07 Feb 2024 Italian poker pro and coach Francesco Campioni (also founder of XShove) answers 5 basic questions from Getcoach about his poker career, coaching goals and regular life. 1. How long ago did you learn about poker and how did you become a professional? I learned about Poker in 2010, watching it for the first time in a TV Show and in the same period I started playing for fun with friends. Having a decent success in those private games - without any effort or study - I guessed Poker was a game for which I was naturally talented. I then started taking the game more seriously with books, courses and coaching. Few months later I was already paying my university fees with money won at the tables and in 2012 I chose to pursue a full-time career. In 2016 I moved to Germany in order to be able to play .com (it is not allowed in Italy) and climbed all the Zoom stakes on Stars. In 2020, just turned 30, I chose to quit a full time career to create my own Poker School and move back to Italy. Nowadays I still play Poker and study on a daily basis with the most modern tools, since my passion for the game is unchanged and I need to stay up to date for my Poker business. 2. How long have you been coaching and what motivated you to start your coaching journey? I started coaching in 2013, mainly to differentiate my days and sources of income. A big factor in making that decision was also the fact that Poker may be a quite lonely journey and I didn’t mind adding some Social Interactions in it. I’m often told that I’m good at explaining, so coaching seemed a good fit. 3. Where do you live and what do you usually do besides poker? I currently live in Italy and as of now I manage one of the biggest Poker Schools in the country (XShove) and am a Partner in a small Digital Marketing agency. 4. In your opinion, what are 3 main things that people who want to grow as professional poker players should learn? Self Discipline Mindfulness, meant as the ability of focusing in the present moment only, without being worried for the future or blaming choices made in the past. Money and bankroll management. 5. What are your coaching and general poker goals? Even though I do not consider myself a full-time professional poker player anymore, I still plan to play and improve for a long time to come and I’d like one day to have the bankroll to play some nosebleed tables. Maybe earned from multiple sources of income, which is probably the only way to play those stakes comfortably 😀 . As a coach I plan to keep developing my Poker School and the game of my 1-on-1 students the best I can. I don’t plan to have huge numbers of clients, but rather a truly motivated few, who are also very stimulating to help.