SIT DOWN, SHUT UP. AND WATCH

Don't start running your mouth... don't try to act cool... and don't daydream. The first few minutes you're at the table is the most IMPORTANT time in the game. Once you've done this, be sure not to rush into any hands.


When I move to a new table... or begin at a game where I don't know the players... I always wait A FEW rounds of betting
before I get involved in a hand. This gives me a chance to get to know my
opponents... BEFORE I risk any chips.

Exactly what I do. Good advice.

It's like that old poker proverb, "If you haven't spotted the fish in the first thirty minutes, YOU'RE the fish!"

And the fish at poker tables are usually LOUD.

thats a very over stated saying....and if you cant "spot the fish" you obviously need to read Mike Caro's Poker Tells and get the hell away from the table ASAP

Yeah, good advice.

I couldn't agree more!

A lot of people thinks that luck has a lot to do with hold'em, but I know that knowing your opponents is the most important thing.

tigilles

i like to sit out the first few hands and keep watching to see what people do. then when you act like you just sat down you already have a little bit of a read on the other players, but they think you just showed up so they know nothing about you. this has helped me double up early in a lot of tournaments. find the idiot and suck him dry.

usually to sit out the first few hands is the only option especially in freerolls as some people go crazy and spoil it for the rest going all in with nothing. even when u call with a genuine hand u get a bad beat







katy

Thats some awesome advice for any type of tourament... But I've been knocked out in 2 straight freerolls with KK and QQ within the first 5 hands. And always from a low pocket pair that hits a set on the flop. I think in freerolls I will just try to watch my table for the first 10 hands before I begin to make moves.

A typically, and unnecessarily, ill-mannered response from bpazjr13. As this was posted two days ago, I can only hope that he followed through on his "threat" to leave our little band of ignorants behind. But on the off-chance that he is still checking in on us,

"Could you possibly be a bigger prick? Please, huh??"

Thanks, never thought about it, but I think I will try that advice.

yeah i would have to agree with you. Not only do you get to know the players around and how they play but if you sit there and fold it gives the apperance that you are a tight player and that always works for a good intimatation factor.

online i agree you have to read the players but also you have to read the patern of the site your playing on too..

different sites have different flop paterns if you can read them you got it made

great advice....i think i need that book........thanks guys

ive always had this superstition about the very first hand when i sit at a new table. No matter what it is, i like to play it as long as its pretty cheap. (limp in or a very small raise). why? because before i would always muck the first hand and i would always hit something strong on the flop. i've flopped nut straights, i flopped nut straights with straight flush possibility, top 2 pair, trips, etc quite a number of times on the first hand (that i folded) and it always seems, thats when the table is very active. a huge pot would be created and a guy takes it down with top pair and i had a straight.

So, i started believing in just luck when i started playing my first hand (cheap) and i would hit strong and take a decent size pot. it doesnt hit all the time, but when it does its good for me. and i get nothing, its an easy fold.

excellent advice!

I usually dont start moving until i get about 5 tells or ticks on 80% of my competition. If i have to pee, the chair better be stain resistant because i aint goin NOWHERE!!!

When I'm playing live (Seneca/Niagara Casino) I will watch what's going on for a while before I sit down to play. On line, I find that I can usually just go right into the game and often win early, at the cash tables. In the tourneys there's no waiting for anything. In live tourneys you may be playing people you played in cash games and before the tourney you can get a feel for the personalities at the table. Online same players, sometimes, but otherwise you have to pick up everything while playing.

newsetup.....you read my mind. NEVER play ur first hand at a new table

good advice i'll try it more

i wouldnt say never play your first hand. what you get big pair like KK or AA are you going to fold because its your first hand? of course not. for the most part, i fold the first number of hands when i sit a new table because i want the table to see me as a tight player, (and i am)...its good as a first impression, but since im known by most people i play with at the casino i go too..i really dont have to worry about my first impression as much since most at the table know me already.

if you're at a casino and waiting for the table, take advantage and watch how they play. thats what i do...if im 4th or 5th on the list, ill hang out and watch them for an hour or so. even if its a must move table you can get the general idea of how each person plays and thats a lot of useful information for you. so, when you sit down you can use what you know to your advantage right off the bat.

oh and only once have i gotten AA as my first hand. Button just passed me and someone in mid position raised it ($24 total) he gets 2 callers and its too me. i go all in for $100 (first hand!) and i get 2 callers. i won the pot which was great, but what a way to start of a new game.

.....concerning about previous post about playing first hands, i forgot to add that i like the hand to have some value. connect, high and suited ex. im not gonna play 2/9 off....no matter what.

great advice... yes u should try and learn how ur opponents play. watch and see how they bet when there bluffing and things of that nature

I'm glad someone finally got this across... You'll learn more from listening for a minute than running your mouth for a year.

yes , it looks like a poem ,

As much as I agree and practice what has been said, I keep telling myself that 'Hey, they don't know me or the way I play yet, so put them to the test'. But I don't have the balls to back it up. YET!

yep thats one of the many rules I have for myself.

I heard one day on TV, someone said they never play their first hand. So, me wanting to play well, I took the advice. I promtly chucked the advice. Yes I realise it wasn't actually "advice" to me per say, but that is the way I took it. I learned quickly that you have to play everyhand for what they are. Number one or number 100. After all it's really just the luck of the draw. And a few other things....