ON THE BUTTON: Online Poker Players Taking It Live

"Poker is a game of people... It's not the hand I hold, it's the people that I play with." - Amarillo Slim

Dec. 28, 2007

By Nick Lanteri
Bodog Nation Contributing Writer

The Borgata Winter Open in Atlantic City, N.J. is right around the corner with big money, big fields and 16 events starting from $300 buy-ins to help you through the winter doldrums. If you've never been to the Borgata for one of the two World Poker Tour stops, you're missing out. It's a poker paradise.
 
I can't believe how many fellow East Coast players I bump into at the Bodog poker tables. And lately, when we start chatting during these donkey fests, most of them talk about how they are hesitant when it comes to making the jump into live tournaments.
 
For example, I got heads up in a Sit and Go recently against a player from New Jersey (I live in Long Island, N.Y.), and I asked this guy if he plays at the casinos in Atlantic City. He told me, "I haven't played live poker there yet. I've been playing online poker for so long, I don't think I would play the same way at a live tournament... I would be too intimidated, and probably shy away from a lot of confrontations in big pots, which is the exact opposite of how I play online poker."
 
So that got me thinking. The new year is approaching, and what better place to make your poker debut at a live event than by heading to the Borgata next month. The first event is a very affordable $300 buy-in (Tuesday, Jan. 15), leading all the way up to the $10,000 WPT main event, which begins on Sunday, Jan. 27. Super Satellite Day to the main event is Saturday, Jan. 26 with tournaments beginning at 10 a.m., according to their schedule.

The experience and thrill from playing in a live tournament will be worth the buy-in.

Like I mentioned above, the WPT makes two stops per year at the Borgata and playing in one of their preliminary events is money well spent, because each tournament has the feel of a World Series of Poker event. The tournament area, upstairs in the ballroom, offers big buy-in events, second-chance tournaments and round-the-clock Sit and Go satellites, and the overall experience is definitely second to none.

No "Live" Experience Necessary
 
The Borgata is a special place for me because that is where I started out. I played in Event No. 1 in January 2006 at the Borgata Winter Open, and the experience I got from that tournament was worth 10 times the buy-in ($500). I didn't cash, but I made it through two-thirds of the largest field (1,300 players) in Atlantic City poker history.
 
The winner was Ravi Anand of New York City, who pocketed $171,000 for a $500 investment. What a friggin parlay, right? However, according to his pokerpages.com profile, Anand doesn't have another major cash since that day (he didn't have one before that day, either). Maybe he doesn't play in a lot of these tournaments, who knows, but I find it interesting that his only documented cash is a first-place finish in a massive field such as this. Same goes for Billy Hill (Silver Springs, Md.), who got second place for $91,000 and has just one major cash since then, a 60th place finish for $1,100 at a Foxwoods Classic WPT prelim event in March 2006.
 
The moral of this story? If you think you need a big poker resume to make it to the final table or even win one of these big live tournaments, think again.
 
By the way, poker pro Nick Frangos, of Mays Landing, N.J., finished 24th in that event. Other recognizable pros such as WSOP bracelet winners Chris Reslock and "Syracuse" Chris Tsiprailidis routinely play in Atlantic City, so you never know who will be at your table at these major WPT and WSOP circuit event stops.

Online vs. Live
 
My advice to online poker players stepping into the live forum for the first time is simple: tone down the aggressiveness. Do not race for all your chips in Level I of a live tournament, because once you bust out, you can't go to the lobby and register for another tournament right away like you can in online poker.

Take your time! You can't win the tournament on Day 1, but you could bust out.

These live tournaments with fields of 500 or more are more about survival early on than anything. You've probably heard pros on TV say, "You can't win the tournament on Day 1 (or Level I), but you can lose it." Write that down if you have to as a good reminder of how to approach these big live tournaments.
 
Another thing to remember is that when you're playing live, you're giving off tells that you can't possible give off during the online format. Facial expressions, the way you handle your chips, and all types of body language will be used against you.
 
Most people think real live players don't possess better skills than online players. True or not, there is no guarantee that real players are more skilled in comparison to online players. In fact, sometimes the opposite is true.
 
Once you play live, you will be able to put a face on all those donkeys who sucked out on you online. Don't be shocked if you adjust to the live format very quickly.
 
Give it a shot, and try to enjoy! Good luck!
 
You can qualify for the Borgata Winter Open Main Event online through one of Bodog Poker's Player’s Choice Tournaments. Win one of these semifinals and you'll get flight, accommodations and buy-in for the Borgata or any major live tournament you choose in the world.

Read more about how to satellite into live tournaments and check out a complete list of all the Borgata poker tournaments coming up this January.

TOP PHOTO: Don't be shy. Take your poker game live.