A closer look at the Tournament Masterclass
If you're not sure whether bencb's Tournament Masterclass is for you, our interview with German PokerStrategist 'Matze90451' may help you decide.
At this point, most of you have probably heard that bencb, one of the most successful online tournament players these last years, is offering a unique course for professional and aspiring players. Still, some of you might not be sure yet whether the course is an investment that would pay off and make sense for your level of play.
We would like to help out and therefore have talked to a PokerStrategist who jumped in and took the offer.
Hi, Matze90451! You've been member of PokerStrategy.com since November 2011 and purchased the Tournament Masterclass by bencb. For players that are not as active in the tournament scene, would you like to quickly introduce yourself and what you've accomplished so far?
matze90451: Sure! As my nickname suggest people call me Matze, which is short for Matthias, and I'm a 24 year old student from Germany. I've been a member at PokerStrategy.com since I was 18 years old and always have been rather active when it comes to playing tournaments online.
How exactly did you stumble upon PokerStrategy.com back then?
matze90451: If I remember correctly, it was the result of a simple Google search when I was looking up poker strategies on the internet.
When did you start playing tournaments ambitiously and at what level are you currently active?
matze90451: I really started taking things more seriously roughly two years ago. I'd consider myself a recreational player before that, still I enjoyed tournaments the most back then as well.
Currently, I'm regularly playing MTTs up to $215 and when there's a really big series going on sometimes even up to a buy-in of $1,000.
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Learning from one of the best
Ok, back to the main topic, the Tournament Masterclass. How long have you been partaking in bencb's course and which version did you choose?
matze90451: I jumped into the Masterclass relatively early, roughly one or two weeks after its release. That must have been at the end of April and I figured that for my level of play, the Expert Class would be the right choice.
And does the course deliver what is promised? Do you feel like your investment paid off and turned you into a better player?
matze90451: Oh yes, definitely! It helped a lot in rethinking my entire gameplan and adjusting it more to the concepts and strategies that the very best players are following.
The ICM part alone has resulted in so much more EV for me that these winnings easily outshine what I've paid for the entire course. I also really like that it's being updated continuously and that anyone who has previously bought gets these updates for free.
Becoming your own coach
What is bencb doing differently and better compared to other tournament coaching offers? I remember times when people were buying single PDF docs from regs for a couple of hundred or thousand dollars.
matze90451: In general, the entire content is very well structured and organised. That's something other offers often lack in my opinion. Apart from that, bencb also doesn't just provide pre-defined ranges and concepts, but instead is also shows you the corresponding tools and practices for how to actually get there and further improve your own approach. "Become your own coach!" is a defining aspect that bencb's content is built upon.
Another thing special about his offer is that he's not only one of the best players in the tournament scene but also very capable of putting his thoughts, ideas and his gameplay into easily understood words. As we all know, a great poker player doesn't necessarily make a great poker coach.
I think the feedback he gets on his offer speaks for itself and it certainly stands out amongst the vast amount of poker content that's available now.
Is there anything else you particularly like about the course?
matze90451: Yes, the way it's structured. You'll end up with a pretty good overall gameplan when you go through everything, enabling you to easily compete at least on the current midstakes. On top of that, he's also providing all the tools and methods you need in order to develop the necessary abilities to also prevail at the high stakes when you are willing to put in that extra individual initiative.
With regards to the content itself, personally I've most enjoyed the ICM part of the course since that aspect in particular helped me most in improving my game. These are certainly my favourite videos amongst all that are offered.
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Definitely worth recommending
It all really sounds like you would recommend the course to any advanced tournament player without any reservations?
matze90451: Certainly! And not only to these types of players. Anyone who's ambitious in tournament poker can profit from the course. I think it's less of a question at which skill level you're starting, instead the goal is what counts.
And what are your own goals in poker and for your game right now?
matze90451: Simply put, I want to become one of the best. Of course, that's not at all an easy endeavour and a lot of hard, effective and structured work will be necessary to get there.
People like Steffen Sontheimer, Fedor Holz and of course also bencb are really great role models for such a goal. In the short term, it simply boils down to getting a little bit better each single day by learning new things and strategies.
Thanks a lot for the interview, Matze! Let's twist things up a bit in the final question: Which celebrity would you really love to teach poker if you had the chance?
matze90451: That's certainly the toughest question of the interview. Generally, I probably wouldn't be very keen on teaching a celebrity how to play poker and would be way more interested in doing something else with them.
If I had to state a name, though, I would probably say Günther Jauch (popular German TV moderator) to give poker a somewhat more serious image.
Well, best of luck at the tables and lots of success in your learning endeavours!
Have we sparked your interest? You can get a free glimpse on the content and structure of the Tournament Masterclass in this video:
Raising your edge with bencb
If you're looking for more insight into the mind of a real poker professional, check out some of the premium coaching videos by bencb and what he's produced for PokerStrategy.com so far:
