Top online poker strategies
Poker has gone from being something played only at high stakes into a global sport enjoyed by millions of players worldwide. In addition to playing for big stakes, players now also play for fun and skill against each other using software programs called bots (short for robots). These programs mimic human behaviour, allowing them to beat humans without cheating. Let’s see below some of the top strategies for playing online poker.
Play it safe and go with a simple strategy
While you might not win every hand, if you follow a basic strategy you will have more winning hands than losing ones. It is best to stick to one or two betting levels and be aggressive when there are good opportunities but otherwise just let your cards flow. The basic premise behind this strategy is that you want to maximize the amount of money in the pot before you start raising. You do this by making sure you bet as little as possible on mediocre holdings and then call/raise bets when there is a good opportunity.
When you have established a solid base position and a good read on what kind of cards the opponent holds, you can even decide whether to hold or fold. While most people would say playing it safe isn’t very exciting, it does have its advantages. If you make only small pots early on in the game, it makes it much easier to recover later on. This type of play requires discipline and patience but it works well in cash games where you don’t get immediate feedback about how well you are doing.
Try to out-pace the slow player
If you have an active opponent who seems to always come up short when it comes to betting in live tournaments, then it may be worth trying to outpace him. This is especially true if he is a particularly strong player. If you see him raise once too often or put all his chips on a single hand, try to either catch him off guard or wait until he looks weak before picking up the pace yourself. As long as you don’t take advantage of him or intentionally bluff him – which would be detrimental to the tournament – you should be able to gain any leads that you need to win.
Use a multi-table approach
The biggest mistake many new players make is opening several tables at once. While having a dedicated table on which to focus your attention is ideal, sometimes circumstances dictate that you must open multiple tables at once. For example, if you are running low on time and don’t want to miss a session, you could open three tables instead of just one.
Have to discipline
There are plenty of times that you will find yourself tempted to place a large wager far away from your current stack size, hoping that you’ll hit a monster hand. However, if you are disciplined enough to keep your losses in line with your expected returns, you won’t have to worry about getting sucked into these types of plays. Discipline is key because it helps reduce your risk profile while increasing your chances of winning big. By setting limits on how much you’re willing to lose per hour or per day, you can help ensure that you aren’t going broke in no time.
Know when to cut your losses
To maintain discipline, it is important to know when to cut your losses. Many players find themselves losing the most money during the first few hours of a tournament, which puts them right back at square one. To prevent letting a bad run turn into a larger loss, it’s crucial to know when to stop losing so that you can begin turning things around. If you feel like you’ve been beating up on the same handover and over again for the last ten minutes, it could be time to throw in the towel and move on to another hand.
Focus on the basics
While some poker strategies involve complex mathematics, others require nothing more sophisticated than common sense. One such strategy is focusing on the fundamentals. When playing online poker, you’re probably familiar with the concept of “playing tight” or “calling down.” These terms refer to the idea that you should be playing your cards close to your stack. What they mean is that you should only play hands that will give you the best chance of winning.
Don’t get discouraged by early results
When you enter a new tournament, it might seem like everyone has a pretty good read on what you’re capable of doing. You never know how quickly people will adapt their style, but you also shouldn’t expect to walk into every event with a huge chip lead. There is no harm in taking a shot at the blinds even though you feel like you already know how the game will unfold.
In a summary, there are a lot of ways to improve your poker game. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a beginner, intermediate, or advanced player; as long as you work hard and stay focused, you should be well on your way to becoming a better poker player.