[naphand]

I would strongly advise anyone considering instruction to give this individual a wide berth. If he is so supremely arrogant (and he certainly seems that way) that he thinks $5K is good value for 10 hours of instruction then either he is the greatest teacher this planet has produced, or you are getting short-changed. There is almost no way that you can learn enough in 10 hours to make it worth paying this kind of money for the limits most forum players play at (most being $10/$20 or less). It is not worth your time.

If, indeed, the level of his instruction is so high to make the 10 hours valuable, you would have to be very good to start with, and be looking at playing a game that makes this kind of fee acceptable. At $100/$200 that is 25BB for 10 hours, or about 2.5 BB/hr. Seems reasonable. And don't take any BS about "making you a lifetime income" I get that kind sh1t spammed to me every day. Forget fees like this until you are:

(i) Playing at a very high level, with a strong game.
(ii) Looking to play in some high stakes (world-class) games ($100/$200 or perhaps something like $30/$60 minimum) on a regular basis.
(iii) Are in a position to assess this players abilities.

I would also strongly recommend you ask for references from previous "pupils" including evidence of how much more they have earned. Also I think some kind of written guarantee of results would be appropriate.

If this person is a great player, a great teacher, with a professional approach to his "instruction" he should have no problem providing references, evidence and some written guarantee. If he cannot, don't even think about it. Any financial advice you seek should be treated this way, you need professional conduct and guarantees before parting with large sums of money. Don't let anyone, no matter how gobby they get, talk you into anything without this.

The language this individual uses, and his attitude, while it may be common among winning players, is not one I would expect to find in a professional teacher with an active interest in providing you with a first class service. If he can prove me wrong, then let him and good for him. I suspect we will see nothing of the kind.

As for Daryn's challenge - good for you Daryn. You said he would find an excuse, and you were right. Exactly what did this individual expect you to play for? The $200/$400 thing is a joke, and he knows it.

Chickenlittl has chickened out. I would have thought that such a "world-class" teacher could have seen a match like this as a great marketing exercise, after all there would be a lot of people watching that game and he could "talk" people through his superior plays. It is possible to find other world class players playing at very low limits (there have been a few posts, the recent Erik123 HU one being an example) so the notion that is it "not worth his time" is BS. Anyone with any understanding of marketing (or even just enough confidence) would see such a challenge as a fantastic opportunity to establish credentials among a very influential group of poker thinkers. There would be a lot of people interested in this match-up, against one of the Forum's most respected heads-up players, and it would probably be discussed and talked about for some time afterwards, giving "the lightning" plenty of opportunity to further enhance his credentials with professional insight into the plays made (regardless of the result).

Find your tuition elsewhere, he doesn't care for it anyway. Looks like he cannot take the heat.