Online poker has numerous perks that make it thoroughly enjoyable and profitable. But, it’s natural for online players to eventually turn their attention to live poker. We understand that there are many readers that will be contemplating playing in a live cardroom at some point but are nervous. Have no fear, we’re here to help! In this post we will let you know what to expect from your first live poker experience so you can be fully prepared.

Lots of Chat

Whilst online poker offers a live chat function it is seldom used. People are pretty much silent online. This is not the case in live games where you’ll frequently be sitting with eight other players who are engaging in lots of chit-chats. This will vary from movies to politics to poker strategy too. It may surprise you to learn this but many players see a live poker game as a social outing. There will be plenty of people who view it as their night out and will enjoy the game as much as the social chat.

A Better Win Rate

If you’re doing well online, you can feel confident entering most cardrooms. Even NL $25 and NL $10 players who win online can expect to beat NL $200 in casinos. Live poker win rates can be much higher than their online counterparts as the competition is generally softer. It should not come as a surprise as online players have exposure to literally millions of hands of experience. In contrast, a live poker player may have a few hundred thousand hands experience in their entire life if they’re lucky.

Moaning Players

One thing you’ll be sick of quickly is the sheer amount of moaning going on. Live players love to whinge! They will regale you with bad beat stories (which aren’t bad beats) or coolers that are common place in the online poker arena. What amuses us about the players that moan is that they never tell you the stories from when they lucked out on opponents. Also, their stories lack any detail that allows you to analyse the hand correctly. More often than not that they will make numerous mistakes in re-telling their story, highlighting that they are not switched on and need to know how to retell a story accurately.

Loose Opposition

The best part about live games is the crumby hands you’ll find fish’s play. They will enter the pot with any old junk. Why? Because they’re impatient. They don’t drive to the casino to fold for more than a few hands. They want action and they want to be involved. Fortunately, you can take advantage of this with a solid TAG style and pick them off. Don’t be surprised to find them in pots with ace-three or King-seven. The loose opposition is what will prop up your win rate. Occasionally they will get the better of you due to variance though but don’t get frustrated or berate them. We love fishes and want them to come back after all!

There you have it, the key things you can expect from your first live poker game. Whilst UK online gambling is on the rise, there are still plenty of live games about. We hope you enjoyed this article and will be ready to crush the live games near you.

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