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10 Tips to Play Winning
Online Poker |
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These Poker Tips relate
to the game of Online
Texas Hold'em. Bear in
mind that this is more
for the beginner and not
the advanced skill
levels. |
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Concentrate your
table position and
strong starting hands |
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This is a common rule
and one that should be
adhered to if one is to
become a successful
online poker player.
This is due to the fact
that most online players
are involved in way to
many pots and see way
too many flops, mainly
with marginal to weak
starting hands. It is
permissible to play
marginal hands in late
position when there is
no action in front of
you. The way to beat
these super-loose online
players is to just
tighten up and wait for
the right cards at the
right time so you can
felt someone. |
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Avoid playing too
loose online |
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Again, this goes back to
tightening up your play
against these
super-loose online
players. In the long-run
you, as a tighter more
disciplined player, will
be more successful and
take down more pots.
These loose-as-a-goose
players try to see way
too many pots, maybe
because of the low
limits, maybe because of
the action. Whatever the
reason, tighten up your
play and take down those
pots. |
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Practice reading the
flop |
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Since the speed of
online play is part of
its allure, online poker
games move at a much
faster pace. Being able
to immediately scan a
flop and determine the
"nuts" or best possible
hand is imperative. Does
the flop have a possible
straight or flush draw?
Who may have hit the
flop? More importantly,
who missed the flop all
together? McEvoy
recommends sitting out a
few rounds the first
time you start a game or
new table session to get
a feel for the style of
play you're up against. |
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Adjust to the speed
of the online game |
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This one is pretty self
explanatory, but
important still. In a
Brick & Mortar casino a
player can expect to see
around 30 hands an hour.
This number can be
expected to easily hit
50 hands per hour in an
online casino and one
must be able to adjust
to the faster pace.
There are several
reasons for this, first,
the online "dealer" is
much faster than a live
dealer in a casino.
Second, there is a time
clock that immediately
begins to run as soon as
the action is on you
which causes an annoying
beep when you have
delayed too long. If a
decision isn't made
10-20 seconds after this
period, the players hand
is automatically folded
and play continues.
There is a way around
this however, a player
may request an
additional period of
time when faced with a
very tough situation
such as an all-in call.
This feature is
available on most poker
websites. |
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Take notes when you
play |
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This one, in my opinion,
is a biggie. On most
sites there is a little
"notes" box that you can
click on and jot down
small tidbits of
information along and
along during a game. An
example of this would be
keeping a list of hands
that a particular player
shows down. Another
example would be to keep
track of your own play
so that you can review
it at a later time and
fine-tune your play.
Also, when playing
online at a particular
site, one will notice
that at certain limits
and in certain rooms, it
is common to see the
same players so keeping
track of their betting
patterns and what hands
they show down is
extremely helpful. To
this I would add: there
are a few great programs
out there that auto
track lots of
information, one must
just be certain not to
become dependent on this
software and use it
strictly as a
supplement. |
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Look for tells |
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While tells are
typically reserved for
live games, there is
information one can
garner from other
players online. When you
flop a pair and check
from first position and
the table checks all the
way around rapidly, it
denotes the use of the
automatic-check button,
which can usually
signify weakness. Also,
when a player takes a
fair amount of time
before bringing his hand
in for a raise, be sure
to keep track of that
hand at the showdown, so
next time you have a
better idea of what he
might be holding when he
pauses before coming in
for a raise. |
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Play smaller
tournaments first |
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The reasons for this are
many, but mainly to gain
confidence at the lower
levels if you are able
to dominate them.
Playing in these small
buy-in tournaments, one
can receive a ton of
experience for just a
little bit of cash, with
incentive to win some
pretty decent prizes if
you make it to the end. |
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Schedule your
tournament play |
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There are so many
tournaments online,
scheduling them and
remembering which ones
you have scheduled is
difficult. Also when
scheduling, remember to
leave your schedule open
so that you can be
assured sufficient time
to finish a tournament
that you start rather
than having to watch the
clock. |
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Poker as an escape |
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Don't play when you are
in the midst of an
argument or to avoid
doing something that is
weighing on your mind.
You cannot, and will not
play your best game if
you are preoccupied with
something else. If you
must play when
preoccupied, do so at a
lower limit table so
that you can handle the
swings in your bankroll
without really being
affected by them. |
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Don't put more cash
in your online account
than you can afford to
lose |
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This is a bankroll
management tip, but very
important nonetheless.
This is an often ignored
rule strictly because we
as humans tend to chase
our losses or move up in
limits to recoup a loss
at a lower limit game
more quickly. Always
remember to quit when
your situation has
deteriorated to the
point where you are "on
tilt" or making bad
decisions, chasing
cards, making bad calls
or playing inferior
hands. In short, when
your allotted gambling
money is gone, don't
throw good money after
it. |
