Playing a big live tournament is very different from any other form of poker.
From traveling to the venue to the structure to banking your winnings, it’s a completely separate beast from online poker or even small live tournaments.
Today we’re looking at some tips for how to approach playing live major poker tournaments. Players like Katherina Schmeck and Adrian Mateos have already won bracelets this summer so the advice below is very timely.
Poker pro and recent SCOOP champ Jonathan Little has $6 million in live earnings and $5 million online. He knows his way around both forms of poker but still approaches them differently.
Major Differences Between Live and Online Poker
Travel Time is Study Time
One of the biggest differences between playing major live poker tournaments compared to online events is the time you have leading up to the tournament. With live events you typically have to travel to the venue whereas with online events you can play from home or anywhere else with Internet access.
The Venetian is one of many great stops on the EPT tour.
This means that for live events you have several days of travel time. I recommend using this time to study and relax rather than trying to cram in last-minute preparation.
In reality most players wait until the last minute to prepare anyway, so using your travel time to relax will give you a huge advantage versus your opponents who are likely cramming in last-minute prep as well.
Once you arrive at the venue, consider arriving a day early to acclimate yourself to the time zone and get settled into your hotel room.
Finally, make sure you give yourself plenty of time to get to the venue each day and register! There is nothing worse than rushing to your table because you slept in or had trouble getting to the venue.
Bank Your Winnings
Many recreational players who are winning money tend to re-invest that money directly into the tournament by buying more chips. This strategy makes it difficult for them to cash out profit no matter how the rest of the tournament plays out.
online poker legal statesYou always want to bank your profits as soon as possible. If you are up money, cash out at least 50% of your starting stack –– ideally before the dinner break.
If you are deep into the money and feel comfortable playing high if if gets there, then cashing out is even more important. In the long run it's better to take profit when you can because you can always re-enter.
A significant downswing could put you in a tough financial spot if you didn't cash out some profits along the way.
Adjusting for Blind Structure
Live major poker tournaments almost always have longer blind levels than online tournaments. As a result, it takes significantly longer for the prize pool to push up toward the money.
Because the blinds are smaller and there are fewer limpers, tight aggressive play is often rewarded more in live major poker tournaments than online tournaments.
No ID Verification Online Casinos in the UK (2023 List)As the blinds get bigger later in the day you may need to open-limp button plus hands or steal more to keep up with the rising blinds.
Also, since there are breaks every hour or two, players are less motivated to gamble when they have enough to survive the next break. It's also much harder to pull off any bluffs on the final table due to the TV breaks.
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Know the Rules!
The rulebook is longer for a reason.
There are often strange rules in live major poker tournaments that aren't present in online tournaments. For example, in the World Series of Poker you are only allowed to buy chips during the first nine levels.
After level 10 you must wait until the end of a break to buy more chips. Additionally, you are only allowed to enter a break if you have less than your starting stack.
These rules are designed to prevent people from grinding through levels without interruption (which would be similar to playing an endless number of hyper-turbo SNGs) and also to get more players to play through to the end.
Make sure you know all of the local rules so you don't accidentally do something that will get you disqualified!
Project More at Final Table
Most live major poker tournaments, including the World Series of Poker and World Poker Tour, use an escalator chip structure at the final table where the blinds increase rapidly to force a conclusion to the tournament within a few days.
Due to the rapidly increasing blinds it can be +EV to gamble and try to steal blinds even when you are under-the-gun against players who appear to have a hand.
At the final table of a live major poker tournament you should generally be more aggressive than you would be online because players are easier to bluff and the blinds are larger.
Additionally, on television players tend to over-value their hands, especially when they are deep-stacked. Many players want to “showcase” their chips and win big pots on TV, which makes them easier to steal from.
Another consideration at the final table is image. At the final table players and spectators are watching, so it appears weak to fold in significant spots.
Projecting an aggressive image is critical to building momentum and maintaining the confidence of those around you. Even if you are actually a LAG (late-position agressor), you should generally try to appear TAG (tight-aggressive) at the final table.
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Pump-Fake Raises are Tricky at Final Table
While you should be more aggressive overall at the final table, you should be careful about making pump-fake raises (raising with weak hands just to take down the pot).
These types of raises can backfire at the final table because players are expecting you to have a strong hand. If you make a habit of raising with weak hands, players may call you down light in significant spots where you really want them to fold.
Extract Maximum Value at Final Table
When you flop a monster at the final table you should generally look to extract the maximum value from your opponent rather than try to avoid a showdown.
Obviously this advice depends on the specific situation, but in general the heads-up TV table has the potential to be the easiest money you will ever make in poker.
Don't be afraid to slowplay a big hand if there is a chance you can get all-in and win a massive pot on TV! Don't sell yourself short.
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ignition casino- Review of Games, Software & Bonuses- Top Online CasinoGetting Paid Off Can Be Hard
Be patient when trying to get paid off.
Although you should bet and raise big monsters, be aware that your opponents might not fold! Many players get too eager to crack another player and end up forcing a cooler that could have been avoided.
Be patient and let your opponent come to you -- don't force the action. Sometimes it will take repeated bets and raises over multiple streets, but eventually they will either run out of outs or courage.
Protect Your Image at Final Table
At the final table it is extremely important to protect your image as much as possible. Limping, checking and calling should be minimized, while betting, raising and taking control of the table should be maximized.
Limping and checking allows your opponents to gain information about your hand strength for free.
Also, by limiting the opportunity for you to put bets out, you limit your ability to bluff or exert control over the table.
By betting and raising you will gain significant control over the table and allow you to win many small and medium pots without having to go to showdown.
Use More Bluffs Online
Online you should generally bluff more often than offline since it is more difficult to get a read and the action is faster, causing players to make more mistakes.
Since you cannot observe body language online, all of the information you receive from other players comes from their actions. If a player is raising and betting everywhere then suddenly they don't exercise any aggression for several orbits, you can assume that they are likely light in their range.
Conversely, if a player has been tight for several orbits and then decides to raise under the gun, they probably have a big hand. It is much more difficult to accurately evaluate a player's hand based on body language online, so location and activity level become much more significant.
Consider Playing More Hands Online
Generally speaking you should play slightly tighter online and slightly looser offline. The primary reason for this is the third street measurement protocol used in live poker.
In live poker the dealer does not measure the true distance from the center of the button to third street until after the first betting round is complete. Because of this, third street is consistently too close and results in significant amounts of card exposure.
Due to the increased amount of card exposure, you should generally play slightly tighter live, especially in games with sophisticated players who know how to exploit exposed cards.
However, because there tends to be more limping in general in live poker, you may find it +EV to play marginal hands for free or for a single bet in the small blind and big blind.
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nj party poker bonus codeBounties Make a Difference Online
If you are playing a online tournament with a bounty on the head of every player (such as the PokerStars The Springs event) you should generally play a more aggressive and loose-aggressive style than usual.
Whenever you knock out another player you win a substantial bounty that is awarded on the spot.
Since it is essentially free money, it is always in your best interest to try to knock out your opponents as quickly as possible. Stealing blinds, making continuation bets and bluffing in general become very profitable in these types of tournaments because going broke never really costs you anything.
Prepare Differently for Live Poker
To summarize, here are some things you can do to prepare for live major poker tournaments as opposed to online:
- Travel time = study/relax time
- Arrive a day early to settle in and acclimatize
- Cash out at least half of your stack before the dinner break
- Adjust for longer blind structures by opening limping button hands if needed
- Fully understand the local rulebook
Play Aggressively at the Final Table
At the final table you should adopt a more aggressive strategy to combat the slower blind structure. You should generally be more aggressive online because it is easier to manipulate your opponents with bluffs and it is harder for them to get reads on you.
If you follow these tips you will be much better prepared to transition between online and live poker tournaments!
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Bonus Live Poker Tournament Tips
Here are some more quick live poker tournament tips from around the team at PokerListings:
Erick Axelrod
I think one of the most common leaks live grinders have is not moving up enough. A lot of players get scared of the bigger orbit or don't realize how close they are to the big blind.
If you are a 10BB per 100 hands live grinder, you should definitely be playing bigger games where you become a 10BB per 100 online. The returns are just simply higher.
For example if you made $3,000 living expensibly in LA, you would need to play $2/$5 or lower - but online you can make $4,000 playing $0.50/$1. You're sacrificating a ton of money by playing too low.
Another thing to consider is variance. Yes, an absolute bad beat hurts more when you're playing for more money but you're also going to get runs of coolers where you lose $8k in 2 hours online much more frequently than live.
I would much rather take the downswings online where I can easily fire up another table and another account and have 4-5 different samples. And when I'm running well it's much easier to set goals and leave an online session much earlier than a live one.
The main tip I would give is to mix up your schedule. Playting the same game, at the same stakes, in the same state of mind every day makes you easy to read and puts you at a serious disadvantage online.
Mix up your games, stakes and even formats (MTTs, SnGs, 6max, full ring etc.) to keep your game sharp and your edge high.
James Hartigan
My number one piece of advice for anyone making the switch from online to live is to stay hydrated. It sounds simple but dehydration can make you feel groggy and unfocused after just a few hours.
Best Free Slots Casino Sites for UK Players in 2023Imagine how bad you'll feel after a 12-hour day! Bring a water bottle and refill it throughout the day.
Also, as online players we're used to playing way more hands than we see live. Don't be afraid to limp/call behind in unopened pots to pick up extra pocket pairs, Broadway cards and suited connectors.
Even if you miss a flop you can pick up reading your table through the rest of the hand. It's not ideal, but better than sitting in on every hand costing you chips and energy.
Finally, if you get knocked out of a tournament or beat, get up, stretch your legs, go outside and clear your head before jumping into a new one. It's a marathon, not a sprint.
Lee Nelson
When you get knocked out of a tournament, don't hang around the feature table. Get up, move around, clear your head and give your exit interview to someone other than your regular friends playing the tournament.
Get a fresh perspective. It's easy to get stuck in negativity and start listening to irrelevant noise when you spend too much time dwelling on a bad beat or bad play.
Move around and keep a positive mindset. You are going to get coolered; it's part of the game. No need to extend the misery by standing around watching your buddies get coolered, too.
Chances are you'll get lucky somewhere down the line and totally forget about that double Suited Ace runt of clubs that ended your last tournament. Keep it simple: shake hands, smile, wish them luck and mean it.
When you rebuy, mix up your starting stack. Don't be afraid to rebuy with 40BBs or less. Once you rebuy get some feels with a min-cash stack (around 20BBs) and in between. This will help you stay loose and focused.
David Lappin
Posture. Make sure you sit up nice and tall so you can see everyone at the table and in the surrounding tables at all times. There's ALWAYS something to see and pick up.
And finally, enjoy yourself! People play shorter, tighter and more passively online. You get a lot more playability and involvement for your entry fee live.
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