Hi all,

What's the best way to gain experience playing live poker?

Should I go to my local casino and just play or just a club league?

My fear is that the other players will be able to tell I'm new by the way I handle my chips and cards ect.

Any advice would be much appreciated

King Humez

It's a little Catch 22: To get experience and get good at live poker you must play. But you feel that you're not good enough to start playing.

Buy in short and/or play very tight until you feel comfortable.

Experience can only come with practice.

i play live to gain experience and but online is a different animal

I found it really difficult to break into live poker due to my limited bankroll. One of the few times I have gone to play, I played 1/2 2/4 limit instead of 1/2 NL. I felt like this gave me the opportunity to play live while still being able to control the size of the pot given I was playing at stakes far above what I played online. It's a little different game but if you're looking solely to gain experience being at live tables this might not be a bad idea.

My suggestion is learning the game by playing home games with friends. You can ask them for honest opinions about your play in the moment. If you can't do that, playing the smallest stakes of NLH would be best. Just play ABC poker to start if you're not comfortable and play just the premium stuff really strong.

Originally Posted by Kinghumez

Hi all,

What's the best way to gain experience playing live poker?

Should I go to my local casino and just play or just a club league?

My fear is that the other players will be able to tell I'm new by the way I handle my chips and cards ect.

Any advice would be much appreciated

King Humez

No matter where you play, you will only gain experience if you play with time such an experience turns, tell you watching live matches will give you some experience too

I have never been comfortable playing against friends for money...only in charity events. To gain live experience, you must play in a real casino setting...and against strangers because that's what you will be facing at a casino. If you have a casino near your home, where you can play once or twice a month, you will get to know the regulars there...and they will get to know your game, so you must constantly change it up. Even going to a casino and watching live poker will help you get more comfortable....

I wont take you too long to get used to playing live. If there is a home game play in a few. League bars game while very friendly are good as well to get use the chips and making sure you are careful with your cards. If you go this route play the game seriously but be friendly. After a few weeks give it a go at the casino in small games and you should be comfortable. Good luck to you.

I know they offer an odds calculator, very handy to use for sure, but know them anyway!


I never play "not live" poker by the way.


Humans react differently in a game of poker than a computer would.

observe and learn what everyone is doing and don't make same mistakes as everyome else

Originally Posted by Kinghumez

Hi all,

What's the best way to gain experience playing live poker?

Should I go to my local casino and just play or just a club league?

My fear is that the other players will be able to tell I'm new by the way I handle my chips and cards ect.

Any advice would be much appreciated

King Humez

I guess instead of playing cash games you can play tournaments. If you lose, you don't lose as much money. Plus you get used to playing poker live.

I would suggest playing super tight 1/2 just to get comfortable.

There is no substitute for actually playing live with strangers. Starting out at a limit table has it's advantages but I would start at the lowest level NL table and play tight..... premium hands and/or late position for awhile. Learn to control the pot. Good luck.

Start with some fun nickle dime poker home games. Once you feel comfortable and have a small bankroll start with the $65 buy in tourneys at your local casino. Good Luck at the tables...

Originally Posted by Kinghumez

Hi all,

What's the best way to gain experience playing live poker?

Should I go to my local casino and just play or just a club league?

My fear is that the other players will be able to tell I'm new by the way I handle my chips and cards ect.

Any advice would be much appreciated

King Humez

Good day,

In regards to your fear, you can always learn how to play with your chips via videos on YouTube. As for the game itself, you can have a look at this link here. It's a reply to a similar thread that I gave.

https://www.cardschat.com/forum/live...e-play-440415/

As others said, take your time to know your surroundings and try not to stress out too much ( easier said than done )

Enjoy the game

I think it's obvious,the best way is playing as many hands as possible and dedicating as much time as possible to the game

Originally Posted by Kinghumez

Hi all,

What's the best way to gain experience playing live poker?

Should I go to my local casino and just play or just a club league?

My fear is that the other players will be able to tell I'm new by the way I handle my chips and cards ect.

Any advice would be much appreciated

King Humez

For a better answer I would need more information but I'm going to go out on a limb and make a few assumptions. The first assumption is that you already play online since your worries seem to be focused around issues related only to live play (handling cards and chips). If you are beating even micro stakes online you should be able to beat the entry level live games. If this is the case I think your worries are not as substantial of an issue as you think. I would focus more on the strategy adjustments to live play. Bet sizing, especially pre flop, etc. Being clumsy with live rules and with chips and cards could actually lead your opponents to think you are weaker than you are which may not be a terrible thing. If your not necessarily winning online then I'd suggest starting with the smaller club games and graduating to the casino after establishing a solid record. If you're already a winning player either way is probably fine.

Everything is true, in order to understand something, it is necessary to take and play in reality. You can talk a lot, watch and only personal experience will give knowledge and confidence in the game. Any experience is useful, the main thing is to start.