Site Layout
The initial view of the home page for a non-member is straight-forward. A welcome message describing the site is front and center, with a membership package list below. To the right is a list of every video category (along with the number of videos contained in each) and a rotating banner showing each resident pro. At the top of the page are the basic site navigation tabs.
One major flaw of the site is that the pricing plans are not described fully. Yes, the membership package chart shows the differences between the basic and premium memberships, as well as the monthly costs, but there is an asterisk next to the price of the premium package which is never explained. Our guess is that it has something to do with indicating that there is an initial signup fee. Additionally, prospective customers can signup for the basic package for free, but again, nowhere on the signup page does it give any information as to further costs for the premium package.
There is also no information provided about the instructors, beyond the one or two sentences on the rotating banner.
Instructors
Nick “Stoxtrader” Grudzien – the site’s founder and namesake and author of Winning in Tough Hold'em Games. The former institutional trader is one of the most successful hold’em players in online poker history.
Matt Matros -- wrote The Making of a Poker Player and placed third in the 2004 WPT Championship.
Ed Miller – one of the most respected poker writers around, he has written four books and four poker DVD’s. He specializes in helping amateurs improve their games.
Robert Williamson III – known as “Mr. Omaha” for obvious reasons, Williamson won a WSOP bracelet in (you guessed it) Pot-Limit Omaha in 2002.
There are several other instructors on the StoxPoker staff who are all very good at what they do.
Videos
The videos are the bread and butter of StoxPoker.com and are second-to-none. Both video and audio are of high quality. Most cover short-handed hold’em cash games (both limit and no-limit), although there are full ring and heads-up videos in the mix, as well. Other games such as stud and Omaha are not represented well, but the addition of Williamson will certainly remedy that to an extent. Tournaments, of both the multi-table and sit-and-go formats, are included, as well.
It is quite easy to find what you are looking for, as the videos are well organized.
Articles
There are no “articles” per se, but the instructors all have blogs in which they post pretty much whatever they would like. Much of the content revolves around how their poker games are faring, which does include some insight and instruction. Many of the instructors also discuss what is going on in their personal lives, which makes StoxPoker.com feel a bit more personal than some other poker training sites. There is not much organization to the blogs – you just have to keep flipping through the pages to read more entries. They could use indexes here to make navigation quicker (note: there are links for each instructor’s blog at the bottom of the blog page, just no real way to navigate throughout each instructor’s section).
Other
StoxPoker members can post blogs and videos for the community to see. Additionally, StoxPoker has a solid message forum where people can discuss the site, poker, or whatever else they would like. There are special sections for specific video discussions and blog conversations, as well. The traffic on the forum isn’t astounding, but the management recently made it accessible to all site visitors, rather than just paid members, so that should help.
*Sign up today for your free subscription to StoxPoker in our Free Gifts section or purchase it in our PSO Store.
