Playing B&M poker like a scared little girl.

i think the problem here is and im sure everyone here will agree, your over analysizng, and becoming freaked out, what you need to do is just relax and play your game like that one guy said walk around the room for awhile watch people see how they do things, take a look at the B&M newbie guide that helped me for my first time going
good luck to you man

[jaydub]

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You need to relax and have some damn confidence in your play. What are you nervous about? Do you think the other players are going to laugh at how you play? The dealer? We've already established your comfort level with the variance so what are you scared of?

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I'm scared that I might not be good at playing live poker in a casino and poker is one of my main hobbies. I have no confidence in my live game. I'm also worried that players will be able to read me so easily they'll just think here comes another one of those young internet suckers. I guess its just something I need to get over.

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Good, that's a rational fear.

As others will also tell you, most of your opponents will not be focused on you nearly enough to spot any but the most obvious tells. But, that doesn't mean you can't work on your reactions. Read up on tells and try to control your reactions, it's good practice. Honestly, it's probably not going to make much difference to your immediate results but the practice will come in handy for bigger games.

Also, the "internet suckers" you've been playing are far, far better than the players you will encounter at the B&M 200. It is important to realize this and adjust accordingly, eg no fancy plays and watch the bluffing.

More than anything else though, just relax and enjoy your hobby. Order a beer or three if you feel like it, it's just poker.

[peterchi]

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-Come with at least 2-3 buyins that I’m ready to los

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Absolutely. Also good would be to set aside a separate bankroll for your live poker. I have a wad of benjamins in my room that I keep just for playing live, nothing else. This way it hurts a lot less when I lose a few of them; I wasn't going to spend them on anything anyways. I know what you mean about being scared to lose a couple bills from your wallet; even if you have the money elsewhere, it still hurts when you lose everything that's with you. Creating a separate roll helped me manage money and detach myself from the results just as well as I do online.


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-Play some 3/6 limit to just get used to being in a casino (this might not be a great idea as my limit experience is almost non-existent).


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I disagree with this one. If NL is your game, just stick to NL.



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-Stop by the bar and have a couple beers before playing (I know this might sound ridiculous to some, but in my home game I’ve found I play much better poker after having a couple in me)


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Sounds okay to me. I always get the jitters when I play live, even though I've probably put in about 50+ sessions at this point (which I know isn't that much really, but you'd think the jitters would have gone away by now). So sometimes I drink to make myself more comfortable and to have more fun. Because really, when I'm playing live, I'm there to have a good time.

[CaptainCrunch]

For what its worth, this sort of thing kept me from ever playing poker for years and years. I somehow had gotten the impression that the poker rooms in Vegas were full of these "old west" kind of serious, cigar chomping card sharps who'd skin me alive. Add in my utter ignorance of poker rules....

Well, I conquered that (several months after learning hold em, and upon my return to LA) by just going. Bolstered by tales here of exactly how BAD those "card sharps" in the B&Ms are, I dove in. Learned the live ettiquate...mostly [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] and haven't looked back. Now I play every weekend. I enjoy the hell out of it, and don't feel intimidated by anything except perhaps those dudes playing with the 10 racks of peppermint chips in the high limit room.... yikes!

So, take it from a fellow B&M newbie, the advice here is all spot on. Dive in, fear not the morans at the tables and gird thyself adequately with cash for your chosen game.

And have fun.

[rchandra]

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I have a wad of benjamins in my room
<snip>

Creating a separate roll helped me manage money



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Only in poker can "wad of benjamins in my room" and "manage money" be used together and be correct.

[Bazuul]

one thing i immediately noticed about b&m, the "standard" raise size can shock you

at foxwooods $1/$2 nl when a player makes a standard raise preflop it is usually in the range of $10, $12, $15, or even $20 on many tables

this cuts deep with a $100 max buy-in and at the blinds you are playing with a $200 buy-in i could see it being worse

play a short-stack strategy (Ed Miller) at first until you build your stack then transition into your normal online style but bluff less and fold to a river bet less

good luck!

[Kyo Souma II]

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one thing i immediately noticed about b&m, the "standard" raise size can shock you

at foxwooods $1/$2 nl when a player makes a standard raise preflop it is usually in the range of $10, $12, $15, or even $20 on many tables

this cuts deep with a $100 max buy-in and at the blinds you are playing with a $200 buy-in i could see it being worse

play a short-stack strategy (Ed Miller) at first until you build your stack then transition into your normal online style but bluff less and fold to a river bet less

good luck!

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Alltime favorite foxwoods moment #2:

Friday night, just after last call. I'm unfortunately tilting after crapping away the last of my profits from a good run at the borgata's 6/12 the week before in the 5/10 kill. Open seating on the 1/2 nl, I'm shown to a table near the geometric center of the room.. Table seems relatively soft. I'm being sweated by an intoxicated friend in the 3 seat. Most of the table is young, with the exception of the 7s and 9s LAGs. The majority of the players are opening/raising 5+BB.

The 5 seat is a young girl being sweated by her equally young brother. She'd opened for $25ish at one point, been reraised allin for either $60 or $75 more and thought for about 45 seconds before calling. The raiser had QQ, she had KQ and obviously flopped a domestic partner to the male half of her hand.

Anyways.. now, with ammunition, she continues to misplay hands preflop for a down or so before the play of plays. I limp UTG+1 in the 3s w/ 66. 4s folds to her, she makes it 30 to go. One of the players on the far side thinks before folding, and the rest of the table quickly follows suit. I flash my pair to the friend, who shakes his head at me, having already seen me lay down AQ in an unraised pot on a 4A4 flop (BB came alive on the flop and river, showing 43).

As she 'drags' the $5 from the pot, she teaches the table an important lesson regarding the play of pocket pairs. Tabling 77, she advises, "you see, I can play this hand against one player, but if I'm up against 5 or 6, it never wins."

Despite the juiciness of the game, I was in a bad mood over my play in the 5/10 game and itching to get to Newport, RI, to hang out with some friends from school. After cashing in the insignificant remainder of my once-full rack of chips, I paused near the entrance to the sportsbook, awaiting the termination of my friend's urgent urinary processes. The same girl passes by me, "Gee.. I haven't seen -you- in a while." (emphasis hers).

She proceeds to walk into the bathroom entrance as my friend exits. He's coherent enough to have heard her, but asks me to confirm the bizarre question nonetheless before rightly asking, "why?"

"Dunno. Weird man.. Just weird."

-kyo

[mgsimpleton]

i don't get it.

My suggestion is to try a tournament first. It'll get you some experience in live poker, in a B&M, but it won't be "cold hard cash" you're losing/winning - your money is already in the casino's pocket, so just play!

[Kyo Souma II]

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i don't get it.

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try harder. it's what we like to call an anecdote.

-kyo