LIVE TOURNAMENT STRATEGY

In addition to the information provided on our page on general poker strategy, there are a few other tips unique to live play that you should be aware of.

Game speed

If you play a lot of online poker, you’re used to games that are played quickly, so be prepared to play a lot slower when you make the move to playing in live poker tournaments. In fact, the game might even be downright boring at times when there’s a lull in the action, so make sure you’re prepared to be able to focus when that happens.

Table image

When you’re playing online, nobody can see you, so your table image is relegated to how you play your hand, your profile picture (if you’re using one) and what you say in the chat box. Playing live is a totally different experience as you need to also consider how you’re dressed and how the other players perceive you. This goes both ways: you’re now also able to check out your opponents’ table image, which can give you some insight into the best way to play against them. You can create the type of character that you want to portray (for example, you might want people to think you’re a crazy, aggressive player, which you can do by how you play your cards, in addition to how you present yourself).

Tells

One of the most significant differences between live and online games is how much more tells one gives off in a live game than online. As with table image, not only do you want to be aware of the other players’ tells, but you also want to be cognizant of the tells you are giving off to your opponents. Read our page on tells for an in-depth discussion on how to read other players and how to minimize (or eliminate) the tells you give off. One way to help reduce your tells is to have played so many games that your response to really good (or bad) hands is tempered to the point that you’re unreadable, and of course playing online is the cheapest (if you’re playing at free tables) and most readily accessible way to gain a lot of experience with many different hands. PokerStars.com is an award-winning site where many of the world’s best poker players play online poker. They also have numerous satellite tournaments where you can win the buy-in for expensive live tournaments, such as winning a seat to the World Series of Poker.

One tip you should try right away once you start playing in live tournaments is to not look at the flop as it’s being dealt. Instead, watch the reaction to the cards on your opponents’ faces as they’re flipped over and see if you can gain any knowledge about the strength of their hands.

Social pressure

When you play online, you can yell at the computer if you make a terrible mistake and you can play a really bad game and nobody’s going to say to your face what a bad move you made or how bad a player you are. Yes, people can chat online about a bad move (although it’s terrible poker etiquette to comment on a players’ ability or strategy), but it’s not as painful to read it in the chat box as it is to hear those words being spoken to you directly in person (plus you can disable the chat feature if you’re bothered by it). Be aware that social pressure is much more prevalent live than it is online and try not to take it personally or let it impact how you play. If you’ve had a lot of success with the strategy you employ online, focus on that when you start to feel pressured and don’t let it influence your game.

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