Fernando “JNandez” Habegger, player and poker coach, has pulled out of a scheduled heads up match against high stakes poker pro and Run It Once Poker founder Phil Galfond.
JNandez answers member questions and shares his thoughts on various poker topics like timing tells, PLO tournaments, playing vs 3bets, deviating from GTO play postflop vs different types of opponents, taking shots and some hands. Recent Discussions. Newbie in a classic spot (I think): What am I suppose to do on turn with top set; OOP Puzzle; Rakeback on GG; Plo Mastermind: my fastlane. Jnandez: april 2020 updated plo mastermind by jnandez (699 videos + charts+huds+filters+etc) ð ¹ jnandez 10-week plo transformation jnandez 6 max jnandez 5 card plo jnandez heads up king jnandez in the lab jnandez live plo jnandez plays & explains jnandez quick lessons jnandez shortstack bootcamp jnandez tournament strategy jnandez q&a. I'm a professional poker player. I spent the last 10 years and over 20'000 hours learning playing and teaching the game. Poker has given me the opportunity to live my dream. Now it's time to give.
Details on the challenge were posted by Galfond earlier this month.
Since people are asking, here are the rough terms for my #GalfondChallenge against VeniVidi1993.
They aren’t extre… https://t.co/CfMVwT753j— Phil Galfond (@PhilGalfond) December 15, 2019
Now that JNandez has pulled out, there will be no poker coaches taking part in the challenge.
Unfortunately, we’re back to zero coaches competing in the #GalfondChallenge. Perhaps this is a good time to mentio… https://t.co/LWfPIulpzq— Phil Galfond (@PhilGalfond) December 18, 2019
JNandez posted his rationale for pulling out of the challenge on Twitter.
Update on the @PhilGalfond HU Challenge https://t.co/F2pBenfsq9— JNandez (@JNandezPoker) December 17, 2019
...despite posting this just a few hours before.
Going live on Twitch for some POT LIMIT OMAHA CASH + announcing the winner of this weeks sickest hand promo and dra… https://t.co/Dx017lmESU— JNandez (@JNandezPoker) December 17, 2019
lol https://t.co/HIvjuzxKO6— Doug Polk (@DougPolkPoker) December 18, 2019
Doug Polk wasted no time wading in with his thoughts (I am expecting a YouTube video anytime now). For those of you who missed it, Polk and JNandez worked together on Polk’s Upswing Poker training site, and then acrimoniously parted ways in July of last year.
Published a video about my relationship with Doug Polk, Joey Ingram and Upswing Poker https://t.co/8EalzvRdcN . A 2… https://t.co/RQe39v1Hic— JNandez (@JNandezPoker) July 22, 2018
Check out Polk’s response to JNandez leaving Upswing below.
There will be no real winner coming out of the Doug Polk and Fernando ‘JNandez87’ Habegger feud on YouTube this week.
The reputations of both Polk and Habegger will undoubtedly be tarnished by the various allegations.
Jnandez
Publicly airing his dirty laundry regarding one of poker’s most popular content creators could serve to raise Habegger’s significantly smaller social media profile. His motivation may even be just that. He could very well be leveraging Polk’s immense following to sell a few more subscriptions for his JNandez Poker PLO Mastermind course.
But ultimately, going public with allegations that Polk’s Upswing Poker fudged revenue numbers to keep from paying him his fair share won’t do it. Instead, it will damage the image of poker coaching and the poker training business in general — something that is much more likely to hurt sales over the long haul.
A truth about the business of poker training
The truth is, Habegger’s allegations, and Polk’s defense against them, unveil a truth about the business of poker training neither side really wants the public to know. Which is that poker training is a business, first and foremost.
Those in the business of teaching others poker strategy want it to look like their sole motivation is helping people get better at playing the game. When in fact, what’s really driving them is the almighty buck.
Habegger claims Upswing owes him close to $100,000 for the course he ultimately quit on. Polk revealed financials showing the short-lived course did close to $1 million in sales. Plus, that Habegger has already been paid out over $200,000 in accordance with the revenue share agreement between the two.
Unfortunately, both only serve to show just how big of a business poker training has become. Plus, they completely dispel the myth either side are in it for anything more than money.
Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach
Jnandez Plo
The old idiom those who can, do; those who can’t, teach, doesn’t really apply here. In poker, it’s those who have done can now trade in on their hard-earned success for the kind of stable income a skill game with a significant element of luck can never provide.
People might think these poker players turned coaches were born to teach. That they want to share what they’ve learned playing the game out of the goodness of their hearts. Think again.
This description might fit the average high school English teacher making $58,000 a year. But it doesn’t match gamblers who exploit edges for a living. Nor those who leverage the success they’ve had into a seven-figure revenue stream teaching.
The knock on coaches and training sites inside pro poker circles has always been that making people better at poker is tantamount to killing the long term viability of poker as a profession. Or at least its profitability. Of course, poker pros who say this publicly are criticized for being selfish.
The pot calling the kettle black
This Polk-Habegger feud makes that criticism seem a little like the pot calling the kettle black.
Jnandez Twitter
The content on Upswing Poker, Habegger’s PLO Mastermind course, and many other training sites will likely help you improve your game. It might even be worth the hundreds or thousands of dollars you’ll ultimately pay for it.
Just don’t be fooled into thinking the people behind it are in it for anything more than that. Instead, allow this very public feud over money to serve as an indication of what most coaches and training sites are really about.