Just Played Live Poker for the First Time... Why is it SO Different?

I'm a decent online player, but I went to a casino and played $1/$2 live for the first time. It was crazy. People were calling 3-bets with K5s, limping every hand, and betting huge with weird hands. The pot sizes were massive. It was so much slower, and I actually found it hard to follow the action. Is this normal? How do you adjust from online multi-tabling to this style?

It is very different, especially cash games!! Most of the guys who play regularly have a decent BR and can suffer the swings.

I found when I first stared paying live, almost only MTTs, that I just played very tight, but not keep aggressive when you do hit, these players siply don't notice how tight you are! This also gives you the chance to get used to the game, keeping up with the blinds etc and how slow, but at times quick it can be!!

Couple of good ideas, when you look at your cards, say them in your head, so say Kclubs, 7diamonds, get used to doing that and it means you know whats going on with your hand, and you are free to focus on the game.

There's a great thread somewhere, I'll try and find it.....

All kinds of interesting thoughts and tips in here!!

The first time I played live a few years ago, I didn't play a hand for 3 orbits, and it was 10 seater, bizarrely I went on to finish 2nd for £1500, still my best cash by a mile Live or online! When I raised my first hand it was like no one had been watching, I got about 4 callers!! Haha

Just relax and look at what people are doing at the table. It is like switching from a busy city life to a village in some remote bear corner. Feels weird, takes time to adjust, but is very rewarding (until you find yourself at the table with a few strong regs, just when you finally got used to enjoying your fish surroundings.

My dream is when I will take part in a major live tournament. If only the war in my country would end sooner...

1/2 $ don't mean that much any more, inflation happened. So people will call with any 2 cards to crack your hand and have fun. Strategy is for higher stakes and higher buy in tournaments.

One difference is that unlike online where it tells you the size of the pot, when playing live you have to do it in your head. If that is part of your troubles just practice doing that even when you are out of the pot. Cash games are a lot easier than tournaments, at least for me, because the blinds never change and are a much lower amount than in tournaments. That makes the computation much easier.

The biggest difference between live and online is that live, you have to wear clothes and somewhat groomed...yes, it is slower and you can only play one table at a time...but trust me...you can lose just as much money in a short time live as you can online. So if the issue is that the game is so slow that you can't lose as much money as online, you can either donate lots of money to charity or play slots!

You need to eliminate unnecessary anxiety, get used to physical actions, pay attention to non-verbal cues from your opponents, and take into account new aspects of the game, such as the atmosphere and communication at the table.

danieldeangelo said:

. Is this normal? How do you adjust from online multi-tabling to this style?

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Yes! Open raising huge amounts & pots still go multi-way. Lots of fish "Want to see the flop!"
They don't think in SPR, or how many bb's vs. size of stack... it's more like "It only costs me another $15... I call"

feel sorry for you stick to online the best poker version.

Wow sounds like you were playing on a dream table!

Because in online poker you face way more regular players and of course bots. Plus multi tabling. If you want to make money you should play live

People play much different live than online.. really need to adapt

danieldeangelo said:

I'm a decent online player, but I went to a casino and played $1/$2 live for the first time. It was crazy. People were calling 3-bets with K5s, limping every hand, and betting huge with weird hands. The pot sizes were massive. It was so much slower, and I actually found it hard to follow the action. Is this normal? How do you adjust from online multi-tabling to this style?

Click to expand...

1 Multiway pots with extreme ranges does not allow for us to follow the action. We do not want to focus on what they should be doing as they do not know what that is themselves.
2 We want to be looking at the player tendencies-individually. We do this by focusing on 1 player at a time for all their actions until we get a solid feel for their play. As you get better it will take less and less time to move on to the next player. We do this for every player on the table.
3 We also focus on showdowns. That is when we shift our focus from our target player to whoever is involved in the pot. If it is a standard showdown ignore it do not try to break it down.
4 The showdowns we are looking for are the mistake showdowns. It is the mistakes our V are making that helps us take their chips.
5 If the showdown has multiple players focus on the player that made the biggest mistake--they are our cash cow.

If you use this focusing strategy you will not get lost in all the data and as you get more focused you will be able to read multiple players in each hand and thus adapt your strategies for the cash cows.

Live poker feels like a whole different game compared to online. The pace is slower, you’re handling chips and cards, and you’ve got to read people instead of HUD stats. Even simple things like bet sizing or waiting for the dealer can throw you off at first. Plus, the social aspect — table talk, body language, distractions — adds layers you never deal with online. It takes a few sessions to get comfortable, but once you adjust, the live atmosphere is actually pretty fun.