Crushing Online Poker
To be a Long-Term Poker Winner a Range of Skills is Required and Some Online Poker Tips
Many players believe that beating online poker is all about the strategy. While you need to have the skills to out-play your opponents, this is far from the only factor. I’d suggest that hand reading, bet sizing and other ‘strategy’ skills are necessary, though not sufficient, to beat the game.
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You’ll see from the list below; poker strategy is involved in just one of 10 online poker tips for beating online poker games. Here is the full list of what you will find below:
#1 Selecting Easy Online Poker Sites
There is a huge difference in the average skill level of opponents across different poker rooms. Some rooms are filled with online pros, most of them playing at multiple tables. Others are filled with amateurs or recreational players.
If you want to beat online poker games, then you should be looking for the easiest sites. Your hourly profits will be bigger playing against recreational players (even if you can beat the pros).
Look out for sites which are big sports betting brands and also offer poker. These rooms benefit from cross-over traffic. It only takes one or two ‘wild’ players in a game to get the action going – as the other players will all be after those chips.
Sites to avoid include those that reward high volume play (for example with rakeback). These sites tend to attract skilled players, who multi-table, grinding out an hourly profit. You can find more on where to find the best sites in our guide to the easiest poker rooms.
#2 Online Poker Money Management Skills
It does not matter how much better you are at playing hands than your opponents, money management (also known as bankroll management) is an important poker skill. Every player experiences a bad run now and again. This is part of the natural ‘variance’ of online poker. Even the best players suffer downswings of 10+ (cash game) buy-ins on a regular basis.
If you don’t protect yourself by managing your poker bankroll, those swings can lead to going broke. Accepted bankroll levels are 20 buy-ins for cash games, 50 Sit N Go buy-ins and 100 (or more) for poker tournament players. Many players use these levels as an indicator of when to move up and down buy-in levels.
Players who feel that those buy-ins are too strict are generally those who are lucky enough not to have experienced a downswing yet!
#3 Becoming an Online Poker Specialist in One Game / Format
There are a lot of different poker game variations. Texas Hold’em dominates both the online and live games. In addition, you can enjoy Omaha variants, mixed games, stud and draw. Each of these games can be played as a cash game, tournament and sometimes in other formats (Sit N Go, fast-fold, lottery games).
Add to this the different types of betting (pot-limit, no-limit, fixed limit) and speeds (hyper turbo, turbo, standard) – and you have a huge number of options. Within tournament poker, there are still more sub-formats. These include knockout bounties, progressive knockouts, rebuys, satellites and big ante games.
It can be enjoyable to switch things up sometimes, and even to play different formats at once. If you want to beat online poker games consistently, specializing is the way to go.
Learn to beat one game, work on your hand histories and fix leaks, fine tune your strategy – and you’ll become a consistent winner.
There is no reason you can switch games now and again to keep things fresh. Having a go-to format that you are sure you can beat is a great way to top up your bankroll while you take shots at higher buy-ins!
#4 Take Detailed Notes on Opponents (or Buy Tools to do it For You)
If you are playing at a smaller site, then the chances are you’ll come across the same players frequently. Taking detailed notes on their tendencies will give you a big edge.
Many players have betting patterns which change when they are weak or strong. They will not be paying enough attention to figure out that you know that a 1/3rd pot bet means they missed and ½ pot means they hit the flop.
By taking detailed notes you can get a huge edge over many players. This applies to pros (who often multi-table using a standardised strategy) as much as it does for amateur players. Avoid simple one-word tags like, ‘fish’, ‘tight’ or ‘station’. Instead include details on position, their holdings and bet sizes. It is amazing how often you’ll spot patterns after doing this for a while.
If you are multi-tabling yourself, taking notes might not be practical. In this case you could buy a tool to keep track of your opponents. Commercial software like Hold’em Manager will keep histories of every hand you play – including then tendencies of your opponents. This will quickly flag the weak players and give you information you can use to get thin value from your opponents.
Note that some sites do not allow these poker tracking tools. You should check the terms and conditions before you purchase one.
#5 Play More Hands from Position
Crushing Online Poker Game
Whichever form of poker you play, position is the key to beating the games in the long term.
Crushing Online Poker Card Game
This simply means you play more hands when last to act than when you are first to act. The simplest way to do this is to play more often when you have the dealer button, and fewer hands from ‘Under the Gun’.
Position is a universal strategy consideration in poker. It works because you get more information when last to act. For example, if you have a medium strength hand and act last – only to see a big raise, and then an even bigger reraise ahead of you, then you can lay it down without committing more money. If you were first to act, you might have bet out before getting the news that 2 opponents love their hands!
While strategy is complex for many poker games – playing in position will make money in the long-run, all else being equal.
#6 Table Selection Skills
I started this list with site selection. Table selection is closely related (and just as important). This involves choosing the easiest games to beat from the list available in your site’s lobby.
Most poker sites list statistics with their available games. These show how big the average pot is, and the average number of players seeing each flop. This gives you an indication of how loose each game is. The wildest tables will see both numbers higher than average.
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This information alone is not yet enough to find the best game. You need to check the table and make sure that the seat available puts you in a good position to take advantage of the fish. Sitting to the immediate left of an active (or just plain bad) player gives you plenty of opportunity to isolate them and play pots in position.
Table selection can apply to sit n go tournaments too. If you see several ‘regulars’ already registered for your games, then it could be prudent to wait. Once they have filled their quota, the games can have a better balance of amateurs to pros. Even if you can beat other professionals, games with them in will never be as profitable as those without.
Remember, table selection is not a ‘one and done’ activity. You need to regularly reassess each of the games you are playing I – and move table if things have tightened up.
#7 Making a Plan to Deal with Tilt
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Tilt sounds almost comical – a bad beat sees the ‘red mist’ descend, making you play like a maniac in order to get even. Unfortunately, this happens to most players in one form or another. Any time you play differently to get ‘your chips’ back from that ‘lucky fish’ you are showing signs of tilt. There are other forms too. Some players get some downbeat from consistent suck-outs that they start playing passively, so as not to risk too many chips. This passive play leads to more beats – continuing the cycle.
Good players acknowledge that tilt can make a difference. They make plans in advance to deal with this should it strike.
The most obvious strategy is to simply take a break. Getting away from the games, even taking a walk for 10 minutes, is often enough to get your rational self back functioning again. Another strategy is to keep a file of hands where you got lucky on hand. You can review this when someone sucks out – maybe reminding yourself that you are a long term winning player along the way.
Finally, why not fire up a game at 1/20th of your normal bankroll – and go crazy there for a few minutes. This can help relieve the stress and get your focus back for the main game.
#8 Learning to Multi-Table
The most common way that winning poker players increase their hourly profits is to play more tables. Some players enjoy 12+ games at once. They will sacrifice some profit from each game – 12 is simply too many games to follow closely enough to maximize value. This is made up for by the sheer volume of hands. For example, someone capable of making $10 per hour while playing 4 tables ($10 / table) might be able to make $6 per hour from 12 games, almost doubling the hourly rate to $72.
You’ll need to invest in software tools like Hold’em Manager or Poker Tracker to help you with this. You will also need to adjust your strategy. Folding some marginally profitable hands from early position will let you focus on the more obviously profitable spots.
Remember that any leaks in your game will be magnified. Make sure you have a solid strategy and process for reviewing your hands after each session before you add more games. This can be done in stages, moving from 4 to 6, then 8 and so on. If you reach a point where you feel overwhelmed, drop one table and practice until you are comfortable again.
#9 Get the Best from Bonuses and Rewards
Poker sites compete fiercely with each other to attract players. You can take advantage of these deals by staying flexible – moving to the room which offers the best promos or loyalty rewards. While a rakeback deal is a common way for multi-tablers to get cash – you do need to balance this with the fact that sites offering this are often tougher than their rivals.
Players searching for how to win at online poker should keep a list of sites to check out – and make sure they do not miss out on reloads, promotions or other loyalty rewards.
#10 Never Play When Drunk, Tired or Ill
Poker is tough enough when you are feeling fresh and bringing your ‘A-Game’ to the tables. When you have a couple of drinks, the finer points of strategy quickly become irrelevant. Many a good player has seen their bankroll decimated by taking a shot after a boozy Friday night out. If you lack discipline, why not set up a special account at a different site? This can be used for ‘donking around’, instead of your main accounts.
Playing tired or when feeling under the weather are not quite as dangerous. Both situations make it hard to bring you’re a-game. Step down in stakes – or keep your sessions short until you feel well rested again.
1. Take Notes
Boom, Bam, Wam. This is very important!Taking notes is what the old school players did well. If you take away one thing from this article, you should have a big notebook with meticulous poker notes. And I'm not talking about your hem2 note drive, that's fine but not on the ball enough. How are you going to use those notes when you play live stuff? I don't know, you tell me! There are tons of stuff online and at your library on writing concise, and taking good notes. I'm going to let you build that facet of poker by yourself. Just next time you find yourself with nothing to do and your hand reaches for Skype button on your iPhone. Slap that hand! Reach for the pencil and pad paper instead.
2. Focus, focus, focus,
I went ahead and put this near the top because it is so, so important. When you are playing a session; phones off, Skype off, everything off. You should treat poker like your job take it seriously. If you are six stories in the air, fixing an electrical wire, would you be chatting with your buddy on the phone? No! So don't do it while you're playing poker either. Facebook, twitter, television? Forget it, watch it later on your own time. (Or just don't play right now, and do that if it is so important.) The more seriously you begin to take your game, the quicker your results will skyrocket. Listen guys, I don't read Calvin and Hobbes when I six table PLO cash games. (Caught all you Calvin and Hobbes guys off guard! Yeah, I see you. :) ) If I treated the game like some of my friends, yeah sure I would do that. But I like to use wood and not currency to start my camp fires so I eliminate all the distractions.
You should treat poker like it's your job - take it seriously
3. Take breaks when you are burnt out
I'm going to save you the enjoy life, go to the park, smell some rosy flowers malarkey. If you take poker even half-seriously you know its work, hard work, and its easy to get burned out. Poker burn outs are a special case. When you start playing poker after a long break or for the first time, you feel fresh, enjoy the game, and make great decisions. After a while the monotony does wear down on everyone, even the toughest players. You're going to begin auto-piloting. (this is the big sign of a poker burn-out, its like the light on your car dimming before it completely shuts off in the middle of a street.) You're also going to feel like you have less energy, make bad decisions, and just feel lethargic in general. This is the time to take a break for at-least 3-4 days, although a good break is something like 2 weeks. Take charge of your troops here and make a strategical adjustment, don't continue on a course that leads to oblivion.
Now I'm talking about breaks from the grind, like if you play full time and this is your first break in a few months type of deal. If you play part-time the safe-guard is almost built in since you will be playing three out of seven days. I'm not talking to you guys so much here, although some of this stuff could be useful in the future. Just stay on top of your breaks/scheduling as it is an important part of peak performance.
I am ready to take my poker game to the next level!
4. Bankroll management (PLO specific)
You're not going to survive in poker, and especially in plo without some sort of decent bankroll management. Plo is a game that entails higher risk, variance and you need to respect that fact by having a bigger bankroll, and better management of it. If it means getting backed to start out, or scrapping up capital from investors, so be it. If you just deposit your Friday paycheck and play anything but the micro-est of plo, let me save you a lot of time and aggravation. Forget about it! You will just bust it up, dust it off to regulars, rake will eat you alive, etc. The best thing to do is play the micro-est plo, or game of your choice, build up decent stats, and begin to look for a backer. Also take advantage of promotions, if you are building a bankroll there is no better way to build it then taking the free money the site is throwing at you. Ill go into this in depth in another article.
5. Game selection (PLO specific)
Since the swings in plo are higher, it attracts a lot of aggro-tards, and then solid tight regulars. Now if you are playing less then four tables online or one table live, game selection is huge, H-U-G-E. Your tables should have at the very least one big aggrofish or passivefish if this session is about making money. You preferably want the seat to his direct left, so you can isolate him consistently with a raise.
Your tables should have at the very least one big aggrofish or passivefish
I do not want to hear that you are playing five nits if there are other options available to you. (And those other options WILL be available to you if you play in a big live casino or a big online room like stars.com)