Why experience matters in live poker Part 2: Unknown Players

If you don’t think experience matters when you are playing live poker you are sadly mistaken. Experienced live players may not know the math better than an online player, or be more attuned to poker theories and poker concepts, but experience does matter, and in this series of articles I’ll explain why.

What to look for when dealing with unknown players

Unlike online poker where an unknown player’s statistics can be looked up through a variety of outlets, at a live poker table the onus is on you to determine what type of a player somebody is. And since it could be a couple hours before you even see a particular player turn a hand over, it takes a long time to gather information on how your opponent’s play beyond generalizations.

As an experienced live player my assessments of the players at the table begin before I even sit down:

• How do they react to my entry into the game?
• How are they stacking and handling their chips?
• What are the mannerisms telling me?
• What’s the overall dynamics of the table?
• Does the dealer look happy, or are they eagerly waiting for the table change to come?

All of this information is taken in within a minute of sitting down. I notice the #1 seat has three high denomination chips that are not used in this game at the bottom of his well built stack; I notice the #8 seat is has two full racks of chips and an empty rack, in addition to his hefty chip stack on the table; I notice the #7 seat is dejectedly fiddling with his remaining eight chips, and just put a small amount of cash on the table. All of this is good information and here is why:

• The #1 seat is likely winning, and has either been “coloring-up” with the dealer (a tactic used by a lot of grinders to keep their chip-stack more manageable and easier to keep track off) or has shipped chips to another player buying into the game. Incidentally the same holds true for a player with a large chip stack plus cash on the table; this usually indicates that their chip-stack was even larger and a player bought into the game through them.
• The #8 seat is likely crushing the game and probably getting ready to leave soon. Not a good sign because he is going to be taking most of the money off the table.
• The #7 seat’s original chips are probably residing in the #8 seat at the moment. Additionally, players adding small amounts of cash here and there are generally down big and either don’t have the cash for another full rebuy, or don’t want to risk very much of their money at one time.

Other things you can immediately look for are:

• Who has slumped shoulders and who has a puffed chest
• Who looks uncomfortable and who looks confident
• Who looks like they have been up all night and who looks fresh
• Who has the big stacks and who has the small stacks
• Who is chatty and laughing and who is mumbling

Read Part 1 here