Breaking news: not everyone at the World Series is a seasoned pro; a large percentage of the field will be amateurs, while some may even be taking their first dip into live waters having qualified online. If you fall into that category and are intending to use Vegas as your starting base, then don’t fear, you’re not alone.
However, this certainly doesn't mean that you should just dive in unprepared. Live poker is a different kettle of fish, and expecting the transition from online to be a smooth one will lead to mistakes. Even some of the best online players in the world struggled live at first, and whether it was the lack of a good poker face or the tolerance required for a slower game, knowledge of VPIPs, triple-range merging and when to four-bet jam wasn't necessarily enough.
So, whether you’re on the hunt for bracelet gold, seeking the increased play from the Venetian Deepstacks, or simply wanting to play a low buy-in freezeout at the Horseshoe, it’s important that you are aware of the pitfalls that exist. With that in mind, let me share with you the most basic, and common errors online players make when playing live:
10. Talking about hands
If you play poker, you probably enjoy talking to other players about hands you’ve played, or seen played. This is a great way to learn about the game and improve as a player. However, there is a time and a place for this, and more often than not, this time is away from the table rather than at it. By discussing hands, you give away a significant amount of information about how you think about and play the game, and good players will be able to pick up on this and use it to their advantage. Save your discussions about hands for the breaks.
9. Know your opponents
I’m a big fan of talking to the players at my table. Find out where your tablemates are from, and what their regular games are. Do they play tournaments, or do they prefer cash games? What are their normal stakes? Do they play live or online? Are they professional grinders trying to push every edge, or are they casual players looking to get a decent day out in a poker tournament? All of this is valuable information that can help you make better decisions in the future when playing hands against them.
When playing online, you may well search PTR or OPR for stats on the opponents at your tables. In a live game, study the seat draw whenever you get the chance, and look up your opponents on The Hendon Mob results database. Again, this will help you differentiate between the casual players, and the regular live tournament grinders.
8. Acting out of turn
Online, it is impossible to act out of turn; the software won’t allow you to! In live poker though, it’s easy to think someone has folded if they are covering their cards with their hand, or have them quite close to the rail. This is particularly the case if you draw seat one, where the dealer obscures your view of the nine and ten seats. Always make sure you pay full attention, and do your best not to act out of turn. Often, if one person acts out of turn, this can trigger other people to follow suit, believing the action has folded around to them, causing significant disruption to the game.
On the first occasion, you will most likely be given a warning, but if you persistently offend, you will be given a one round penalty away from the table, in which your blinds and antes will still be posted. This can be extremely costly in the later stages of the tournament, or if you have a small stack.
7. Giving off tells
Playing online, you have the luxury of being able to do whatever you want behind your screen, without your opponents being able to see or hear you. You can swear when that ace-high flop comes and you’re looking down at kings, or fist-pump and whoop when you flop a set.
However, in a live environment, it is important to control both your conscious, and subconscious reactions during a hand. Try to act the same way in every hand you play: bet in the same manner, and stare at the same spot on the table while the action is not on you. By doing this, you will reduce the amount of information you might reveal about your hand to astute opponents.
6. Not paying enough attention
You see this all the time. There’s a young online player sitting at your table, wearing a hoody, big headphones and sunglasses. The action gets to him on the button, and he shoves his stack across the line, doing his best Phil Hellmuth impression as he does so. The blinds fold and he waits for the pot to be pushed towards him. But wait! The player under the gun had announced raise, and put a 5,000 chip in the pot, a raise which was clearly announced by the dealer. Suddenly, our young gun on the button has gone from stealing the blinds and antes with a total airball, to jamming his stack in over the top of an under-the-gun raise from a tight player, with no fold equity at all!
Do not be this player. Always pay full attention to the action that has happened before you, and think for a few seconds before you act. Make sure that you’ve taken everything into account before you make your action. I would also advise against wearing big noise cancelling headphones, which may well gain you street cred, but will also make it impossible for you to hear the dealer announcing any action that has taken place. Opt instead for the earbud style headphones if you must listen to music, possibly leaving one of them out so you can easily hear what is being said at the table.
5. Big chip call rule
Preflop, if you put a single chip across the betting line, it will only count as a call if you do not verbally announce your intention to raise. This is true if you throw out a 100 or even a 5,000 chip at 25/50 blinds. If you wish to raise, but do not have the right change to make it the amount you wish, verbally announce how much you want to bet to the dealer, before putting bigger chips across the line. The dealer will then make change for you from the pot.
Also make sure you pay full attention, as in our previous example, as to whether any single chip bets are cases of people using big chips to just call a raise, or people making raises themselves. Again, this could be a very costly mistake.
4. Understanding gameflow
Gameflow is a hugely overlooked facet of the game, in both the online and live environment. In live poker, it is of particular significance in several respects. Firstly, pay attention to how someone reacts after they lose a big pot; often they will be steaming, and will go out of their way to try and win chips back with bad hands.
Pay attention to your opponents who haven’t played a hand for a while. Are they getting frustrated at their cold spell? Or are they content to fold all day while they get anted away? Is the player in the big blind getting annoyed at having his blinds stolen? Is the old man in middle position frustrated at the young kid next to him who keeps three-betting his opens?
In live poker, people give off a lot of physical information in between and during hands which reveals a huge amount about their mindset at the time, and how they are reacting to recent events at the table. Understanding the mindset of your opponents and how they are reacting to the gameflow at the table can provide lucrative information to inform your own decisions.
3. Waiting your turn to look at cards
When playing online, our cards pop in front of us as soon as they are dealt. In a live game, we have to physically make an effort to look at them. Wait until the action is on you before you look at your cards. Before the action comes to you, you should be concentrating on watching other people look at their cards while it’s their turn to act, and see how they react. Often someone who looks at their cards, then straight to their chips, will have a big hand. By looking at your own cards too early, you will be paying less attention to your opponents, and will become more preoccupied with your own hand, missing out on vital information.
Also pay attention to people behind you who look at their cards before it’s their turn to act. If they seem to lose interest after looking, you might discover a great spot to steal their blinds. If they appear strong, then you know there is no point in raising light. By waiting your own turn to look at your own cards, you will also stop your opponents from gaining any such information advantage on you.
2. String-betting
A string-bet or raise, is a bet or a raise where you use multiple movements to place chips in the pot, without first verbally declaring the amount you wish to bet. This is not allowed. Continually adding more chips to a bet would allow you to gauge the reaction of your opponent as you did so, giving you an advantage deemed unfair. If you intend on raising or betting, ensure you pass all of the chips over the line in one smooth movement. If you find yourself in the position where you have so many chips you cannot bet the amount you wish to in one movement, clearly announce to the dealer the amount you wish to bet. After verbally declaring your bet, you may make as many movements as you wish.
String betting is seen so often in films that it’s easy to see how first-timers might think it’s acceptable. Movie directors seem particularly fond of verbal string bets such as: “I see your 500, and raise you 1.000.” This would only count as a call of the initial 500 bet, as you first announced call, and then subsequently your intention to raise. If you want to raise, just say “raise”, not “I call… and raise,” as in the latter case your raise will not stand.
1. Stack sizes
Playing online, it’s easy to take it for granted that stack sizes will be displayed clearly at all times. In a live tournament, it’s crucial to keep a track of the stack sizes of your opponents at all times. Keep a track of where they’re keeping their high denomination chips (if they’re not in clear view at all times, ask the dealer to ensure that they are) so that you don’t grossly underestimate their stack. Obviously, the plays you can make are dictated not only by your own stack size, but those of your opponents’, so it really is essential you know their stack sizes before you make any plays.
A lot of live tournament players will fail to pay anywhere near enough attention to the stack sizes of the players at their table, and will also make plays they can ill afford to with their own stack size. Pay attention to these players, and try to exploit their tendencies.
In conclusion, although you may be highly experienced online, if you head into your first live tournament over-confident, and with no thoughts as to the aforementioned potholes, then you could well be leaving yourself open to costly mistakes. The modern game lauds the online contingent – and rightly so – but if an online pro is easy to read and unaccustomed to the nuances involved in live play, then a wily veteran will tear them apart. So, absorb my advice, take everything on baord and ensure you don't become his latest victim.
Schedule/Results page...
WSOP Content:
Vegas 11: Operation Bracelet
Vegas, Baby - Jerome Bradpiece
Vegas: Advice from the Pros
Paint It Black - Part One: Wassup With WSOP?
Cashing In; Where to Play Cash in Vegas - Sam Razavi
Snoopy's Top 10 Las Vegas Tips
For the Love of Ivey
Interview: Ashby Going for Bracelet #2
Richard Ashby Finishes Fourth in Event #11
Cody, Perrins & The UK Upsurge
Vegas 11 - Meet the Team
Chufty Makes Second Final Table
Paint It Black - Part Two: The Wait to Regulate
Meet the Mansion
Interview - Jared Tendler
Two Blue Belts; Two Cashes
3 Yellow Belts Win $13K Packages
Vegas 11 - Live WSOP Coverage
Ashby Denited Hattrick in $10K PLO
The Variance of Vegas
BBP/WSOP in Pictures
Ladies Saga; Orange Belt Cashes
Three of a Kind; Wooldridge Hits WSOP Final
Warren Wooldridge Finishes Third in Event #54
Moorman Talks Numbers
How to Approach the WSOP Main Event
Vegas 11 Interviews:
Richard Ashby
Jerome Bradpiece
Adam Latimer
Warren Wooldridge
Jamie Burland
Kevin Williams
David Docherty
Vegas Cherry Articles:
Hugo Martin
Jamie Burland
Kevin Williams
Barny Boatman
Blogs:
A Happy Median - Snoopy
No Novacaine; It Dulls the Senses - Neil Channing
TiLT, Clowns & A Small High
Moving House is Stressful - Warren Wooldridge
Unjust Action - Adam Latimer
Form - Kevin Williams
Lucky Number Seven - Snoopy
Colemas, Cork & Changing at O'Hare
Starting High - Richard Ashby
Keeping the Faith - David Docherty
Escape from L.V - Snoopy
Who's the Boss? - Neil Channing