my game: live vs online

[guitarizt]

Wait for aces. Profit.

[El_Hombre_Grande]

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The trick is to be the guy with the set when some other guy is stacking off with 2-pair.

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Nice trick. How about the trick of being the guy with the flush against the straight or even better that trick of being the guy with quads against the guy with the full house.

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I've noticed that the live players I sit with play a lot more starting hands in reaised post, like 57o, for example. If you play a lot of semi-connected hands, you end up with 2-pair more often than a straight. And so these looser players who play 2-pair like it's a set will often stack somebody with AA/KK/QQ who thinks an overpair is worth their stack. So, the "trick" here is to play better starting hands in better position, and be willing to fold overpairs. It's really not much of a trick.

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I thought your advice was spot on. Live, players are playing a wider range, and the field is usually larger. It should be obvious, but I see a lot of internet players overplaying one pair. Its because on the internet you can get hands heads up and the flop probably didn't hit your one opponent. Thus a bluff or a one pr hand should be good. When you go 3-6 handed, live, someone is playing weird cards and somebody got hit by the flop, sometimes quite hard. Far more often than online. It really has to do with adjusting to pre flop ranges. I think some people, even after doing the math, get stuck on "a pr of Qs is a good hand." It may be heads up. But 5 way, with others betting pot sized bets, it probably ain't. AND , because you are often mutliway, your equity in each pot is general far less.

I adjust by playing a huge range if a passive table will let me -- all suited connectors, all pairs, suited aces, and in position a lot more. But if people behind me tend to raise, in early position I'll play very tight, and leave the speculative hands to when I have position and a reasonable chance of seeeing a flop cheap.

I think poor adjustments are usually the aswer to less than optimal play from onliners. I think tells are overrated. If you think you might be a tell box, just work hard at doing the same think over and over, methodically. Keep you hands away from your chips (the root of many tells), shut up, and do the exact same thing with your cards each hand, whether you fold, raise, or call.

[PantsOnFire]

You don't have nearly enough experience playing live. And you sure do have to adjust your game.

To start, there is no fold button live. To add to that, many players aren't keeping good track of the pot. So if you are betting a made hand against a draw (or vice-cresa), a lot of the time villain will just see a bunch of chips in the middle and call. Thus, your fold equity goes way down live.

You also play a lot less hands live per hour so the natural tendency is to loosen up. Even if you are a tight player, you will end up with a higher VPIP live, that's just human nature unless you are very disciplined.

Finally, when you are sitting a computer, you have notes, Pokertracker, Pokerstove, a calculator, bet sizes and pot size on the screen, Hand histories and so on. You can sit there in your underwear and be pretty analytical. Live, you have virtually none of that and to top it off you have distractions like cleavage, social chat with neighbour, etc. You can easily lose your analytical edge when playing live. Then you start to worry about tells whether looking for them or concentrating on your own.

The good news live is that you have lots of time to think and assess. It will come with experience. Get out to the casino and play small tourneys and 1/2NL and it will come.