How to FOCUS and Win More Money at Live Poker

[@ryanjones4150]

I love poker. When I was younger in my 20's and I first started playing 3-6 limit at Commerce, I would pay so much attention to how everyone played their hands. I would put together impressive win streaks, I graduated after awhile to the middle limits, and crushed them for years. All of the bad players liked me and would always pay me off - it's important to be friendly with everybody and make them want to play with you. I stopped playing for 20 years, and now I'm back. Now, i'm grinding 1-3NL 50 hours a week, mock that if you must, but my win rate is the best in my room by far, because I pay attention and play against the same player pool all the time. Being a CLP subscriber has been a great aid, so much good info there. I think that table image is less of a factor in my situation because everybody knows that I am killing it and my overall image is great. Because I pay attention, I pick off so many bluffs, and get so many through also. Poker is a social game - when you can take a super bad-beat from a real spot, and smile and say "nice hand" and not let it bother you, then you have graduated into being a mature poker player. Pay attention, figure out the right bluffing frequency, take time to make your decisions ( even if they are easy - it puts doubt in your opponents minds ) and the money will flow to you. Always keep an eye on all the other games too, game selection is important, when you get to know the spots, you want to be in there with them.

[@BallenX101]

Extended winning sessions is key. I was up to 1500 in a 600 cap game. An action player kept rebuying at 300, multiple times. I had enough chips to outlast the variance against him. Even when he built up a stack to 800, I still had him covered for both max value or to put some pressure on him in key spots where he didn't want to have to reload. All while he was putting tons of pressure on people with shorter stacks and he would get it all in vs them, having more variance than me. Image also was getting me paid. I extended that session because it was a gold, in for 600, out for 6,200

[@jack42011]

gotta love those dream sessions!! Run it up!

[@mylesdurbin2236]

Hey that’s me haha that’s awesome Bart made a video out of it. Sorry the bad audio I don’t know why it was so tinny

[@georgewbushcenterforintell147]

I been winning more and more and would like to thank crush live poker videos and Bart's voice I sometimes hear at the table in my head .

[@DStern20]

I think that it’s hugely important to get a table change when you are losing and have a bad table image. If that isn’t an option, it’s better to book a loss than chase losses where you can’t win without showdown. Especially because you will get called 3 and 4 ways and have to play a bunch of multi-way spots.

[@sleong]

oh yea they will try to come after anyone who's got a losing image, that's what I do. When you have a losing image, your good hands will tend to not hold up.

[@matthewronchetti2915]

I started making way more money when I checked my ego. I am a smart, thinking player. I have profitable online tournament results over thousands of tournaments and I am profitable live with tens thousands of hours. I had a dream of going pro, but it didnt work out, now I only have time to play occasionally. I know when I'm playing with fish and I know when the regs come, I pick up. I had a big realization one night when I stacked the last whale and started to pick up. A reg asked me where I was going, and I told him everyone at the table is too good, the game is going to be tough. He went on a rant about Dwan wand wanting to be the best. I told him I just want to make the most money. Pick your spots, play against bad players, leave your ego at the door, and laugh on the way to the bank.

[@onthebeach8211]

love Barts wisdom always. Let's all kill it tonight and the rest of the weekend

[@hankb9104]

Have luxury of playing whenever I want and 35 years of notes/records. My win rate is consistently higher` in first 6 hours. I haven't played marathon sessions in years. Pick times/days when games are good. Even will get up from good games if don't feel 100%. $$$'s not as important as they used to be. Paying full attention, making good decisions, and feeling good is the key for me. Wins just take care of themselves.

[@ricknebiolo2694]

Spot on Bart regarding staying long when you're deep (in a capped buy in game) and moved to a main game where other, weaker players are also deep..

[@iamawuss]

You can see that even guys like Garrett zone out for periods of time during games, it’s just something that’s going to happen. As Bart says it’s most important to really pay attention to unknown players

[@samuelsuiaunoa5004]

This is super helpful for me because I feel I am a winning player. but because my bankroll dwindled before I became a winning player, paired with me be timid about the length of my sessions, I always cut my winning sessions super short and it cost me my bank roll essentially because I was eating out of it. At the 1-3

[@isaiah58bc]

I do not play much live poker. When I do, to keep from being bored, I casually watch for tells. Even if there is no showdown, they can still be helpful. Example, in heads up I was on a draw. There was Q K low card on the board. The other player obviously had a K. Another Q hit on the turn, and they subconsciously reacted. I immediately acted as if that was a good card for me, and over bet like a novice that was excited. It through them off, they mucked. My observations also helped me in a big hand where I had 2nd nut flush on the flop. I knew a fish had the Ace/off by his actions, and the real hero had a set or 2 pair. All 3 of us ended up all in. A risk I understood. Lose or win, I feel better that I have the ability to read people in live games.

[@stevezagieboylo9172]

You didn't comment on the other reason to cut losing sessions short: There is a correlation between playing poorly and losing. (I know, sometimes it seems like barely a correlation, when we see opponents playing like idiots and hitting everything, but the correlation really does exist.) Maybe you (Bart) have a perfect ability to evaluate your own play and can accurately say whether this losing session or that one has nothing to do with bad play but is only short-term luck, but most of us don't have such perfect self-awareness. If you (the generic you, not Bart you) always keep playing when you're losing, then that means that there is a correlation with "keep playing when you're not playing your best." This, of course, is the opposite of what you'd like to do.

[@RealmsOfThePossible]

I get 'poker blindness' playing for too long where I miss villain's straights and flushes. I lose the ability to connect the board with their cards and when that happens I know it is time to walk away.

[@Pjay068]

Thanks for this. This is one of my biggest problems playing cash. I could have a lot more winnings if i figured out when to leave. Will give it a try.

[@guillermoalvarez9400]

In one of the rooms I play in when I get down big it’s hard to come back. Even when I have strong value I don’t always get paid off even with a bad image

[@TheBarkanMethodofHotYoga]

Great and insightful answer on how long to stay at the table! Thanks so much! 🙏🙏

[@hardwaylearner]

Check more, and don't be afraid to hit n run if the table is all strangers

[@williamraney3421]

Your content is thoughtful and helpful

[@mylon999]

Is that checklist you mentioned available to everyone or just for people who subscribe to your training site?

[@user-ld6zk6qj6w]

Great episode! I learn so much from watching these videos. Maybe it’s because I play the $2/3 in Los Angeles and the buy-in is capped at $200 but I tend to lose a lot of chips once I get super deep and when I’m the overwhelming chip leader at the table. It seems that bad beats and suck outs are inevitable and your stack starts to dwindle if you sit there long enough. Everyone guns for you and wants to double up off you so you feel like you have a bullseye stuck to your back. I almost never see anyone with more than $1,000-$1,400 at the table so I was thinking that maybe after exceeding a certain threshold I should walk away and cash out my profit, then start over. Any thoughts?

[@swooopg]

Yeah I have a rule that if I get up to 3x the table max buy in I move tables and start over. Switching tables is something I like to do every couple of hours anyway just so the opponents don’t get to much information on how I’m playing that session. And yes I play differently depending on who is at my table.

[@user-ld6zk6qj6w]

@@swooopg that’s actually a great idea to move tables every few hours, although that can be difficult if you’re sitting in a super high action table. I appreciate you sharing your strategy. I’m always trying to pick people’s brains and get pointers where I can so thank you for sharing :)

[@VodinhVlogz]

I’ve recently implemented a stop/loss strategy where when you’re up a certain amount, if you ever lose X amount you get up. For example, if I’m up $300, if I lose $100 or more then I’ll stop or at least pick up and reset my mental and game. If I continue to win and go up to say $500, my stop/loss will be higher at $200. If I go up $1000, if I lose $400 I’ll stop. This was just an example but you set your own threshholds.

[@user-ld6zk6qj6w]

@@VodinhVlogz thanks for that tidbit. Do you find that hard to do though? When I lose big pots I start going into revenge mode and playing what Brad Owen calls “the revenge range” lol. I think Bart calls it being “upstuck.”

[@VodinhVlogz]

@@user-ld6zk6qj6w Definitely. Had a session where I was up $300 the other day and lost a sizeable one to only make me profitable by $20 off the session. The table also got worse so the action was worse. Hard to recover the money so I decided to just walk away and reset and come back as if I was on a clean slate. Definitely hard to practice the discipline but the more you play the more you improve.

[@gnawbabygnaw]

Well said. Nice work. 🤙

[@straa8up]

I love this. Thank you

[@AT-bw4cm]

Play shorter sessions but play more aggressively. Something that has really helped my game is playing only 100bb but trying to find more spots to get all the money in as oppossed to covering the table waiting to hit the nuts.

[@dogperson432]

Which of those strategies will work better depends on the types of tables you're at and whether you are running good

[@texasholdempokergameplays7470]

Learning as I go!

[@cameronandrew1853]

Know when to walk awayyy know when to run!

[@tyrocksalot]

Put your phone away. Even leave it in the car.

[@DexterPlastic419]

When im not in the hand im hoping to see the other players cards when there hand completes. Seems like everyone else is on there phone watching there favorite show or trading crypto

[@tighttony386]

I smoke weed. Lots of weed. Before, during and after

[@RealmsOfThePossible]

And then tank like Attenborough at the WSOP every hand because you start theorizing the origin of the faces on the nut cards 🤣

[@fmcdomer]

do you notice you lose all your chips when you smoke OG

[@greasyguido]

I feel like Adderall helps a lot.

[@mangohavoc6428]

The thing about adderall that I didn’t like when I was using it (I wouldn’t play poker without it ever but got off everything a while back) is that it fucks my sleep schedule up so much that I found myself playing without any sleep, or food in my stomach.. and it just became a vicious cycle.. idk it is a ducking crazy performance enhancer at least I FELT like I played like a god at time..

[@samuelsuiaunoa5004]

Fuck no

[@matthewgittins3338]

@@mangohavoc6428 you need ambien to. Uppers and downers. And then roundy rounders for Friday nights.

[@billybobmcdougal]

@@mangohavoc6428 you mean using speed everyday is bad? Jeez, who would've ever guessed?

[@BrianM216]

@@mangohavoc6428 maybe sleep and eat - you shouldn't be having those problems unless you're abusing it. It sounds like you abuse it.

[@quiet_erp]

Solid.

[@jadecamera919]

Alot of the best players at my poker room have good stop loss they will leave mostly for their table Image.

[@danweaver5787]

JD&coke 🥃

[@user-ld6zk6qj6w]

Oh you’re an action player huh Dan? Lol. I love Jack and Coke too… just not at the tables. I don’t wanna get too loosey goosey 😂

[@danweaver5787]

@@user-ld6zk6qj6w I can smell so much better tho 😂 fish smells different then shark haha

[@user-ld6zk6qj6w]

@@danweaver5787 😂😂😂 You’re the man Dan! True dat! Fish must smell incredible to a shark like you! This one gentleman sat at a table I was playing at once double fisted and bright red face. I thought for sure he was going to be donating his chips to everyone but, man, he was on it. He played sooooo well drunk as hell! Lol.

[@danweaver5787]

@@user-ld6zk6qj6w 😂 maybe it was me!

[@user-ld6zk6qj6w]

@@danweaver5787 😂😂😂

[@shawnlinville7907]

Stay focused? Adderall. The answer is Adderall