In a recent addition of the Big Poker Sundays radio show (the 18/05 edition) on PokerRoad.com Haralobos Voulgaris made some amusing observations about the $300/$600 blinds NLHE and PLO cash game at the Bellagio that he played in during the WPT Championship.

Specifically, he said it was noticeable, and highly amusing, how uncomfortable some of the top online players felt playing live, with some of these online wizards not even being able to handle their cards properly.

Voulgaris was referring to players we often see atop the online leader boards, as well as the big online cash games, such as Urindanger, Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond and others. Haralobos also made it clear that he thought that some of these guys were likely to be better poker players than himself, yet the awkwardness they showed playing live was a clear advantage to other more experienced live pros and players.

With the WSOP about to start and many online “ballers” about to make their first pilgrimage to poker Mecca we here at Poker Verdict thought it a good idea to give you online crushers some good advice for your first foray into the live arena.

Nearest Casino
First of all, if you have never played live in a casino environment get down to your nearest casino with a card room and get stuck in. Nothing beats experience, even if you find yourself playing in a tournament or cash game that’s much smaller than you are used to online.

Chips
Besides the actual physical act of sharing space at a table with eight other players, you need to get used to handling cards and chips. As Julius “Big Julie” Weintraub famously said, the man who invented poker was clever, but the man who invented the poker chip was a genius. Think about it, when you’re playing poker online you have converted your money into virtual chips, thus making the actual money twice removed from reality.

In a card room, it’s a little more noticeable when you get the chip runner to convert your cash into chips. It’s still quite easy to see the value of what you’re playing with - this simple reality is why there itends to be less bluffing on the river in live play than in online play (I'm referring to cash games here). The fact is, people find it a little harder to pull the trigger when they know all eyes are on them.

Patience
No doubt the first aspect of live play that you will notice, and probably complain about if you’re a multi-tabler, is how slow it seems compared to online. Well, you’re not wrong, but get used to it, the dealer can only shuffle and deal so fast after all. Live play has its own rhythm and if you’re feeling impatient when not in a hand try and focus on the game and reading the other players.

Cards
As has been mentioned, one of Voulgaris’ jibes was that some players didn’t even know how to hold their cards. One of the first rules of live poker is to protect your own hand and this starts with the way you look at your cards. Obviously if you hold them up anyone next to you or behind you can have a look. The best way to look at your cards is to lay them flat on the table, cup your hands around them and just lift up the corners.

I suspect that it was during the PLO round in Voulgaris’ game that the internet players were most clumsy handling their cards. Four cards in one’s hand is a bit more of a handful plus in Omaha players do have a tendency to check back at their cards more often than in Holdem.

If you are sitting in the one or the nine seat (i.e. next to the dealer) it’s best to protect your hand by placing a chip on your cards. In fact, it’s best to do this wherever you sit. If your cards end up going in, or even touching, the muck by accident your hand is dead.

Stacks
One of the advantages of playing online is always knowing exactly how big or small your opponents’ stacks are. In live play this is not the case – indeed, one of the skills a live player has is keeping track of how much money their opponents have in front of them. If you’re in a tournament this is even more important. Nobody expects you to know exactly what everyone else has in front of them and there’s no problem asking another player how deep they are playing. Still, it’s good when you’re in a hand to have a quick glance at the other players in the hand with you and guesstimate how many chips they are playing.

When playing live it is usually a rule that all large denomination chips are clearly visible to the other players at the table.

Routine
One of the top online players who has made the transition from internet to live play really well is Annette_15. Watching her play it looks like she gave herself a set routine for behaving a certain way when the action is on her. Other famous players who always act the same way are Patrik Antonius and Chris “Jesus” Ferguson.

If you can manage to come up with some sort of robotic behaviour for every hand you play (for instance always counting to five in your head before every action, whether it's a fold, call or raise) this definitely would help protect you from giving off tells.

Tells
Well, I managed to write thirteen paragraphs about online players playing live before mentioning the “T” word. Not bad going eh? Seriously though, tells are a factor in live play and maybe the best tip I can give you is to watch how you put your chips in the pot. It’s amazing how much we give away by the way we bet our chips. It’s also useful to look at players’ hands right after they have bet. Every one is different though - if two players act the same way when they bet it does not necessarily mean the same thing. That’s why I’m advising you to study yourself. See if you can spot any of your own tells.

Even if you have trouble reading other players at least if you figure out yourself you can stop yourself giving away valuable information.

Acting in Turn
Here’s an important tip which may sound patronising, act in turn. If you are used to playing online then you may well be used ticking the fold box when you have no interest in contesting the pot. Folding out of turn, besides being rude, can give some players an advantage and be unfair to others.

Raising or betting out of turn can definitely end up being costly to yourself so avoid that pitfall.

Etiquette

Etiquette is often mentioned in these sorts of articles – do you need me to tell you not to be a sore loser? Or, even worse, a bad winner? If you’re opponent sees your hand and says, “Good hand, you win”, rake the pot in and tip the dealer quietly. Do not ask to see your opponent’s hand. Whilst you are entitled to see it, it is considered poor form to ask for it to be revealed, but there is also another practical reason for this, your foe might just be mucking the best hand. If you now get him to turn it over because you want to see his hand and his hand turns out to be the winner, the pot will be awarded to him.

Do you need me to tell you not to criticise or berate your fellow poker players when they outdraw you after making a bad call?

Shades
If you really do feel uncomfortable playing live you can always go the sunglasses and hat/hoodie route. Whilst a hat is okay I would advise against the shades. It’s easy to end up misreading one’s hand or the board. I guess players feel they can hide behind the shades and find it easier to study other players, but I have to say that the few times I tried wearing them I just ended up with a headache.