New Mid-Stakes NL Coach

I'm very excited to announce our new mid-stakes NL Hold'em coach, Natalie Ratchford. Natalie has an impressive background to say the least. She graduated from Columbia in 2007 with neuroscience degree where she was also the 3-year captain of the Volleyball team. After being introduced to poker by her now-husband and fellow DTB NL coach Paul, she quickly took to the game and her high level of competitiveness drove her to improve rapidly, staring with a $50 deposit and never looking back. She says her style utilizes an analytical approach to the game and is centered around a very high level of preflop and postflop aggression.

Natalie is an outstanding poker player with an exceptional winrate. She played mostly on Full Tilt as "FishyFish12" until last march when she switched to the European sites, but this is her Full Tilt PTR page. That's a 3.9 PTBB/100 average winrate for 277,000 hands at $2/4 and $1/$2 6-max, a huge achievement that speaks for itself and puts her in a very elite group of players.

I've been very impressed speaking with Natalie and getting to know her, she has a deep understanding of No-Limit Hold'em and is very creative when it comes to exploiting different types of players.  She is also very adept at managing risk, knowing when she's off of her game, and she rarely tilts.  Those  qualities are critical to successful poker.  Most of all, she's very driven and wants to win no matter how much work it takes.

Natalie will be making mid-stakes NLH videos at $1/$2 NLH and above.  Her application video was really strong and I think she will be an excellent teacher and a great addition to DTB.  She has years of tutoring and coaching in other disciplines under her belt so teaching poker will come very easily and fluidly for her.  She explains her thought process clearly and concisely, and I think she brings a unique teaching style and perspective to DragTheBar.

Please take a few minutes to read Natalie's background told in her words on our coaches, and join me in welcoming her to DTB.  Feel free to ask her any questions here.

Contest: The Biggest Tilter with Jared Tendler

Have a tilt problem? Is tilt a big issue in your game? Want free coaching with Poker's Top Mental Game Coach, Jared Tendler? We're looking for The Biggest Tilter and the reward is a minimum of 4 hours of free private coaching and a signed copy of The Mental Game of Poker (at least a $1,200 value).

The Biggest Tilter is a contest to find and cure the DTB member with the biggest tilt problem. Show us that you’re a committed poker player and that tilt is the biggest obstacle holding your game back, and we’ll reward you with the high-end instruction needed to break through and start crushing. No matter which of the 7 types of tilt you suffer from, this contest is your chance to make tilt a thing of the past.

7 Types of Tilt
-Running Bad Tilt
-Injustice Tilt
-Hate-losing Tilt
-Mistake Tilt
-Entitlement Tilt
-Revenge Tilt
-Desperation Tilt

Rules
From now until August 31, you can submit your video entry on the DTB Member Videos page (for more information, click here).

The competition is open to everyone, both free and premium DTB members. Your video will be judged on several criteria, including:

-Demonstration of Tilt Problem / Degree of desperation
-Creativity / Entertainment / Humor
-Seriousness about improving your poker game
-Presentation / Production Value

For everyone not selected, the sessions with the winner will be turned into instructional videos for the DragTheBar community, you'll be able to follow and learn along with The Biggest Tilter as Jared molds them into an unstoppable machine.

Requirements for Entry:
1. Submit your video application to the DTB member video page (uploading is free to all, you just need a free DTB account).
2. Videos must be between 2 and 5 minutes long.
3. Two videos allowed per member during the contest period.
4. You must reference at least one type of tilt you suffer from (see above).
5. Must include at least one cliche’d and played-out phrase, such as: “God I run so bad.”
6. No animals or other living organisms can be harmed in the filming of your video.
7. Videos must be uploaded by August 31, 2011 to qualify for entry.

Prizes:
Winner: A minimum of 4 one-hour coaching sessions with Jared Tendler and a signed copy of his highly acclaimed book, “The Mental Game of Poker.”
3 Runner-ups: Signed copies of the book.

DON’T WAIT - SUBMIT YOUR VIDEO TODAY!

DragTheBar.com Recruits Four New Coaches

DragTheBar.com Recruits Four New Coaches

The Poker Training Site Continues to Aggressively Improve its Product

CHARLOTTE, NC — March 7, 2011 — Poker training site DragTheBar (www.dragthebar.com) announced today the addition of four new coaches, improving its Limit Hold'em, NL Hold'em, and tournament departments.  DTB now has almost thirty coaches on its roster as it continues to expand.

Limit Hold'em will see the biggest upgrade at DTB with two very accomplished players joining the lineup.  Gareth "Sledghammer" Allen is a well-respected mid-stakes player and twoplustwo poster, and few people in todays LHE games can match his 6-max win rate of nearly 2 BB/100.  Beginning back in 2004 on Party Poker, Gareth began at Limit Hold'em before moving to tournament poker.  He returned to 6-max Limit Hold'em in early 2008, where he has maintained some of the best win rates in the game ever since.

The second new Limit coach is Nick "Hood" Jones,  a versatile LHE player who in 2010 moved from heads-up to 6-max with great results.  Nick has a very mathematical approach to poker and has authored some powerful software tools to help players analyze their game. "We're very excited to be expanding our Limit Hold'em department," said DTB co-CEO Hunter Bick, "With 5 very high quality limit coaches, I think DTB offers excellent value for limit players."

DragTheBar is also strengthening its No-Limit roster with the addition of Paul Ratchford, a mid/high stakes player from Vancouver.  Ratchford plays almost exclusively on the European sites where he game selects from $2/$4 to $25/$50.  The opposite of a mass-multitabling player, he usually plays between 4 and 6 at a time in order to maximize the expectation of each decision.  This approach has rewarded with him with very impressive win rates and an extremely dynamic and creative thought process that is free of auto-piloting.  This is a rare mindset in today's games and should make Ratchford's videos a tremendous asset to DTB members.

Not stopping there, DTB is also adding to its tournament roster.  Katie Dozier, aka "hotjenny314" has been an online force in both SNGs and MTTs over the last few years.  Having played poker throughout college and culinary school, she ultimately decided on professional poker instead of professional cooking.  After dominating the super-turbo SNGs for quite some time, she switched to MTTs which she has focused on for the last year.  She is on several Sharkscope leader boards, is a feared tournament player, and recently moved to Las Vegas with her husband Collin Moshman.  "Katie is not only a great player but also an experienced teacher who will be making both MTT and SNG videos," added Bick, "She will an excellent addition to our tournament staff."

DragTheBar.com boasts free membership and rakeback options at a variety of poker rooms, including Party Poker and BlackChip Poker.  It also offers steep discounts for long-term membership purchases.  The site’s training videos are not digital-rights managed (no DRM) and are compatible with Apple products. Alongside poker, the site also offers backgammon, coached by world champion Bill Robertie.

There is no activation fee for joining DragTheBar.com, which has one membership level for all stakes and multiple payment options.  The site is presently offering a 7-day free trial to all prospective members and discounts on long-term memberships.

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DTB4FREE Announcement

Announcing "DTB4FREE," Free DragTheBar Poker Training Available to All Players on Party Poker

We're very excited to announce our newest and most exciting promotion yet.  DragTheBar is partnering with Party Poker to offer a completely free training program to all current and future Party Poker players.  All you have to do is opt into the program by clicking here, provide your DTB & Party Poker information, and then earn 1,000 Party points in a month (and you keep the points!).  Party Poker will then pay for your DragTheBar poker training membership.  At no point will this program ever cost you anything, it does not come out of bonuses and you keep the points you earn.

DragTheBar and Party Poker have worked hard to ensure that this is a very simple and easy program for players.  Once you opt-in, there's never a need to do anything else.  Just play poker and your free DTB membership will be credited to your account.

Click here to go to DTB4FREE and start earning your DragTheBar membership for free at one of the world's largest online poker sites.

If you are new to Party Poker, click here to set up a new account.

If you have any questions not answered below in the FAQ, feel free to ask us in the DTB4FREE forum.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I do this every month?
A:Yes. For each month you earn 1,000 Party points, you'll get a free month of poker training at DragTheBar.com.

Q: I don't have a Party Poker account, can I still get DTB4FREE?
A:Yes. Sign up for a new account at Party Poker (click here), submit your Party user info to DTB4FREE and generate 1,000 Party points. You will then get 1 free month at DragTheBar.

Q: I have a Party Poker account but haven't used it in a long time, can I get DTB4FREE?
A:Yes. Just create a free DragTheBar.com account and submit your Party Poker user information. Then generate 1,000 Party points in a calendar month and you'll get a free month at DragTheBar.

Q: I followed all the instructions and haven't received my free month even after generating 1,000 Party points.
A: All DTB4FREE accounts will be automatically credited on the 5th of the month. If you complete your 1,000 points and want your membership sooner, just send an email to support@dragthebar.com. Include your DTB username and we will credit your month ASAP. Otherwise it will be added to your account on the 5th of the next month.

Q: Do I have to spend my Party points and will this affect my bonuses?
A: No. DTB4FREE is completely free because Party Poker pays your DragTheBar membership for you. It will never cost you anything and never come out of your points or bonuses.

Q: I can only get to 500 Party points as I am a part-time small stakes player. Can I get a week or two?
A: Not at this time. However, please send your request to support@dragthebar.com. The more requests we receive, the sooner we may add an option like this.

Q: I went through all the steps and haven't heard anything, what should I do?
A: It may take up to 72 hours to link your DTB and Party accounts. So just start earning those 1,000 Party points and check your e-mail for confirmation from DragTheBar (check your spam filter as well). If you have any concerns please send an e-mail to support@dragthebar.com

Q: I am currently paying for DragTheBar and have time left on my membership, can I get DTB4FREE?
A: Yes. Any months you earn by generating 1,000 Party points will be credited to the end of your membership. For example, you recently paid for a 3 month membership and have 2 months left. You can sign-up for DTB4FREE and the months you earn will be added to your account.

Q: I am A high volume player. Can I get multiple free DragTheBar months in one calendar month with DTB4FREE?
A: No. You can only earn one DTB month in a calendar month by generating 1,000 Party points. You cannot get 2 months by earning 2,000 Party points.

New DragTheBar Guest Coach

I'm excited to announce that goretexg will be joining DragTheBar as a guest coach.  You probably know him well from the forum, where he has been one of the most active and helpful members of the community since joining the site in March of 2010.

Greg has had a lot of success in just a year of playing poker.  In the fall of 2009, he started playing poker at $.01/$.02 full ring, and now just a year later he's a regular in the $2/$4 games, a very rapid rise especially in today's games.  He's got a tremendous work ethic, is a student of DTB's Owen Gaines, and is great example of what can be done through hard work in poker.

This spring he will be heading to Oxford University to study international relations, a very  prestigious program.  So as a guest coach, Greg will not be making videos every month, but he expects to be around the forum and will be making videos when he can.   Greg's first video is about improving efficiency when making decisions at the tables, and its a really good and unique video that I can't wait to release.  I think you will agree with me when you see it, that its hard to believe its his first video.

Please join me in welcoming Greg to the DTB coaching staff.

-Hunter Bick, DragTheBar CEO

DragTheBar.com Adds Four New Coaches

CHARLOTTE, NC — October 10, 2010 — Poker training site DragTheBar announced today the addition of four new coaches as it looks to bolster both its tournament and cash game departments.

To start with, Adam Sherman, aka "Squee451" is currently the number 6th ranked online tournament player in the world according to Pocketfives.com and has had a spectacular 2010. On his way to making over a million dollars this year, Sherman won the PokerStars.com $3,150 4-Max SCOOP Event on May 10th for $210,000, and just 4 days later he chopped the SCOOP $2,100 rebuy for $172,000.

A recent graduate of Claremont McKenna College in California, he's an economics major who went straight from school to poker, a decision that has clearly worked out well for him. "We're thrilled add Adam to our MTT coaching staff," said DragTheBar.com CEO Hunter Bick. "He's an unbelievable player with a unique thought process and killer results; he will add a ton of value to our membership and anyone else looking to elevate their MTT game."

Next up is Nathan Williams, aka "Blackrain79." A true micro-stakes phenomenon, Nathan is a professional player from British Columbia who has played over a million hands of micro-stakes No-Limit Hold'em and beaten the game for huge win rates. "There are few players more qualified to coach the micro-stakes games," Bick said. "Nathan's experience in those limits is unparalleled, and he will be a great asset in his ability to help our members who play in those games."

Not stopping there, DragTheBar is also doubling its Sit & Go staff. Cody Kaiser and James Romero will bring years of experience playing and coaching to the site. Kaiser is a professional player who has blogged on colinmoshman.com and does a lot of private coaching, and Romero is a senior at Oregon University who's been winning at SNGs throughout his college career. Both players are experts at multi-table SNGs like the 90 and 180 person tournaments on PokerStars, but excel in all forms of SNGs as well. "Both of these guys have unique approaches to beating SNGs and are passionate about teaching poker. I'm really excited to start releasing their videos," added Bick.

DragTheBar.com boasts free membership and rakeback options at a variety of poker rooms. It also offers steep discounts for long-term membership purchases. The site’s training videos are not digital-rights managed (no DRM) and are compatible with Apple products. Alongside poker, the site also offers backgammon, coached by world champion Bill Robertie.

There is no activation fee for joining DragTheBar.com, which has one membership level for all stakes and multiple payment options. The site is presently offering a 7-day free trial to all prospective members and discounts on long-term memberships.

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DragTheBar announces new Limit Hold’em Coach Dustin Cook

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — August 11, 2010 — Poker training site DragTheBar.com (www.dragthebar.com) announced today it has added a new coach to its already impressive lineup of coaches. This time looking to fill out the Limit Hold'em department, DragTheBar has brought in Dustin Cook, a professional small & mid-stakes Limit Hold'em player who has been crushing the limit games on PokerStars for the past couple of years.
Known as "La Peste" on TwoPlusTwo and "dcook77" on PokerStars, Cook has been a dominant force in the Stars $2/$4 and $3/$6 games, winning at a very impressive weighted average of 2.77 BB/100.
“Dustin is an outstanding addition to our team,” said DragTheBar.com CEO Hunter Bick, who started the poker training site in 2009 with two partners. "In addition to his tremendous win rate, I'm impressed with his enthusiasm and passion for teaching the game. He explains his thought process very well and is committed to helping students build a winning strategies. I have no doubt that he'll add a lot of value for our members."
"I have started to coach players within the last year and have gotten a lot of enjoyment out of it," Cook said. "So when GiantBuddha asked me if I would like to make videos for DragTheBar, it was a no-brainer. I hope to be able to show you how I beat the small stakes games, by capitalizing on the exploitable mistakes made by the regulars."
DragTheBar.com boasts free membership and rakeback options at a variety of poker rooms alongside steep discounts for long-term membership plans. The site’s training videos are not digital-rights managed (no DRM) and are compatible with Apple products. Alongside poker, the site also offers backgammon, coached by world champion Bill Robertie. There is no activation fee for joining, a single membership level for all stakes, and multiple payment options are available. The site is presently offering a 7-day free trial to all prospective members.

DragTheBar.com Coach Wins World Series of Poker $10k H.O.R.S.E. Championship

Las Vegas, NV — June 29, 2010 —Poker training site DragTheBar (www.dragthebar.com) is celebrating a World Series of Poker victory by one of its coaches, Ian Gordon, who took home $611,666 in prize money with the H.O.R.S.E. championship Friday night.

Gordon, 24, is known online as “IggyMcFly.” The Missoula, MT native is a former astrophysics major at Washington State University who left school two years ago to focus on poker full time. He arrived at the final table of the H.O.R.S.E. championship with a thinner live poker resume than the other final eight players. He has had multiple six-figure tournament scores online and won the Wynn Classic three years ago.

The final table included two former WSOP gold bracelet winners, Richard Ashby and Nick Shulman, each with one victory to his name. Top pros Carlos Mortenson, Eugene Katchalov and Marco Traniello were also at the table.

“This is a huge step for me to get this,” Gordon said. “It’s a really big moment for me. It means a ton, especially since its the $10K H.O.R.S.E. which has field full of pros who all know what they’re doing. To be able to win that is special. You have to get a little lucky to win a tournament, but this feels really good to be able to hold my own against all the top pros and come out on top."

“I was trying to play hands individually and not think too much. I just had to focus and play the best I could.”

Gordon also coaches students in Pot-Limit Omaha and is a PLO coach at DragTheBar.com. “Ian is not only a great guy, but he has a sharp mind for the game and is a very versatile player,” said Hunter Bick, CEO of DragTheBar. “We’re incredibly proud to have him on our team. This might be his first bracelet, but I don’t think it’ll be his last.”

Gordon recently took a hiatus from DragTheBar.com to sharpen his mixed-game and tournament skills, "We're eager to get him back producing training videos, hopefully once the WSOP is over," added Bick.

DragTheBar.com boasts free membership and rakeback options at a variety of poker rooms. It also offers steep discounts for long-term membership purchases. The site’s training videos are not digital-rights managed (no DRM) and are compatible with Apple products. Alongside poker, the site also offers backgammon, coached by world champion Bill Robertie.

There is no activation fee for joining DragTheBar.com, which has one membership level for all stakes and multiple payment options. The site is presently offering a 7-day free trial to all prospective members and discounts on long-term memberships.

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Press contact:
Phil Nagy
877-494-8331
phil@dragthebar.com

New DragTheBar Limit Hold’em Coach

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — June 9, 2010 — Poker training site DragTheBar.com announced today it has added yet another coach to its outstanding lineup of coaches, Emil "darkhorse" Jonsson. This time DragTheBar is expanding its Limit Hold'em department, cementing its intentions to be a full-featured training site.

Jonsson is a Swedish professional player and coach who currently plays as high as $50/$100 Limit Hold'em, usually on the European poker sites, from heads up to full ring. He is an incredibly studious player with a creative and dynamic poker mind.

"We're very excited to be adding Emil to our team," DragTheBar.com founder and CEO Hunter Bick, "Limit Hold'em has been a huge success for us so far solely because of Paul "GiantBuddha" Hoppe, who has set a very high standard for our Limit content. That meant we had to make sure we found the right guy for our next Limit coach instead of just racing to add just anyone. Without question, Emil is that guy, he will be a perfect fit. I think our members will be thrilled when they see his first video, which is already in the library."

DTB's Limit Hold'em specialist Paul Hoppe added, "When Hunter asked me for a candidate for a new LHE coach, my first thought was Emil. What I appreciate most about Emil's approach to the game are his creative solutions and willingness to defy convention. Popular opinion can inhibit progress, but Emil never lets it get in his way. I have learned a lot from him myself and think his approach will provide an excellent complement to mine. Quite selfishly, I want to watch his videos, too!"

Emil "darkhorse" Jonsson's first video is already in the DTB video lobby, its the first part of his series titled "The Stockholm Syndrome" where he plays 2 shorthanded limit tables and explains what differentiates his approach to playing and studying poker.
DragTheBar.com boasts free membership and rakeback options at a variety of poker rooms. It also offers steep discounts for long-term membership purchases. The site's videos are not digital-rights managed (no DRM) and are compatible with Apple products. Alongside poker, DragTheBar also offers backgammon, coached by world champion Bill Robertie.

There is no activation fee for joining DragTheBar.com, which has one membership level for all stakes and multiple payment options. The site is presently offering a 7-day free trial to all prospective members.

DragTheBar Offers Isildur1 Lucrative Contract To Sign On As Instructor

Mysterious online sensation offered $250,000 to join coaching team

Charlotte, NC (Vocus) May 25, 2010 -- Poker training site DragTheBar publicly announced today it is offering elusive online poker star Isildur1 a $250,000 contract to join its roster of coaches.

According to DragTheBar CEO Hunter Bick, included in press-shy Isildur1’s contract is an option to keep his identity a secret. In April, Isildur1 — who has never made a public appearance — supposedly said he would participate in a London-based, made-for-television event called PartyPoker’s Big Game IV, but he failed to show.

Bick said attempts to reach Isildur1 through conventional channels have been unsuccessful.

“We have no other way of reaching Isildur1 other than making a public offer,” Bick said. “He is a one of a kind player, and I think his unique thought process would be a huge addition to our site and add tremendous value for our members. He should know that we’ll keep his identity anonymous if he wants us to.”

Bick said that if he is interested, Isildur1 should transfer $5 to BeachJustice on Full Tilt and forward the transfer-receipt email with a message to coaching(at)dragthebar(dot)com. After contact is made, each party will sign a non-disclosure agreement.
The mysterious Isildur1 adrenalized the online poker world when he showed up on Full Tilt Poker in November 2009. Within weeks he was sitting with $1 million-plus across 6-8 tables, while playing the likes of Tom “Durrrr” Dwan, Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius and Phil Galfond. Isildur1 took home $5.5 million in two weeks, a streak widely believed to be the most lucrative in the history of online poker.

In mid-December, Brian Hastings won $4 million from Isildur1 in five hours, though soon afterward Hastings admitted he’d been helped in his victory by sharing hand histories with Brian Townsend, a violation of Full Tilt’s terms and conditions.

By the end of the year, Isildur1 had been involved in all 10 of the biggest hands in the history of online poker. By December, he’d lost a nearly $1.4 million pot to Antonius and won a $1.1 million pot from Ivey, making him the only player to have both won and lost a million-dollar pot online.

Isildur1 has since returned to Full Tilt, experiencing seven-figure swings on multiple occasions.

Isildur1 is widely believed to be Swedish phenom Viktor Blom, though Blom has fiercely denied the association.

DragTheBar.com boasts free membership and rakeback options at a variety of poker rooms. It also offers steep discounts for long-term membership purchases. The site’s poker training videos are not digital-rights managed (no DRM) and are compatible with Apple products. Alongside poker, the site also offers backgammon, coached by world champion Bill Robertie.

There is no activation fee for joining DragTheBar.com, which has one membership level for all stakes and multiple payment options. The site is presently offering a 7-day free trial to all prospective members.

Press contact:
Phil Nagy
888-398-0270
phil(at)dragthebar(dot)com