Looking at Your Cards (Live Poker)

Ahoy · Jun 14, 2017

Hello I have a question, my friend told me that he has feeling that when you play live poker, you can only look at your cards when its your turn. Is it true or not?
I mean pre flop.
He said that you can not look at your cards when you are not on turn. Is it true?

Thanks

vinnie · Jun 14, 2017

You can look at your cards whenever you want in live poker.

OzExorcist · Jun 14, 2017

Yeah, you can look whenever you want.

The confusion might be that some people say you should only look at your cards when it's your turn to act - they think that it forces you to pay more attention to the other players in the hand. If you look at your cards immediately and see you've got rags you probably decide right then and there to fold and your brain switches off, so you might miss some important reads on other players, or an opportunity like a good spot to try a squeeze.

Personally I don't think there's anything wrong with looking at your cards earlier.

BriceNice · Jun 14, 2017

Lol you can look whenever you want as many times as you want but the old poker books say not to look until its your turn, so you can watch every one elses reactions. Not me though, I look as soon as I get them, I like to make my decisions before I know for sure everyone at the table is looking at me.

Ahoy · Jun 15, 2017

Thanks for the answers. It makes sense now.

Brazenly · Jun 19, 2017

You should look at your cards when the hand is already dealt and noone is looking at you, so they can't see your reaction. Sometimes it might be important in later play of that hand

cheeeer · Jun 19, 2017

Brazenly said:
You should look at your cards when the hand is already dealt and noone is looking at you, so they can't see your reaction.

While you look at your cards you don't look at them, so you can't see their reaction.

vitalii029 · Jun 19, 2017

I've never played live poker since in our country it is banned,but I think that is possible ,it's your card

t1riel · Jun 19, 2017

You can look at your cards anytime. It is recommended not to look at them until it is your turn so you don't give away any tells beforehand.

madjek · Jun 19, 2017

personally, i find it annoying when players wait til its their turn, then go thru motions to look at cards, waste a min or 2, then fold or whatever. I know its what "experts" say you should do, and if i was playing in the wsop main event, ok, i'd understand, but when i'm playing in a 45 dollar buyin with 15 min levels and can get down to under 10 bb's pretty quick, i want the game moving fast as possible. just my opinion, of course, you can do whatever you want, no rules against waiting to look or looking right away

cj2327 · Jun 21, 2017

I don't understand the argument that you shouldn't look before your turn. If you are going to give away any tells, isn't it better to do so while the attention is focused on someone else?

wilpinsi · Jun 25, 2017

Surely you can look at your cards any time you want, maybe your friend has participated in a game with early rules combined, but this is not common

Katetruax · Jun 25, 2017

Lol i think you'r friends playing a truck on you. That's the last time you want to look unless you have a perfect poker face

Rollex · Jun 25, 2017

More interesting is that in some poker rooms (offline) you have to show your cards if you got to last check on river. Usually it's up to you, throw it away or show (when you deffinately lost)

GRANDPAPA929 · Jun 25, 2017

vitalii029 said:
I've never played live poker since in our country it is banned,but I think that is possible ,it's your card

Russia has four gambling zones: "Azov-city", "Primorye", "Siberian Coin", "Yantarnaya". They are mostly scattered across the southern parts of the country: Krasnodar, Primorsky, Altai territories and the Kaliningrad region.

cheeeer · Jun 25, 2017

cj2327 said:
I don't understand the argument that you shouldn't look before your turn. If you are going to give away any tells, isn't it better to do so while the attention is focused on someone else?

And you will miss all those tells of someone else.

Syltan · Jun 25, 2017

You can look at your cards as soon as they are handed over to you, but this gesture says that you are an inexperienced player and accordingly weak. Players look at their cards when it's their turn to look at the reactors of the players, and thus have different information. You can also throw your cards in a non-queue, but by this action you simplify the decision for the players.

lilpotato · Jun 25, 2017

You can only look at your cards when they are flying out of the dealers hand so you need to keep your head low and try to look up as he they are being dealt.

Sil3ntness · Jun 25, 2017

I like to look at my cards while the person to my left and my right are looking at theirs. I don't want them trying to peek at my cards or for them to see my reaction to my own cards.

Thenightrain · Jun 25, 2017

You can look at your cards at any time. If you're a newer player and feel nervous about giving away tells and aren't good at spotting tells in others then by all means look at them straight away.

I'd suggest building up the confidence though to start looking at others when they look at their cards and seeing if you can pick up a tell from them, if you can you're onto a winner - just don't tell them you saw it!!

tilan501 · Jun 25, 2017

I have already played in some cassinos, not so much. But everywhere I played, I could look my card just after the dealer give them to you, there was nothing like what you said.
The only rule I sow being applied it was when a player raise before his time, he could not take his money back.
For an example, if I player A is before player B, Player B raises 300 before his time, player A go for all in, player B can fold or all in, but his raise stays on the pot.

vladikov · Jun 25, 2017

You can look at your cards whenever you want. Professional poker players only look at them in their turn, probably putting a fake teak and deceiving their rivals

SPANKYSN · Jun 26, 2017

Look at your cards when you wish. If you do wait until it is your turn, not only can you watch other players' reactions, but nobody can anticipate your action. Players who use a card protector when they want to play a hand and commit chips to the pot will give others a hint at their holdings if they look at their cards, then just put them down without the card protector...this is telling everyone that you intend to fold, which may affect their play.

arahel_jazz · Jun 26, 2017

If you do wait to look at your cards when it is your turn, make sure that you immediately look at them and don't be a douchebag and wait 15-30 seconds before even touching them. (reference: William Kassouf 2016 WSOP).

raymondzav · Jun 29, 2017

Look at them all you want then don't look they will never know why you do it always do it different that's all.

Looking at Your Cards (Live Poker)

Ahoy

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vinnie

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OzExorcist

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BriceNice

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Ahoy

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Brazenly

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cheeeer

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vitalii029

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t1riel

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madjek

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cj2327

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wilpinsi

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Katetruax

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Rollex

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GRANDPAPA929

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cheeeer

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Syltan

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lilpotato

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Thenightrain

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tilan501

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vladikov

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arahel_jazz

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raymondzav

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