There’s so much to absorb when you’re playing live that sometimes it can feel overwhelming. Has the raiser got shaking hands? Did the early position limper show any reaction to the raise or the player to his left? Did you?

In your first few ‘flesh’ games it might feel that the only way you’ll get up to speed is if a Lawrence Fishburne guru-type crammed you full of live experience by inserting a plug into the back of your head a la The Matrix. Unfortunately that’s not going to happen. You’re going to have to learn the hard way, and that’s where the games begin.

You may have developed routines to minimise the amount of information that you’re leaking to other players at the table, and that’s definitely a good thing.