Live Poker Tips By Garret J. – Introduction

This is the first post on Holdem Review from Garrett J. – Garrett is a low limit live poker player and good friend of mine in the Las Vegas area who brings his unique views on live poker to Holdem Review.

This article is a quite random, but I just wanted to get a bunch of thoughts out before I write some more detailed, focused posts.

Most common mistakes I find in low limit live poker:

Poker is a game and viewing it as a game will always render one better results. I find when I am playing good poker game, I am not hoping for flops, dwelling on bad beats, or blaming others for my bad fortune.

Poker players as a whole are a bunch of whiners, listen to them talk and they point out every injustice they can. How many times have you seen someone complaining while stacking chips they just won! Or explaining if this card came on the river they could have made more money. You have to be greedy to play this game, but at what price?

Getting into a game involves you as a player finding your zone. Get your necessities together cause winning poker is a grind. Put your game face on and take every hand as it comes. Start simple – playing your position and good starting hands are the most important.

We all find ourselves lost in hand from time to time. If this happens to you in a multi-way pot fold and save yourself the bets. If it’s heads up check/call because part of poker is paying for information. Limit, unlike no limit normally has a casual and friendly atmosphere, and anytime you can get someone talking they will give you information without even knowing it you will be able to label what type of player your up against. A positive attitude and good state of mind will help you make the right decisions even if the results may not be what you hoped for. Results and good play are not always related.

When reviewing sessions of poker I generally find the more upbeat and focused I am the more cash I take home. Bad attitude or concentration is one constant that can guarantee a losing session.

What gets me is someone at the table playing and raising every hand. Recently at a 4-8 game here in Vegas I watched a man for 6 hours not fold one time before the flop, and raise about 30% of his hands, and some how was up about $200 when I left. While most players read this and say you know I love that just sit back and wait for a hand and take pot after pot from him. Two problems this generates for me: I attack players like this. I constantly three and four bet them with medium holdings and create big pots.

Also big hands in the blind yes even in the small blind if you have AA’s you should raise, but if there are 5 or more hands your up against your chance of winning if they all call to the river is less much than 50%. Pot size management in multi way pots if you hold one pair even with that beautiful ace kicker, tread lightly and pick your spots to punish those limpers that some how manage to find their way in to every damn pot you play.

Exploiting all advantages given to you in a game will always better your results. Low limit poker has a wide range of characters and at times the game feels more like bingo than poker, but patience and a good attitude are always the keys to success.

Another thing that gets me is everyone seems to know everything and when people get lucky and win other players want to criticize. Hell, you make fun of somebody long enough and they will quit making those bad plays that make you profit. So for those habititual critiquers and complainers: button it up for the rest of us.

Let your opposition dictate what style of poker game you’re going to play. A rule of mine is for the first half hour, I play nothing but superior holdings and play timid. This will set the table image for you in the hours to come, when you turn it on and start being more aggressive against the right (bad) players at your table.