Joined: Jan '11
Location: United States
Age: 60 (M)
Posts: 3361
Well, I'm headed out on the 23rd of February to play live at little pub where all the veterans hang to see how much the online games has helped my live play. I know it's totally different and there's probably not near the donkin or bad beats as seen online.
Just wondering if any of you Mobsters been playing any live games and if so, do you have any advice for someone who's not to experienced at the live giigs?
Most of you senior Mobsters helped me become a fair online player so any advice is deeply appreciated. God day all!
Joined: May '11
Location: Canada
Age: 34 (M)
Posts: 979
i think usually the play in live poker is much worse, people play more hands because hands take longer but if u stick to a steady gameplan you'll do well, bets are usually bigger in live games too youll see lots of pot size bets, tons of draws and lots of people callin with middle pairs, just play tight and aggressive and youll fair well
Joined: May '12
Location: United States
Age: 39 (M)
Posts: 156
i played a live game in november of last year $55 buy-in finished 13th out of 72 ppl didnt make the cash 5 places paid i stuck to a tight game but folded some hands i should of played but went against my gut feeling anf folded so my advise would be to trust your gut but still play smart and there were still some donks or new-b's that were playing on pocket change that didnt care the outcome so b careful of the rich lol lol gl on your game may u b blessed with high pocket pairs lol
Joined: May '12
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 38 (M)
Posts: 2064
Hey mohave - long time no see
I agree with Jibberish that the play in live games tends to be worse than online. It attracts a lot more casual players than online. I suppose, anyone can go to a pub and stump up a few bucks for a bit of fun, but to deposit money onto an online site, you've gotta be somewhat into it at least.
As for advice... There are LOADS of ways you can garner information in live games that you can't do online. The trick is using these to your advantage, and not being taken advantage of. Pay special attention to bet sizing. Online it's easy to work out what % of the pot someone has bet - in live, it's much more tricky. Try and keep an idea of the size of the pot at all times to help you calculate odds more accurately. If you can have a good idea of the size of the pot, without APPEARING to know - ie, betting relatively quickly... not obviously counting down the pot - people will assume you are paying it no attention. Keeping tabs on this better than anyone else at the table will give you a huge advantage. Other than that.. just stay solid, and play good poker - simple
Joined: Nov '12
Location: Canada
Age: 55 (M)
Posts: 4675
G'day mate
Try to remember that live play is much slower then online play. This means people often will play more mid-range hands which should really be folded preflop. They do this because they are getting bored with folding so much and just want to be in a hand to have a little more fun. I recommend you play a tight but aggressive ABC style of poker and if you can maintain your discipline you should do very well.
Joined: Apr '09
Location: Australia
Age: 40 (M)
Posts: 6483
Posted by Greenmohave: Just wondering if any of you Mobsters been playing any live games and if so, do you have any advice for someone who's not to experienced at the live giigs?
Yeah, the main thing to keep in mind when going from online to live is: Don't masturbate to weird porn between hands. It's frowned upon in the live scene, some places will even IP-ba.. uh..venue-ban you for it.
Joined: Nov '12
Location: Canada
Age: 55 (M)
Posts: 4675
Posted by jessthehuman:
Posted by Greenmohave: Just wondering if any of you Mobsters been playing any live games and if so, do you have any advice for someone who's not to experienced at the live giigs?
Yeah, the main thing to keep in mind when going from online to live is: Don't masturbate to weird porn between hands. It's frowned upon in the live scene, some places will even IP-ba.. uh..venue-ban you for it.
LOL G'day Jess
Dude that was a very funny post. I do not think it was really much help to him, but it was very funny. Be cool and best of luck as always.
Joined: Jan '11
Location: United States
Age: 42 (M)
Posts: 852
I play a lot of live poker & the games can be much looser & in my experience most of the time much tighter. Depending on what you are playing live(tournament, or cash) really makes all the difference in how you should play. When it comes to tournies, I like to play a very tight solid game at the lower blind levels, & steadily open up my game as the blinds rise. Now a cash game I ussually like to play very tight for the first hour or so just to get a feel for the table. I like to observe, see who's playing too many hands, who is knitting it up folding a lot. Once I have a feel for the table I try to take advantage of the information I have collected. Its very important to kow which players are like ly to call you & which are not. There are two questions you should always ask yourslf when making a bet. 1) Will this bet get a worse hand to call? or 2) Will this bet make a better hand fold? If your bets are not accomplishing one of these two things then you are not making the right bets. Hope this helps Green.
Joined: Apr '11
Location: Romania
Age: 35 (M)
Posts: 6669
The first time when i played on real money live was in this winter in a home game
The difference is huge compared to online, i mean you play a lot less hands so i think knowing the people you play and their style it's more important than the cards you hold in your hand.
Joined: Feb '11
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 59 (M)
Posts: 5712
GREEN...good luck with your side step into the real,world. It's a whole different ball game. Learn to read your opponents and use what ever information you gather and also play super tight to start and loosen ûp as thenblinds catch up with your stack or progress.
Joined: Jan '11
Location: United States
Age: 60 (M)
Posts: 3361
Thanks for the advice Mobsters and I like to think I'm a tightplayer, but as most stated live is considerably different.
I'll attempt to do my best at what jibberish, blazed, you85 and Ronin said about players playing their middle hands or getting bored and wanting to get in to have some fun. I'll watch the betsizing you85 and have to realize there are going to be less hands like Macubaas stated.
As for jess's comment I'll probably have to donk one of the waitresses since they're usually p[retty and friendly so no jerkin for me.
hoodi, I remember you always playing alot of live games and posting as you seemed to fair well. The advice will be taken.
And hopefully I last long enough to get some reads on some of the players as damosk stated.
I haven't played live in so long I feel like a kid waiting to go to a funpark or get my first girl. I guess that's not necessary, but I must say I'm stoked about getting to play live. Again thanks all and the best of luk to you.
Joined: Jan '11
Location: United States
Age: 42 (M)
Posts: 852
I agree with the other pot control is a must, but both live and online imo. If a pot gets too bloated, especailly in later stages of a tournament its very easy to get pot committed. Control the size of the pot, control your fate.
Live play can be spotty. Most if the games you find will have more bad players but there are also some live games that are exceptionally tough with one or more extremely good players. If at all possible watch the play a few times to get a feel for the game. Then you can start with an advantage because you will know something about the people playing while for your opponents you will be a blank slate.
