gg Bluefire poker

I posted this on my blog, but it was moved. My attempts to get it re-posted haven't worked, so I'm posting it here, as I want to make sure my message gets read. I don't have anywhere else to post. I hope this will be okay, Mods:

Hey Guys,

Where do I start? I guess there actually aren't that many options… I'll start with the point of this post, and go from there:

As of today, Bluefirepoker.com and I are parting ways. It’s very hard to walk away from something I helped build from the ground up, but the most difficult aspect of this is the fact that I’ll miss the community… the members and my fellow coaches. Please know that it was a very difficult decision that I struggled with for a long, long time. I'm sorry that I can't elaborate further.

Thank you to the coaches who joined our team, especially the small group who started the journey with me: Jason, Giggy, Niman, and Don. I’m extremely proud of the videos we’ve put out as a team over the last three years.

For the members who tuned in every week for my videos, thank you. I hope that I was able to improve your game as much as I tried to over the course of your membership. I’ve really enjoyed sharing my ideas with you, and I always have tried very hard to make sure you get something out of it.

I believe that the best way to teach and learn is through ideas, the thought process, and constantly questioning yourself… not through absolute statements. I made it a goal to fully share the way I think about the game, which includes uncertainty, but initially, I was scared about how that would be received:
“I thought Phil was supposed to be teaching us. Why is he unsure of the best play half the time?”

I started off trying to seem less uncertain, but my constant questioning of myself still leaked through. Once I saw how well you responded to it, I felt very safe to teach the way that I felt was best: Openly sharing my ideas, my thought process, my mistakes.

I guess my (long-winded) point is, the members here have helped me become a better coach, and as a result, a better player. So, thank you. Thank you for all of the comments, critiques, and questions on my videos and blog posts. I genuinely enjoy teaching poker, and the feedback from members makes it so much more rewarding for me. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate those of you who gave feedback regularly.

As you guys know, I’ve always tried to teach ways to think about the game, rather than just tips or tricks. If I succeeded, I hope you’ll be able to take those tools and continue progressing. You’ll just need to find someone else to continually repeat how he doesn’t understand his HUD and tell you to “take care” every week.

For the members, I'll be making four more videos, and then saying my final goodbye. I'd like to try and customize these last four as much as possible for you guys, so please tell me exactly what you’d like to see or hear me talk about.

I’ll be discontinuing my blog here after this post. I don’t know if I’ll continue blogging somewhere, but for now you can follow me at http://twitter.com/philgalfond. I’ll work a little harder to keep it updated.

I guess then, this is goodbye.

Good luck, and take care, guys.

-Phil

Well, it seems as if Bluefire is ending today or in the near future. Seems as appropriate a time as any to share a story from the beginning of the site. Phil Galfond was the lead instructor, but not involved in any of the details I'm about to share. Right after launch, there was a buzz about BFP. The site seemed like a big success and myself and the other Bluefire pros felt we were underpaid. We decided to have a skype group and discuss if we wanted to go to managment and re-negotiate our contracts. Niman, in particular, was very convincing when he told us our value and how underpaid we were. He suggested we re-negotiate and all take the same % as one another, a significant increase for all involved. Niman instructed us that we don't talk to the owner directly, rather, we'd talk to him as a group.

After sending out an e-mail to management about our raise, no one talked to the owner alone. That is, everyone but Niman Kenkre. He was playing both sides, orchestrating our union and talking to the owner behind our backs. At one point, he even asked, "What's Martin getting? We don't need him. Give me my original contract and whatever you're giving Martin and I'll sign right now". Giggy is really cool, so I'm glad this didn't happen. He then let the owner know that he could break up the group, if he give in to his demands. They came to an agreement. Niman then came to the group, letting us know that it was unlikely that we were getting a raise and we should all back off. The union disbanded.

Needless to say, I felt very betrayed.

Don Nguyen
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