Follow these tips to increase your chances at the tables in any game. Making the transition to online poker can be difficult, even for players who are winning by playing live. However, several tools and techniques make the transition easier for live players who are new to playing online. With this in mind, here are the top 10 online poker tips to assist players who are new to online poker or those who want to improve their game to win regularly at poker.
Start by playing poker on the micro-limits
Even for someone who is used to playing cash games with large sums of money, it is advisable to start playing online at lower limits. The goal of these early sessions, aside from playing solid poker, is to become familiar with the nuances of online play. Starting to play on lower limits also allows the beginner to enter the online game with a smaller bankroll. This can help ensure that the player is not overly stressed by losing sessions, and thus allows the player to focus on the long-term goal of becoming a successful online gambler. Generally speaking, when comparing online play and live play with the same stakes, online play will tend to provide more difficult opposition. A player who starts online with the same amount of money as he is used to playing live may begin his foray into online poker with the feeling of being overwhelmed by his competitors. Therefore, gradually changing the betting limits should allow a beginner to gradually get used to these differences, and eventually understand them completely, and thus learn how to win at online poker.
Learn about the new aspects of online gambling
The barriers to overcome in the first few sessions include aspects unique to online poker, such as the use of the time-bank feature. For some players new to online poker, having a set amount of time to act can be an important adjustment from the live game world where a player usually has at least a few minutes to act before risking being called out. Additional aspects that the beginner will need some time to familiarize themselves with are the look and feel of the site, the wagering features, the account and balance management page, as well as the rebate and other bonus offers. Learning about online poker rather than jumping in headfirst will help the beginner get used to the many unique aspects of online poker. One such aspect that differs greatly from live poker is the large number of hands played in an hour. Typically, this number will be more than double the number of hands played in a conventional casino, even when playing at a single virtual table. The speed of the game may seem difficult to overcome for beginners and may take some getting used to.
Start by playing on a single table
It can be tempting to jump right into multi-tabling, as one of the many advantages of playing online is the ability to play multiple tables at once (although recently some players have been spotted playing multi-table in live tournaments as well). However, a good understanding of the technical aspects of online poker will help the player in the first few weeks. Learn how to win online poker regularly at a table. Then, once the player is confident enough at a table, they can start adding one table at a time, until they reach a certain number that they feel comfortable with.
Create a distraction-free space to play
Without the constraints of sitting at a real table in a casino, many online gamblers fall into the trap of looking for ways to distract themselves from their hands. Typically, these include watching television, talking on the phone, or surfing the internet. These distractions will often result in mistakes on the part of the player, whether it be playing a hand poorly or missing information that could be useful in future situations.
By developing an unprofessional attitude towards the game, a person could translate this into not taking poker seriously enough and could therefore prevent him or her from becoming an excellent online player. Creating a distraction-free environment is an essential part of becoming a successful online poker player. If a player gets to the point where he or she can easily manage a table and still have free time on their hands, it is often a good time to consider adding another table to their regular playing activity.
Consider purchasing new equipment
Creating an ideal environment for playing online poker is also a matter of hardware. Playing on a laptop while sitting on the couch in the living room with family members is a distraction-inducing situation. Playing at a table, ideally in an office that can be closed off and where you will be isolated from the rest of the living space, encourages a player to maintain a professional attitude towards online poker. For people who expect to spend a lot of time playing online, investing in an ergonomic chair may be a viable solution to reduce back problems.
As well as the few transitions a beginner must make to play online poker, the purchase of equipment can be important to the goal of maximizing online profits. A large, high-resolution monitor can reduce eye strain and make the multi-table process easier. A good quality mouse can reduce wrist strain, as well as the time it takes to act. For tournament players who are likely to have a short break every hour, having a bathroom and toilet nearby can be very convenient.
Make your workspace to a positive gambling environment
Simple steps can help create an ideal gambling environment, including a small refrigerator for cold drinks and snacks, a playlist of the player’s favourite songs, and personal mementoes that will give the workspace a motivating atmosphere. Painting the room with cheerful colours and arranging flowers or plants can help achieve the goal of maintaining a positive environment.
Creating an ideal environment for playing online poker will have many positive effects, such as: maintaining a professional attitude that can result in better decisions from the player during a game, helping the player avoid tilt by being in a room filled with positive energy, and better physical comfort for the player that results in the ability to play longer sessions.
Use the software and its features to your advantage
While some players are against the use of software to play online poker, we feel that as long as it is allowed by the site’s terms of use, then it is a tool available to all, and therefore not unfair. There are different kinds of software available to help someone become a better online player, and a player who neglects all poker software is missing out on opportunities to improve his or her game in significant ways.
The best way for a beginner to get started with software is through a feature that exists on most poker sites: note-taking. Often, an opponent will perform actions at the tables that a live player would remember if it happened at a casino near him, such as “This player tends to overestimate the strength of his hand when in possession of top pair. One great thing about playing online is that this mental note can usually be recorded so that it follows the player and can be referred to each time you meet them again. You can simply write down: “Overestimate your top pair”.
A feature also available on many poker sites is the ability to adopt a well-defined colour legend for players. Developing a colour legend system to identify the relative strengths of players can make table selection an almost instantaneous process. For example, let’s say a player decides to assign a rating with the colour red to each “shark” he plays against. If the player plans to play a sit ‘n go game but notices from the lobby that eight of the registered players are rated red, he or she will quickly realize that this table is not very profitable.
