[Closed] Live Poker Story/Questions

One thing I will say is that don't be too worried about what people think of you at the table. Don't be afraid of making the same raises you would in an online game, just because you're afraid someone at the table might not like it. Make the decision that suits your game best, and the decision that will get you the most money in the end.

Also, don't let the dealers perception of you affect how much you bet. If you wanna bet 4x the BB, then do it, dealers are there to do the job they're paid for, and are bloody quick at it so im sure they don't mind anyway!

Being nervous when playing live for the first time is understandable, I felt the same way. Remember, the more often you go, the more comfortable you'll feel. Plus, casino live games are extremely fishy most of the time, particularly later on in the night, so it's fairly easy to make some extra cash. Well, this is assuming fishies don't suck out on you.

where did u read that stealing the blinds in live games in a no-no? any poker book i've read talks about stealing the blinds and there all about live play. you always loosen up in late postion and if u can steal the blinds u do. winning money is winning money, just cuz some donk doesn't like u attacking his blind doesn't mean u stop if hes gonna flop and let u take it every time.

i agree with the post above me as well about betting how you feel. if you wanna bet 4x i'd say go ahead. the dealer is just paid to do his job so doesn't really matter what he thinks.

Thanks for the responses!

I just read a website online that explains how to transition from online play to live Poker play. The site said that in order to keep the fish wanting to play against you, you need to convince them that you aren't a shark. They said keep the games friendly by not stealing blinds and pretend like you are playing for fun like they do.

Honestly I hate stealing blinds but in online poker you need to do it because they steal yours. If I play live poker and see people stealing my blinds then by all means I'll do the same, but I don't want to be the hated guy no one wants to play against.

Of course the rules differ based on the stakes. If you are playing $1/$2 then keep it friendly. If you are playing $10/$20 then show no mercy!

Nav

i guess thats true, if you stealing the blinds cause the fish to leave the game then i can see not attacking them.

tho i feel now adays stealing the blinds is pretty standard, and if ur playing with such fish that they don't know about blind steals i'm super jealous of you, and good luck in that game man, it sounds pretty nice.

The annoying thing about live poker that I have found is that these bet sizes mentioned are not only out of the ordinary for an opening raise, they are also not related to the size of the pot post-flop.

This is vastly different to on-line poker. Maybe because the pot size is shown on screen but live u have to add it up yersell. I think many 1/2 nl players don't do this.

Consequently it's more difficult to put them on a value bet/ block bet / oversized bet / hand based on your on-line experience.

Can anyone give me some tips on how to pick up reads? Do you have to focus more on their body language?

Because they are almost always loose fish (EDIT: maniacs), I've fond it easier to wait for a monster and let them hang themselves. Easy but not really a fun strategy, which is probably why you said that players on micro-stakes are better than 1/2 live players.

Can you use a smaller bankroll while playing live by making the assumption that you have higher bb/100h since you're concentrationg on just one table and you can pick up tells?

If yes how much?

it is very easy to calculate the pot on the flop:
just count how many players see the flop and do the math - for example: 3players * 10$(the raise preflop) =30$ (maybe 33$ with the blinds)
on the turn just remember the pot from the flop and add the bets

The ideea is to know what you will do before is your turn to act.

DaveWalliams, about the reads: yes body languege is very important. If you decide to learn it, you will see that it will save you from a lot of bad spots.
you will make more good calls and more good folds.
If you want to leard, read:
Mike Caro's book of poker tells
and
Phill helmuth presents read them and rape them (Joe Navarro)
and, of course, read anything about body languege in general.
I think some knowlege from NLP helps too

Live play is much more about feelings then the math.

Originally posted by andreibalint
Can you use a smaller bankroll while playing live by making the assumption that you have higher bb/100h since you're concentrationg on just one table and you can pick up tells?
If yes how much?

I think you can.
I use something around 10 buyins(for MTT/SnG) but I am allways close to loose all my br in a few nights.
For cash games I use a diffrent approach. you can say I have a br of 10 buyins but I have just for 2-3(max4) nights. If I loose 3-4 nights in a row I am ciau ciau.
My BRM is very unhealty, I will change it soon.

Originally posted by Navrark
As well I have read online that in live Poker, stealing Blinds is a no-no, because you want to keep the game friendly.