888poker: Learn How to Spot the Fish at Live Poker Tournaments with Jordan Banfield
Table Of Contents
The folks at 888poker are back once again with more fantastic strategy tips. And this time in the hot seat is Stream Team member Jordan Banfield. In the video below, Banfield looks at the differences between live poker tournaments and online poker tournaments.
The video explains useful tips on how to mentally tag the different player types you'll see at the live table and how your strategies should vary when playing against these opponents.
What Are the Differences Between Live vs. Online?
Game Pace
The game's pace is a significant difference between live and online poker tournaments. In live tournaments, the pace of the game can be slower, with players taking their time to make decisions, chips being counted out, and the dealer shuffling and dealing with the cards.
Social Interaction
Playing in person, you can pick up on tells, whereas that's impossible when behind a computer screen. Banfield identifies that when he sits down at the table, he wants to discover who the fish at the table are and who are the stronger opponents. But how does he do this?
The two factors Banfield considers when making a mental tag on an opponent are:
- Bet Sizing
- Appearance
When it comes to betting, a weaker opponent will limp into lots of pots, and when they have a strong hand, they will often raise big to somewhere between 3-4 big blinds. These players will often be passive and less inclined to make big bluffs.
Banfield also notes that taking note of someone's appearance is also a useful tip for differentiating player types. For example, if someone is being talkative, having a few beers and having a good time, then you can assume that they're on the recreational side of the game. However, if someone is wearing blacked-out sunglasses and is being more quiet and stoic, then you can guess that they're a reg and someone who takes poker very seriously.
Taking in your surroundings is really important in live poker, as you don't have a HUD as you can get online. So you really need to break down the behaviours you see at the table to get an idea of who you are up against. This will help you make better decisions and hopefully make more money in the long run.
How Should Our Strategies Change in Live Poker?
As discussed above, one of the first things you want to do is find the fish at the table and discover who the regs are.
The number one rule in live poker for Banfield is that when playing against fish, you always want to go for value. If you know someone is a calling station, you want to bluff them less and value bet against them more.
Know That Bluffs are Less Likely
Banfield points out that in live poker, there are lots of scared players, and as a result, there is a lot less bluffing when playing live versus online. Three-bets before the flop usually consists of the strongest hands, and check-raises are more weighted to value hands than bluffs, so you should tread with caution.
Against weaker players, big river bets are often nutted, and they usually have it. A good rule of thumb is that when a weak player bets, they have it, and when they check, they don't.
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