I finally made it up to 25nl online. Do I even have a chance at beating 1/2 live?

What are the biggest difference in live play? I only played 6max, how does live FR change the play? Should I raise bigger since people limp more? Should I not raise limpers as often?

In Las Vegas where I live, should I go to the old down town casino that's are filled with old people?

Thanks guys.

Yes you do have a chance. Do it up. 25NL is harder than 1/2 live IMO. dont get too fancy. You wiill have a lot of time to observe your opponents now, so do it. Raise limpers when you have the goods obv, and yes, dont raise 3x, make your standard raise 4x-6x.

FR, you need to be a bit tighter.

Definetly agree 25nl is tougher then 1/2. The game live is played very passive so if you get 3bet expect to see aa/kk 90% of the time. Playing tight aggressive abc goes far in 1/2 and value town as often as possible.

Some 1/2 nl tables are softer than .01/.02 plenty of clueless fish.

The variance sucks because you see so many fewer hands but 1/2 is a good bit easier at the average table than 25nl. You will have to limp a little more than you are used to. Raising from early position will generally get several callers as they don't care what your range is. So raising 2 sixes early will probably get several callers and you will end up oop in a multiway raised pot. But floppin sets get paid. you will see people callin 3 streets with K10 on a k high board.

fixed that for you

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So true. and i have also against certain players live. The thing that gets me is the average live low stakes players inability to adjust to certain players. You can go an hour without seeing a flop and then get plenty of action when you wake up with a hand. Its great.

Also this might sound really ****ing stupid, actually I know it does. But when hands go to showdown. How does that work? Meaning say the river goes check check. Who flips over their hand first? And do both player have to show?

Say I call a river bet, do they have to show? Meaning do I just wait for them to show their hand if i have the losing hand I just muck? I've only played online.

Also, what if i fall under 100bb's say like 75-50. Would it be weird to ask the dealer for more chips? Will everyone at the table think I'm some freak? (I'm serious too)

Just show your hand, don't wait. There's no reason not to. It will speed up the game.

Extra chips in your pocket. Do not put them on the table while you have a hand. If you get low it's fine to buy more, don't do it $20 at a time or you would be some freak.

It's on the last agressor to show his cards first. But generally just flip your cards over, but there are definitely times when I wait to see what the other player has before showing...but make sureit's not an obvious slow roll. If you are likely to have the best hand, just flip it over no matter who was the last agressor.

As for reloading, you can do this at anytime. Just get your money out and tell the dealer you need chips. If you are only getting $25 dollars worth (say you slip to 75 bbs and want to get back to 100) then she will usually give it to you from her dealer box. If you keep slipping to under 100bbs and keep asking for $20 it will get annoying. Just put chips in your pocket. Otherwise she will get a chip runner to go get them. But just let her know that you need some chips.

If you dont know something, just ask the dealer. All it will do is make the players at the table think you are weak. nothing wrong with that.

lol this sounds cute
its so wierd to see live players being clueless online players
and now all the online players are gonna be fresh live players

live 1/2 is alil easier than 25nl 6 max, and if somebody 3bets you expect to see AAKKQQ or AK AQ, and you don't really need to tighten up so much for FR bc everybody plays very loose since theres less hands to play so they try to gamble more so being used to 6max puts you more at an advantage unlike fr online where its super nitty

flip your cards over don't wait or you can just call out your hand like "top pair" or "A high" or "flush" if the other guy says "how high" or "whats your kicker" then you can show it but if he gots you beat and shows it you can muck it without showing what you played if you want to not give off too much info

you can always add on more chips, theres usually a rule if you get felted where you can buy in short once then the second time you have to buy in for minumum (buying in short means if the minimum is 100, you can buy in for like 60, but if you get felted again you have to buy in for 100).

prevent acting out of turn, i would highly recommend not looking at your whole cards preflop until it is your turn to act to prevent folding/betting that might effect action

4bet the light 3bettors....4bets = AA always.

You will see a lot more limped multi-way pots. If you are raising OOP you will need to have a stronger hand than you are used to. Pre-flop raises that get multiple callers are larger in live $1/2 than online. It's not uncommon to raise to $15 pre-flop and get 2 or 3 callers. Pot sized CB's work more often live than online. Don't try to get fancy, most live $1/$2 players are not thinking beyond Level 1 therefore, you can't get tricky. My suggestion is to play ABC TAG poker for your first several sessions. If you were a winning online player, you will get the feel for the game differences and it IS very beatable. GL.

EDIT: Go to Bally's and play if you are in Vegas. I have found that place to be very profitable for $1/$2.

In no particular order:

* pay attention and play quickly, your hourly depends on it.
* be courteous and friendly, your repeat business depends on it.
* tip your dealers if they are doing a good job, your games depend on it.
* invest in building the games that you intend to profit from. Don't be the guy that wants to break every table when it gets one open seat. Support your games, and build your action. It will pay dividends in the long run.

q/q

This wouldn't be too hard 4 me, as everything in PA is spread 10-handed.

awesome, I go out of town for 2 weeks on vacation and come back to this. GRRR.

What is the rake like? How do you pay it? Should I keep some chips separate from my "stack"? Specifically Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh if anyone knows.

Obviously, starting over with the bankroll, so basically it's just going to be shot taking until I get some steam. As of now, I have 500 in savings so I don't really wanna spend all of it, but I guess I have no other option. Do you think it's best to try and bink some of the daily tournys as opposed to cash games?
Should I buy in for the full 2 hundred? maybe bring 400 with me and if I lose that, just kinda study until I get more savings?

Also, what type of tipping structure would you suggest? Are you allowed to write notes on a notepad or is it just one of those things you need to remember? I'd like to write down some trouble hands I have for later analysis

Two different rakes can be found and you need to know what your room of choice might be doing...one is time rake, in which case, each new dealer (since they tend to rotate regularly) will sit down and everyone who is a regular knows to have their six bucks or whatever it might be out in front of them. Dealer will remind you if you don't have it out there.

Second form of rake would be raked pots...in which case the dealer just pulls it out of the pot and has it ready for the drop at the end of the hand.

In a game with raked pots, you also need to be sure of whether it is a 'no flop, no drop' room before you chop blinds in a hand that is folded all the way around...

Depends on the turnouts they get for the daily tournaments and what the payout happens to be...may also need to factor in whether the room comps poker players since tourneys can negatively impact the hourly accrual...

I don't like playing short-stacked relative to the table. I also do not like sitting with just one buy-in. However, I also limit the buy-ins I bring with me to a particular session. Saves from going on uber-tilt and blowing the roll for the trip...

Tipping has probably as many threads on this site as there were live v online comparisons...quick search will tell you much more than you ever wanted to know in that regard.

thank you so much for the information.
i'll do a little more research on this site before I head out

On some of the non-strategy side of things...

I think the key difference between live and online is the human interaction. No, not just sitting at the table and being able to look everyone in the face and discern physical tells. It's the conversations and being in the presence of other people. Online, it's OK to have a table where the chat boxes are exploding with expletives. It's OK to have a table going at eachother's throats. You do not want that live.

If people don't like being in an uneasy atmosphere, they'll leave. If you caused it, they may remember you. Having as many people like you, or atleast not hate you is important in live poker. A lot more people play live for recreational purposes. They may not be thinking in terms of poker logic. They could be thinking "aw, he's a nice guy, I think I'll just check because I don't want him too lose too much money." Besides, it's also not fair to ruin someone's night out. There's also the possibility of being invited into a home game if you become a friendly reg other regs see often. That possibility will be different from place to place but it's always there. Also, the degree of your likability can influence floor decisions.

You want to have the friendliest, chillest, and loosest image possible. Don't wear the standard internet kit. Dress in something casual, nonthreatening, and relaxing. I like to go with a simple button down shirt and jeans combo. Suck it up and nod when people say your favourite site is rigged, don't start a debate. Do the same when rec players say the tiltest things like "I had straight draw, it was 50/50" when they suck out on you. Join in on the non poker conversation. You don't have to force your way in but when someone tries to include you, oblige him. If the conversation shifts to something you're passionate about and/or knowledgeable of, use your knowledge to impress them. If disagreements come up (I don't know, like sports rivalries or something like that) agree to disagree or keep the debate light hearted and fun. Smile, laugh, you're there to have a good time. Be friendly and polite to the dealers too. Don't want to start a tipping flame war but it's a good idea to tip dealers to help maintain your fun, non-nit image.

Most the time, you want to play TAG and take people to valuetown but you still want to appear like a loose gambler or rec player. Maybe don't punish the limpers EVERY time. Join in on the limpfest every couple hands with hands that some equity ofcourse. Don't go ahead and limp 38 UTG but if it gets limped to you in LP, feel free to limp in with an SC or gapper. Showdown a bluff (successful or not) once in a while. I never muck my hand at the showdown. If I get caught bluffing, I flip them over and go "yeah, good read, you caught me bluffing." It makes people feel good when they know they made the right play, especially if the "right" play was bad. Getting caught bluffing also makes you not look like a nit. Also, if you play your draws aggressively in a mathematically correct way, people see you as a risk taker. I play pretty TAG live but a lot of players think I'm loose because I cbet with draws and semi bluff with them.

So yeah, get out there and have a good time. Live poker's fun, making some money's just the cherry on top.

Scary so i have to tip and pay rake sheeeesh. And I don't get RB. And I only get 30 ish hands a hour? Holy crap is this really beatable to make it worth it over a large sample?

LOL! Yes, it is really beatable over a large sample.

Of course, I'm not saying that 2/4 Limit is beatable, because the rake is larger than your profits. But everything else is. 1/2 NL and above are very beatable.

Lee

A couple of random thoughts....

*any 1/2NL table will have a mix of players; some recreational players who are terrible, some nits, some calling stations and a good player or two thrown in. Take some time at the when you get seated at a table to evaluate who is who.
*a 3x raise is akin to a limp, heck opening for $10 or $12 will usually get 4 callers or more. Understand this a adjust accordingly.
*with regards to "punishing the limpers", also understand that many limpers hate folding once they have money in the pot, so it will need to be a big raise to get them out pre-flop.
*you can get a lot of info about the players by being nice to them and joking with them, even after you have beat them in a pot.
*value bet, value bet, value bet
*patience; my feeling is that most (almost all) of the players at the table are just waiting to give you their money. I'm not saying play like a nit, but if you are card dead for an orbit or two, don't force it, it will turn around and you will find spots where you have the fish in terrible shape.
*don't be suprised to see some DEEP stacks, yesterday at one point we had three players at my table with over $1K in front of them and most had $300 plus at a 1/2NL table.
*no matter how good you are, you will have bad sessions. There will be some truely head scratching bad beats, some by bad players that had no business being in pots with their hands to begin with. Stick with it as you will profit in the long run.

Lastly, the floor staff and dealers see new players all the time. Ask questions when you have them. Each casino is a bit different in the way they do things from buying in, checking in, posting, rake, etc.

Good luck at the tables.

Great post. I'm linking the post I made in the psych forum which ppl may find helpful:

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/26...-play-1021925/

My suggestion would be to go to one of your local bars that runs a daily free hold em tourney and play it a couple times. Bar players are usually the worst of the worst or recreational 1/2 players, but you can learn a little about the live game. I personally hate bar poker freerolls, as do most people on this board, but it gives you a feel for live poker.