Transitioning from Online Poker to Live Poker :

If your game of choice has been grinding online poker cash games, and you are now considering playing some live poker cash games, you will benefit from reading the tips in this article.

First of all, if you jump straight into live poker without making the necessary adjustments, it can prove costly, because the game dynamics are very different, even if you may be playing the same stakes and same full ring games. $1/$2 NLHE online games is much tougher then $1/$2 NLHE live games. And this should not come as a surprise since $1/$2 is the lowest limit for live poker.

Generally speaking, online poker players are tighter compared to live poker players. I think this is mostly due to the fact that many online grinders are multi-tabling and since they always have action at one of the tables, they are not suckered into playing hands out of boredom due to being card dead for hours. That's definitely not the only reason that online poker games are typically tighter, but its one of the main reasons.

So what does this mean when you are playing live players versus unknown opponents? It means you should be value betting a wider range since your opponents are playing a loose/passive style. In online games, there may be spots where you'd consider checking the river when you have top pair with a hand like KQ since its difficult getting paid off with worse against some opponents. On the other hand, in live cash games, you're generally insta betting the river expecting them to pay you off with a lot worse.

The next part of the game that plays very different is bet sizing. This is something that you will need to adjust to straight away. Generally in online ring games the typical pre-flop bet sizing is 3-4x the big blind, where as in live no-limit hold'em cash games the bet sizing varies a bit more but the sizing is generally a lot bigger when players do decide to raise, usually 5-6x the big blind as a minimum if not bigger. Due to the passive nature of the games there is also a lot of limping into pots, which works out well when you have playable hands but don't want to invest too much.

The other very notable difference between online poker and live poker cash games is pre-flop 3 betting. Three-betting is commonplace when playing online poker, especially 6-max and heads-up formats. Players are looking to 3 bet you with any two cards all the time. Though in live games when a player 3 bets it's almost always with a big hand like a big pocket pair or big slick. As soon as you start playing live poker you should pretty much forget what you learned about 3 betting light, there are going to be very few spots where its going to be profitable because most live players can't fold to 3 bets and will call to try and get lucky. Make sure you only 3 bet your premium hands before the flop.

Another aspect of the game worthwhile talking about is the massive implied odds you typically get playing live poker. Like any poker game, you want to be able to identify the weaknesses in your opponents and exploit them. If they get attached to their hand every time they flop any pair, then its going to be hugely profitable to open up your range and play hands which can make big hands post flop, such as suited connectors, one gap connectors, suited aces, and suited kings. Although you are not always going to make a big hand, when you do happen to flop big, you can be guaranteed that you will get paid off, especially if there are numerous fish at the same table. In saying that, you don't want to fall into the trap of playing hands like K5s flopping top pair, and calling down every street with the second best hand. You only want to invest money in the pot when you think you have the best hand, and you want to build big pots with big hands. Knowing if you have the best hand in marginal spots comes down to experience.

And this brings up another huge aspect of live poker cash games, which is physical tells. This is such a huge part of the game, some players will tell you it's the only part of the game that matters, and this is true to a large degree. You're playing your opponent just as much as your cards. Your opponent's physical tells can include facial expressions, mannerism, what they say, etc. All these little things tell you a lot about the strength of their hands, without even seeing their cards. Reading your opponent will allow you to make decisions you otherwise wouldn't make, like for example, calling with just K high, because you are extremely confident they're bluffing. That's just something you would never consider playing online poker, but you have that advantage playing live poker.