Bankroll 101 | Instant Bankroll for Poker
Making
the Big Move
AKA -
Live Play vs. Internet Play
If you're
like most contemporary poker players, you started playing the game online. For
the old timers reading this, you can thank Chris Moneymaker and ESPN for this
strange phenonomen. You see in the "old" days people started playing
poker in home games and casinos, only over the past 5 years or so has Internet
poker blossomed via the web. Regardless, if you've only playing at Party Poker
or Full Tilt, etc and you're ready to try live play please read on.
I had a
conversation with a friend today and he mentioned that despite being in Vegas
during the WSOP, he didn't play any live games while there. In fact, he spent
the majority of his time either at the pool or the craps table. Keep in mind
that he's played on Party Poker for quite some time and learned the game via
the web. He's read a few books and watched plenty of poker on TV, he's a break
even player at 3/6 Limit Holdem, and wants to play live. When asked why he
didn't try his first live game he replied that it just seemed a little
intimidating when he approached the poker room.
This
conversation was the impetus for this article and I sincerely hope after
reading it, that you decide to try live play during your next visit to a Casino
or perhaps find a good home game to play in. I'm going to cover a few topics
here and dive into the finer details in a few weeks.
Live
Poker 101
To start
we're going to cover a casino game and how to play your first live table
without giving away the infamous "I'm an Internet Donkey Tell". When
you walk into any poker room in a major Casino, you should look for one thing
and one thing only and that's the Sign-up desk/board. This area will have a
host who takes your name and puts it on the board for whatever game you choose
to play. It will list the various games being played, the limits, and the
minimum and maximum buy-in. Whatever you do, DON'T JUST WALK UP TO AN OPEN
TABLE AND SIT DOWN! Doing this will cause blue flashing lights to drop from the
ceiling and an announcement over the public address system to let all know that
you're a newbie. All kidding aside, the proper protocol is to get your name on
the list as mentioned above as most games will be full (especially at the lower
limits). Even if a table is open, you must have your name on the board so that
the host can keep tabs on which tables are full and which ones need players. So
walk up, ask if the game you'd like to play has an open seat and proceed from
there. If there is a wait, your name will go on the list otherwise you'll be
shown which table is open and you can head on over. It's fine to ask (if it's
not offered) to have a chip runner get your buy-in (some casinos will let you
sit first and post your blind while your chips are being brought out), others
will allow you to buy-in at the table and the dealer will handle the
transaction. Just be mindful of how the particular casino works that you're
playing at so that you know the next time.
Watch the
Button
Once you have chips and you're ready to play you need to pay attention to the button. This sounds trivial but I've seen countless instances where a new player just doesn't pay attention to when it's his/her turn to post their blind. Same thing goes for their turn to act, if you're used to a dinging sound or a bell ringing to break you away from your surfing or daydreaming. In a live game you don't have that luxury and you need to be mindful of the other players at the table and always know when the action is to you. Again, this is a big tell to experienced players that you're fresh meat. Don't let it happen to you.
Read the second part of this article here