Bit of backstory, I used to play a ton online in college, very rarely live. I definitely wasn’t a crusher, but I posted about 150k hands with a decent WR of 5-6bb/hr playing mostly 25NL. After Black Friday, I pretty much just stopped playing all together, since I really didn’t have the roll to play live.

There’s a great poker room 5 min from my job, so I’ve picked the game back up, playing 2/2 there about 15hr a week. For you live players, do you have any tips on mentally slowing the game down? I’m only a little over 100 hr in right now, but almost all of my mistakes have resulted from either loosing track of the pot size, and screwing up my bet size, or just making hasty decisions because I hate everyone looking at me when I’m trying to think through a situation.

I really enjoy the social aspect of live poker, so it’s not like I’m riddled with anxiety the whole time I’m at the table. When I’m not in the hand, I can clearly analyze the action, and decisively know what to do in almost every spot. When I’m in the hand, I’ll forget how to math, and screw up my bet sizing, or just short circuit and make a hasty decision when a 1-2 minute tank is totally necessary to think through a situation because I hate the spotlight being on me.

In the online world, I never had to keep track of the pot. I just clicked 1/2, 2/3, etc pot and ate another Cheeto. Also, in big spots I was able to think a lot clearer and deconstruct the hand a lot more accurately without 8 players and a dealer staring at me.

Are these things that just get easier with time, or are there certain things I can do to help with this? Any tips are appreciated!

If you ever watch pros on TV they always take longer to act. Even if you watch pros when they stream they make a decision but use the timer countdown and always act after a set delay.

I’m not saying you should just sit there counting seconds but if you need the time to count the point size and calculate out a bet do it. Don’t feel forced to act. This comfort level comes from experience.

If you feel eyes are on you wear sunglasses and “hide” until you are comfortable.

CBD

I switched from online to live after bf. I had some serious issues with focus to start. I would be exhausted after only 2.5-3 hrs. I slowly built my stamina. It just takes time and a commitment to excellence.

I keep track of EVERYTHING at the table. Initially this was exhausting. But like going to the gym those muscles get stronger and stronger.

If you find you are getting fatigued and are not able to recount the action on a hand. Play till your BB then get up and take a stroll for 10 minutes and clear your head. Then go back with laser like focus. Eventually you will need less and less breaks.

I promise you these things will become automatic and you almost will not realize you are doing it. It just takes time to build the skill set

+1 squid face comment

"When I’m not in the hand, I can clearly analyze the action, and decisively know what to do in almost every spot. When I’m in the hand, I’ll forget how to math, and screw up my bet sizing, or just short circuit and make a hasty decision" - OP

You state that you're not riddled with anxiety. It's sounds like there is some or at least perceived social pressure to be quick about things. I'm telling you without an ounce of shame that I'm the guy that DGAF about peer pressure. I follow the same routine/checklist PF, OTF, T, & R. I do this partly for the small chance that someone is some physical tell guru, mostly to give myself the best opportunity to make the correct decision.

PF I am following the action and reviewing my profile of the players in the hand. When the action is on me I double check the size of the current effective stack, constrct a range for them etc., just like a pitcher checking the runner I'll look at the stacks and players yet to act, think about the likely reactions, SPR etc. then I make my decision. I've got a routine for OTF T, & R. Nowadays it takes less time to do it than describe it. The point is that I'm not going to allow real or perceived peer pressure to rush me in my decision making process. It is a mindset that I choose to have.

Some good ideas in here that I follow as well. Another really important thing is writing hands down in your phone but don't be the idiot whos clearly targeting fish/certain people and writing up a storm the moment the hands are flipped over. I'll usually wait a hand or 2 and write the action down. Don't write things down with a pen etc, it is important not to let the bad players know you are writing **** down.

If you have a detailed and easily accessable notepad on all the different players you can randomly read up on your notes while you are waiting for a table or during play to refresh your memory.

A weird little one that helps me: Don’t play with chips. Especially if you’re in a hand.

I found that the little extra time to consider going to my stack for chips helps with my decision making and sizing choices versus just firing $50 on the turn because I happen to be shuffling 10 five dollar chips at the time.


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Pre session dump ftw

I’m transitioning to live play now, and facing the same issues. Here’s some tips I’ve started using:

A couple minutes of deep breathing before playing.

I practice keeping track of the pot size in hands I’m not in. I can’t do this the entire session, it uses up too much brain energy, but I noticed improvements after only one session.

A lot of it is just getting acclimated though, I guess. Every time I play live th game slows down a bit, I can think more clearly and effectively

i typically round everything to increments of 5's (at 2/5 where i play, you can't bet in increments lower than 5, so it's only a 1/2 and 1/3 issue). so if someone bets 22, i'll calculate it as 20. 24 would be 25, etc.

it's a lot easier to say 6 x 20 than 6 x 22 and then add it 20 (rather than 17) or whatever. yes, these are not hard things to calculate but any if my life is marginally easier because of this, and i have to do it 50 times in a night, thats a little less that i have to worry.

generally, from a processing a hand perspective, i think it just is something that gets easier over time. the more you're comfortable, the more you see clearly.

+1.

I’m to the point now where I can play 10-12 hour sessions and feel pretty focused near the end of the day.

As Squid says, breaks are extremely important. I probably take a 5-10 minute break every two hours at least. More if I’m not mentally there. Less if I’m on point and the game is really good.

It just takes time. You will naturally get more relaxed the more time you put in. I hardly feel anything when I win/lose 1K+ pots now.

Here's a thought.

Even on straight forward decisions, review the (rather obvious) factors again when action is on you. The idea is to get more used to thinking clearly when the spotlight is on you.

Build a bit more deliberation into your habits.

it really is amazing how playing poker really devalues money in our minds. 1K is a lot of money to a lot of people but after a while it's just a 'meh' moment and you move onto the next hand without much thought.