Live observing and coaching - looking for tips
 

Frond came up to Commerce yesterday with a buddy so the 3 of us could hang together, chat some, and play some. The place is so big that I had to give them the grand tour so they didn't get lost.

Got in about 3 hrs. of 3/6, Frond was card dead, his buddy Bob was the winner, and I rode the up and down train but was up at the end of the session.

One of our purposes in getting together was that we are all learning journeymen wanted to observe each other's play and offer reviews. Yet, 3 people sitting together and chatting with similar styles of play clearly had an impact on the table.

I wondered how other posters have worked together to observe a fellow posters play at a live table. I am looking for suggestions about how to effectively pull that off without impacting the table too much. Do you try not to let people you know one another or just let that go? How do you exchange feedback without getting up from the table together all the time? Real world suggestions would be appreciated because I think it would be useful for an outsider to really watch us play and look for bad plays that we might miss in our self-reviews. Thoughts? Suggestions?

Re: Live observing and coaching - looking for tips
 

How do you mean impact the table? I would think you’d want to impact them by taking all their monies.

I’d leave the commentary till after the session, since A) you don’t want the others to know you’re together except as casual friends (not that I think you’re colluding, but they might), and 2) you don’t want them to know what you know (hands, plays, etc).

Sharing your hands at the table where it can be heard constituted excessive tapping of the glass.

Re: Live observing and coaching - looking for tips
 

I don't see any reason not to be open about it. 3/6 isn't high stakes. I would be careful however, when two or three of you are in a pot with others. You don't want to do anything resembling colluding like whipsawing. I wouldn't mind you guys at my table.

Other than that, just quitely chat about the hands. Other players do it all the time. Sure you might give away some info to an alert villain but why don't you use that as an excuse to mix your play up.

Another alternative would be a private home game where everybody is playing and discussing each other play.

Obviously, a tournament would be an entire different story.

Re: Live observing and coaching - looking for tips
 

Talk about your hands afterwards or a take a break every 2 hours for a round.

Talking strategy at the table is lame. I'll do it if I can do it quietly in 1 sentence to a friend sitting next to me, but overtly talking strategy is bad juju.

Re: Live observing and coaching - looking for tips
 

Talking about strategy at the table is -EV, but at the same time you are playing 3/6 so profit was not the primary motive here. So talk away IMO. Who cares if you lose a few BB of potential profit if you all learn something?
As long as you do it relatively quietly I don't see the big deal.
Other people here will get pissed off because it affects the other players at the table - even bad players tend to play tighter and better when people are talking strategy - but I would argue a good player can just use that tendency and the info you are sharing against the you and the rest of the table.
Actually, I'd rather hear you talk strategy than most of the conversation I have to listen to anyway (which is usually about the last BBJ).

Re: Live observing and coaching - looking for tips
 

"I don't see any reason not to be open about it. 3/6 isn't high stakes. I would be careful however, when two or three of you are in a pot with others. You don't want to do anything resembling colluding like whipsawing...Other than that, just quitely chat about the hands. Other players do it all the time."

well said.