Message Board : 5 things to change when going to play live?

Could you write an article on how to play live NL poker for players who know how to play 100NL online? I’d like to play the 2/2 or 5/5 (max buyin 1000 for 200bb) games but I think there are some basic things I need to know which I don’t. I have played limit live so I know about casino rules etc and how to fold everything below top two pair when that old guy checkraises, and I have enough bankroll/experience to handle bad beats, but not my bad plays.

Basic stuff like how much do I buyin? How much do I raise AQ after 4 limpers while I’m on the button? How wild am I going when I hit an A72r flop in that case? I hear people saying stuff like "TPTK is the nuts live" but does that mean I’m going to bet pot-pot-pot or even more?

MC said:

Get Ed’s new book. It has exact answers to these questions.

I for one would appreciate a more constructive answer than this.

If no one were allowed to ask questions that might already be answered in a book somewhere, then this forum would be a ghost town.

Whether I need to read the book or not is immaterial. My point is, the answer to almost every question asked on this forum could be: Read the book.

But what kind of answer is that? What would be the point of having this forum at all? Don’t you think people can benefit from a spirited dialogue about poker ideas as much if not more than from reading a book?

thomas said:

Could you write an article on how to play live NL poker for players who know how to play 100NL online? I’d like to play the 2/2 or 5/5 (max buyin 1000 for 200bb) games but I think there are some basic things I need to know which I don’t. I have played limit live so I know about casino rules etc and how to fold everything below top two pair when that old guy checkraises, and I have enough bankroll/experience to handle bad beats, but not my bad plays.

Basic stuff like how much do I buyin? How much do I raise AQ after 4 limpers while I’m on the button? How wild am I going when I hit an A72r flop in that case? I hear people saying stuff like "TPTK is the nuts live" but does that mean I’m going to bet pot-pot-pot or even more?

Here’s my 5: 

1.  Try to buy in for the same you would buy in online.  If you are accustomed to a 100BB game, buy in for 100BB. 

2.  Vary your raising more.  Online, you can rarely open raise more than 4bb preflop and get action.  Live, you will get action on a lot more hands.  So, raise your strong hands more strongly.

3.  My experience is that live, people are considerably looser than online.  So, you can get all-in a little lighter.  But, you do need to consider the structure of the pot.  This is what PNL talks a lot about.

4.  Don’t let yourself get caught up in the action because you are playing fewer hands and some folks are gambling it up.

5.  Be about 10x more patient as the game is 10x slower.  Nothing makes you wish for the 20 sec clock more than someone going into the tank for 5 minutes as he decides whether or not to get all-in preflop with KK for 50BB.