How To Spot A Pro Poker Player

[@brucet.3239]

I would say another big indicator, and one that I usually find most accurate, is bet sizing. A pro will almost always raise the same amount and add 1 BB for every limper. Same with 3-bets, it'll usually differ depending on the limpers and whether they're IP or OOP. Recreational players have random raise sizes based on their feelings at that moment and hand strength, and they will rarely adjust to limpers and position.

[@sevenhecks]

I always forget to adjust my first in pot raises for limpers. How is 3 bet sizing affected by the amount of limpers?

[@johnnyBuz072]

@@sevenhecksit’s more so for callers to the raise. By a default, 3bet to 3x + 1 per caller when IP and 4x + 1 when OOP. You can sprinkle an extra BB per limper in there if you want (limpers before the initial raise came in).

[@etrain8885]

The introductory content is so helpful, my man. So many sources for intro content are behind a paywall, so taking time out of your busy schedule to grow the game is much appreciated

[@scottywayne]

Hi Brad, This channel is a great idea it keeps you 'connected' to the "regular guys". Now that you're a high stakes pro and a card room owner you're not really in the same world most of your viewers can relate to but this channel will be of great interest to the largest segment of fans. Great idea and good luck at the WSOP!

[@llikeafoxx]

As far as possible topics go, I hear you say a lot of times that certain hands or spots have to be 3-bets or fold, and I think it would be great to hear what kinds of hands those are and why.

[@chrismcnally1058]

Yes to this one!! I know there's a chart haha

[@swooopg]

Unless you have the nuts or close to it, every hand is either a 3bet or fold, over the long run calling is usually negative EV. The decision usually revolves around the villain and his range

[@dysena11]

Excited for this channel Brad! I’m excited to learn more about poker, maybe this channel will entice me to try and play one of these days😄 I’ve been a viewer for a long time but don’t actually know much about the game!

[@bengill8217]

Agreed

[@robspencer7038]

Agreed

[@uyseoklee]

These kinds of videos are great! Been a fan of ur channel since the early days and I've watched poker for a long time but much of the terminology is still new to me (under the gun, straddle, poker etiquette in casinos, ranges, etc). Always thought it would be awesome if you made additional videos that help explain some of the lingo used in ur poker vlogs.

[@bradowenclips6089]

Awesome, that's exactly the plan

[@lightonstillwaters6789]

Have ckd out his reecent clip that explains utg, etc, all you asked.. ?

[@JoshChilling]

Was there for the jiggidies, and now here for your new channel - absolutely love your content and this new format. Behind you 100% brother

[@achillesarmstrong9639]

I was a reg player at pokerstars and quit playing poker for about 7 years. Until I found a very good brick and mortor live poker room not far from my home. The poker room is actually a luxury restaurant that is not open to the public, it offer games everyday. With the minimum blind as 5/10 dollar, sometimes 10/20 dollar. The room's most players are recreational super rich guys for example some CEO, manager director and so on. And the amazing thing is the poker room doesn't charge any rake(because it is illegal by the local law, the boss don't wanna get any trouble.) All you need to do is to pay 300 dollar to book a dinner (which is totally not worth 300 dollar) and you can play all day long. The table is full of limper, calling station, and there is one guy who raise 20 big blinds every time he raise. And he sometimes like to do blind play, which he literally don't look up the hands he got. And he raise you every street. And there is a CEO who lost 10k+ dollar every day, and he almost show up 3 times a week. Believe it or not I didn't lost one single time in that poker room. My average winning is 30 big blinds every hour. So I quit my job as a machine learning programmer, and now play live poker full time. But in order to play in this poker room, you have to make your customer happy. They all know I have never lost one single day in the table. But they don't mind it. Because they all like me. I don't play that tight, I have to force myself sometimes loosen up, play less agressive, and sometimes deliberately lose some chip to other player. The poker room also has 500 dollar blind table with minimum buying of 200 big blinds. They once invite me to play. But I am a little bit scare about the swing of the table. I don't wanna play beyond my comfort zone. Sorry I won't say the exact address of the poker room. And the poker room is not open to normal pro players. My friend who is a CEO of a company invite me to this poker room.

[@theduppykillah]

Thank you for the new channel. Watching your vids has improved my game 1000%

[@oremconcrete80]

Hey Brad long time viewer and online poker player. Honestly I’ve always been scared to go to a casino not knowing the rules about putting my name down, getting chips. Straddles all positions. Basically an intro into going to a casinos and sitting down and playing

[@DanielRall]

That's a great idea! I'm looking forward to seeing y'all during my next poker room visit. ;-P

[@lightonstillwaters6789]

Hi B., Most poker rooms have a tel# to call in to het on list for $1-2 or$2-5, etc, that you will be placed on with 90 minutes b4 u roll off the list, so check in at the poker room desk by then. To prep, when u play online, try to keep track of pot sizes yourself, doing the math, and speakibg your actions and bet sizes aloud. At live game, verbal is binding, and if ypu place or toss a single chip as the first bettor, it is just a call unless u say the amount of ur bet, so u toss a $100 chip in but don't say $30 or $100, then the dealer will consider you are just calling the most recent bet size. My best advice is to go play $1-2 with a $200 buy in and just soak in the live experience. Bring no more than $600 and see how it goes. Just stay chill and adjust.

[@geortx8333]

I was actually waiting for this video.. i wanna see more of these..

[@eltonkimes8364]

Been playing poker the last 8 months since I turned 18 watching you and other poker vloggers have made me a way better player built a bank roll to play 2/5 love the game y’all make it way easier to get into poker

[@Skibear99]

For a possible future subject, would you please discuss Table Image. When I was at Caeser’s for a convention, I purposely sat down at the table with my lanyard. This helped give the impression that I wasn’t that good.

[@flounder1960]

I leave with less chips than I sat down with to give the impression that I'm not that good.

[@baileyelkins4930]

Awesome video Brad! Can you possibly do a video explaining poker terminology. Like going over what it means to be the big blind and how tight you should play from that position. How loose should you play while being the small blind etc. Love the videos! It always makes my day to see you've uploaded a new clip!

[@valterlima9858]

I'm from Portugal and I follow and learn from you the past year, hope you're having a nice run in the tables. Keep the good work 🤙

[@hymnofashes]

The first thing is that there isn't a bright line separating a 'professional' from any other player who takes the game seriously. There are many people with a healthy win rate at their stake level who can't, or don't, want to sit in a casino for 40 hours a week. And there are many people trying, and failing, to make a living from poker, despite the fact that they have a positive win rate, because it doesn't pay them enough to survive. And there are a WHOLE LOT of losing players who are winning players most of the time-- but every once in a while, every so often, they tilt off a few buy-ins, or they get drunk, or they get obsessed with beating a specific guy and try some insane bluff, or they're distracted by problems at home, or they just have a single gaping hole in their game (for example, they pay off nits on the river) which prevents them from ever moving up. Then you have guys who could beat a higher stake level if they could afford it, but they have no bankroll management. When they win, they spend it, when they lose, they go around hat in hand trying to borrow money for rent. It isn't like there's one group of people who are thinking in terms of odds and outs, MDF and balancing triple barrels, population exploits and individual adjustments, equity realization, relative position, combo counting, and all of this, and then another group who are just mindlessly flicking in money because they think poker is the same as blackjack. Most bad regs/donks these days have some awareness of poker strategy and some exposure to poker content. They may not be randomizing in order to decide whether to raise you on the flop with air this time, but they're not just giving it away either. I am giving all this background to set up my main point, which is this: you need to be concerned with whether you can make money at a table, and that is basically determined by how many bad players there are making big mistakes for lots of money. You don't need to figure out whether the good players at the table are relying on the game for income or just playing for extra money. You must learn to identify the fish, the maniac, the aggro donk, and the passive donk. These are the player types from whom you can make money. Nits/tight passives and regs (professional or otherwise) are beatable but only for tiny amounts of money, sometimes less than the rake, and playing against them is only going to benefit you by allowing you to stroke your ego. I also want to mention that a lot of regs are on autopilot. they are putting in hours on the grind, and so if they do have those earbuds in and are reading a book or playing chess, they are not paying attention to every showdown, and they are going to try to exploit you, but only in the ways that work against the general population at your stake level. A player who is engaged and making individual adjustments is more dangerous. You basically have two different tasks, the first is selecting a table, and the second is knowing when to leave your table. You have less information making the first decision than the second. I agree with Brad, you are looking for alcohol, you are looking for talking and yelling. Lanyards are good. Uncomfortable clothes indicating the player is on the way to somewhere or they do something else for a living are obvious indications that most of their time is not spent studying and playing poker. At the lowest stake level, women tend to be bad, but as you move up, the women rapidly improve to the same level as the men. Vices are good. You want players who smoke, who are overweight, who are distracted by sports betting or table games. Lack of discipline in one area of life tends to correlate to other areas. A person who is weak in one way is often weak in others. Old people are often decent at poker, but VERY old people are not capable of much except being a nit. Look for people mishandling chips or stacking them weirdly or holding cards in an awkward way that indicates they don't play very often. Look for DEEP stacks, because that means people at the table are getting all in more often than they should. Look for limping and multiway pots. And card protectors. And gratuitous/conspicuous displays of wealth. Ironically, a table FULL of grinders is a table full of idiots, because they should know they aren't making any money from each other. Maybe they're stroking their egos, or maybe they are all waiting for a fish and trying to outlast each other. Either way you don't often see a table of this kind, where every single person is a crusher and no one has an edge. The stereotypical pro is wearing a hoodie, has a backpack, uses earbuds, is 35 years old, is relatively fit, and deftly handles his chips and cards. But this is a stereotype. You can definitely get in lots of trouble when you get 3-bet by a guy in a hoodie and you think he's 3-betting you light because he's a "pro" only to find out he's the same passive donk as everyone else and he has kings all the time. Bayesian inference says that when you see something weird, it's more likely that you're dealing with the most common thing having an exception than you are encountering something actually exceptional. In other words, if your player pool is mostly nits, and a guy 3-bets you 3 times in a row, it's more likely that you are dealing with a nit that ran into 3 hands than a maniac who is picking on you. As your player pool gets tougher and more aggressive, you can more easily ascribe those 3-bets to actual aggression from this specific player. So, think about the player pool and the table dynamic as a whole, and don't give people too much credit for adjusting to you or profiling you. A lot of "pros" will simply put on an act for small money of being loose and aggressive and then always have it when they pile it, hoping you level yourself into thinking he's "capable." Well, maybe he is, but if you keep paying, why would he bluff? Don't go down the rabbit hole of trying to figure out a specific player's financial situation or projecting your thoughts and emotions onto him. Think of them like wild animals. Think of them like an animal behaviorist would describe a cat or a donkey. Don't try to figure out what their behavior means, just try to figure out what they do. Someone who is a real pro has specific qualities: patience, observation, exploitative adjustment, courage, resilience, humility, ambition, study, athleticism, vision, consistency, etc. And you can't observe these things directly. If you see, over time, that a player is in it for the long haul, and that they have a fundamentally sound, aggressive strategy, AND that they are capable of deviating from that strategy, sometimes severely, based on their *reads* rather than their *moods* -- well, then you're probably dealing with a player you want to not have on your left. Sometimes a player will reveal these things through conversation, if they like you enough, and consider you harmless.

[@smileydeassman5573]

Amazing content as always. Love how you are forthright and upfront about everything you are talking about and including all the caveats. The openness and honesty are very appreciated.

[@nomorevlogs265]

Great video Brad! Played with you at Bellagio a few months ago and you gave me good tips on my vlogs. I appreciate it!!

[@DaveGled]

Really appreciated the 411 on how you choose where to sit. Makes perfect sense. Thanks!

[@trabajoencasa6284]

Great content, love both channels, thanks for everything you do. Nestor

[@lukasgadke5325]

Love the channel brad! Could you make a video for someone who has never been to a casino in Vegas? I’m going for my 21st birthday in August! I’ve played a lot of home games but don’t know the little things about a casino. I.e. does the casino take a rake? How does tipping the dealer work? What’s a good cash out etiquette? I’d love to see a video explaining the intricacies of things like this!

[@lightonstillwaters6789]

Don't over think it. Tip dealer $1 each pot won, big or small, if huge pot maybe a bit more but up to u, buy chips at the lineup to the "cage", like a bank window, verbal bet is binding, don't string bet but bet in 1 motion with chips or just say how much to be safe, post your blinds without dealer always reminding you by tracking the dealer button, protect your hole cards with hand or a weight so dealer won't muck your cards unless u mean to fold. Remember to stay calm and enjoy your first time there. Start with lowest stakes like $1-2 and buyin small $200 or less until more familiar with live game.

[@billselliger]

Best video you’ve ever done. And I’ve watched them all. The honesty, the access…is just so refreshing.

[@dereks1743]

This is great. Looking forward to more of these informational videos.

[@BradOwenPoker]

Awesome, I'm glad you like it

[@DStern20]

I have a couple of comments and then a question for you Brad. I would say that this video should be titled "How to spot a Reg" since its more about finding quality players then what they actually do for a living. Also, I'm in my early 20s and I always show up in a hoodie, with my backpack and have my airpods ready to go but I'm not a pro. I would also say that some of these tips are Vegas specific since once again a lot of the good players in a local casino won't be pros. Another big factor is day of week, on Fridays and Saturdays you can almost always find good tables and the looking for the well-dressed players and people drinking is a huge indicator for that whereas if you go on a weekday, expect the games to be tougher. The question I have is when you are seat selecting in a game that is mixed with regs and recs do you find it more important to get position on a bad player with a big stack to have the best opportunity for winning a big hand or position on a reg to avoid playing OOP?

[@CocoDave37]

How to be a sneaky pro. Get rid of the backpack, no snacks, no USB cord and charger AND, put on a wedding ring! 😁

[@Will_Moffett]

Or just live to middle age.

[@sidneyvandykeii3169]

Wear a fake lanyard also. Imagine a pro wearing a fake lanyard with a fake company's name. Could make up a crazy fake company and act like a salesman pitching your companies fake product.

[@garrydye2394]

​@@sidneyvandykeii3169i was thinking the same thing....get s fake wedding ring and maybe a tie. Also order ice tea on the rocks at the bar and carry it over to the table.

[@dominicdaly3484]

Great video Brad. I appreciate the content as always. I’m starting to get back into poker and looking to focus on tournament play after I retire in a few years. I’m not sure if anyone asked if you can make future videos on your recommendations for charts to study by position, as well as possibly a video on hand odd and pot odds. Thanks again for all that you do for your viewers!

[@RemedialRob]

Yes please explain things like under the gun and other table positions. And how they effect the way you bet.

[@NateUnemployed]

This is really helpful, would you be willing to talk about how you manage your bank roll and also go about paying yourself?

[@leojoseph6385]

Great tips. Navigating a poker room and a poker table is an acquired skill and impacts the Bottom Line.

[@Pirate-vw6sn]

Great stuff Brad. I really enjoy your knowledge and insights. Thanks for setting up this second channel.

[@ryangi5]

I’m just a rec. I made a trip to Vegas in 2019 for fun. I was playing a daily tournament at Caesar’s and had an interesting hand. A big tournament was about to start at the Venetian in a day or two and a couple of people at the table were talking about it. The cutoff made a comment about how he’s a pro and the daily tournament we were playing was a warm-up for him before he entered the Venetian tournament. Nobody said anything in response, but the cutoff made a comment expressing frustration that people didn’t believe he was a pro. Right after making that comment, it folds to the cutoff and he open-limps! I was in the big blind. The button folded and I think the small blind folded too. I didn’t have a strong hand and often I would contemplate raising the limper, but I was really thrown for a loop by the cutoff’s “I’m a pro and nobody believes me” speech. I thought he must be hoping someone would raise his limp and he was trapping. So I chickened out and checked and we went to the flop. The rest of the hand was uneventful, other than confirming that the cutoff open limped with a marginal hand. When he initially made his “l’m a pro” comment, I basically just accepted it. But when he followed that up with open limping a marginal hand in late position, I knew he was full of it.

[@JulienVargas]

This is an awesome video. More like this will definitely help. Would love to hear your thoughts on bankroll management, when to move up in stakes and just playing for a living. How it impacts your lifestyle, relationships and things like that. Thanks again!

[@ShermanMR2]

I’ve got a good tip for a video. How do you start a poker vlog? And do people look down upon you for filming at the table? Love your videos Brad keep up the good work.

[@tonycatalano4338]

Very informative, always appreciate your authenticity.

[@jackknife9228]

Definitely could find a modern poker video made. How it's played now, like with what you were talking about with Ranges and with the general math concepts. Thanks Brad.

[@sigtau1986]

Very good content Brad. Learned a lot. Thank you for putting this together.

[@trevorreynolds7377]

Hey brad your channel has really increased my interest and appreciation for good poker players. I was hoping on this channel you could do a video on how to get into your first table? I have a trip planned to Austin in October and I plan on stopping by the lodge.

[@lightonstillwaters6789]

If you have a poker room near you, maybe go there and play $1-2 buy in $200 to get used to it, handling cards and chips... Austin will have strong players, so prepping before Oct would help a lot.

[@nfettes1]

Love the channel idea! Can't wait for more poker videos.

[@ddk7577]

Very much enjoyed your commentaries. Look forward to more of these.

[@joezip6389]

Love all the good content you provide

[@iamtheverybestever]

Excellent video - thanks for these, it's always interesting to hear a perspective from a regular.

[@joshteerman5303]

Great concept for a video mate!! Loved it

[@podtarman2571]

Great Vlog Brad. Thank you..... Good content and information for us regular players.

[@JohnSmith-ml2zr]

Great video Mr. Brad I appreciate All your content hopefully see you at the lodge one day.

[@brianpotter2812]

As a player who plays mostly $1-$2 NL Hold 'em at my local casino: I would also classify some players as "regulars" who are experienced enough at the game but NOT quite a pro. These guys know the values of certain hands, but still usually call to the river with any pair (to make sure they aren't getting bluffed). VERY good to have at the table as your flopped 2 pair/sets will gain even more money by playing against them. If the dealer knows them by name before seeing a player's card, and if other people at the table know who they are, then they're a regular. If the people at the table identify the same person by name, then classify those as regulars too. Those tend to be VERY good games to be in for beginning/intermediate players looking to practice their game without getting into the thick of things or at higher stakes with more seasoned players. You can practice reads/tells and classify most of these regulars as rocks, call stations, or maniac players (especially those that sit down with two bottles of beer and less than the max buyin lol). There are a few regulars I would say are better than average, but you can easily identify them and avoid dancing with them unless you have a very strong hand. You don't make as much as you would at $2-$5 or $5-$10, but you can make decent money ($40/hour or more) playing in these types of games. You're looking to stack the regulars that have hit a few hands to get your pick payoffs :)

[@jayslupesky]

Great video, Brad. It’s both fun and informative.

[@mikewinter]

seat positioning info is great

[@devinmiller2329]

Really love this style of content, love the vlog but would really enjoy seeing more of this style as well!

[@MangoPopper]

A wonderful topic to cover (and useful to me) -- thanks, Brad!

[@ExbotHero]

Nice one Brad. (Only played in Europe myself) one time (too long ago) I was a professional player for real. (Made a really good living during those golden years). Injuries stopped my ability to play well enough for a very long time and it's just the last 7-to 8 years I've been able to play (more as a recreational player) than a pro. (I'm old, 55, and that most affects my type of game in some negative way regardless of my idea of how I play today.) With that said. I do play more of the new generation poker style than the fee-based one I used to play. (My edge back then was my ability to understand the odds combined with an ability to "feel" (read: Se patterns). Anyhow; perhaps it's fairer to say that I used to use a mix, depending on who I played against. Therefore It wasn't too hard to move over to a more math-based poker style when I made the comeback, as it was one of my strengths back then too. (If anything it was quite fun to get deeper into it with all the new resources.) Anyway - I actually have a question (a topic for one of your videos). I know exactly where to go in different parts of Europe to find the softest and/or most profitable games. Trying my very best to fly under the radar as a seemly friendly recreational player wherever I go. My question to you. Where do I find the most profitable games in the US? (Planning an extended stay to test your scene.) Love to play against any type of strategy - Every type has its own leaks but naturally, I want to avoid the worst type of sharks and quite frankly dangerous places as I make my way around your country. If I have to give you ant style I prefer to meet, I probably have to say overaggressive and then naturally timid ones end up at the top. Therefore the Texasstyle seems really interesting Texas must be one of the best places, right?! But what's about Vegas?! I used to think that Vegas was a shark tank until your videos came out. They almost paint the opposite picture as far as I can see combined with other Vloggers' videos. What do you say? Vegas in the early morning on certain days is one other place to make easier money or what?! Give me some ideas, any ideas, don't want to try state by state randomly. To be fair. When I say I'm, not a pro that's more my own view than a fact that describes where my money comes from. I've been supporting myself on poker these 7 - 8 years and do it fairly easily despite my age (picking my games of course.) Looking forward to your answer and/or the video in the near future. 👍 Edit; Forgot to mention that I'm comfortable to plat ant level up to 50/100 but I prefer 5/10 or similar as it's enough money and less risk short term that way.

[@ajvaronos5916]

Come to Los Angeles. Expensive asf to live here but these games are filled with rich gamblers who aren’t scared to splash around with no real strategy or understanding of modern poker theory

[@ExbotHero]

@@ajvaronos5916 Sounds perfect, thanks! 👍

[@atallah24]

So what your saying is next time I go play 5-10, buy in for less than the max and look way out of place. Don't shuffle my chips...Call my wife at the table and tell her I'll be home soon then wait for my spot. Ha, nice vid brad.

[@Illusions396]

Explain straddling and what you mean by playing top or bottom of your range.

[@sonnyskustoms]

thanks for this content sir super helpful, I seem to be having trouble figuring out the combination combos in putting them into live play situations, hopefully you cN explain in depth on next video?? 🙏

[@aturner333]

Thank you for this Brad ! Can you talk about betting and how you gauge how much to bet as hand plays out and different scenarios .

[@chilam6227]

Great info, very helpful! Thanks for sharing! What's in your backpack?

[@JuniorCase1]

Thanks for the advice Brad! Looking forward to watching more on your new channel!

[@AyCaramba1311]

I prefer feel based but based in your style. Saying table choice is one thing but thanks for the description.

[@howard2031]

I can attest that as soon as I tried to become a pro in Vegas my relationship with my girlfriend for 3 years who I thought I was going to marry evaporated in 6 months. It didn't matter how much I made that weekend or if we spent a few nights at the Bellagio or Venetian, she just became very distant. Her parents and her friends were all in her ear telling her to find someone else... she did and I don't really blame her. Very few women are going to put up with playing cards 20 to 40 hours a week which was the minimum I needed to make enough money to live. And most those type of women that would be with a man that plays cards probably play holdem themselves. Would I want to marry a female poker player who has aggression, tilt, and bluffing in their DNA...hell no. Now I just try to treat poker as a hobby and be the best I can at it, sort of like fishing. The local 1-3 games are still mostly ok, and you can make 20 to $40 an hour...20$ an hour if you play boring nitty and no one catches on/40$ an hour if you can master a tight aggressive style, have a good rep and won't get your bluffs called. But just be ready to have your $12 raise called by five people and get shown 73 suited for a rivered 2 pair vs your KKs. Also learn how to manage a big stack. Once you stack a couple of the shorter stack rec players (who won't fold their top pair-no kicker to your top pair-top kicker) you're going to have $600 sitting in front of you in a 1-3 game where you started with 300$ and feeling good. That's usually when I get up and leave. If you're not good with a big stack, you can lose it all in one hand to the random pro that is sitting there with 1000$ or lose half of it by getting bluffed out of your shoes. Yes, there are pros at 1-3. Especially in casinos in more rural areas which are often the only game in town and 1-3 is the only option.

[@williamblondin5834]

Sorry to be rude but she probably left you because you were a 1-3 *pro 😂

[@aidanbenzel1437]

@@williamblondin5834 I don’t think you read the comment very closely

[@donovandavidson8950]

Love it. I'm simply looking to up my rec. game, be a better player and leave the table with a few more wins. Thx coach Brad

[@BradOwenPoker]

Very cool Donovan. Poker is pretty easy when you just put in the time studying. It's shocking to me how few people actually put in effort to improve their game; if you do that, it'll put you ahead of about 95% of people.

[@donovandavidson8950]

@@BradOwenPoker hey Brad, can you please suggest a first poker book or better action to up my $1/3 game. Thx for your time and grats on simply Killing It!

[@mitiamed]

Thanks for this Brad

[@rh7062]

Good Video. Can you explain the different types of straddle and how the action changes. How do you capitalize on players that always straddle in either UTG or the Button?

[@KozTV]

Love this, thanks for this Brad. When you have a moment, can you talk about "pot odds". Thanks!

[@antibishonen]

To add some of the usual tells of a poker pro: 1. Usual attire is casual with emphasis of comfort. To the players wearing sport apparel, we know who you are. 2. Somewhat focus at the game. Can make small talk, but anything longer is frown upon. 3. The dealers know them, possibly the porters and security as well. If they are regulars, they're probably play poker for a living.

[@ljosh4240]

can you do a video on how to bet appropriately?

[@WhatsUpWithSheila]

I only play poker online... but everything you said actually seems to make sense👍

[@ljsquare1]

Good advice , thanks!

[@mikearmstrong6665]

Brad all good thoughts. The can't miss tell is that if you are standing in line for a tournament and the guy in front of you has been chatting you up and then ask you to take a piece of him in the tourney he is a pro

[@briansmall3090]

Excellent tips Brad. It's also worth mentioning that there are guys out there who are pros but act and dress like a rec player exactly for the reasons you talked about.

[@libs-Suk-Balz]

Brad, I agree w a lot about what you said except, I am a great low stack player. I play 10/25 or 25/50 Plo. If buy is 2-5k, I’ll buy 2500. I just play better under stacked even tho I am giving larger stacks advantage

[@Psychoginjaaa73]

Ive been watching your videos for years and only just now realized the value of study. I use your content as free hand quizes and im starting to see results. Perhaps one day ill see you at the tables.

[@brandendoyle1784]

My questions is when your traveling to play high stakes do you wire ur bank roll to the casinos?

[@UnklKenny]

Love the content. Keep em comin and LFG.... thx for all you do for poker also.

[@seankelley1442]

Great video! Also loved the hidden appearance of your cats. Check out the reflection in the tv at 10:13. 🤣

[@tripduece2055]

Vegas is the exception to the “no pros at the 1/2 or 1/3 table”. There are actually quite a few 1/2 & 1/3 pros in Vegas.

[@stafanovich1792]

This is an excellent video, love to watch you play and how you talk your way through each hand. Have learnt a huge amount just from watching the Vlog's I have just returned from Atlantic City where I played my first ever cash game at a "real casino with real players" played at The Borgata $1/$3 bought in for $200 and walked away after 3hrs with $250 absolutely buzzing with that, although I was up $150 at 1 point, only left the table when 1 pro and 3 young very good players arrived. So glad I have just watched this though as it kind of backs up my decision to walk away, "the pro" who arrived had the headphones on back pack etc pretty much everything you said.............i played zero hands against him!!! 🤣 Should have said I was over there visiting a friend and travelled from the UK Borgata was superb, staff, dealers etc everything was just how I had hoped it would be. Next up is The Bellagio!!

[@AverageDadOfficial]

Hey, Have you ever played with a partially sighted player? How die the casino assist these players? Will the dealer announce the cards on the flip, turn and river? Thanks 🙏

[@adammike]

Great video! I'm definitely a poker hobbyist at this point, because the closest poker room is nearly 2 hours away. However, I love the game and I've learned a lot from watching your Vlogs. Thanks for the great content!

[@lightonstillwaters6789]

Try online for penny stakes like 2c 5c or 5c 10c, you will learn a lot cheaply.

[@dougwarnock2690]

Been watching you a long time Brad. Thank you for doing some introductory and instructional content. Keep up the good work. Happy for your success especially with the Lodge ownership.

[@BradOwenPoker]

Thanks a lot Douglas. The Lodge has been an interesting project to be involved with. I appreciate you supporting the main channel and now this one as well.

[@stevenjacobson8177]

Brad rules baby !

[@thomasgoebel6705]

Best part of my work day is watching your videos , kills the time beautifully. Thanks bro …..p.s. gotta get you a good interior decorator my man lol

[@lightonstillwaters6789]

Lol, compliment then diss his decor.

[@jthejeweler85]

Just curious on what u think an appropriate bankroll a player would need to grind 2-5? What are your thoughts on this Brad?

[@PeterParker-vq2cz]

10:13 kitty cats in the tv reflection :P

[@brandonhopkins5830]

hey if i am new is 1/3 good for me to get started to grind and possibly make a decent amount ?

[@michaelgrayrn4579]

As someone that's been playing for 30 years, the next level of this is actually intentionally getting a lanyard, even if you're not drinking, ordering the drink, stacking the chips irregularly, and some other goofball things. Minimizing your backpack footprint to something a little smaller so that you still have all of the preparedness and tools but not with the obvious big black Oakley bookbag. And then as far as assessment of players, the biggest indicator is a person's situation awareness. I don't wear sunglasses, but I always have a hat so that my head can be angled to minimize exposure to what it is I'm looking at and where I'm looking towards. For the most part 70 to 80% of my attention it's going to be towards the left so that way I may gain indications of the two or three people that are going to act behind me and they're involvement, posture, breathing, changes in their standard attention, interest versus disinterest, etc. This puts you in a position that even if you may be two or three spots off the button, you may be able to achieve the button because of the awareness of what's going on to your left. That being said of course you also can position yourself to the right of these people as well when seat changes become open. I always of course position myself optimally to act after the other player with the big stack and aggressive tendencies, but if I can't sit directly after them I want to sit directly on the other side of them for instance if they are in the four seat I want to be in the eight or nine seat. And one difference between the pro versus the semi-pro is that I am always trying to position myself in the tech the other large stacks we're often times other people with large stacks have a tendency to want to minimize risk and not get involved with the other aggressive player. This gives you power and position at the table despite another good player. If ever I find myself in a game where someone is out aggressing My own style and tendencies, which is a few and four between, a shift gears a couple of levels down and let them have the reins for a while. As well as if there is an option for Mississippi straddle, I straddle every time that is the button, before the button, two before the button and three before the button. I do this because if I happen to be in a 1:3 game for instance, then all of a sudden those that have bought in for the minimum buy in or even two to three times the minimum buy in or now playing dramatically higher than they anticipated, as well as the fact that I'm in late position and hyper aggressive and they understand that every hand they get involved with that all of their trips or always at risk. And since I play so many hands it's nearly impossible to put me on any range because I'm playing 50% of my hands so I could show up with any random two pair. In order to play the style of course you must be able to fold exceptionally large hands if it's determined that you are beat somehow. I've always had a philosophy of always assume I have the best hand until proven otherwise and act accordingly. In the smaller games you can put that kind of pressure on people and if they are stubborn then you can use that to your advantage as well. And as Brad said, there is never any time that I do not have the most chips on the table. It might be where there's six people with 2 to $500 in front of them, one or two sitting around a thousand and since there's no Max buy in here in Biloxi I might have 4,000. Some may think all of this is insanity and exploitable, and that's fine to have your opinion of the situation. But for me the sample size and style of play is certainly preferable. Live straddle!

[@JamesLee-re3rb]

Thanks for da lecture. Ima go throw out my oakley bag looking bookbag.

[@matt_cah]

I think this Brad answers questions series will be good. Enjoyed the first one.

[@LucasCrostarosa]

Can you make a video on playing against loose aggressive deep stack players? Thanks Brad, keep crushing it

[@ladyluck1013]

Love your new channel 👍great topic.

[@rustybumperclassics6342]

Good advice, spot on.

[@lionelrichard7118]

Great video and tips. Congrats on your 1st WPT cash!!! Love the format. I am a 52 yr old rec player but not a novice. I always do what it takes to “disguise” my skill level. Backpack✅, earbuds✅, dress down a lot and usually wear hoodie or something simple. I’m an electrician so I never wear my wedding ring unless on date night. I always figured wearing it would be a sign to experienced players looking to exploit my play. Thanks for confirming my suspicions 😏. Good luck at the tables 🤙

[@thomashoek4507]

I’d love to hear some of your strategies in certain positions, like utg open and then you’re in cutoff what your range and strategy against different player types

[@markhellie6837]

Fun video! Game selection is an important topic and most books/online advice just say to avoid tough games. Your video helps explain the difference between a soft or tough game. I tend to just try to figure out who is proficient (tops off for the max, open raising and 3! frequency, and is positionally aware). There are for-profit recreational players who are very good. That MM guy on the big live streams comes to mind. They are the toughest opponents at 1/3 and 2/5 because they are both thinking and have other jobs, so bank roll considerations are not in play. Especially in rooms where I don't play often, I wear my wedding ring and talk about my wife and son at the poker table (my raising and 3! frequency with a tighter range probably is a indication of my playing strategy).

[@pillcosby6569]

Brad do you mind going over why calling in position is a losing play even if people aren’t squeezing and I have implied odds… I’d like to know your take.

[@Saltyhoosiers]

I learned a while back when I was at the MGM, IF the Dealer knows the names of more than half the table.... You are in the wrong game....

[@DanielRall]

Note that the dealer is often just reading the display on the table from swiped players' cards. That said, just having a player's card might have _some_ significance...

[@PeterParker-vq2cz]

i love that you mention stereotypes. in this profession you HAVE to stereotype ppl despite society telling us its a bad thing to do.

[@chitownshowtime5246]

Very cool video. Look forward to this format. Here is a question: when playing a tournament with the big blind having to ante as well do you calculate both the bb and ante when figuring how many big blinds you have left? Thank you 😊

[@bradowenclips6089]

Thanks a lot. You just count the big blinds without the big blind ante to determine # of big blinds in your stack. It can be helpful to take your stack then divide it by (SB+BB+BBA) to determine how many orbits of play you have left in your chip stack, particularly as you're getting closer to the money bubble or pay jumps.

[@mikedennehy2454]

@@bradowenclips6089 I believe that's the M-ratio (number of orbits you can survive with current stack), do I have that right? PS like the new channel, can't have too much Bradley content.

[@philcooley55]

@@mikedennehy2454 yes, that is the M. I believe it's called "M" because it was "invented" by Paul Magriel, a pretty odd old pro who died a few years ago. It's pretty detailed in Harrington on Hold 'Em which was one of the first great books discussing good tournament strategy.

[@lowstakescrusher]

In case this helps, the above value is referred to as your 'M' in old timey poker books (M being the total cost you incur per orbit as Brad mentioned). You might see some older push/fold range charts that refer to your 'M' instead of you # of BB. Get em!

[@joevolpe512]

Awesome! I’m definitely recreational type player. But, also one who wants to play well and make good decisions as much as possible. I pretty much follow these concepts as much as possible. Except, I put my back pack at my feet not over the back of my chair as much as I can. I follow the “Chin rule” here. Lol

[@robhogger3872]

Hey Brad....Just got back from Vegas after coming from the UK on a Bucks party. I was mainly playing 1/2 and 1/3 as a pro but was doing this as was just wanting to have fun. The standard really was poor with 2/3 players a table barely even knowing the rules. With this in mind I was actually wondering if 1/3 could ever be more profitable than 2/5 purely because like you say pro's at the lowest limits is almost unheard of.

[@VV40k]

I'd love more general tips for being a recreational player, starting out playing home games with mates, and how to transition to playing in casinos and more serious games.

[@davidpetrosky]

Would love to hear your feelings about the differences between playing online and live. I find the whole experience different in terms of range expectations, and bad beat frequency. Really frustrating sometimes in having to approach the game in an entirely new way. Wishing you well on your new opportunities in the game.

[@jc5654]

I haven't played for $ online and never will. I don't trust the algorithm and you can only try to read people by their betting. It's just more fun live.

[@davidpetrosky]

@@jc5654 about to start only playing live. Too much bingo online. At every buy in level. Algorithm is crazy for every site. Geared towards loose play all the way around. Constant one and two outers being hit as well. Seems to be very little strategy involved.

[@masstransitrecords7865]

David Petrosky You probably just aren’t good enough to beat online games. They are significantly tougher then live. Same amount of bad beats happen live as online

[@bishop198666]

MASSTRANSIT RECORDS that and most people are playing outside the proper bankroll.

[@cyrannodb]

I've never played for real $ online, but I tried out the wsop play money site just for fun and I did not enjoy the experience at all. My main issue was the fact that you only had something like 15 seconds to make a decision. Is it that way in the real money sites also?