PokerCoaching.com is excited to welcome it’s newest coach: Brock Wilson. A young yet accomplished professional poker player, Wilson has become a mainstay on the high roller poker circuit and can often be seen playing on PokerGO. Last year, Wilson took down the $10,000 buy-in event of the Poker Masters defeating Elio Fox heads-up, adding to his impressive list of accomplishments which includes two WSOP Circuit rings. With a Hendon Mob page approaching $5,000,000 in career tournament earnings, Wilson looks to climb the ranks of poker’s best and bring his perspective of the game to students.
Photo Courtesy of PokerGO and Card Player Magazine
Table of Contents
- Brock Wilson’s Path To Professional Poker
- Loving More Than The Big Pots Of Poker
- Facing Other PokerCoaching.com Coaches On The Felt
- Teaching Poker Players How To Play Their Best
- The Study Habits Of Brock Wilson
- World Series Of Poker 2022 And Beyond
Brock Wilson’s Path To Professional Poker
In 2018, Brock Wilson seemingly had everything you could ask for as a young professional. Holding a prominent and secure job in New York City, the sky was the limit as the groundwork had been laid for a successful career in finance. For a young man in his 20’s, what more could he ask for? That “more” for Wilson was pursuing his dream of becoming a professional poker player.
Like many young poker players, Wilson looked up to legends of the game he aspired to emulate. “I always looked up to Phil Ivey,” Wilson said, “his stare and his aura and the feeling that he always knew what his opponent had – that is a level of dominance that I think I always aspire to. That feeling that whoever he played – he was always one step ahead.”
Even with the popularity of poker, it can be difficult to “find action” depending on where you live, especially in the United States. Many players discover poker through the comfort and security of home games amongst friends. If you want to play poker, sometimes you have to undertake the labor of love and organize your own games.
“I began playing when I was in early high school and would always organize poker games with friends,” Wilson recounted, “I was obsessed. I would read a bunch of poker books and watch all poker-related content on YouTube. In college I started playing more online and discovered training sites.”
Despite gradually building his bankroll and improving throughout college, upon graduation Wilson accepted an analyst position with Merrill Lynch in his home state of New York. After two years working in the financial sector, Wilson finally decided to bet on himself.
““I worked in finance for two years but ultimately decided to leave in mid-2018 to pursue my dream to play professionally.”
The career change turned out to be the right decision for Wilson, as in 2019 he would go on a two-month tournament tear totaling over $1,000,000 in winnings. Since then, Wilson has yet to look back as he is now a mainstay on the high roller circuit, having won the $10,000 buy-in event at last year’s Poker Masters.
Photo Courtesy of Card Player Magazine
Loving More Than The Big Pots Of Poker
Finding something you love often coincides with personal strengths and passions you seek to utilize. For Wilson, poker aligns with what he sees as his strongest attributes.
““My biggest strengths are probably my work ethic and passion for the game. I really enjoy the process of learning and improving and just find the game really, really interesting. I always want to know the ‘why’ and how I could have played it better.”
Having opportunities to show off his skills, Wilson still recognizes areas in his poker game where he can improve.
““My biggest weakness is probably my aversion to loss – I am not a huge gambler or risk taker and often am too nitty bankroll management wise. This may cost me over my career, but generally I just love the game and don’t want to take unnecessary risks and feel stress that might cause me to not play my best. I am hard on myself when I do not play my best.”
Even with his impressive career totals, Wilson’s affection for poker goes beyond fiscal gain. “I really like feeling like I am getting sharper at what I am doing as I spend so many hours playing – I do not want to look back and think I could have done more. I am focused heavily on just playing the best I can and like feeling the edge in hands I play. The feeling of being more prepared than my opponents and outsmarting them and the feeling of catching big bluffs and or making big bluffs is really rewarding.”
Brock Wilson On Facing PokerCoaching.com Coaches
An accomplished pro and one of poker’s young, rising stars, Wilson is excited to bring his knowledge and knowhow to the students of PokerCoaching.com.
“I like how PokerCoaching.com makes poker strategy very understandable for players of all backgrounds,” Wilson said, “it has a very inclusive environment that isn’t quite as intimidating.”
Wilson isn’t the only one excited about his talents being brought to the PokerCoaching team. Website founder and owner Jonathan Little is thrilled about the expertise Wilson will be able to provide PokerCoaching students.
“I have played with Brock a few times in high roller events and he is incredibly difficult to play against while at the same time having a kind presence at the table.” Little said. “He seems to make the right move, making it difficult, if not impossible, to know how to optimally combat him.”
While familiar with the resources found on PokerCoaching.com, Wilson has also developed a familiarity with his fellow coaches on the felt both live and virtual.
“I have played a lot with James Romero, Jon Jaffee, Faraz Jaka, and Matt Affleck in live poker and I have played Giraf a lot online. I experienced some very big hands early in my career versus Romero playing one of the my first $25,000 events in 2019. On the third hand he bet-bet-jammed and put me all-in with a busted straight-draw, which I called with top pair. It was a tough spot and a memorable pot.”
A fellow member of the PokerCoaching team, Justin Saliba is another coach Wilson looks at fondly. “I talk a lot of poker with Justin and respect him a lot – I had a fortunate big flip versus him with six left in a PokerGO Cup $15,000 event where I won holding A-Q offsuit facing 10-10 to take the chip lead.”
“I have played with Brock a few times in high roller events and he is incredibly difficult to play against while at the same time having a kind presence at the table. He seems to make the right move, making it difficult, if not impossible, to know how to optimally combat him.”
– Jonathan Little
Teaching Poker Players How To Play Their Best
Photo Courtesy of PokerGO
Long having an affection for coaching, Wilson looks forward to channeling his knowledge into lessons.
“I have always enjoyed teaching starting from when I was a teenager. I was a math tutor and a tennis instructor for all ages (including adults). I enjoy teaching poker a lot too because I often realize why I do certain things when I am forced to put it into words. I think it is a good way to make sure I have a really good reason why I am taking the actions take and I think that talking it out helps with that.”
Although having just recently joined PokerCoaching.com, Wilson has already accumulated hands-on poker coaching experience. “I have coached several students and really like having ongoing arrangements that have worked out nicely. I help people not only learn during sessions with me but I often try to teach what to look for and how to spot trends themselves so they can be more efficient with their own studying. There is no magic formula to becoming good at poker, but if students learn the process of how to analyze and review hands, they will see the most improvement they can.”
The Study Habits Of Brock Wilson
The best in the game make it a point to spend as much time studying as they do on the felt. While every professional poker player has their own study habits, Wilson has found specific strategies especially beneficial.
“Training videos have always been really beneficial to me as well the use of solvers,” Wilson explained, “they serve as a resource to not only see the best play in theory but also allow for students to ‘lock nodes’ and enter how they think their opponent will play their range and then get the result the solver says is the best exploit.”
Even with his love for solvers, Wilson doesn’t shy away from the classic note taking. “As simple as it is, I really like just watching hands I am not in and taking notes on opponents so if I play with them again, I can pull it up and remember if I saw a big hero call or a big bluff and get into their head.”
World Series Of Poker 2022 And Beyond
The 2022 World Series of Poker now being upon us, we wish Brock the best of luck as he pursues his first career bracelet and represents PokerCoaching.com. While the PokerCoaching.com collective is eager to see Wilson compete this summer, we look forward to having him work with our students and help them accomplish their own poker goals. If you see Brock on the felt this summer, be sure to welcome him to the PokerCoaching.com team.
