I started out playing poker at my local pub poker league (this was when I did not even know the basic rules) and after about 2-3 weeks i began to venture into the online poker world where games are available 24 hours a day. Since then I have not looked back and much preferred playing online than live. This summer I decided to move back home to Auckland so I can save up on rent and other stuff. When I go there, after unpacking my stuff, the first place I went was the local casino (Skycity Auckland). After about 2 hours I managed to build my $100 initial buy in to $400. Holy jesus, I JUST FOUND MYSELF A GOLDMINE!!! In about 2 weeks I manage to win about 1.5k from playing 1/2 NL.
Now, I have been playing live at the casino for about 2 months and am a winning player. So here are my thoughts on how to adjust your game to suit live casino poker :
i) Hand Selection – Often you will see 6-7 players going to the flop, even if you raise it up to 6-7 times the BB. The key here is to raise your premiums only and make it 6BB+1BB for every limper. Also when considering whether or not to call with medium hands such as J9os, 54s etc, just follow the “2 / 3 rule” :
1) Does your hand consist of 2 high cards?
2) Is it connected ?
3) Is it suited?
Now if the answer is yes for 2 if the 3 questions above. CALL. These hands are generally more profitable in a multiway pot and will be +EV in the long run.
ii) Flop betting – Continuation bets are great. But their effectiveness is greatly reduced IF your opponents DON’T FOLD. More often than not you will notice that alot of players will be calling down with middle pair or top pair with no kicker. If you can’t chase them out, DON’T DO IT. However when you do hit, BET!!! No need to slowplay and try to represent weakness when the other players won’t even be putting you on a hand anyway. BET BET BET!!! They will be chasing their flush draws, straight draws, gutshots, overpair draw(lol) disregarding the pot odds or the implied odds. PUNISH THEM. Yes once in a while they will hit but they key thing is making them make mistakes (this has been discussed before in the Theory of Poker by Slansky). If they make mistakes, you profit. Do not be result orientated as in the long run you will be the one taking home the gold.
iii) Semibluffing – Semi bluffing is probably one of the best moves in poker. However the value of this move decreases as your fold equity decreases. Therefore, for the semi-bluff to be effective, it is best to use it on good players who are willing to lay down a hand. In the casino, you will see alot of players calling you down with 2nd pair and such. Because of this, it is best not to semi-bluff the donk unless you are sure he is capable of laying the hand down. These players will call you on ANY draw at ANY price. This you must not forget.
iv) Pot control/information bets- Rarely in online poker will you see someone making a 1/4 pot size bet, however this is actually quite a norm in casino poker especially at the 1/2 tables. Sometimes people make this bets because they are not confident in their hand and will lay it down to a raise but most of the players here do not see it as weakness as most online players do. Take this and use it to your advantage. Make continuation bets instead of the usual 2/3 pot size ones. Often you will be able to get the same amount of information making a small bet as oppose to a large one. Do not worry about people raising you with air just because they sense “weakness”, most of these players are not capable of that. Either they have got it and call/raise you or fold to ANY bet disregarding how much is in the pot. This is especially useful in the river when you are not sure whether or not you have the best hand. Just throw in a small blocking bet.
v) The occasional “squeeze”- Most players categorize their hands to :
1) normal limping hands – $2 worth
2) suited connectors/ small pair -$7.00 worth
3)premiums – $16.00 worth
I know this seems strange but when you play there you will see alot of players “juicing up the pot” with their $5 raise in the small blind after everyone had limped in. Some players do that and some don’t. Take use of this information and make squeeze plays. eg:
1/2 NL – fold, limp, limp, raise to $7, call, call, call, call, call, YOU, BB
If you have a semi-decent hand like KQ or 78s something like that, you should try to make a squeeze play and pick up all these dead money. Reraise it to $45, $55 and 80% of the time you will get all of them to fold. After all, if they had a hand to call a reraise with, why no raise in the first place right?
You might be thinking that “oh, but i thought it is better to play 78s in a multiway pot?” Yes that is true but picking up pots like that is worth even more. The next time you play in a game like that, try making squeeze plays here and there and you will find your ROI will increase.
vi) Table selection – If you have a choice, choose the tables you sit at. This will greatly increase your profit/hour just by playing the right players. What you want is a loose passive game where there is very little raise and reraising going on and more calling. You don’t earn money from playing with people who only call you with pocket pairs and broadway cards. You earn money from people calling you with J5, T4, 92os etc.
Well I hope the above will be of help to live poker “noobies”. There is still much more to talk about but I think I’ll stop here for now 
Once again, good luck at the tables !
evo.com
. I have been doing quite well at shortstacking PLO. What I usually do is buy in for min at .50/1.00 and then when I double up I move to the 1/2 tables and buy in for min. Sort of like a progressive betting strategy 