The desire to play live

L

Leopold14

Rising Star
Bronze Level
PL
Poker Chips
28
Casino Coins
0
Hi everyone. I'm just starting my journey, I'm playing online, but very much. I would like to play live and go to a tournament. As a beginner, does it make sense to go somewhere or do you need to test more?
 
If you're truly a beginning poker player, I would not suggest going to the casino and playing live. There's no sense in throwing good money out into the garbage that way. Use it to become a better player online before you go. Now, if you just want to go and experience it and it doesn't hurt you to throw whatever amount is into a buy-in, I would say go for it if you'd like. I always hope every poker player gets the opportunity to play in, say, the world series of poker one time, because yes, it's expensive, but if you can afford it, the experience is more worth it. But again, for you, I would honestly suggest becoming better at the game before you go out into the live realm.
 
  • Like
Reactions: hardongear
I'm going to agree with Luvepoker above let's just slow down on the live MTT play. You say you play online and that's good you can gain a ton of experience/volume at very cheap price compared to playing live poker where you might 30 hands/hr(you probably won't) likely to be more like 25 hand/hr. And yes experience matters and by double tabling 6 max online you can between 130-170 an hour.

If I were you I'd deposit $50 and start at 2nl......6 max and get confident, good enough and comfortable enough to last double table. If/when you can turn that $50 into $500 playing 2nl-5nl cash on the weekdays and micro stakes buy-in MTT's on the weekends. Then you you're ready for live MTT poker and you earned your first buy-in part of that $500.

Till you reach that point study MTT poker, ICM and short-stack re-raise and all-in preflop charts. Also I'd recommend reading a book on live poker tells most them are older books now but if nothing else it will put you in the mind to know what to be thinking about while sitting at the table live. I used Google and the newest top listed book if here https://www.amazon.ca/Reading-Poker-Tells-Zachary-Elwood-ebook/dp/B008MIM90Q .....Here's the one read way back in https://www.amazon.ca/Phil-Hellmuth-Presents-Read-Reap/dp/0061198595 . I haven't read the book in the first link. Fwiw there's a bout 6 years difference in when they were published.

EDIT: Live poker is most the time is pretty boring....if I was too give you one piece of advice always be studying the other players and everything little move they make and even how they put their chips into the pot. Also never look at your cards till it's your turn that way you can't give anything away unknowingly too the other players. What you should be doing while the cards are dealt is watching the other players the moment they look at their cards. That's the best time to get a real, honest reaction and tell from them in that very second they first look at their cards. Pay attention to villains that have position on you......if they seems uninterested in their hands/cards then you are now playing from a stronger position because their folding. If you're the 3rd player from the button and notice the two players behind you aren't interested and have shown signs of folding congrats you can now play your mid table position like you are the button.

Best of luck with your poker journey.

Cheers!!!
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Mario7
It's time to go and play live poker. You'll likely know more than the average player if you've studied. I've seen people sit down at the poker table to play who've never played a single hand in their lives. There's really no reason to put it off, other than your own anxiety and nerves.
 
I would suggest you play the lowest limits available and also play with money you can afford to lose. Nowadays even at lower stakes players are very good and difficult to beat. If you are very young and looking for a job you could check when your local casino hires new dealers. Some casinos train you to be dealer. That way you get more exposure to live games without losing money. Then when you feel confident enough you can play in your free time.
 
I think you should give it a try! 😊 I play Sit-N-Go tournaments with my friends a few times a month, and it's always fun. You don't have to be an expert to enjoy your first live tournament. Just start with a small buy-in and enjoy the experience. You'll learn a lot along the way!
 
Leopold14 said:
Hi everyone. I'm just starting my journey, I'm playing online, but very much. I would like to play live and go to a tournament. As a beginner, does it make sense to go somewhere or do you need to test more?
If you study and play a lot online, chances are you are not worse than an average live player. However, if you live in Poland you know it's not so easy to play live poker. No cash games in casinos, in fact probably no poker in casinos at all. As far as I know, only in some bigger cities you can play tournaments organised by Legalny Poker. Because of ridiculous law, there is no possibility to win serious prizes, rake is high, but you can play.

On the positive side, entrance fees to these tourneys are not high. So, if you are lucky to live in Warsaw, Kraków, Wrocław, Gdańsk or so, give it a try 🙂
 
Last edited:
No, you don't need to travel anywhere specifically. You should simply play for 4–7 hours a day to accumulate experience. Through this experience, you will gradually gain new knowledge and refine your skills.
 
I’d say go for it! 😄 Start with a small buy-in tournament and enjoy the experience. You’ll learn a lot more by playing live, and everyone starts somewhere.
 
Back
Top