Although the game is the same, online poker can be a difficult transition from live poker for some players. The following tips and suggestions can help ease that transition, even for those of you who are accomplished online poker players.
Take it easy to start with. Don’t jump right in to a high-stakes poker game. The goal when first starting out is to familiarize yourself with the intricacies of online poker. A sure way to get turned off is to have a big losing session right from the start. Come to the table with a smaller bankroll than you would usually play with and if you’re on a losing roll, when your cash is done, you’re done. No need to stress over a big loss. One thing you will begin to understand is that generally you will see stiffer competition online.
Before placing your first bet, make sure you understand the layout of the website where you will be playing. Check out the bonuses being offered, the cashier page, the betting features and the rake-back offers. Get used to the time-bank feature. This is probably the one item that takes the most getting used to. Having a set amount of time to play your hand in online poker that is much shorter than in live play, can be a significant adjustment. The game speed is much faster and you will see over double the amount of hands that you would normally see in live poker.
One of the advantages of online poker is being able to play multiple tables at one time. This has the potential for greater winnings, but on the other side of that coin is the potential for greater loses as well. Learn to win consistently and confidently on one table before multi-tabling.
If your intent is to play professionally, then treat it as a business. Make sure you have a location in your home that is free of distractions, where you can comfortably sit at a desk. Don’t think that you’ll be successful by flopping down on the couch with your laptop, with the tv going in the background and people trying to converse with you. Invest in a large, high resolution monitor that will reduce eye strain and make multi-tabling much easier. Give yourself all of the advantages you can.
There are many types of software on the market that can assist you while playing online poker. The note taking function, which is already available on a number of poker sites, is an excellent tool. If you notice that a certain player has an idiosyncrasy that you could perhaps exploit to your advantage, you would normally try to make a mental note of it. With the note taking function, your mental note can be directly recorded to stay with that particular player for when you encounter him again. Some sites also have a color code system that you can assign to players. Maybe you encounter some real sharks along the way and you would definitely avoid them in the future. Tag them with a red color. The next time you sign up for a sit and go tournament and you see on the registry list a player with a red tag, you’ll know to avoid that table. A great piece of software is Hold Em Manager. It has a history replayer function that allows you to replay a session or an entire tournament away from the tables. This is an excellent teaching tool for reviewing your mistakes or your winning hands.
All of the above tips can help you in your transition from live poker to online poker. Use them to your advantage to become a consistent winner at online poker!
