Join the tournament poker community for part-time players with full-time lives
Learn the strategies to optimise your study time and boost your ROI around your day job.
Jake E.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Gareth has developed a community of kind, thoughtful, like-minded individuals who value developing their game and supporting each other.
Kevin M.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Academy has been an incredible experience, providing me with invaluable skills that have truly enhanced my poker game. Not only have I gained knowledge and expertise, but I've also become part of a supportive and inspiring community.
Declan M.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Academy has been invaluable to my progression as a poker player. I have 10xd my average buy-in and have the confidence now to compete and excel at mid stakes.
Kevin C.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The community is what makes MTT Poker Academy unique. It's like-minded people all coming together and up-skilling collectively.
MTT Poker Academy
Overview
Private member forum
Surround yourself with like-minded poker players from the outset in our private community forum.
Interactive coaching sessions
Regular live and interactive coaching sessions with Gareth through Hot Seat Coaching and Office Hours.
All courses & workshops
Immediate, full access to all past (and future) courses and workshops.
Exclusive discounts on software
Discover the tools you need to optimise your learning, and get a discount too.
Find your next study partner
Make your study time more efficient by collaborating with other members.
Small by design
Know you're going to get the help, support and feedback you need, when you need it.
A ready-made peer group waiting for you
Nothing creates more positive energy, momentum and rapid results than surrounding yourself with other like-minded poker players who share your commitment to becoming the best poker player you can be.
You’ll have around-the-clock access to an international group of peers in our private community to provide and receive feedback on your hands, strategies, systems and practices.
Inside The Academy is a group of part-time poker players working together and pushing each other to get better every single day.
If you're a part-time poker player with a full-time life, MTT Poker Academy was made especially for you.
"Having someone to guide me through step-by-step was the main thing for me."
Ed, Academy member & Bootcamp attendee
My Mission
Boost your ROI
I want this to be the best investment you ever make in your poker career.
By improving your ROI, you can play higher stakes, test yourself against better players and achieve the poker goals you've always dreamed of.
The Academy will help you boost your ROI and make more money playing tournament poker.
Optimised learning
Everyone inside The Academy has a full-time life outside.
You'll benefit from weekly sessions that include hot seat coaching, group study sessions and Q&As to speed up your poker study.
By attending as much as you can, you'll significantly reduce the time you actually need to spend studying.
Make new friends
Almost all of the top poker players in the world came up alongside a group.
This is your chance to join a group of poker players in the same situation as you, playing part-time and wanting to get better in the time they have around their daily life.
Collaboration with other members makes this possible.
"Gareth will really help you uncover the weaknesses you didn't know you had."
Rod, Academy member & Bootcamp attendee
Why I created The Academy
Hey, Gareth here...
At the end of 2018, a group of friends and I were lucky enough to get coached and staked by high stakes MTT end-boss Patrick Leonard aka 'Pads1161' after a chance encounter on Twitch.
At the start of the agreement we all thought we were pretty decent MTT players... but Pads had other ideas.
We had no structure to our study and in his words, "None of you are close to getting close, to getting close to your potentials."
He summed up our weaknesses as:
Poor strategy
Lack of consistency
Under-utilising our community
When the agreement ended I knew I wanted to create something for part-time poker players so they could learn strategy in a way that was easy to absorb, be consistent with their study and practice and make the most of a great community.
I wanted to give part-time players the same chance that Pads gave us.
So when I returned from the WSOP in 2019 MTT Poker Academy was born.
It was called MTT Game Changer back then and it has evolved over the years into the great community and coaching programme that we have today.
"Be part of a community of people spurring each other on."
Trevor, Academy member & Bootcamp attendee
Looking for a shortcut to poker glory?
How about the top 5 things you can memorise to ensure a win in your next session?
Newsflash: that type of content is not learning nor will it result in measurable improvement in your abilities.
There are no shortcuts at MTT Poker Academy.
Instead, you'll get true coaching that includes help to identify reasonable and measurable poker goals and support in mapping a study strategy within the time constraints you have off the felt.Gareth James brings his experience as a professional educator to guide player development with proven learning methodologies.
He is an expert on modern poker theory and will open up a world of possibilities by challenging you on what makes a correct play. In other words, Gareth doesn't coach as a side hustle. He is committed to coaching as a discipline and personal practice unto itself. He not only brings accountability to your poker study; he also becomes personally invested in your improvement and success.
If you are looking for a coach who will match or exceed your own commitment to your poker success, then I wholeheartedly recommend Gareth James for the job!
- Paul, Academy member
"In the first few weeks, I learnt so much about what I needed to change."
Elliott, Academy member and Bootcamp attendee
How MTT Poker Academy works
Great feedback loops
High-quality feedback from me and the other members
Use our private community to post hands, ask questions and receive high-quality feedback from me and the other members that:
Builds confidence
Encourages learning
Provides perspective
Improves performance
Fosters a learning culture
Promotes growth & improvement
Accountability & reflection
Share your goals each month
Consistent goal setting and reflection helps you identify what’s working, what’s not and where you need to make changes. Use this space to share your goals at the beginning of the month and your lessons at the end.
At the start of the month, tell us your goals.
At the end of the month, tell us about:
What went well
What you're struggling with
Changes you’re making
Goals for the next month
Effective collaboration
Find your next study partner
The members are the heartbeat of the community. Accelerate your learning, sharpen your strategies and improve your decision making by teaming up with other members.
Discuss hands, share insights and compare strategies with other like-minded players.
Surround yourself with members who will help you handle the mental challenge of poker.
Working with others builds a community of shared growth where everyone learns faster and improves together.
Live support every week
Weekly coaching, study and Q&A sessions
Attend live, interactive sessions with me and the other members through hot seat coaching, study sessions and Q&As.
Interactive coaching sessions are one of the most efficient ways to improve your poker game because they provide real-time feedback, personalised guidance, and hands-on learning.
Unlike passive study methods, interactive coaching allows you to engage directly with me, ask questions and get immediate responses tailored to you. This focused approach helps you quickly identify and plug your leaks and refine your strategies.
Self-paced training
Instant access to all of my courses and guest workshops
Get immediate access to all of the current (and future) courses and guest workshops, including:
MTT Game Changer, my entire tournament poker course
PKO Gameplan by dawhiteninja
Accelerated Goal Achievement by Dr Tricia Cardner
An entire vault of videos covering theory, play & explains and hand history reviews
"The members of the group have been fantastic. There's been a lot of support—not just from Gareth, but from the whole community. "
Andy, Academy member & Bootcamp attendee
What students are saying
Lee W.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The biggest eye opener for me was that I was overall just playing too tight. The leak finder showed me to be not opening enough, playing too passively in the BB vs late position opens and not Cbetting the flop enough. I believe trying to remedy these 3 things are what have increased my BB/100 overall from 3.83bb/100 over 128k hands before to 7.79bb over the next 116k hands.
David G.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
If you are serious about improving your understanding of the fundamentals of this game and want the building blocks to take it to the next level this is the place to be. Gareth has a big heart and is a very genuine person. He will bend over backwards to work with you as long as you are truly willing to put in the work.
Ben F.
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It's great to be part of a group who are supportive and keen to improve their own games.
Gary M.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Great coaching, content and community of players who are constantly responding to or posting questions.
Paul G.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The community here is great, it's fantastic. Everybody's here to help you get better and better.
Choose your plan
MONTHLY MEMBERSHIP
£99 per month
🂡 Access to all courses (£1,500 value)
🂡 Access to all workshops & recordings (£900 value)
🂡 Hot seats and live coaching with Gareth
🂡 Members-only community forum
ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP
£990 per year
🂡 Access to all courses (£1,500 value)
🂡 Access to all workshops & recordings (£900 value)
🂡 Hot seats and live coaching with Gareth
🂡 Members-only community forum
🂡 Welcome gift
🂡 Save £££
"You need to have a community of people behind you... it just makes the whole journey better."
Dan, Academy member & Bootcamp attendee
About Gareth James (that's me!) 👋
I'm a tournament poker coach for part-time players
I started coaching MTTs in 2012 after making videos for a micro/low stakes membership site called 'Grinderschool'. I went on to make videos for Red Chip Poker before deciding I wanted to start my own site and community.
Then MTT Poker School was born.
To date I've helped 300+ students develop their tournament poker game by focusing on identifying leaks, programming their training to fix those leaks and then optimising their study habits and routines around their daily lives.
I'm a SCOOP champion, qualified teacher and published author of two books, 'Purposeful Practice for Poker' and 'The Final Table'.
In 2023 my wife gave birth to our first child, and since then I've juggled running a poker training company, playing poker and looking after my family... so I know what that's like and why it's so important to optimise your study and training and make them as efficient as possible.
I'm excited to start working with you.