In my last article, Online Poker for Beginners - 10 Tips to Get You Started, I provided some tips for online poker newbies. Here are a few more basics, plus some ideas for those of you who have already played a few poker games online.
1. Learn both pokerese - the language of poker - and online poker chat abbreviations. You'll need them both if you're going to spend a lot of time playing poker online.
2. Don't feel like you have to win every hand - no one can. Sometimes your cards will be junk - not worth playing - and you'll be much better off if you just fold. And remember, even a good hand can be beaten by someone with a poor one. Sometimes it's a matter of experience and skill, and sometimes it's just luck.
3. Online poker can be fast. Don't let the action make you nervous or push you into doing something you wouldn't have done if you'd taken time to think. Do take the time to think. You'll probably find you have more time to make your moves than you thought you did. And the more you play, the faster you'll get.
4. Stay away from no-limit games when you're just starting out. Get used to everything first - the site, the software, and especially the game and how to play it. No limit is a great way to win big, but it's also a great way to lose big. And getting wiped out early in your poker career is not only bad for your budget, it's emotionally disheartening, too. (Even if you decide to play no-limit games for virtual money, don't play carelessly. You don't want to develop bad habits that might carry over to your eal money games.)
5. Take your game seriously, but not so seriously that you get really upset or angry when you lose. Remember - you're learning. Go easy on yourself, and on the people you're playing with - or against!
6. Watch what the other players do - for example, when and how much they bet, when they fold, and when they bluff. When you're playing online you won't be able to read body language or facial expressions, but there are still ways to observe behavior and use those observations to win more.
7. Keep your observations to yourself. If in watching another player you discover something they consistently do that could be to your benefit, don't tell them about it. It's tempting to flaunt your observational skills this way, but if you do you've lost your advantage because they'll probably change their behavior.
8. Change your own behavior periodically to keep others from being able to read you easily. This is also a good way to try out different strategies.
9. If you don't enjoy or aren't doing well at one kind of poker game, try something else. There are lots of different kinds of poker being played online. Maybe, for example, you'll discover you like Omaha better than Hold 'Em, or 7-card stud better than Omaha. Even if you like what you're playing, you may want to try others periodically to improve your overall skills. And anyway, variety keeps things from getting boring.
10. Keep on learning. Along with playing actual poker games, use other resources to improve your knowledge and skills. Some of these might include:
- joining a poker forum. This is a great way to get your questions answered and meet other poker enthusiasts.
- checking out other online resources (besides the casinos, that is)
- watching poker on television (and especially listening to the commentators' remarks)
- reading books. In the beginning some of the language and hand descriptions may stump you, but as you play more you'll understand what the authors are talking about. There are books available for all levels of poker players, from beginner to expert, and for most variations of the game.
And remember the most important tip - keep on playing! The more you play the better you'll get, and the better you get the more you'll win. And isn't that what playing poker - online or off - is all about?
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