Poker Strategy: Live Poker
Learn how to transition from online play to your local casino.
Live poker games tend to be much softer than their online counterparts, but it’s still crucial to adjust your game so that you don’t leave any money on the table. While you could probably play like you usually do online and still make a profit, it’s far better to acclimate yourself to common live poker situations so that you can maximize your returns. There are many more multi-way pots in brick-and-mortar poker, so you’ll want to become familiar with how to take advantage of these bloated pots. Then there’s the whole aspect of spotting tells while giving away nothing yourself, which is largely missing from poker played over the internet. Adding live poker to your repertoire can really boost your bottom line. The articles below focus on traditional poker, as played around a physical table, so they’ll help you get a leg up on your opponents in casinos and home games.alike.
Featured Live Poker Articles
Fnord’s Brick and Mortar/Live Poker Guide for Online Players
There are a few important principles to remember when transitioning to live poker play from the online tables. In live poker, you should try to maintain a fun, friendly image. You don’t want the rest of the table to realize that you’re playing serious poker. Beware of relying overmuch on tells.
The UTG Live Straddle
Straddling under the gun is sometimes done in live, loose poker games. When a player straddles, the blinds lose value, but every other position gains value. Because the pot will play about twice as large as normal, you should change your starting hand requirements to take account of the straddle.
More Poker Tells and Reviews
When playing live poker, you can get important tells on your opponents by carefully paying attention to their movements and actions. Whenever players seem to deliberately go out of their way to give you information, the actual information is usually the opposite of what they’re trying to tell you.
Personal Attacks and the Check Raise
There’s a weird school of thought that check-raising in live poker is unfriendly or ungentlemanly behavior. But it is merely just another tool in your strategic arsenal. It’s usually not used to make a personal assault against an opponent. Use it to bet for value or bluff as usual.
Most Recent Live Poker Articles
Transitioning from Online to Live Play
If you’ve only played poker online, you will need to make some changes to your game before you play live in a brick-and-mortar casino. For instance, you’ll need to manually track your opponents’ stacks and the pots, abide by the casino’s house rules, tip your dealers and adapt to slower play.
The General Theory Behind Inducing Bluffs in Poker
Most people don’t understand the relationship between inducing bluffs and value betting in the game of poker.
NLHE Foundations #02: Basic No-Limit Hold’em Bluffing Analysis
NLHE Foundations Course This is the second lesson in the free No-Limit Hold'em foundations course, and all you have to do to sign up is create an account (if you haven't already) and post in the forum thread I just linked to saying you want in. I'll add you to a...
The Basics of Thinking Ahead in Poker
Making things as easy and effective as possible is a major part of being a good poker player, and that’s exactly what you’ll be able to do with planning your hand after you read this week’s column.
Order of Winning Poker Hands – Razz
In Razz Poker, sometimes also known as Bizarro Stud, it can be confusing to the beginner to know what beats what. Unlike standard poker in which the best hand usually forms something nice, like two cards of the same rank together with 3 cards of the same rank to form...
How the Games Have Changed
It's common knowledge that the games of 2010 are much different than the pre-legislation games back in 2006. When the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was passed nearly four years ago the games online were booming. Full of fish and with plenty of money to be...
Optimizing Your Sessions With Simple Routines
Establishing a set of routines to perform before you begin playing poker will produce long-term, positive results. By properly training your body, you’ll be able to condition your involuntary responses to make you calm, focused and ready to play whenever you want to.
How to Earn Online Poker Bonuses
One of the biggest mistakes players make when signing up for a new poker site is failing to take advantage of bonus offers. Every site offers some sort of initial deposit bonus to new clientèle, and for those new to the game it can make the difference in having to...
Implied Odds Plays at 25NL and Below
Over the past twelve months, I have been observing the lower stakes no-limit games and playing in them quite extensively including around 100k hands at NL50. I have been observing the games on Pokerloco recently which is a site that is situated on Ongame. I have been...
Tactical Thinking – Is It Enough?
Wherever you go these days, be it on poker forums, poker websites or poker magazines, you will be confronted by a myriad of information concerning how to play certain hands in certain situations. Now before I go any further, there is absolutely nothing wrong with...
Online Poker Multi-Tabling Strategy
When is a good time to start Multi-Tabling? Playing multiple tables has pretty much become the norm for online poker players. Actually, it's a necessity for serious players looking to build up a bankroll or wanting to earn some regular extra spending cash. This is...
How to Make Actual Adjustments While Playing
Talking about making adjustments to your play is easier than actually making them at the table. Read through this example of how to make an adjustment to learn how to pull them off when you’re playing. Studying examples of successful adjustments will help you learn to execute them under pressure.
EV Calculations Tutorial 5: Tournament Calculations
If you want to make EV calculations during a Sit and Go tournament, you’ll have to become familiar with the Independent Chip Model. The value of your chips will fluctuate depending on the stage of the tournament and your stack size. You need to use an ICM calculator to get accurate results.
No Deposit – All Returns: How to Build a Bankroll from Nothing Part II
This is part 2 in a 2 part series. Make sure to check out Part I before reading this - No Deposit - All Returns: How to Build a Bankroll from Nothing Part I Freeroll Strategies Whether you are playing the freerolls at FullTilt or PokerStars you have to be good...
Poker Hand Percentages for Omaha
PLO is growing in popularity because it affords recreational players the chance to gamble, and it gives skilled players a pretty large edge. Keep reading to find out the best starting hands and learn the effects that the pot-limit betting structure has.
