Online Poker, The Top Ten Things to Keep in Mind
When you play online poker, your adrenaline will jump up and down as the game progresses and this is expected. What is important is to remember the basics so that you can avoid losing money and be ahead of the curve in terms of winning most of the time. With that said, here are the top ten tips you might find useful:
1. Do Not Bluff Inferior Opponents
If you happen to play against an opponent that you have confirmed is worse than you, try not to bluff specially if you notice that he makes a call on most of the bets. Usually, these types of players think that you are faking and call most of the time, thinking that they can get lucky. Not good. This will result in you losing money.
2. Do Not be Afraid to Go All-In Against a Superior Opponent
If you think you have the odds on your side, even if slim, you should go for it, like a puncher going for one big punch against a skilled boxer. This beats battling it out for hours against a player you know has vastly superior skills than you.
3. Do Not Insist on Winning Every Hand in Heads-Up Play
You do not have to win every single hand. You do not have go all-in every time you think you have a strong hand. When you play heads up, the whole point is to chip at your opponent slowly (pardon the pun), so do not go for the nuke option to get all his chips in one shot. Slow and steady is the key. Remember that you do not even have to win most of the hands anyway, just the important ones. When you do get a killer hand, place a bet small enough to stay within calling range of your opponent, but make it large enough to
get the most money for your hand.
4. Drop Weak Hands
Sometimes, you will get into this streak where you get one mediocre hand after the other and it really becomes tempting to play them. Hold off. Be patient because the converse is also true, when a streak of good hands that you can maximize, will follow.
5. Be Patient and Take Your Time
When playing poker on the internet, the speed of play becomes a factor to the detriment of making the right call. So try to ignore these beeps and nags from your poker site and make full use of your allotted time.
6. Do Not Give Up Prematurely
You see this most of the time in tournament play when players give up too soon when chips start dwindling and they start to make really large bets to catch up or calling on really long shots. Cut it out and do not panic.
7. Play Only When You are in Shape
If you are sick or depressed or tired or just do not feel too good, then do not play. Simple eh? Just remember that online internet gambling will always be there for you, 24X7, so there is really no need to play if you are not well.
8. Watch Out When an Opponents Style of Play Changes
If your opponent has played according to a pattern for most of the game, then plays totally different, you must pay attention. You are potentially being lured into a trap. You will see this in players playing safe the whole night then all of a sudden doing all-in, or betting the minimum after raising big all night, or even taking a bit longer when calling or raising on a big bet. If your gut tells you something is not right, trust it, then fold.
9. Mix it Up
In the online world of poker, patterns of play are easily detectable, which opponents will take advantage of, since you have made yourself predictable. So learn how to mix it up, like alternating flat calling and variable raising a big blind pre-flop in Texas Hold 'Em. Keep them guessing but do not go crazy by playing hands that can easily be beaten.
10 PostMortem Analysis
Big words but all it means is reflect on each session that you did, irrespective of whether it was a win, lose or draw. Be critical of what you did good, what you did that is bad, and what you can do to fix the bad part. Also make a note of what your opponents did that you can learn from, also on both good and bad moves. This is the best way to learn and improve your game. As in any postmortem, write it down for future reference, or even better, record it electronically on your computer. It makes it easy to analyze later.
1. Do Not Bluff Inferior Opponents
If you happen to play against an opponent that you have confirmed is worse than you, try not to bluff specially if you notice that he makes a call on most of the bets. Usually, these types of players think that you are faking and call most of the time, thinking that they can get lucky. Not good. This will result in you losing money.
2. Do Not be Afraid to Go All-In Against a Superior Opponent
If you think you have the odds on your side, even if slim, you should go for it, like a puncher going for one big punch against a skilled boxer. This beats battling it out for hours against a player you know has vastly superior skills than you.
3. Do Not Insist on Winning Every Hand in Heads-Up Play
You do not have to win every single hand. You do not have go all-in every time you think you have a strong hand. When you play heads up, the whole point is to chip at your opponent slowly (pardon the pun), so do not go for the nuke option to get all his chips in one shot. Slow and steady is the key. Remember that you do not even have to win most of the hands anyway, just the important ones. When you do get a killer hand, place a bet small enough to stay within calling range of your opponent, but make it large enough to
get the most money for your hand.
4. Drop Weak Hands
Sometimes, you will get into this streak where you get one mediocre hand after the other and it really becomes tempting to play them. Hold off. Be patient because the converse is also true, when a streak of good hands that you can maximize, will follow.
5. Be Patient and Take Your Time
When playing poker on the internet, the speed of play becomes a factor to the detriment of making the right call. So try to ignore these beeps and nags from your poker site and make full use of your allotted time.
6. Do Not Give Up Prematurely
You see this most of the time in tournament play when players give up too soon when chips start dwindling and they start to make really large bets to catch up or calling on really long shots. Cut it out and do not panic.
7. Play Only When You are in Shape
If you are sick or depressed or tired or just do not feel too good, then do not play. Simple eh? Just remember that online internet gambling will always be there for you, 24X7, so there is really no need to play if you are not well.
8. Watch Out When an Opponents Style of Play Changes
If your opponent has played according to a pattern for most of the game, then plays totally different, you must pay attention. You are potentially being lured into a trap. You will see this in players playing safe the whole night then all of a sudden doing all-in, or betting the minimum after raising big all night, or even taking a bit longer when calling or raising on a big bet. If your gut tells you something is not right, trust it, then fold.
9. Mix it Up
In the online world of poker, patterns of play are easily detectable, which opponents will take advantage of, since you have made yourself predictable. So learn how to mix it up, like alternating flat calling and variable raising a big blind pre-flop in Texas Hold 'Em. Keep them guessing but do not go crazy by playing hands that can easily be beaten.
10 PostMortem Analysis
Big words but all it means is reflect on each session that you did, irrespective of whether it was a win, lose or draw. Be critical of what you did good, what you did that is bad, and what you can do to fix the bad part. Also make a note of what your opponents did that you can learn from, also on both good and bad moves. This is the best way to learn and improve your game. As in any postmortem, write it down for future reference, or even better, record it electronically on your computer. It makes it easy to analyze later.
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