Should Live Poker Have Stricter Rules?

Jason Koon is calling for tougher regulations to keep live poker fair but do they go too far?

With cheating scandals making headlines, the poker community is debating whether the game needs tighter security. From the Mike Postle scandal to recent online missteps using GTO tools, cheating prevention has been a hot topic.

Chamath Palihapitiya recently proposed a high-stakes series with drug testing and a ban on face coverings. Koon’s suggestions take things even further:

• No electronic devices at the table

• No rings except solid metal bands

• No sunglasses allowed

• Inner ear checks to prevent communication from the rail.

While these changes are aimed at high-stakes tournaments, they could trickle down to lower stakes and even cash games, where cheating may be even more common. Would you support these rules? Are you worried about cheating in your own games?

Let us know in the survey at the end of this email!

In The News

• Flip. During the WSOPC Cherokee Main Event break, a player went on full blown tilt, flipping over three tables with chips still in play before being stopped. The tournament director managed to reconstruct the stacks, miraculously in only two hours.

• Crazy. Have you seen the hand between Alan Keating and high stakes regular Peter? All I'm going to say is there’s some shenanigans going on with the 3rd and 4th pair that results in a $911,000 pot…

• Triton. Highest-stakes tournament action is back in Jeju, as the first Triton Poker stop of the year kicks off with a $15,000 NLH event. The series runs until March 15 and is going to be streamed on YouTube.

• EPT. The European Poker Tour has added two new stops to its calendar: a return to Malta in October after nearly a decade and a series in Prague in December. 

Strategy Corner: 3bet Pots

One of the biggest mistakes live players make is playing too passively in 3bet pots.

They open wide, call too much, and rarely 4bet bluff making them highly exploitable. That’s all good news, however, as you can capitalize on these tendencies and maximize your edge over the soft field.

3betting: It’s no secret that live players tend to enter pots with weak ranges, both by limping or raising too wide. By 3betting aggressively, you force them into tough spots, and the field tends to fold too often or call with dominated hands. 

Since most live players also struggle in 3bet pots, they make costly mistakes postflop, allowing you to extract more EV. Additionally, rake in live games can be significant, and playing a 3bet or fold strategy helps avoid excessive rake in multiway pots and simplifies your strategy. 

Keeping your strategy simple also minimizes mistakes, making it easier to stay disciplined and profitable.

Facing 3bets: When deciding whether to continue, consider the 3bet size, your position, and your opponent’s tendencies. Standard defense is around 50% of your opening range against typical sizing, but adjust based on their aggression level. If they rarely 3bet, fold more. If they’re overly loose, defend wider - especially with hands that dominate their range.

Live poker is full of players who make critical errors in 3bet pots. By understanding how to exploit these leaks, you can take advantage of their mistakes and increase your win rate.