PTP Q&A with Nick ‘Stoxtrader’ Grudzien
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Nick Grudzien is known by a pretty broad swath of the online poker community, even if more casual players might not know him by name. Whether it’s via his high-limit winning, his founding of the online poker training site Stox Poker, or as an author of a wildly successful 2+2 book, it’s a sure bet that if you don’t know who Nick is, you’re certainly playing a game that’s been heavily influenced by the things he’s done.
Read our review of Stox Poker.
PartTimePoker had a chance to pick Nick’s brain about poker and specifically the direction that Stox is heading in as the poker trainer market starts to get more and more crowded.
PTP: Stox was one of the earliest entrants into the online poker training arena. Now there are literally dozens of sites with a similar model. When you started Stox, did you have any idea that the market would expand so broadly so rapidly?
Initially we knew we had a very good teaching medium. The videos are just such a great way for people to learn and they were received very well right from the get-go. We knew the market was going to be big we just didnt know it would be this big!
PTP: As more sites enter the market (and arguably compete for fewer players), it seems like the top sites are really working to differentiate themselves from the pack. I know that Stox is undertaking some big changes - talk a little bit about the direction the site is heading in and what’s motivating the changes.
Stoxpoker always has and always will pride itself on finding instructors with a passion for TEACHING the game. Among our coaches we have authored or co-authored 8 books. This is not to say that our instructors don’t play well either - our top for cash game pros made over 5 million USD combined in 2007! Our content continues to be cutting edge - we have traditional table play videos, “classroom” style videos using software programs like pokertracker and pokerstove, and lecture style presentations using powerpoint. We also are rolling out a stoxpoker university series that will be a guided curriculum covering the entire process of becoming proficient at a particular game, sort of a “poker university” if you will with our instructors as professors and our customers as students.
PTP: How do you feel about the argument that sites like Stox are making the games more difficult, which ultimately may result in the shrinking of the online poker market as a whole?
This argument has been present from the dawn of time for any teaching tool. Online poker has proved very resilient over the past 5 years and we expect this to continue. People all around the world love this great game and I don’t see that changing.
PTP: Winning in Tough Holdem Games is recognized by most as the definitive book on modern limit games, especially when it comes to shorthanded play. Was it a natural decision for you to co-author that book or a tough one? How do you feel about that decision now that we’re a couple years out from the publishing of the book?
Co-authoring was an easy choice for me. Geoff herzog writes exceptionally well, and it was a natural fit for him to refine all of the prose and for me to be the “concepts” guy. If I do a book on NLHE in the future it will likely be using a similar arrangement. We had a great experience working on WITHG, but it is hard work! It does warm my heart to see how often experienced players refer to some of the concepts or sections outlined in the book.
PTP: Any plans for a follow-up text?
For now, stoxpoker is just taking up so much of my time that I haven’t had a chance to work on a book. We have tossed around the possiblity for a NLHE book, but that ia far off, if at all.
PTP: With writing and working on Stox, how much time do you actually find for poker these days? Do you ever regret the decision to split your focus between instruction and play?
Stoxpoker has been extremely rewarding, but from a financial standpoint is almost certainly a bad choice. My playing hours have been cut significantly, but I still am able to find 15-20 hours a week to grind it out at the tables. I haven’t regretted the decision yetT
PTP: If you could go back and change any one thing about the development of Stox, what would it be?
I would have expanded our coaching roster sooner. In 2007 we added over 10 coaches, including Bryce Paradis aka freedom25 (top LHE HU player with 2.7MM in earnings for 2007), dusty schmidt aka leatherass (Top NLHE player with approx 1MM in earnings for 2007, with 1.5MM hands played and pokerstars supernove elite ranking after just starting his quest in april), Ed miller (author or co-author of 4 poker books), Robert Williamson, Kyle Hendon, Dr. Razz, Matt Matros (author of the making of a poker player). The team we have assembled is just amazing and I wish I had started with them. We ar making up for lost time now though as we are releasing over 1 video per day and made over 80 in january and february of 2008.
PTP: Players have a wide variety of choices when it comes to online training services, and most probably have a limited budget. What is it about Stox uniquely that should motivate players to choose it over a competing site?
The extraordinary commitment to teaching from our instructors - they are phenomenal communicators and great players as well. We also have built an amazing sense of community and I daresay that our poker and other forums are among the most cordial and active on the net! We also have a 7 day money back guarantee for anyone wanting to test out or service but unsure about making the commitment.
