Tips for Your First Live Poker Tournament

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There are plenty of articles and columns in the ether of the Internet that discuss any number of strategic tips and/or changes players need to make when they make the switch from online poker to live tournaments.  So instead of rehashing the same old “don’t give off tells/look for tells” advice I’ll instead focus on some of the more esoteric things that rarely get mentioned, but are no less important than tells.  Some of the advice I’m about to dole out is simply a matter of knowing, while other things will have to be researched and worked on, but all of the following tips are simple and easy to do.

Avoid etiquette flubs

As a live tournament noob there will be plenty of things you simply are unaware of… unwritten poker rules to put it another way. So before you head off to the casino it’s a good idea to make sure you brush up on the basics of poker etiquette and understand why these rules are in place. Here are a few common etiquette issues that plague new players:

• Stack your chips properly

As much as you may want to be sneaky and put your big denomination chips out of sight or conversely to make it look like you have more chips than you really do, this is a serious etiquette flub. Chips should be kept neatly and stacked in 20’s (or more if you have a mountain of them) with the higher denomination chips in plain sight. The reason for doing this is to make it easier for your opponents to eyeball your chips, avoiding wasted time to have your stack counted-down.

• avoid talking about hands or gesticulations

You should never give away that a flop would have given you a strong hand (throwing your hands up or rolling your eyes) or even a weak hand (“glad I folded”), or talk about any hand that is currently in progress for that matter. By talking about a hand you are giving the players in the hand information they shouldn’t have, and it can have a huge impact on the way the hand is played-out.

• don’t call the clock or ask to see hands

I know online you get to see all mucked hands at showdown and the action generally moves pretty fast, but live tournaments are a different animal, and even though it’s not against the rules in most places to see a mucked hand at showdown it’s frowned upon by poker players and goes against the spirit and intent of the actual rule –which is in place to prevent collusion. So unless you sense collusion don’t ask to see mucked cards. The same goes for calling the clock. You simply shouldn’t do it unless someone is a habitual offender.

Reconnaissance

Before you sit down to play in your first poker tournament you should do some reconnaissance, or as a former military co-worker of mine called it when I was younger and worked third-shift stocking shelves, reconnoitering. Basically you want to get the lay of the land so you don’t get stuck in a bad situation that was completely preventable –in my shelf-stocking days we got to volunteer for different departments, so our reconnaissance allowed us to volunteer for the easier spots in the store. Sure we had to get to work a good 15-20 minutes early, but it paid off in the end.

The same is true when you play a poker tournament. By getting there early and seeing what is going on you can avoid long registration lines; find out if there are any out of the way or little used bathrooms that won’t be mobbed during the short 15-minute breaks; and by looking online or arriving early you can ask about some of the local rules in the card-room, which can vary greatly.

Watch out for Angle Shooters

One of the things I’ve come to learn over the years is that there are many really good people in poker, but there is also a significant number of scumbags and angle-shooters, and as a new player to the live tournament scene you are precisely who these people are looking to screw-over. While you shouldn’t expect to run into angle-shooters every time you play, you need to avoid being a victim of them at all costs, since it will not only cost you chips but can send you on extreme monkey-tilt to boot, and ruin an entire tournament for you –which could mean thousands of dollars in a live event.

The way you thwart an angle-shooter is to follow the rules to the tee. What this means is don’t muck your cards until the dealer pushes you the pot –no matter what your opponent might say, like “you win”—and don’t assume anything. Angle-shooters excel when things are happening fast so don’t let yourself be rushed or pressured into anything and make sure your opponent has completed their actions before you respond.

Don’t get overwhelmed

The first thing you’ll notice at a live tournament is a mass of humanity, and an amount of hustle and bustle that most poker players are simply not used to dealing with. Furthermore, you’ll also see the “experienced” players, who know precisely where to go and what to do, and will grow frustrated with you greenhorns, and your aimless wanderings and pointless questions. But guess what? Everyone was or is in your shoes at some point, so don’t get intimidated or think you are asking a stupid question; make sure you do what you need to do to give yourself the best chance to win.

Additionally, if you are playing in a WPT event or a WSOP event you may also see some of the superstars in poker, which can be a bit intimidating or even lead to some fanboy moments, with a bit too much fawning or deference shown to these “name” players. Don’t do it. If you see them on break go ahead and chat them up and act like a teenage girl at a Justin Bieber concert, but when you are at the tables they should just be a poker player; a dangerous and skilled poker player, but a poker player nonetheless.

Have a Plan B if and when you bust

When you bust out of a tournament, especially if you have made a deep run, you are at your most vulnerable point from an emotional standpoint. You should have a plan of action for what you are going to do whether you bust out in Level 1, squeak into the money for a min-cash, or make a deep-run all the way to the final table. By having a backup plan you’ll avoid donking off more money at a cash-game table after a terrible beat eliminates you, or simply dropping all your tournament winnings at a blackjack table after a bit of reverie.

By deciding beforehand if you will play cash games if you bust you can avoid finding yourself waffling over what to do and letting your emotions have a say in the decision. You can avoid bad decisions by leaving excess money and credit cards at home, or by putting a specific amount in your pocket to play with; even writing yourself a note regarding the evils of pit games can help deter you from titlting off any of your money.