"I'd say it was money well spent," Childs said of the tuition. "I knew how to play poker going in, but hearing these professionals teach discipline got me out of a bunch of hands in the tournament that I probably would have played if I hadn't just been reminded to stay away from them."
The curriculums at the schools are similar. Every day starts with a keynote speaker - a poker professional, in most cases, but sometimes an expert on statistics or gambling strategy.
At the World Series of Poker Academy in July, Joe Navarro, a former special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, spoke about reading body language. (One of Navarro's classic tips: When a player has a good hand, he usually looks down at his chips.)
Around lunchtime, students at both schools hit the tables for live demonstrations. These sessions are just like cash action in a poker room, except that the dealers at each table are professional poker players - like Seif, Greg Raymer, Linda Johnson, Clonie Gowan, Scott Fischman and others.
The pros serve as instructors and ask students to play hands the way they would in a regular game. Instead of having students surrender (or "muck") hands when they fold, however, the pros ask the players to move their cards to the edge of the table until the hand is done.
Finally, when someone wins, all the students show their cards, and the professionals deconstruct the hands, asking each student to explain his or her decision-making. They also review how body language unintentionally reflected strategy to opponents. Then the instructors offer their opinions - however critical they might be.
After a catered dinner, each day concludes with a tournament in which students put their new skills to the test. Prizes vary by school, but usually involve a free seat to a future tournament. In some cases, the cash value of these seats exceeds US$5,000.
Of course, success at poker schools doesn't automatically translate into success in live games. Steve Berman, vice president of the World Poker Tour Boot Camp, said that in poker, as in other sports, practice makes perfect.
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