Playing online poker is similar to playing at a brick and mortar casino in many ways. Most online poker sites use the same type of software for their games, and have the same odds for players (or players can place in games at other sites if they wish). Below I will list some rules, strategy, and tips to help you find a game you may like to play online.
Tips for Online Poker
- Set a budget
One of the most important parts of playing online poker is setting a budget and sticking to it. Never play with all of your money in the site. Set a limit for yourself and stick with it. This will keep you from trying to win too much money, and not using all you have on the site.
- Pick a card room
Choosing an appropriate site is a big decision, and one that can make or break your poker experience. It is important to find a reputable, financially stable site to play on, since you will be investing a lot of money into the site, and you want to make sure you are getting a fair deal. Check many poker sites out on the internet, especially for those that have recently released their site, they have made a lot of changes, such as added features, different odds calculations, or have better payment options.
- Know when to call it quits
You should always walk away when you are at the 2/5 or even 3/6 limit. It is normal to have a losing session, and it is expected. Never make the mistake of playing through a high limit poker site knowing you are beat. With high limit sites, you can lose a lot more than you can ever lose in a regular game. Don’t make the mistake of playing high limit poker sites, unless you are proficient at playing no limit poker.
- Pay attention to the cards on the table
When playing at a table, it is easy to become distracted, and halfway through a hand, you may be tempted to watch the cards on the table. Sometimes, take a peek at your own cards, or those of your opponents. Decide as the hand progresses whether you continue to pay attention to the cards on the table or not.
- Play at a logical level
Never raise in low limit games, since the small blinds will always be there, and you will be out of chips if you fold. Yet, when you have good cards, it is wise to call, or raise. In low limit games, take every hand you have, especially when you have the best cards. Get out of the hand when you have nothing!
- Learn from your opponents and your opponents’ mistakes
You can only learn so much from Bolagila own play, and sometimes you can’t avoid making mistakes. If you are known to make critical mistakes in tournament play, make sure you learn from your mistakes. It doesn’t take long to learn, but you must make sure you are reading your opponents correctly, and not making your mistakes.
- Play the Sizes of the Blinds
In the beginning, you will probably find that you are card dead. When you get card dead, and no one has raised the pot, sometimes folding would be your best course of action, because you are probably behind to a better hand. There is a large degree of difference between different kinds of blinds in a tournament. Some exist low blinds, some exist high blinds. Sometimes there are an entirely different structure of blinds. Lots of players prefer to go to the flop early, and that’s fine, but that’s not always possible in a low limit game. High blind games are harder to find.
Once you learn the ropes in a particular game, and understand the difference between different blind structures, you can plan your escape from the latter by building a nice stack of chips.
- Know when to call it quits
This is especially important in low limit games. You can’t survive forever playing in a tournament, and neither can your opponents. If you miss your hand, or take a bad beat, you want to be sure that you can afford to hang around for a couple more hands.
In low limit games, the cost to see a flop is typically low. Many times you can find two cheap flops in a row on the table, and if you are playing tight, you can usually — if not always –play at least a pair. 9 times out of 10, you will probably only play the best of hands in this situation.
In high blind games, the cost to see the flop can skyrocket, and in high limit games, you may be drawing dead.