Live games are much more enjoyable to me than online games. Driving to games, getting there early, having to wait, getting into a game that is full and not being able to get a seat for hours, and the sometimes brutally slow pace of play are all among the negatives of playing live poker. For me, that is all made up for by the social aspect of the game that is lost online.Playing with the same people every week has benefits for my bottom line as I continue to learn others' tendencies and ways to play better against them, but more than that, the real value I get out of playing live is what I am table to learn from the players at the table, and not about poker.
Most of the games I play in are $5/$10 or bigger and have a very steady lineup of players. While there is a little turnover at each game, there is a core group of 12 to 15 players that has pretty much been the same for years. While there are a few winning or breakeven players, most of the players in the game are long-term losing players, and they are smart enough to know it. For them, playing poker is a way to relax and get away from their job, just like going to a movie might be to someone else. And they are happy to pay for the entertainment.
Just because these players are losing to me at poker doesn’t mean I am smarter than them, and it surely doesn’t mean I am more successful. What it really means is that they have been so successful that they can afford to spend on entertainment what I will bust my tail to have a shot at making in a card game.
Over the last five years, I have put in a lot of hours playing live poker. I have won some money and, on the surface, that is the reason I go to every game I can get to, even when I don’t really want to make the drive or have something else going on that I would rather be doing. In the long-run, the money I win will pale in comparison to what I will have learned from the people I am playing with and the networks I have built.
From scrap metal yards to restaurants to surveying to logging, I have learned a lot about small- and medium-sized businesses and how they are run. I have learned about local politics, real estate investing, tax planning, and all sorts of other topics. The education I have gotten from card games over the last few years has been exponentially more valuable than what I learned at the University of North Carolina (and I think I gained a lot of knowledge and life experience there as well).When I do travel and sit at games in casinos, I am often left thinking about what some of the winning players are missing out on by focusing so hard on the poker. When the table talk turns to 4betting and polarizing ranges, most of the guys I have been learning so much from tune out. Instead of talking poker, I spend my time at the table trying to learn from them by guiding the natural flow of conversation to topics they are experts in and away from poker.
I’ve never really learned much from poker talk at the table anyway. Away from the table, I have people I talk poker with and am constantly thinking about, discussing, and analyzing how I play and how I adapt to situations. At the table, though, I have found more value in taking the discussion away from poker to almost any other topic I can.
Not only will you learn from the players you are sitting with, but you will also build relationships with them. As they talk about things they know, a personal bond can start to form, and with social networking, making a lasting contact is much easier than it has ever been before.
Looking at refinancing your house? Maybe the loan officer at your table can tell you what the rate would be for your situation and cut you a deal on closing costs, something that could save you tons of money, but you would never have even considered had you been talking about whether the guy should have called your 3bet.
People playing poker like poker and the talk at the table will often be poker-related, but it doesn’t always have to be. Let the other people be the ones driving the poker talk and see if you can find a way to learn about the things your opponents are doing away from the table. You never know what gem of knowledge you might pick up or lifelong contact you might make. Or even more simply, you may make the conversation interesting enough to keep a guy with money to lose at the table instead of headed down the hall to roll craps where he doesn’t have to listen to a bunch of 22-year-old poker know-it-alls tell him how bad he is.Court Harrington has worked on the business side of the poker industry in roles including tournament reporting for PocketFives, radio hosting for PokerRoad Radio, coaching for the WSOP Academy, and a variety of behind-the-scenes responsibilities. He also plays in cash games and tournaments. Harrington is currently doing consulting work and exploring business opportunities outside of the poker industry. You can contact him at PokerRoadCourt@gmail.com.
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