This may seem elementary to some here but I'm grateful for all responses. As the transfer from grinding online to live has been fully complete for me for some months now, I've been wondering about this concept for awhile. I've noticed that the winning regs at the room I play in the most have to deal with comments about how they are there to make their income. These recs also are playing differently against them - typically, they are less likely to make a loose call preflop if the pfr comes from a reg. Of course, this information being understood and shared amongst the recreational players that frequent the room is -EV for a winning regular.

From the winning regular's perspective, I'm not sure there is anything doing about this other than understanding that certain recs know that you're a pro, and adjust your play accordingly. Other than being genuine and friendly to the recs, what are things that winning regs do to make their existence as comfortable as possible in their main room?

Recognize if people will treat your raise with more respect than it deserves that is +ev not -ev. Your opponents get to decide what you need to do to exploit them.

No one should ever know you are a pro. If they do you have made a mistake. Pros openly being pros was one of the single worst things to happen to live poker.

You are [insert whatever profession is the least amount of a lie possible here] who loves playing poker and has a flexible work schedule.

Do not associate with winning regs. Get to know recs and befriend them over food drinks sports whatever (at the table). Be sincere. Poker actually is fun when you play in rec heavy games and just talk about random bs.

Do not nit pick. Meaning don’t do game killing stuff like say you don’t chop the blinds or make a scene over $5 chip being off from the pot etc. Don’t be fake either though. Don’t do dumb things like flip for stacks with whales or be weirdly nice to them.

Do. Not. Ever. Talk strategy. Ever. Not with a pro. Not with a rec. If they ask why you called or folded or bet a certain size or whatever you brush it off with something funny like “you have a tell, when you bet you’re bluffing” and do not go further than that.

As far as actual strategy goes and wanting to appear more actiony…learn to overbet polarized rivers more. This will make you look crazy to everyone even though it is completely standard.

No one cares if you are a pro and some recs like the idea of playing them. Most people aren't stupid either and can tell when someone is lying about what they do for a living so it's better to just be honest.

The most important thing to remember is, recreational players are there to have fun. They don't care if they win or lose as long as they are having fun. You maximize their fun, they will maximize your EV. Back in the day when I was a regular and not very good player, when asked about a losing session, I would tell them it was cheaper than owning a boat. As a local grinder you only need to focus on two things, playing well and making sure your customers have a good time.

This is interesting as this is the opposite of what I've seen. All of the pros consistently chat with each other with no regard for this advice. It's clear that they're all buddy-buddy. Maybe because we are in Texas at looser, bigger games, they are less concerned about being tagged? Not sure. It was my goal to ingratiate myself but I see now why that would be a mistake for quite a few reasons. Thank you.

Yes so Texas has a mini-boom happening right now so it’s actually probably more comparable to 2010 live poker elsewhere. What happened in those days was the games were so good that you could openly be a pro and it wouldn’t hinder the game as much as it does today. But I saw it all happen real time. Slowly but surely it became less cool to be a pro and the games slowly died. That happened over 5-7 years but it was still a huge negative to the ecosystem and the very good pros (like 1% of actual “pros”) fly under the radar, not over it.

Anther funny anecdote from someone who has seen it all, the “pros” come and go. They generally have a 6-18 month lifespan. Recs outlast them all. Trust me when I say you are better off being a lone wolf and avoiding the openly pro crowd.

I don’t know what the other poster is talking about though, I mean people table change these days when a pro sits down. That’s a huge negative and it’s not close.

I agree you shouldn’t lie. I always spoke to my actual profession when I was pro, so that I could speak fluidly on it. No one wants to play vs. pros though. That is simply untrue, as you covered in your original post.