Advice to newbies from a newbie

[WiredPair]

Having played a handful of times now "live" in Colorado, I thought I'd share a couple of things I've noticed to others who may be very new to playing live as well. Here goes for what its worth.

Ease into the game by playing very tight to begin with. Trying to remember all the things you've read and applying the strategies in a live game can be daunting at first. Play the best premium hands and watch the action to get a feel for how quickly it goes.

Make sure you have enough chips to play in the game! Case in point, a player at my table the other week had AA, KK and a few other premium hands cracked in the span of an hour and went on tilt. As he was down to his last few chips, he got another premium hand and had to go all-in pre-flop. Of course he won, and it was a very small pot which made him go even more on tilt. If you are going to continue playing, there is no reason not to make sure you have enough money in front of you to play through an entire hand!

Sit in one of the seats opposite of the dealer. I made the mistake of sitting on one of the "table ends" and had a hard time reading the board sometimes. Being a newbie, I think its just one more thing that makes it easier.

Don't assume everyone plays premium hands! After seeing 94o being played in early position several times, you'll learn this! The point being, when reading the board, you'll have to keep in mind almost anything. Its a little harder (IMO) to put people on hands when you realize they may play anything.

Keep reading the board after every street to identify the nuts, regardless of whether you are in the hand. Although you don't want to scare yourself into thinking the nuts is always out there, its certainly important to know, especially whent he betting starts going nuts. There were a few times where I missed seeing a straight that came at the river as I wasn't looking for it.

Be courteous and polite during the game. There were a few people at the table that made the game uncomfortable as they chased hands and started to go on tilt. As they got more and more angry at losing, the table seemed to get a little more tense as well. That certainly doesn't make for a fun environment. In addition, an unintended benefit to me was that the guy next to me decided to strike up a conversation with me and proceeded to talk to me about how he played, the hands he played, how often he played flush draws, etc. Now, I realize he could have been trying to put a move on me, but time and time again, he played his hand just as he had explained to me! I'm sure I don't need to tell you that it is certainly helpful to have that information, especially when that person is on your right and acts just before you!

Anyway, hope that information helps other newbies a little.

[bernie]

nice post

"Keep reading the board after every street to identify the nuts, regardless of whether you are in the hand. Although you don't want to scare yourself into thinking the nuts is always out there, its certainly important to know, especially whent he betting starts going nuts."

also realize, by some betting patterns, that no one has the nuts. sometimes, youll be locked on to a draw you have and dont notice you went the roundabout way to the nuts. ive folded the nut hand at showdown thinking i lost twice, way way back. on one, i was on a flush draw and didnt see i made a running str8. it doesnt take long to learn that lesson. and playing time in live games will be the prime factor. after a long layoff, i went to vegas and accidentally folded a str8 flush on the river. played great the whole session, except THAT hand. heh heh...

even experienced players screw the pooch once in awhile. just some pooches have sharper teeth.

"Now, I realize he could have been trying to put a move on me, but time and time again, he played his hand just as he had explained to me!"

many new players think everyone is there to bluff and put moves on everyone. most of the time, ive found when they talk about their hands, theyre speaking honestly. some guys, table coaches, will tell you how they play out of sheer ego. some will tell stuff because they want to feel theyre contributing to the table as if looking for acceptance and making friendly conversation with possible new friends. many on the table may not be taking the game as serious as serious players. theyre just there to have fun, share stories, not really expecting to win. but they like the company.

but dont correct them on their theories. acknowledge them. if possible, in a way that makes it seem that youre learning from them. then they may really open up to ya about their games.

this also really helps if you get in a game with a bunch of friendly locals. sure, they know how each other plays. keep your ears open. theyll tell you how each other plays much of the time. and any info helps.

works the other way too. ive posted about 3 guys coming in from their home game, getting on a table together, and telling me and the other hardcore regulars at the table how each other play with their personal, inside joke banter about eachothers games. they each lost 3-4 racks by the time i left.

"Its a little harder (IMO) to put people on hands when you realize they may play anything."

this makes it harder for everyone. dont let anyone tell you different. if they can put players on hands easier when the range theyd play is wider, theyre fooling themselves.

b

[RockLobster]

Wow, great post.

Sit in one of the seats opposite of the dealer. I made the mistake of sitting on one of the "table ends" and had a hard time reading the board sometimes.

Good point, and one that you don't normally think about. Those HE tables seem about as long as a football field when you're sitting on one end and squinting to see the board or what the guys at the other end show down. I learned this lesson, and am now sure to have my glasses with me whenever playing live.

[Barry]

There are 2 points of view on this. I too like to sit in seat 6. It's funny, exactly seat 6 and not seat 5. It's much easier to read the board there. However, many like the end seats, such as 3 and 8. From there they are able to see everyone at the table and try to pick up whatever tells they can. Of course this ignores any other aspects of seating relative to others at the table, such as rocks, calling stations, maniacs, etc.

As you are learning, try to stick to seats 5,6 and 10; from seat 1 you can't see seat 10 and you could act out of turn, also as you reach for your cards you could get hit by the cards being dealt to seat 2. JMHO

Good luck.