Longtime Pro Starting a Business

Hi my name is Robbie Kohler

I’m 36 years old, and I’ve supported myself playing mid and high stakes NLH and PLO live cash games in the US for the last 11+ years.

I used to be a bad reg.

I still am, but I used to too.

In that time though, I overcame a whole lot of things, including:

• An ADHD diagnosis and life where I could never focus or feel like myself
  
• Developing substance abuse issues as a way to cope with poker and life
  
• Tilt and poor play
  
• Always sabotaging my bankroll anytime I went on a big winning stretch
  
• Accepting shitty romantic relationships that were doomed to fail from the start
  

I now love poker more than ever, am the happiest I’ve ever been, and have found an awesome girlfriend who I’m planning to make a life with.

How I did this:

3 years ago I decided to make being present with all my emotions a top priority in my life.

I hired Jason Su as my coach and it changed everything.

In working through all my own issues, I found that I also love helping others overcome all these same things. A while back, Jason asked me to come work alongside him, and for the last year and a half I’ve been doing private 1-on-1 coaching while also running group coaching programs with Jason. Last year Jason asked me to help him organize and edit his book The Joy of Poker, which I’m confident is the best book on performance and mental game in poker by a wide margin, and it’s not even close.

I have worked with players of all types:

• online and live pros
  
• Serious recreational players
  
• WSOP bracelet winners
  
• Holdem, Omaha, and Mixed Game players
  

I’ve seen what’s possible in my own life when you become present.

I’ve helped a ton of people do the same.

So now I’m entering the phase where I’m learning everything I can about building a business.

I’m still playing a lot of poker, but I am also growing this new coaching business on the side. Turns out that being good at what you do isn’t quite enough. Apparently if you want to be able to earn lots of money in business, you also have to get really good at marketing? I can’t just sit at a table anymore? Well shit, here we go

I’ll be using this thread to document things I’ve learned about the process. Things that went well, and things that went poorly.

Open to any advice you guys have on this topic as well

- Robbie Kohler