In live poker why do players wait for their turn to look at their cards?
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2 Simplest reasons: So they can observe the reactions of all the other players and so they have the smallest possible window to give off tells themselves.
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Ahhā¦ I never thought of the small window to give less chance of showing tellsā¦ food for thought.
I usually look as soon as they are dealt (and I get them) which gives me time to think of what Im going to do, I donāt know if I look any different with KKās or 72, Im sure I might though lol
Thanks @1Warlock
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In live poker why do players wait for their turn to look at their cards?
Two good points Warlock. I would like to expand on one of them. When you are sitting on the flat side of the table, especially seat 5 or 6 you should watch when the players on either side of you look at their cards. Keep you head still facing forward but slant eyes to one side. Some players are very sloppy in covering their cards. Sometimes they will flash the bottom card. Usually you wont see what it is, but just the color, and sometimes whether a face card or not. Just knowing the color of one card can be a tremendous advantage at certain times. I have seen players reading cards like this and have noticed because you see them slouching down a few inches in their seat or sitting up as tall as possible, but only at the start of the hand when people looking at cards.
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Excellent advice Seville. A corollary should be mentioned as well and that is to protect the heck out of your cards whenever you do decide to look at them.
AreYouAhead, about whether you look different with a hand than without - you almost certainly do unless you have practiced disguising reactions and creating a routine. People are going to notice if you look at your chips after your cards or not. Are you looking at the stacks of the other players in front of you? They will notice how you put your cards down and the position you rest them after you look - any difference between hands you may muck and those you are going to play strong? Honestly, some players will place their premium hands closer to themselves in increments. Are you folding your hands or tapping your fingers or doing anything differently from one hand to the next?
Not everyone will read everything you do but its so much better to find a routine and stick to it as closely as you can each hand. The higher the stakes and the more pros you face, the more important this becomes, IMO. One of the best ways to control information is to control access to it. Having the shortest possible window is narrowing that access to the greatest extent possible.
So, IMO, sit at home, deal yourself some cards and practice a routine until you have everything down pat. Even better, have a buddy deal you random hands and either video tape it so you can see you reactions or go back and forth trying to read each other. Have your actions and reactions practiced so you donāt have to think about them at the table. Then use all the time you have before you look at your own cards to see if you can notice anything you can exploit among the players who havenāt prepared like you have.
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I always wear shadesā¦ pick the dumbest look u got, then as u look @ your hand or cards hit the felt, close your eyes long enough for ppl to try and get that read, then look for real when less ppl are paying attn.
You canāt look happy/surprised/pissed/ect ect ect if your eyes are shut, and most ppl are looking @ you right as you look @ your cards, or right as the cards hit the feltā¦ deny them.
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Iām also where sun glasses and I donāt wait turn to look at my cards. And when I meet some one who does , I think he is bluffing and make slow rolling to catch him.
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I will assume youāve seen everything, and tried everythingā¦ but I tend to look at the same criteria live as I do online, and zone out the other distractions. How much you bet, how fast you bet, your posistion, your table rep, and your rep. All things I can get info from online.
So RailBird, can this approach work long term if youāre ignoring all the normal āliveā tells and only looking at tells youād normally see online ? (while playing live)
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Mr. RailBird Sir, Does this big bet make my hand look small ??? 
To what level I interchange online/live strategies/styles is irrelevantā¦ would limiting information live to only what you would get online, long term, be cutting off your nose to spite your face ?
Yes I want an answer, not a ā¦ yes dear you look fineā¦
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7 Marriages ??? WOW !!!
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Live play on television.
During all broadcasts you acknowledge and agree that, if so requested by PSLive or an affiliate (if the Tournament is organised and operated by such affiliate), all players must remain within pre-designated locations whilst on all breaks in play throughout the duration of the TV Table, and that in such event, the players will not be allowed to leave these locations, at any point, without being accompanied by an appointed tournament representative.
You further acknowledge and agree that players might be required to show their hole cards to the hole card cameras on the TV Table on each hand they are dealt, unless the player has declared that they are playing the hand āblindā. PSLive, or the affiliate, shall have the right to halt play, within reason, on the TV Table until all hole cards are displayed by all players in play.
The second half of the paragraph is the most relevant and if you take a look at that last sentence, shall have the right to halt play to have time to show all the hands. This means that the TV presenters can (and probably do) enforce players to look at their cards in order.
This answers the main question, why they wait for each other, but not why it possibly could be advantageous to wait even if you are not forced to.
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First and foremost I want to say to Railbird that I admire his determination in overcoming so many bad beats at the altar of matrimony. I would also say that I believe some players enjoy the anticipation, along with the boost in excitement in delaying looking at their hold cards.
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Since its very likely the only way Iāll ever be on TV playing poker is if they start making blooper episodes, I donāt have a lot of experience here. However, I donāt think the ability of the hole cams to pick up the cards is dependent on the order of play. Each one would have its own feed and the image could be spliced in to the main feed no matter the order it was received in, Iād think.
In the WSOP event, there are no hole cams at all, just chips in the cards that need to be passed within very close range to a scanner / reader. There is one of these scanners under the felt at each playerās station around the table. This wouldnāt depend on order of play at all. So, I think this condition is written to allow tournament directors/producers to request a player re-present their hole cards to the camera / reader if they werenāt seen properly the 1st time.
One thing I picked up watching Hesp play at the WSOP final table is that he didnāt seem to wait for the other players, at least not always. I noticed when the camera was on Ott making his actions and then panned to Hesp, he must have already looked at his cards because you donāt see him doing so on camera before he slides them towards the dealer.
Added: I just sent in an inquiry to the TDA and if I get a response, Iāll post it. I asked if there were any special provisions for acting in turn relating to viewing hole cards for featured televised tables or not.
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Rail-Bird - lots of good advice here and well appreciated. You also hit on something that works in live poker, baseball, golf and many other sports / games: the routine. Whether its a set number of waggles or swings or a consistent number of times a player bounces the ball before taking the free-throw,ā¦ many people use a routine to get focused in the moment. So, in addition to reducing the information you may be giving out, a routine can also help clear your mind and settle your nerves.
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Greetings Warlock & Replay Family,
I love the rituals with the batting gloves as wellā¦ Not often you can take a cat nap between swingsā¦
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RailBird,
While I did not ask about my butt & jeans, had I, would you have saidā¦ yes, your hair looks great like that, you look fine ā¦ prolly notā¦
With respect, I will make a 2nd attemptā¦ ( Yes-No, and why )
While playing live, would it be beneficial to only use those clues naturally associated with online play and ignore everything else ???
It is a very specific question, to which I want a very specific answer to and some possible explanation why, pleaseā¦ Mr. Sir.
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I played yestorday like this sit and go in casino, its works good.
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I canāt wait for this answer 
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