Texas Holdem Poker

If you are having success playing online poker there is no doubt you will eventually want to give a live action game a try. Beyond the obvious there are a lot of subtle differences between the games. You need to look beyond just betting patterns and look for physical tells your opponents are giving you. As a live poker player you also need be aware of tells that you may be giving your playing competitors to use. Things are not given to you easily in live games as they are online, you will have to calculate your own pots and bet amounts. There is specific amount of time for which you have to make your decision, and there are  rules that you have to follow. I am going to explain a few things that will help you in your transition from online games to live action poker.

The biggest difference in playing live poker versus online poker is that you have physical chips in front of you. Before you start to play you to make yourself comfortable with amounts that each chip represents. The chip amounts/colours will vary from home game to home game and casino to casino. When playing in live action it is important to remember that verbal bets are always binding. By this I mean if you say that you $5, but only put $4 in the pot, you owe another $1. The verbal declaration of $5 is the bet that will count.

Pet Peeve – Your in a pot and you make a bet of $10, your opponent announces that he “calls your $10 and raises you $20″. You cannot call and raise at the same time you have to do one or the other. You should say, “raise to $30″ or “raise $20″.

String betting is another rule you will not run across when playing on an online table. When playing live poker its important to note that you can only make one motion at the pot with your chips unless a verbal declaration is made. An example is if you want to bet $100, you cannot place $50 into the pot and then go back to your stack and put in $50 more, the original $50 would be binding. There are multiple ways to avoid this problem, one is to always count your bet amount out before you motion at the pot, if are going to bet $100 count it out behind the line and then place it into the pot in one motion. I would also suggest making verbal bets, by saying the amount you wish to bet out loud it becomes binding and you can’t make a string bet. By making verbal bets you will also eliminate the chances of you making a mistake adding up your chips because the dealer will insure the fact you put the right amount in the pot. The over sized chip rule is one that a lot of players don’t know. If you place one over sized chip into a pot, it is a call, if you want to raise with an over sized chip you have to announce raise. An example is if your opponent bets $1 and you put a $5 chip into the pot without saying anything, you are only calling.

Control your emotions, when playing in front of your opponents they will see the emotions you let them see. When playing online you can kind of hide the fact that you may be on tilt, but when playing live games you may have your emotions on your sleeve. If you feel the onset of tilt, I suggest get up and take a walk, go to the washroom, get a drink whatever just get away from the table and collect your thoughts. Drinking alcohol while playing poker is also not suggested, just like anything else drinking impairs your judgment. Unless your just in for fun and the money doesn’t matter, getting drunk will not turn you into a winner.

Pet Peeve – Your playing in a casino, you get into a heads up pot with a guy who is loud and obviously drunk. You raise pre flop with pocket aces and the “Drunk Guy” calls quick as if the cards didn’t matter. The flop comes with Ace – 4 – 10, you bet he calls and the turn comes Jack, there is no flush draw and you make a big bet. The “Drunk Guy” without thought says, “GAMBLE” and shoves all he’s chips in the pot. You call and you have him where you want him and he flips up 2 – 3, guess what the river comes a 5, he made a wheel. The “Drunk Guy” wins, and lets you know about it with a lot of happy yells and maybe a little dance.

The Clock is when players think another is taking to long to make a decision and ask the director/dealer to put a clock on the player. Unlike online there is no specific amount of time you have to make a decision and you will find some players who take along period of time to make easy decisions. Calling the clock on someone will no doubt upset your opponent and I don’t suggest doing it. If an opponent takes way to much time and you feel its been to long (it happens), just call for the clock and depending on where you are playing your opponent will have to make a decision.

If you have learned how to play the game online, you already know how to play, but knowing these simple rules can make you transition to the live casino easier. I suggest that when playing home games you follow these rules as well, it will make it easier to remember them when you play in more structured games at casinos. I hope you enjoy playing live poker, it is a different game and you will have lots of fun. Have fun and good luck at the tables.