Protect your hand By which I mean, keep your hand on your hole cards, OR place a chip or "card guard" (a coin, chip or small ornament) on your cards. This is particularly important if you are in Seat 1 or Seat 9, as from those seats the dealer can easily "sweep" your cards into the muck accidentally. (Another thing which cannot happen online). Please note if you don't protect your hand & the dealer mucks your cards in error, it is YOUR FAULT, not the Dealer's fault, & you won't get them back. However, if they were "protected" (as above) then in most circumstances they can be retrieved, subject to circumstances. Don't believe me? Watch this, from the WSOP. (watch closely at around 10 seconds in....) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smNTAQildDc Posted by Tikay10
Agreed^^^ But.... pretty shocking error from the dealer IMO, when you look where her cards actually were. Posted by goldnballz
Yes, a bad error by the dealer, but the primary blame sits with the player. If she had protected her hand it would never have happened, so she has to accept the responsibility for the error.
I see how this is a cruel rule, but saying "All-in" and it being missed is harsh.
It is daunting playing live for the first few times, I remember folding in the big-blind when I could check for free, the regulars were kind and left me in the hand, but after that, I would concentrate too hard to not make the mistake again.
I made a couple of posts over the last year which are of a similar ilk.
They will cover a lot of the same stuff Tikay has mentioned although my ramblings are much less succinct than his and may also be used as a very effective sleeping aid.
I will copy/paste them and put the links so people can read the replies on the threads if they wish to do so.
If I had to put it succinctly I would say to try and be respectful to dealers and fellow players, pay attention to the action and try to keep the gaming moving along. If you do this but make the odd genuine mistake then people will usually be understanding.
Anyways the long winded version of that (with links)...
I posted this on another thread as someone asked about live poker etiquette.
Haysie suggested posting it in a new thread so that anyone playing live can have a read over and any other posters can add any tips they feel may be worthwhile.
Therefore... Firstly I would say that, assuming you are polite and respectful to others at your table (which I assume you would be)... People will generally be helpful if you are new to playing live poker. I would say this is especially likely to be the case at the SPT games. If you think about it, apart from the fact that all the Sky players and staff are such a lovely bunch, there will be plenty of people winning freerolls and other promotions to play in Manchester whom have never played live poker before, so you will not be alone!
The vast majority of people at tables would realise that it is good to attract new players to the game and make them feel welcome. Therefore it makes no sense for them to be overly impatient with new players.
Apart from a couple of hours messing around in a local casino, my first real live tourney was a WSOP event. There were 2 very famous live pros at the table and the stakes where also higher. As a relative novice at the time I made a few mistakes (betting out of turn, not acting on time when it was my turn, etc etc). Even here in this environment the players were all helpful as they realised any mistakes were completely unintentional. Their patience and understanding ensured I would be prepared to chuck my money into poker tourney prizepools for years to come.
You will probably make mistakes. Even many of the seasoned players who play on here will make mistakes! If you think about it, most of us who play a lot online are used to the software doing so much for us. Such as bleeping when it is our turn to act; posting our blinds; protecting our cards; counting our chips out for us; etc etc. It can be disconcerting and take a little time to adapt when we realise we have to do all these things for ourselves. If you do make a few mistakes, you will not be the only one I assure you.
So come along and have some fun!
Now obviously it is preferable if we can limit the mistakes. Firstly it means we are developing our live ability, secondly it may prevent the shark in seat 4 from trying to take advantage of us as they realise we have a tad less experience than Amarillo Slim.
In that light here are some of the common things to consider with regards to poker etiquette... ********************************************
Try not to be disruptive when people are involved in a pot.
For example do not state that "you just folded such and such a hand" while people have still to decide on their action. This can obviously influence the hand, a hand that you are not directly involved in.
If you are talking to someone about something else unrelated to the hand while people are trying to make a decision then keep it quiet or step away from the table and discuss it.
In the same vein... While we might be screaming inside to ourselves "****, I would of made a set!" when we see a flop after folding our piddly pair because an aggro maniac like Tikay opened for 10x. Don't say such things out loud as once again it will influence how the pot is played out.
Act when it is your turn to act
Try to pay attention to what is happening and act promptly when it is your turn to act. In the same light try not to act out of turn. For example if you raise from the button and the player before you in the cut off has not even acted yet then your out-of-turn action will influence how the hand plays out. As it wasn't your turn to act, this is unfair.
If you do this an odd time and it seems like an honest mistake people will usually be understanding but if it is done with a high frequency it will understandably irk some players.
Protect your hand at all times
You do not need to wear a glove or anything like that... just try not to let other players see your hand for obvious reasons. You also do not want the dealer to mistakenly throw your hand into the muck. It therefore makes sense to protect your hand at all times. Whether this means you sit a fancy little card protector atop your cards, such as a fossil like Tikay's opponent in a live game last night does, or simply keep your cards out of everyones reach is entirely up to you!
Give your hand up when the pot is done
I have to admit I was terrible on this front when I played live for the first few times. You win a pot, are all happy, counting your newly acquired chips, placing them all neatly in piles and wondering if you have enough to build some cool little chip structures and then the dealer asks you if they can have the cards back... OOPS!
Well the aces were nice, it would have been nice to keep them.
Again, it is unlikely anyone is going to flip the table upside down and declare 'shenanigans' I just thought I would highlight this as it is so easy to do when we are just starting out in the live pokersphere.
Clearly state your action
You do not need to tell everyone you are going to the bathroom or intend to order pizza but... if you are calling then just say "call", if you are raising then just say "raise to X amount". You do not usually need to state the amount as long as you put the correct amount of chips out into the middle but it just makes your intentions much more clear to everyone and avoids awkward situations.
Be polite
Apart from not doing Will Kassouf impressions...
Try not to go overly crazy if you win a big hand and rub peoples noses in it. I don't think there are usually specific rules that deal with this (I could be wrong). I imagine some of the general rules on behaviour could be used though. It is just more to do with not humiliating other players.
If you need to make/recieve calls then jump away from the tables to do so. It is generally frowned upon to take video etc on your phone while at the table too. I am not sure how Sky or the casino will view this but generally there are copyright issues and also other players privacy to think about.
I guess not slowrolling people falls into this section too. It is generally considered rude if you feel you have a hand locked up and make an opponent needlessly sweat and think they have won a hand.
Do not pretend you are raising to see opponents reactions, such as by starting to move a big pile of chips into the middle and then bringing them back.
Also while it is fine to ponder your action and plan the crazy line you are going to adopt to make an opponent donate their stack to you... try and do so in a reasonable time. Live poker goes more slowly than online and it is therefore good to try and keep things moving along relatively quickly so you can fit a good few hands in and hopefully be dealt a few premiums.
Make your bets clear with your action
For example do not put out one chunk of chips and then add a few more and a few more etc. Generally this would not be accepted anyway. Just put the chips together for the size of the bet you want to make then put them out in 1 motion.
Do not throw your chips into the pot otherwise it is hard for anyone to tell what you actually put out into the middle.
Also keep your chips in your area and put any large denomination chips at the front for all others to clearly see. If your big chips are hiding away at the back then people will have an inaccurate picture of how many chips you have and may alter their action accordingly. There was a high profile case about this just recently in a televised game when Alec Torelli done this.
Keep your cards to yourself unless you have to show them
There are occasions when you may want to show your cards. You are giving other players valuable info though when you do this so generally try not to (there are caveats - "9 high like a boss!" springs to mind). If you do show your cards then they have to be shown in a way that everyone can see them, you shouldn't show your cards to just certain players.
The majority of the above info is from my own experience but some snippets will be from articles I have read online.
*******************************************
As mentioned at the start, you will probably not remember all of that and will make the odd mistake or three. As long as you are polite to people and try your best to keep up with the action I doubt anyone will be anything other than helpful. They may try to remove the burden of having chips from you (it is the nature of the game afterall) but they will generally try to do so in a polite and understanding manner.
It is loads of fun playing live and I have no doubt Sky will pull all the stops out at the SPT to make it a memorable experience so come along and have some fun.
Post 2 - Any tips for playing live MTT's? - The differences between online and live games Link
Obviously quite a few Sky members will be playing live at the WSOP and while some may be very familiar with the live game, some may not have played live and may be curious about what it is like and what the differences are between live and online.
Maybe if some members who have played a bit live are kind enough to share any tips it will help those who have not played much live and even give those who have played a fair amount live some new points to consider.
I will start and mention a few things which may be helpful (although everyone will have their own take on it).
Game speed - I would say one of the first things to consider is that the game is so much slower than online, by that I mean less hands are dealt in X amount of time than when compared to online so you may have long waits between the pots you are involved in. This is even more evident if you are used to multi-tabling. This can be an important and game changing factor if you get bored and start doing things you shouldn't like playing too many pots in the wrongs spots with marginal holdings and leaking chips needlessly due to boredom/frustration.
Time to act - Another tip offered to me a number of years ago in one of my first live games from Sky Dave was to try and take x amount of time before acting so as not to give away tells based on how quickly you react to your hand. I am not suggesting tanking for 1 minute on every action, personally I try to take 5 or 10 seconds even if it is an instafold as when I pick up a big hand and am trying to work out what to do with it, it gives me a small amount of time to figure out my action without giving too much info away. Also this can help if you are calling with a draw as some players will snap-call their drawing hands because they know what they want to happen and think a little longer if they are unsure when calling a bet with a marginal hand.
General body language and table chat - The slower pace of the game does mean there is extra time to pay attention to people's body language and the table chat. You may get 3 players stating they are new to this and have never played live (maybe avoid this if it applies to yourself), and a couple saying they play full time and have won x amount of tourneys before (again I would avoid this personally if it applies to you). This can be invaluable in giving you a general idea on who to raise and apply pressure too and who it may be better to avoid with more marginal hands.
While other people's body language can give you clues on how to procede, the same obviously also applies to yourself in that your own body language gives away information. If you are conscious of this you can use it to your advantage. For example, I remember one pot where I was sitting in the SB, I quickly checked my cards and saw pocket aces. I put them back down quickly and it folded around to the player on the BTN who I knew was aggressive and may try to steal the blinds. It was quite deep in the tourney and for a lot of money, I decided I would lean back in my chair as if to say to the BTN, 'go on then I am not interested in this pot'. This seemed to work and the BTN shoved all in (with JQs) and I leaned forward and called. Flop was horrific putting all sorts of draws on board but I managed to fade them all and win the pot.
The player was a friend and I spoke to him afterwards and he denies my actions influenced the hand and thinks he would have shoved anyway. I feel my action may have swayed his decision on a subconscious level though, I guess we will never know for sure.
Would be great to hear the thoughts of anyone who has played live if they are willing to share any tips. Has to be of benefit to everyone reading who is planning to play live, either in the upcoming WSOP or at a later date.
I've played more and more live tournaments recently.
I agree with what Tikay has said 100%.
The only thing I'll add to it though is remember to relax and enjoy yourself.
I remember my first live tournament (was actually a SPT). I felt myself quite nervous - butterflies in the stomach and what not. It took a while to get used to and I can see how it can appear intimidating at first - after all people can see you whilst playing for the first time.
You will most likely make a mistake at one point (acting out of turn etc) - especially if you are new. It happens. We are human. Learn from the error and continue on.
Live tournaments take much more time than online tournaments. You can be sat down for an entire day before making the money. You don't have to go crazy an hour in because you have yet to play a hand. You also don't have to feel panicked or rushed to make decisions just cause others can see you.
You'll probably spend most of the day sat with the people on your table.
Take the time to remember to actually enjoy yourself. Otherwise unless you have a decent cash you'll question why you turned up in the first place.
GL to those going. I can't make it as I'm stuck in a foreign land.
As many people know, my first ever live tournament was the WSOP Main Event:-that wasn't scary, and the same will be true for the SPT next week.
One tip:-I don't like verbalising call/raise etc, in case my voice gives away info. I get round this by always ensuring i put more than 1 chip into the pot. A 1,000 chip might be interpreted as a call, but a 1K and a 25 chip won't....
GL all.
PS-when I'm knocked out, I'm going to get trollied
The only one I'd add, from personal experience, is at showdown NEVER muck your hand until you've been shown a better one. You'd be amazed how many times someone will assume they're beat on the river cos they got called and then find out their A high/bottom pair (or in some cases K high lol) is good.
i mentioned this in a previous thread for a live UKPC and its nothing to do with playing , if you take a friend(s)/partner make sure they take ID so that they can get into the casino , the palava i had with the missus cuz she didn,t have adequate ID at DTD worked out in the end tho
Great tips for new live players Tikay. The only one I'd add, from personal experience, is at showdown NEVER muck your hand until you've been shown a better one. You'd be amazed how many times someone will assume they're beat on the river cos they got called and then find out their A high/bottom pair (or in some cases K high lol) is good. Posted by Lambert180
Lol I did this a couple of weeks ago in Lille.
I tried to bluff raise someone in a cash pot on the turn.
The river brought the V card (yeah i know. I had to google it also).
I gave up the bluff on the river and checked. Opposition player checked behind and I just instantly mucked as I had like 5 high.
Lo and behold the board actually had the straight on it. The V card (a Jack) had conterfeit his two pair.
I had mucked a split pot.
To be fair, I was tired at about 3am in the morning. But yeah - always a good idea to show your cards. Just in case.
"String Betting" is the daftest rule in the word (& oddly, does not exist in the USA), but beware of it, as poker players are a bit silly with this one, & if you string bet they will all jump up in the air like little kids excitedly saying STRING BET. I've yet to see a string bet which was an angle shoot, but rules are rules. Posted by Tikay10
I was playing live cash at UKIPT Bristol a few years back. I had £105 back including £1 on top of my cards to protect them.
Pushed my stack in on the river (Pot was like £110ish), forgot the £1 chip on top of my cards and tried to throw it in.
Old guy not even in the hand starts pointing at my £1 chip like "STRING BET!!! STRING BET!!!", which it obviously was. So I apologise and place my £1 back on top of my cards. I knew the rule but it didn't stop me spending the next orbit getting lectured about the string betting rules by this old bloke, then him constantly making string bet and online player jokes the rest of the night, which was rather tedious.
Are you allowed to ask the dealer how much is in the pot? Do I have to give other players a count of my stack if they ask? Posted by jimb0d1
The dealer won't tell you what's in the pot, the best you can do is ask him to spread the chips out for you and then you can make a rough count yourself.
If someone asks how much is in your stack you don't have to say anything. You'd have to move your hands away (if you're covering your stack) so they can see it themselves and try to count/guess but you can stay silent.
Are you allowed to ask the dealer how much is in the pot? Do I have to give other players a count of my stack if they ask? Posted by jimb0d1
1) In NL games, you can ask the dealer to spread the pot so you can count it yourself, but you can't ask how much is in the pot.
In PL I think you're allowed to ask how much a "Pot" bet is (Whatever happened to players being able to do arithmetic? Should ALWAYS know that in PL without having to ask, IMO).
2) You don't have to reply, although the villain can ask the dealer to count your stack.
Not all players are on the level....beware of " Strokes " I was caught out in a big live game on the flop when a player put in 3 chips as a call, but one was a 5.000 chip, pulls it back and says sorry...dealer makes it a re-raise , and im sucked into someone that has flopped the nuts ! I have seen players in late position lift cards as if to muck, only to re-raise , but most players are on the level, so go and enjoy !
Great tips for new live players Tikay. The only one I'd add, from personal experience, is at showdown NEVER muck your hand until you've been shown a better one. You'd be amazed how many times someone will assume they're beat on the river cos they got called and then find out their A high/bottom pair (or in some cases K high lol) is good. Posted by Lambert180
Comments
They will cover a lot of the same stuff Tikay has mentioned although my ramblings are much less succinct than his and may also be used as a very effective sleeping aid.
I will copy/paste them and put the links so people can read the replies on the threads if they wish to do so.
If I had to put it succinctly I would say to try and be respectful to dealers and fellow players, pay attention to the action and try to keep the gaming moving along. If you do this but make the odd genuine mistake then people will usually be understanding.
Anyways the long winded version of that (with links)...
Link
I posted this on another thread as someone asked about live poker etiquette.
Haysie suggested posting it in a new thread so that anyone playing live can have a read over and any other posters can add any tips they feel may be worthwhile.
Therefore...
Firstly I would say that, assuming you are polite and respectful to others at your table (which I assume you would be)... People will generally be helpful if you are new to playing live poker. I would say this is especially likely to be the case at the SPT games. If you think about it, apart from the fact that all the Sky players and staff are such a lovely bunch, there will be plenty of people winning freerolls and other promotions to play in Manchester whom have never played live poker before, so you will not be alone!
The vast majority of people at tables would realise that it is good to attract new players to the game and make them feel welcome. Therefore it makes no sense for them to be overly impatient with new players.
Apart from a couple of hours messing around in a local casino, my first real live tourney was a WSOP event. There were 2 very famous live pros at the table and the stakes where also higher. As a relative novice at the time I made a few mistakes (betting out of turn, not acting on time when it was my turn, etc etc). Even here in this environment the players were all helpful as they realised any mistakes were completely unintentional. Their patience and understanding ensured I would be prepared to chuck my money into poker tourney prizepools for years to come.
You will probably make mistakes. Even many of the seasoned players who play on here will make mistakes! If you think about it, most of us who play a lot online are used to the software doing so much for us. Such as bleeping when it is our turn to act; posting our blinds; protecting our cards; counting our chips out for us; etc etc. It can be disconcerting and take a little time to adapt when we realise we have to do all these things for ourselves. If you do make a few mistakes, you will not be the only one I assure you.
So come along and have some fun!
Now obviously it is preferable if we can limit the mistakes. Firstly it means we are developing our live ability, secondly it may prevent the shark in seat 4 from trying to take advantage of us as they realise we have a tad less experience than Amarillo Slim.
In that light here are some of the common things to consider with regards to poker etiquette...
********************************************
Try not to be disruptive when people are involved in a pot.
For example do not state that "you just folded such and such a hand" while people have still to decide on their action. This can obviously influence the hand, a hand that you are not directly involved in.
If you are talking to someone about something else unrelated to the hand while people are trying to make a decision then keep it quiet or step away from the table and discuss it.
In the same vein... While we might be screaming inside to ourselves "****, I would of made a set!" when we see a flop after folding our piddly pair because an aggro maniac like Tikay opened for 10x. Don't say such things out loud as once again it will influence how the pot is played out.
Act when it is your turn to act
Try to pay attention to what is happening and act promptly when it is your turn to act. In the same light try not to act out of turn. For example if you raise from the button and the player before you in the cut off has not even acted yet then your out-of-turn action will influence how the hand plays out. As it wasn't your turn to act, this is unfair.
If you do this an odd time and it seems like an honest mistake people will usually be understanding but if it is done with a high frequency it will understandably irk some players.
Protect your hand at all times
You do not need to wear a glove or anything like that... just try not to let other players see your hand for obvious reasons. You also do not want the dealer to mistakenly throw your hand into the muck. It therefore makes sense to protect your hand at all times. Whether this means you sit a fancy little card protector atop your cards, such as a fossil like Tikay's opponent in a live game last night does, or simply keep your cards out of everyones reach is entirely up to you!
Give your hand up when the pot is done
I have to admit I was terrible on this front when I played live for the first few times. You win a pot, are all happy, counting your newly acquired chips, placing them all neatly in piles and wondering if you have enough to build some cool little chip structures and then the dealer asks you if they can have the cards back... OOPS!
Well the aces were nice, it would have been nice to keep them.
Again, it is unlikely anyone is going to flip the table upside down and declare 'shenanigans' I just thought I would highlight this as it is so easy to do when we are just starting out in the live pokersphere.
Clearly state your action
You do not need to tell everyone you are going to the bathroom or intend to order pizza but... if you are calling then just say "call", if you are raising then just say "raise to X amount". You do not usually need to state the amount as long as you put the correct amount of chips out into the middle but it just makes your intentions much more clear to everyone and avoids awkward situations.
Be polite
Apart from not doing Will Kassouf impressions...
Try not to go overly crazy if you win a big hand and rub peoples noses in it. I don't think there are usually specific rules that deal with this (I could be wrong). I imagine some of the general rules on behaviour could be used though. It is just more to do with not humiliating other players.
If you need to make/recieve calls then jump away from the tables to do so. It is generally frowned upon to take video etc on your phone while at the table too. I am not sure how Sky or the casino will view this but generally there are copyright issues and also other players privacy to think about.
I guess not slowrolling people falls into this section too. It is generally considered rude if you feel you have a hand locked up and make an opponent needlessly sweat and think they have won a hand.
Do not pretend you are raising to see opponents reactions, such as by starting to move a big pile of chips into the middle and then bringing them back.
Also while it is fine to ponder your action and plan the crazy line you are going to adopt to make an opponent donate their stack to you... try and do so in a reasonable time. Live poker goes more slowly than online and it is therefore good to try and keep things moving along relatively quickly so you can fit a good few hands in and hopefully be dealt a few premiums.
Make your bets clear with your action
For example do not put out one chunk of chips and then add a few more and a few more etc. Generally this would not be accepted anyway. Just put the chips together for the size of the bet you want to make then put them out in 1 motion.
Do not throw your chips into the pot otherwise it is hard for anyone to tell what you actually put out into the middle.
Also keep your chips in your area and put any large denomination chips at the front for all others to clearly see. If your big chips are hiding away at the back then people will have an inaccurate picture of how many chips you have and may alter their action accordingly. There was a high profile case about this just recently in a televised game when Alec Torelli done this.
Keep your cards to yourself unless you have to show them
There are occasions when you may want to show your cards. You are giving other players valuable info though when you do this so generally try not to (there are caveats - "9 high like a boss!" springs to mind). If you do show your cards then they have to be shown in a way that everyone can see them, you shouldn't show your cards to just certain players.
The majority of the above info is from my own experience but some snippets will be from articles I have read online.
*******************************************
As mentioned at the start, you will probably not remember all of that and will make the odd mistake or three. As long as you are polite to people and try your best to keep up with the action I doubt anyone will be anything other than helpful. They may try to remove the burden of having chips from you (it is the nature of the game afterall) but they will generally try to do so in a polite and understanding manner.
It is loads of fun playing live and I have no doubt Sky will pull all the stops out at the SPT to make it a memorable experience so come along and have some fun.
Good luck!
Link
Obviously quite a few Sky members will be playing live at the WSOP and while some may be very familiar with the live game, some may not have played live and may be curious about what it is like and what the differences are between live and online.
Maybe if some members who have played a bit live are kind enough to share any tips it will help those who have not played much live and even give those who have played a fair amount live some new points to consider.
I will start and mention a few things which may be helpful (although everyone will have their own take on it).
Game speed - I would say one of the first things to consider is that the game is so much slower than online, by that I mean less hands are dealt in X amount of time than when compared to online so you may have long waits between the pots you are involved in. This is even more evident if you are used to multi-tabling. This can be an important and game changing factor if you get bored and start doing things you shouldn't like playing too many pots in the wrongs spots with marginal holdings and leaking chips needlessly due to boredom/frustration.
Time to act - Another tip offered to me a number of years ago in one of my first live games from Sky Dave was to try and take x amount of time before acting so as not to give away tells based on how quickly you react to your hand. I am not suggesting tanking for 1 minute on every action, personally I try to take 5 or 10 seconds even if it is an instafold as when I pick up a big hand and am trying to work out what to do with it, it gives me a small amount of time to figure out my action without giving too much info away. Also this can help if you are calling with a draw as some players will snap-call their drawing hands because they know what they want to happen and think a little longer if they are unsure when calling a bet with a marginal hand.
General body language and table chat - The slower pace of the game does mean there is extra time to pay attention to people's body language and the table chat. You may get 3 players stating they are new to this and have never played live (maybe avoid this if it applies to yourself), and a couple saying they play full time and have won x amount of tourneys before (again I would avoid this personally if it applies to you). This can be invaluable in giving you a general idea on who to raise and apply pressure too and who it may be better to avoid with more marginal hands.
While other people's body language can give you clues on how to procede, the same obviously also applies to yourself in that your own body language gives away information. If you are conscious of this you can use it to your advantage. For example, I remember one pot where I was sitting in the SB, I quickly checked my cards and saw pocket aces. I put them back down quickly and it folded around to the player on the BTN who I knew was aggressive and may try to steal the blinds. It was quite deep in the tourney and for a lot of money, I decided I would lean back in my chair as if to say to the BTN, 'go on then I am not interested in this pot'. This seemed to work and the BTN shoved all in (with JQs) and I leaned forward and called. Flop was horrific putting all sorts of draws on board but I managed to fade them all and win the pot.
The player was a friend and I spoke to him afterwards and he denies my actions influenced the hand and thinks he would have shoved anyway. I feel my action may have swayed his decision on a subconscious level though, I guess we will never know for sure.
Would be great to hear the thoughts of anyone who has played live if they are willing to share any tips. Has to be of benefit to everyone reading who is planning to play live, either in the upcoming WSOP or at a later date.
I agree with what Tikay has said 100%.
The only thing I'll add to it though is remember to relax and enjoy yourself.
I remember my first live tournament (was actually a SPT). I felt myself quite nervous - butterflies in the stomach and what not. It took a while to get used to and I can see how it can appear intimidating at first - after all people can see you whilst playing for the first time.
You will most likely make a mistake at one point (acting out of turn etc) - especially if you are new. It happens. We are human. Learn from the error and continue on.
Live tournaments take much more time than online tournaments. You can be sat down for an entire day before making the money. You don't have to go crazy an hour in because you have yet to play a hand. You also don't have to feel panicked or rushed to make decisions just cause others can see you.
You'll probably spend most of the day sat with the people on your table.
Take the time to remember to actually enjoy yourself. Otherwise unless you have a decent cash you'll question why you turned up in the first place.
GL to those going. I can't make it as I'm stuck in a foreign land.
One tip:-I don't like verbalising call/raise etc, in case my voice gives away info. I get round this by always ensuring i put more than 1 chip into the pot. A 1,000 chip might be interpreted as a call, but a 1K and a 25 chip won't....
GL all.
PS-when I'm knocked out, I'm going to get trollied
The only one I'd add, from personal experience, is at showdown NEVER muck your hand until you've been shown a better one. You'd be amazed how many times someone will assume they're beat on the river cos they got called and then find out their A high/bottom pair (or in some cases K high lol) is good.
I tried to bluff raise someone in a cash pot on the turn.
The river brought the V card (yeah i know. I had to google it also).
I gave up the bluff on the river and checked. Opposition player checked behind and I just instantly mucked as I had like 5 high.
Lo and behold the board actually had the straight on it. The V card (a Jack) had conterfeit his two pair.
I had mucked a split pot.
To be fair, I was tired at about 3am in the morning. But yeah - always a good idea to show your cards. Just in case.
Pushed my stack in on the river (Pot was like £110ish), forgot the £1 chip on top of my cards and tried to throw it in.
If someone asks how much is in your stack you don't have to say anything. You'd have to move your hands away (if you're covering your stack) so they can see it themselves and try to count/guess but you can stay silent.
Dealer cannot count the pot for you. Thats up to you im afraid.
Dealer will announce bet sizes but can only count an opponents stack if they are all in (effectively a bet).
You have to do the majority of the counting yourself
I have seen players in late position lift cards as if to muck, only to re-raise , but most players are on the level, so
go and enjoy !
I remember it well.......