New to live poker
 

Hey guys, I play online midstakes for a living and have played live once. I thought it was way harder than online simply because I could never tell how much people had behind, which is very important obviously.

It was also difficult to tell who was in the hand.. [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

Also, people were tipping the dealer a dollar for every flop seen(whoever won; 2/5NL 300max). Whats the proper procedure for tipping? I tipped once and kinda felt like a cheap ass but I don't really like giving up EV.

Any other advice for live poker would be appreciated.

Re: New to live poker
 

Tipping $1 for each pot won except when it's a blind steal is pretty standard.

Some tip more depending on the size of the pot.

The dealer should announce on each street how many players are in the hand. If you need to know how much people have behind then just ask.

Best advice: protect your hand. If you go to showdown, turn it over and hold onto the cards until the dealer pushes somebody the pot. Don't fall for the ol' "You win" trick.

Re: New to live poker
 

[ QUOTE ]
Also, people were tipping the dealer a dollar for every flop seen(whoever won; 2/5NL 300max). Whats the proper procedure for tipping? I tipped once and kinda felt like a cheap ass but I don't really like giving up EV.

[/ QUOTE ]

People were tipping the dealer every time they saw the flop, even if they didn't win the pot? That would be highly unusual, in my experience.

You should be tipping for every pot you win. This is optional in the same way that tipping waitresses is optional-- not doing so is a serious breach of social norms. The key exception is that it's OK not to tip when you steal the blinds-- some players will do so even in this circumstance, but either way is acceptable.

Re: New to live poker
 

If you aren't willing to tip $1 for (almost) every hand you win, don't play live poker. That's simply a part of the price for playing, much like the $4 or $5 rake.

You'll get MUCH better with practice at keeping track of what's going on at the table. Right now you're used to relying on the online crutches. But the same information is available to you playing live, you just have to work a little harder at getting at it.

You actually need to look around the table pretty constantly. You've seen Phil Ivey's shifty eyes, right? You should be watching everybody else at the table as things are going on. Watch as they look at their cards. Look to your left as the action starts to get to you to see if you can pick up on what the player or two behind you is planning to do. Keep an eye on the stack sizes of all the players in the pot so you can plan your bets accordingly; nothing QUITE as frustrating as holding the nuts on the turn with a set of queens with QsJs on the board, raising from $25 to $125, having someone go all-in behind you for $220, getting three deepstack callers, and being unable to raise because the all-in was only a $95 raise instead of $100, and then watching the Ts drop on the river.

You didn't sit down and start 6-tabling online the first hour, did you? Same learning curve applies. It'll take a few multi-hour sessions.

Re: New to live poker
 

you get a ton of respect from the live players by wearing the sun glasses headphones and Full Tilt gear...once they see you with all that they know that your serious and know they dont have a chance

Re: New to live poker
 

Oh cool, thanks for the advice guys.

I'll tip for every pot won and just try to get more practice.

Re: New to live poker
 

[ QUOTE ]
you get a ton of respect from the live players by wearing the sun glasses headphones and Full Tilt gear...once they see you with all that they know that your serious and know they dont have a chance

[/ QUOTE ]

Hahahhaahhaah, please dont do this

Re: New to live poker
 

[ QUOTE ]
you get a ton of respect from the live players by wearing the sun glasses headphones and Full Tilt gear...once they see you with all that they know that your serious and know they dont have a chance

[/ QUOTE ]

Wrong thread maybe? Something exactly like this in the "Ipods..." thread. But seriously, tip dealers when you win a pot - a dollar will do unless you drag some massive pot, then maybe slightly more. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]