top corner

Five Things You Can Learn Watching TV Poker

Live TV poker has been in the news a lot lately thanks to Mike Postle. Many casual poker players get a lot of their poker exposure from TV and live-streamed broadcasts of poker. Some will even use TV poker to try and improve their game.

There are some people that claim that you should not use TV poker to try and improve your poker game, but we are here to tell you otherwise. You can learn a lot from watching poker on TV and today we will give you some examples of things you can learn about poker while watching televised poker.

Poker is a Marathon – Not a Sprint

The first thing you will learn by watching a poker live stream is that the game is not nearly as exciting as they make it out to be on the edited ESPN and WPT broadcasts. Most of those shows bring you the most exciting highlights of the game.

Generally, live poker is a lot of raising and folding hands pre-flop and on the flop. Even hands that go past the flop generally don’t produce any true excitement. Why do you think there is so much focus placed on a player’s rail during the WSOP Main Event broadcasts? They have to do something to keep fans entertained.

The Power of Position

If you don’t quite understand the power of position, check out how players act in a live poker stream. You will notice how many times players will widely open up their range in late position as opposed to earlier positions.

You’ll get an idea of what hands and moves work well in late position and those moves that get you stacked in early position. Position is vital in poker and you’ll get a feel of just how important it is by watching a live stream.

Poker on TV Pros

Three and Four Betting

You can look around the internet for tutorials on the best times to three or four-bet in Texas Hold’em, but when you watch a live stream you will see this theory put into practice. There are a lot of intangibles that go into making a three or four-bet in poker and sometimes it is hard to articulate that in the written word.

However, when you see the scene unfold in real-world action, it gives you some experiential learning that you can apply to your game. It may also show you those moves are ones you are not ready to incorporate into your play quite yet.

How to Act in a TV Game

Some poker players want to play televised poker but really don’t know how to act once they get on TV. When you see programs like the WSOP on ESPN, you don’t know how much production goes into picking players for a featured table. They look for players with personality and those that they think will entertain the audience.

At some point in a tournament, TV producers are unable to cherry-pick their players and they have to show those that actually make it deep. That’s when you see the players who either have zero personality, have too much personality or are complete jerks on camera.

Players such as Daniel Negreanu are the personality that the game thrives upon. While you don’t need to act like someone you’re not at the table, you can pick up some tips on how to make your personality shine when playing live poker.

How to Win and Lose With Grace

There are many poker players who are either sore losers or like to gloat way too much when they win. Two things you can learn from TV poker is how to win gracefully and how to lose gracefully. Don’t be like Phil Hellmuth and become the latest poker brat.

Instead, be more like Garry Gates or Nick Marchington who took their defeats at this year’s Main Event with grace and endeared themselves to the poker community. This will earn you more respect and make you someone other poker players want to play with.

bottom corner