirational identity, which becomes the anchor for the Session 5 plan.
The Mirror Tool
LeakHunter data is the mirror. Players say "I'm a tight player" - and the data shows 28% VPIP from UTG. Players say "I never tilt" - and the data shows 3x worse decisions after losing pots. The contradiction is where the work happens.
What Gets Built
A list of "stories I tell about myself at the table"
The data that supports each story
The data that contradicts each story
The aspirational identity - who you want to be at the table
Session 04
External Perception (Table Image)
How do opponents see this player? What table image do they project, and what are they trying to project? The gap between intended and actual table image is data about your authentic style - and it's exploitable in both directions.
The Two-Mirror Exercise
"What do you want opponents to think when you sit down?"
"What do they actually think after 90 minutes?"
The gap is your work-zone
Sometimes the gap is the authentic style - align with it instead of fighting it
Real Outcome
One coachee wanted to project "aggressive pro" - but opponents read him as "thoughtful tight player." We stopped fighting the read and exploited it - strategic over-bluffs in the right spots tripled his win-rate in 30 days.
Session 05
Synthesis + The 5 Filters + Personal Plan
Bring everything together. Build a written 3-12 month plan fitted to who the player actually is - not a generic poker development plan. The 5 Filters questionnaire reveals the player's personal "operating system" - the non-negotiables that any strategy, partnership, or schedule has to respect.
Outputs of Session 5
Written 3-12 month personal plan
Personalized tournament recommendations matched to identity
Weekly review rituals tailored to motivation map
Identity-driven leak protocols (not generic)
Life habits that support the game; game habits that support the life
The 5 Filters - see below ↓
After Session 5
Coaching doesn't end at the call. 7-day messaging cadence reinforces the new habit loops (research: Lally et al. 2010 - 66 days average to install a habit). Single-session check-ins during major tournament series available on-demand.
Session 5 Output / The Purpose Questionnaire
The 5 Filters that reveal how you actually operate
Most coaching produces a generic plan. The 5 Filters produce a plan that respects the player's actual operating system. These come out of Session 5 and are unique per coachee - but every plan, strategy, partnership, and schedule has to pass through them. Below is the typical shape (the actual content per coachee is private).
FILTER 01
My Way
The decisions you must hold final authority over. The places where consultation is fine but veto is non-negotiable. Skipping this filter is how partnerships and coaching plans collapse.
FILTER 02
Life Partners
The non-negotiable supportive relationships (spouse, family, business partners, coach). Plans that don't fit these collapse. Plans that respect them compound.
FILTER 03
Builder / Franchisor
What kind of work fills you up? Building from zero? Refining what exists? Operating? Selling? This filter tells you which poker careers actually fit you.
FILTER 04
Head-to-Toe
How deep do you go into every component? Some players need to know everything bottom-up. Some delegate. Your answer determines what your coaching, study, and game-prep should look like.
FILTER 05
Your Personal 5th
The filter unique to you - surfaces in the Session 5 conversation, not the questionnaire. The most important one, because it's the one nobody else has.
The Operational Model / A → B → C Game
Every player has three games. We work on all three.
Most coaching tries to improve your A-game (your best). Identity-first coaching also addresses your B-game (your average) and C-game (your worst). Because the C-game is what costs you tournaments, even when your A-game is good enough to win them.
A
Your best state
A-Game
Clear head, no business distractions
"Did my part with family" - feels complete
Specific focus before sitting down
Sustainable energy across the session
"Saturday night after family time" is one coachee's actual A-game trigger. Triggers are findable.
B
Your default state
B-Game
Going through motions, mostly competent
Some leaks visible but not catastrophic
What 60-70% of your sessions actually look like
Where the biggest aggregate gains are
B-game is the long-term winrate driver. Most coaching never touches it.
C
Your worst state
C-Game
Dismissive, "doesn't matter" attitude
Playing every hand without seeing the table
Knows it's happening but can't pull out
The state that costs you tournaments
C-game has identity roots - fatigue, status mismatch, life events. That's where we work.
The Reframe / Why It Works
Your leak is a feature, not a failure
The most common reframe in coaching sessions. A player's leak is almost always a strength of theirs that's misfiring in the wrong context.
Example from a real session: A coachee identified that he needs "final decision authority" in every business he runs. He framed this as a problem - a past partnership had failed because his partner challenged his calls.
Reframe: The requirement isn't a failure. It's a feature of who you are. Now what does the partnership structure need to look like to respect the feature instead of fighting it?
The same reframe applies to poker leaks: "I overplay big pairs" → "You have a strong identity around premium hands. Now what's the protocol that lets you respect that identity without overpaying for it?"
Compared to Tactical Coaching
What's actually unique about this approach
01
Identity, not strategy
Most coaching teaches ranges and GTO. This methodology starts with: who is this player? What identity is the strategy serving?
02
LeakHunter as the mirror
The only app built for live poker hand tracking. Provides the data that contradicts (or confirms) the player's self-perception.
03
Productized, not open-ended
5 sessions over 5 weeks. Bounded. Result-oriented. Visible outcomes by week 5. Not therapy-adjacent open-ended work.
04
The 5 Filters as output
Most coaching gives you a plan. This gives you a plan plus your operating-system filters. Plans break; filters compound.
05
A→B→C, not just A
Tactical coaching improves your A-game. This works on B-game (where long-term winrate lives) and C-game (where tournaments are lost).
06
7-day cadence after
Habits install across 66 days on average. The 7-day post-session messaging keeps the loop alive after the call ends.
Want this methodology applied to your game?
Start with a free 100-hand leak audit. Written report + 10-min Loom walkthrough on your own data. No pitch.