Quick Online Poker Tips
Basic poker concepts are extremely important, the foundation of any online poker strategy in fact, and they must be not only learned, but seared into the player’s brain in order to become a truly successful online poker player.
These basic poker strategies are fairly simple, in theory, but not so easy to maintain. When a poker player gets bored, frustrated or otherwise thrown off their mental track, it is these fundamentals that are immediately affected.
Patience - Online Poker Tip #1
The first key element is patience. It is so important to be able to stay composed and under control at the poker table. As you get deeper into precision poker strategies, you’ll discover that folding your hand is a constant. If you are not a patient person, capable of folding, on average, 9 out of every 10 hands without getting bored, tired, frustrated or otherwise disgruntled, you simply won’t be a successful poker player.
Patience is generally something you should have before you become a poker player. If you are not a patient person to begin with, it is possible to train yourself to be more patient. It’s all about how bad you want it. You need to find a distracting focal point. You can spend this time observing your opponents and keying in on their behaviorism's and betting techniques. If you’re an imaginative person, take a field trip in your head – revisit your favorite vacation spot or think about how to spend your next romantic evening with your significant other.
If you’re playing online poker, it’s much easier to remain patient. Watch TV between hands, or open multiple tables and tile the windows for easy viewing. Sing along with your I-pod, have a snack, whatever it takes to keep you merrily folding those inevitable strings of bad hands without ever losing your cool.
Aggression - Online Poker Tip #2
Okay, you’ve been folding constantly waiting for that perfect hand to come along. It finally has – now what? Play it with aggression! Don’t slow play your way through the hand, calling every bet. Place a decent raise and force other players to keep building the pot. If it’s cheap to stay in, those long-shot draw hands will do just that, allowing someone to outdraw you on or before the river. An aggressive raise will eliminate draw hands, while keeping second-best hands tossing chips into your pot.
The only time you want to be passive is when you have the nuts. This means you have the best possible hand on the board, and are guaranteed to take the pot. In this case, slow play it and keep as many limpers in the pot as possible. Eventually, someone will get confident they’ve got the best hand and try to jack up the pot. When it happens, hesitate, but raise them back and see just how confident they are.
Stats Matter - Online Poker Tip #3
When you play online poker, you are given statistics of how you play – how often you fold, call and raise. Fold should always have the highest statistics; very high in fact. Raising should come in number two, and calling last. If you have the cards, raise them. If you don’t, fold them. The only time to call is when you are slow playing the nuts, or have a draw hand where calling is cheap enough to be worth it.
Table Image
Beginner poker players rarely consider their own table image, but it is terribly important to have a good image. You should be seen as a player who only plays good cards. Your opponents should see you folding weak hands consistently, and only moving on with a strong starting hand. Once they pick up on this, you become a force to be reckoned with. Then, and only then, will you be able to pull off a successful bluff. Bluffing to early will kill your image, especially if you get called – and you probably will. When players fear you, they will fold to your bluff immediately.
Know Your Opponent Online Poker Tip #5
By studying your opponents, you can gather a lot of useful information. Many beginner poker players get so caught up in their own cards that they forget to observe their opponents’ tendencies. What are their stats like, in terms of folding, calling and raising? If they fold often, they are playing tight. If they fail to raise good hands, they are a calling station. If they raise too frequently, they are very loose players. Notice how they react to bluffs. Being a player that folds very often, you should have no trouble reading your opponents while waiting for a great starting hand.
Know When to Call it a Day - Online Poker Tip #6
There is a term for players who no longer have the patience or composure, letting their frustration get the better of them. It is known as “tilt”. When you are on tilt, you will make bad decisions, waste chips on weak hands and, in the long run, lose a substantial amount of chips before it is over. When you notice that you no longer have the discipline to keep your cool during long bouts of bad hands, it’s time to quit. Take a break from the tables, enjoy a favorite hobby or pastime and let your head clear.
Managing Your Online Poker Bankroll - Online Poker Tip #7
Managing your bankroll properly will ensure you never go in the hole. First off, your bankroll should never be composed of money that should be spent elsewhere, such as bill money, grocery money, college fund, etc. If you set up a separate fund just for poker, and never go beyond that amount, you’ll never have to worry about being in debt from your poker play.
Secondly, you should play stakes that suit the size of your bankroll. If you have $200 to work with, it wouldn’t be a smart idea to join a $10/$20 table, now would it? The table stakes you choose depend on the limit as well. If you’re playing Fixed Limit (FL), you need at least 100x the Big Blind. For No Limit (NL) games, you’ll need to bring 400x the Big Blind amount.
Example 1: $0.50/$1 FL Hold’em – Bankroll $100+
Example 2: $0.50/$1 NL Hold’em – Bankroll $400+
Realistic Online Poker
If you’re playing poker online to make extra money, you need to pay special attention to your wins and losses over time. Winning $100 isn’t nearly as sweet if you lost $400 the night before. That’s still a $300 loss, not a $100 profit. Track your wins and losses over time to make sure your poker play is profitable. If you’re losing more than you’re winning, take a serious look at your poker play and strategy and look for ways to improve your game, whether it be through changes in your game, or a change in your choice of opponents.