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LearnWPT Adds Stone and Gagliano as Instructors

Written by Jennifer Newell
Last updated on
LearnWPT

The World Poker Tour first launched LearnWPT in 2016. The poker education resource anticipated a range of users, most at the level of experienced player but looking to take their games to a level beyond basic strategy. Even so, it offered a range of instruction, starting at the beginner level.

Nick Binger was the first trainer on the site and the only one for a while. He brought a more personal level of training to LearnWPT, with everything from play analysis of hands played on the World Poker Tour to “ask a pro” videos that answered direct questions from students.

As 2021 got underway, the site offered nine experienced poker pros on its list of instructors. And within the past few weeks, LearnWPT added two names very familiar to the New Jersey poker scene: Michael Gagliano and Katie Stone.

Nine Instructors in Early 2021

Binger has remained with LearnWPT through the years, teaching in the role of the site’s lead instructor. His experience as a tournament player and in cash games enabled him to teach from a place of broad understanding of the intricacies of the game. And Binger has been teaching poker in various roles for more than a dozen years.

Andrew Lichtenberger, also known in the early online poker days as LuckyChewy, joined Binger in the endeavor years ago. And it only made sense that World Poker Tour commentator and champion Tony Dunst joined the team as well.

Vanessa Selbst is not only the highest-earning female poker player in the world, she played in some of the biggest tournaments as a member of Team PokerStars for a number of years. While she no longer plays poker full-time, she remains immersed in the game as an instructor.

LearnWPT added Eric Lynch to the team, a longtime online and live pro, known during the poker boom as Rizen. And Jared Tendler became the mental game coach for the site. Author of two wildly popular books about the mental game of poker and a trained counselor, he has been advising poker players since 2005. And Jeff Gross is not only an engaging poker streamer, he serves as a commentator for ClubWPT action.

Two other additions to the roster were Danielle Anderson and Chris Wallace. Anderson is a full-time cash game poker pro in Las Vegas, and “Fox” Wallace is a poker coach with years of experience in mixed game instruction.

New Jersey Pros Join the Team

At the end of May, LearnWPT welcomed Michael “Gags30” Gagliano to the lineup of instructors. While he has been a poker pro for more than 15 years, his name has become more recently synonymous with online poker success in the small-but-important New Jersey market.

With more than $6M in live and online tournament earnings in his dozen-plus years in the game, Gagliano specialized in MTTs and SNGs. However, he is also now a cash game player and able to jump around in stakes in cash and tournament action.

Just days ago, LearnWPT officially joined forces with Katie Stone, another poker pro with experience as a pro that dates back to the early days of the poker boom. She also lives in New Jersey (most of the time) and plays live and online, focusing on multi-table tournaments.

With a background in competitive chess, Stone is a natural competitor. More than that, she has long been an advocate for women in chess and poker, urging diversity and inclusivity at every turn.

Both Gagliano and Stone also serve as members of Team Pro for the partypoker US Network, focusing primarily on New Jersey poker at this time.

 

 

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