I started to drive my parents’ car when I was 13 or 14, taking their 509 Peugeot around the building’s garage. I would keep the manual transmission in 1st gear for half an hour, because switching to 2nd terrified me, and the few times I’d dare to try, the car gripped and stalled
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In time, I started to go outside the garage, my older brother in the passenger seat explaining what to do. Having to stop at a red light gave me the creeps…the thought of having to stop, cars behind me, light switching to green, put the car in movement again…oh boy, did I have hard times with that.

By the time I got my driving license at age 18, I had driven many times in the roads around my city, always with my brother or a close friend with me. They showed me many basic concepts, and little by little I became a decent driver. In Spain, the driving schools sell you packs with all the theory and practical lessons, and that includes 20 sessions driving their car around town, with their teacher by your side. I didn’t buy the pack; instead, I paid for two sessions, mostly to make myself familiar with the car. I passed the test, and got my license.

At age 19, in 1991, I bought what was, for the time, a sick car: a Ford Sierra Cosworth Turbo 4×4. Ford was using this car in the World Rally Championship, and in order to race a model, the car makers had to put at least 2,500 cars in the market. The Cosworth had a 225 horsepower turbo engine with amazing grip in turns and corners. I loved getting in my car, finding secondary roads and get the back end of the car sliding through turns.

Soon after buying the car, I moved to Barcelona, and I got lucky enough to get in touch with the chief of mechanics of Ford Racing Spain. He loved my passion for cars, and spent many hours teaching me the secrets of race driving. I learned to do things that 99% won’t dare to do, as well as feel my car as part of my body. I was shocked by what I didn’t know; every day on the road was a whole new experience. Every time I learned a new thing, I felt I didn’t know how to drive up to that moment.

I remember being a kid watching WRC races on TV, and thinking, “How can drivers tell their engineers ‘We need more weight here, or less grip here, or the wheel to be more or less sensitive here or there, etc.’? How can they tell the difference? How can a little bit more air in the tires make such a difference?”

Through my own education and experience, I could eventually tell if there were 25 pounds of grocery in the trunk, if one tire needed more air, if the gas was of different quality after filling the tank. I knew if the AC was on, or if the tires were cold. Eventually, I turned into a decent, fast and complete driver. With passion, correct guidance, dedication and time, I went from being a driver afraid of switching gears, to doing things behind the wheel the average driver can’t understand.

If we translate this example into poker, we start playing cards reading a chart with hand values. This is a long way from making a call with bottom pair at the final table of a major event…and being right. We can’t extract maximum value from our big hands, be able to make some big folds, read people’s tendencies, put them on hands accurately, develop a feeling for what will work and what not at the tables, etc, etc, etc.

I remember when I first learned to play Hold’em, I felt lost in every single hand. I didn’t know what to do, how to do it, why people did things…boy, how terrible I was (some would say I remain terrible). With time I learned some fundamental things, and started to play SNGs on AP 6 years ago. I stayed there until I was introduced to what to me was a brand new game: Omaha hi/lo. I loved it from the beginning, and when AP started to run a $22, 2.5K guaranteed MTT, I started playing it every day. With practice I got decent at that game, and one day I decided to find more hi/lo MTT’s out there.

On this search, I discovered PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker. From Nov 26th ’til Dec 7th of 2006, I made 7 final tables and pocketed 2 wins in Omaha and HORSE MTT’s. For a recreational player with a regular job, that was a pretty good thing. I dedicated more and more hours to poker, joined PocketFives, read some books, and started to dream about playing for a living.

In March 2008, after a few very slow months, I found myself with no work as a carpenter. The financial crisis struck really hard, and there were simply no houses to build. I used most of my poker money to support myself. I started my “professional” career with a $125 bankroll. As soon as I brought my BR up to the $400 mark, I invested half of my poker funds in a lesson from Jennifear. Thanks to her guidance, I started to make really good money in SNGs, and worked my way up.

We had 3-4 sessions in a short period of time, and let me tell you this: I would not be where I am now without her. She taught me so many tricks and tips to make the game automatic, add more and more tables, understand ICM, etc. I went from panicking before switching a gear, to being a real driver, following the rules of the road without even thinking about it.

By the end of the year, the gates of heaven opened for me. During a momentary lack of reason, AJKHoosier1 offered to work with me. Imagine you have a son who loves playing basketball, and one day Michael Jordan knocks at your door and says: “If you let me, I will teach your kid everything I know about basketball”. That’s exactly how I felt after talking with Alex.

For an entire year, Alex taught me more than I could explain, even in another article. Many of the things he said are still sinking in, because we all have our own timing. Some concepts don’t reach the student’s mind until he is ready to understand what they meant. Alex deserves all the credit for many of the things I don’t do completely wrong when I play poker. Later on, I have had the pleasure of sharing ideas with some other amazing poker minds, such as Adam Squee451Sherman, along with PokerPwnageinstructors Alex AssassinatoFitzgerald (pictured), and Jerry herschelw Watterson.

When I read the forums, or people ask me “How did this player do that in that hand? I can’t do it,” what I would like to tell them is: keep trying, learning, experimenting, asking for guidance, and eventually you’ll be able to do it. All the players you rail have worked really hard to bring their game to the level they’re now. They have spent countless hours studying, playing, and learning. They ask questions and share experiences with their friends. They probably hired a coach or found a mentor, and little by little, they got there.

The learning process has a hidden bright side: it’s amazingly rewarding to sit at the tables, try new things, experiment with different lines…and see them work! It is fascinating when you think about a certain situation to which you never had an optimal solution, and then the day comes when you “see it.” You realize what can be done better, either on your own or through the advice of others. You try it…and it works. What a great feeling that is! The more we learn, the more things we’ll be capable of doing, and the more fun we will have. For those with enough determination and humility to say “I only know I know nothing”, there will always be something new to learn down the road, staying sharp, awake and always improving.

Good luck out there…

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Andres andressopranoPereyra is a private poker coach with over $1,000,000 in career online tournament cashes in events tracked by PocketFives. If you are interested in private poker coaching, visit the Poker Coaching Thread for more information.

* The opinions expressed in this article and all member-submitted content belong solely to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of PocketFives.

** PocketFives has no involvement in private agreements between poker coaches and students.