Online Poker Tips
A few years ago, online poker rooms were full of awful players drawn in by the popularity of Texas holdem and the novelty of playing poker online. These days, there are fewer downright awful poker players, and finding a soft game can be the hardest part of the game. To win at online poker tables, you have to improve every aspect of your poker game and learn to use a few new poker tools while you’re at it.
Here are some of my favorite online poker tips:
Online Poker Bankroll Strategy
The most important factor in determining the stakes at which you should be playing is proper bankroll management. Each playing level and game format of online poker requires a different size and style of bankroll management. Keeping track of your bankroll protects you from variance in online poker.
There are two kinds of poker online—ring games and tournaments. Cash games are a popular choice among online poker players, and the game you play is a direct result of your bankroll. A good rule of thumb is to have around 30 buy-ins available for the stakes you’re playing. For instance, if you want to play $100NL, you need 30 times the buy-in amount of $100, or a total of $3000.
Larger playing fields in online poker tournaments means even more
variance, so bankroll management becomes even more important. Ideally, you
should be more strict with your bankroll in tournament play than any other
kind of poker. The idea in poker tourney play is to never spend more than
5% of your bankroll on tournament tables for each gaming session. For
example, if you want to play in tournaments with a $10+$1 buy-in, you need
to have a bankroll of at least $220.
Avoiding Tilt in Internet Poker
Tilt is a term used to describe the result of poor decisions you made in a previous hand or poker playing session because you were pissed off or upset. Poker players lose a lot of money in a very short period of time because of tilt.
There are different kinds of tilt, the most common being negative tilt.
That’s when you’re chasing your losses and playing poorly to make up for
what you lost.
Another form of tilt is the rare “positive tilt.” Somehow, some poker players make poor decisions while chasing losses, but still somehow get lucky and beat the odds. This “positive tilt” is actually more dangerous, as people seem to think their poor play is good play, and positive tilt can encourage bad poker tactics.
The only way to avoid tilt is to be sensitive to the feeling when it stars to build up. The faster you can find your own tilting point, the faster you can walk away from the poker site and get your mind off of poker. Online poker will always be there when you’re ready to come back, but a single tilting session can be the difference between losing your shirt and starting over from scratch or taking a break and having money to play with when it is time to return to the game.
Poker Software
Hundreds of poker software products are available to help you with your game. Look around, read reviews, and find a select few pieces of poker software which you can use as tools to improve your online poker play.
A good poker tracking program that records your results and stats is vital to online poker play. The most popular of these are Poker Tracker and Holdem Manager. Both are good pieces of equipment and are perfectly legal ways to track not only your stats and results but also that of your opponents. Used correctly they can be great leak finding tools. They can give you hard data and information on situations where you may not be making the most profitable of plays while giving you new ideas on how to adapt your game.
For players who play a large number of tables at any given time, Table Ninja is another essential piece of software. Table Ninja allows you to set up a series of ‘hotkeys’ that you can program to reduce the need for your mouse. You can keep your head in the game using these hotkeys instead of holding onto a mouse. If you play multiple tables, these hotkeys make your life a lot easier. Every little bit of extra decision time helps.
Dividing your time between playing and learning is something every poker player has to do. Even the top poker pros spend as much time learning new concepts as they do at the virtual felt.
The introduction of coaching and video sites has revolutionized the way in which poker players play and think about poker. These sites cost a little bit of cash, but if you use them properly, you’ll see a big return on your investment.
These sites (popular versions include Card Runners and Deuces Cracked) have some of the best online professional poker players in the world making videos and contributing to forum discussions for your benefit. The sheer numbers of players are staggering, and for just $30 per month you can have your own virtual poker coach.
Poker Site Variety
Every poker site offers something different. Software, cashier function, and design—these things vary from site to site. One person’s perfect fit is another poker player’s nightmare.
Most sites offer play money tables, which means you don’t even need to deposit on a site to see how the software works. It’s a great way to find exactly what your requirements are from a poker room and to get an overview of whether that particular site is right for you or not.
Once you have looked around and sampled different sites, choose one that you want to make your home. Jumping from site to site each day can become a tedious task and make it hard for you to get a true feel for the games as they differ from each respected poker room.
Online Poker Bonuses
Many sites run regular promotional bonuses for existing players or members. This is like the site offering you free money. Sure, you have to play some poker to earn most of these bonuses, but that’s what you’re there to do anyway, right?
Most of these bonuses come in the form of either a reload bonus or a deposit bonus, while giving you a certain amount of time to clear as much of the bonus as you can by earning points playing poker on that site.
Some sites offer rakeback deals as well. However, grinding to earn rakeback can have a negative effect on your poker game. Don’t get too hung up on rakeback and bonus deals that new sites offer. Concentrate instead on playing poker.
Playing Too Many Tables
Some poker players can multi-table without a negative effect on their game, but most people should concentrate on one or two games when just starting out.
The increased pace of playing more tables reduces your decision making time for each table. As a result there will be times where you can miss value bets, bluffing opportunities, and also neglect to learn your opponents’ playing tendencies since your focus has been taken away from that specific table or player.
Play a different number of tables until you figure out what works best for you.
Most players with experience play between four and eight tables, though you may find just one or two works best for you.
Take Notes
No poker tracking software can replace the value of taking good notes. Your hand written notes are much more specific and personal than a screen full of numbers. Always include the date and stakes in which you played against this player for future reference. An example note may look like this:
“18/5/2011 - $100nl – Seen op 3bet with air and bet 3 streets with bottom pair”
As you become used to note-taking, you can develop your own shorthand to save time, fleshing the note out later after your gaming session. Look over your tracking software after every session and replay hands looking to take notes on situations you may have missed in the live game.
Participate in Poker Forums
Contributing to online forums can be a great way to not only stay in touch with the poker world but also develop your game. Most forums will have sections where you can post hands and add your opinions on how other people may have better played in game situations.
Don’t be afraid to speak your mind and give your point of view—these forums are there for that purpose. The idea behind poker forums is to absorb and digest other poker player’s views, take what works and ignore what doesn’t. It’s more important to learn from your mistakes than follow every piece of advice you hear on a poker forum.
Online poker has changed dramatically in the past few years. Players are smarter now, and as poker sites shut down or close themselves off to wagers from certain countries, players are siphoned into fewer and fewer sites. Variance is high, but with some practice and a few tools, you can make online poker a money-making venture.
This page of online poker tips was last updated on May 28, 2011.