Last Saturday, Black Belt Poker and Bluff Europe combined forces to present the first ever Academy, a day dedicated to finding those leaks and filling those holes. On hand to offer their expert advice were Irish Open Champion and Vic veteran Neil Channing, online pro and serial GUKPT finalist Nik Persaud, Brown Belt and former iPoker Monthly Million finalist Hugh Kirton, and Bluff Europe’s host extraordinaire Alex Rousso.
Held at the Grosvenor Victoria in London, the Academy examined a number of topics ranging from the Fundamental Theorem of Poker to table psychology. Players were also given the chance to watch televised hands and hear the expert analysis of the team, as well as participate in interactive exercises in which the mentors would take people through live hands and dissect every decision made.
During one of the breaks, I caught up with Sensei Persaud to hear what he thought of the day so far and also what sources he sought in order to study the game.
As part of the package, attendees were invited to play the Vic’s £50 No Limit Hold’em freezeout, being held later that evening. As an added bonus, the last three remaining Black Belt Poker players in the event would win themselves a free seat into the London Live, a $220 No Limit Hold’em Freezeout scheduled for March 12-14. The three winners were Andy Brisland, David Sparks and Kevin Stevens. The latter of those has detailed his experience in an article for Black Belt Poker. Click here to read Part One.
Joining the aforementioned at the Academy were a number of other BBP members including Purple Belts Lee Innes and Steve Dickson, Orange Belt Paul Harrison, and current Grader Carey Hollick. During dinner, I spoke to Purple Belt Gavin Hall to discuss what he was looking for from the Academy and also his progress in the current Grading.
Gavin's article: Wax On Wax Off: Stages of Poker Evolution – Part One/
The Black Belt Academy was deemed a huge success by both mentors and students alike, and is likely to be returning to the Vic in the very near future. To book your seat in the next Academy, you can either buy in directly via cheque (contact info@blackbeltpoker.com for more details), or earn your way in for absolutely nothing by playing in the Orange Belt freeroll which takes place on the last Monday of every month on the Black Belt Poker skin. The next one is this coming Monday, so register now and we look forward to seeing you at the next Academy.
