Five Essential Tips For Playing Online Poker

So, you’ve decided to raise the stakes and exchange the real felt for its digital counterpart? The fast-paced virtual poker world is full of surprises, some of which are not as pleasant.

To avoid them, you’ll have to play your cards right by learning the five golden rules presented in our guide. Think of them as an ace up your sleeve that will help you get the ultimate experience when playing online poker whether from US friendly poker sites or rest of the world.

Rule #1: There Is No One-Size-Fits-All Online Poker Room

Poker has become a way of life for millions worldwide, with each player with unique preferences. No online poker platform can match everyone’s tastes, so it’s up to you to discover poker rooms that have what you need.

Start by filtering the available types of poker offered. If you’re into Texas Hold’em, you won’t narrow down the selection much, but what about other types of poker? Does the platform offer Omaha, Stud, and other popular forms? More importantly: does the platform offer the type of poker you’re most likely to play?

Next, research the available cash games and tournaments, their variety, form, stake limits, and everything related to poker games that could affect your experience.

If you really want to fling yourself into online poker, it’s important to see the entire picture: choosing the best poker room requires going into the nitty gritty of the online poker industry. Here are some elements to consider when picking a poker site.

● License and security protocols
● Overall fishiness of the site
● Bonuses for new players
● Promotions for regular customers
● Bad Beat and other jackpots
● Player traffic
● Poker network
● Available deposit and withdrawal options
● Accepted devices you can use to play poker

Rule #2: Micro-Stakes Are Your Friends, Young Padawan!

The rule of thumb is to start small if you’re new to the online poker world. Luckily, many online platforms feature the so-called micro-stakes cash games and tournaments, which aren’t a common sight in live poker.

For example, a No-Limit Hold’em micro stakes cash game in many online poker rooms starts at $0.01/$0.02. Micro stakes are not to be confused with small stakes, which usually begin at $0.25/$0.50.

Mid stakes are usually between $2/$5 and $5/10, and high stakes vary between $5/$10 and $50/$100. Everything above can be considered a nosebleed game, and it often starts at $200/$400.

Regardless of your bankroll size, don’t choose anything other than micro-stakes to start your online poker journey.

Understandably, winning with such stakes could bore you, but it’s not about the money. Newcomers to online poker often need to fine-tune their poker skills to the virtual environment, which can lead to losses. In that case, it’s better to lose when playing with micro stakes.

Rule #3: Read Actions, as There Aren’t Any Faces to Read

Having a good poker face is an art few can pull off properly. However, that skill is completely redundant in online poker, as we don’t get to see other players’ faces as they make their moves.

Does that mean you cannot read how other players would act in certain situations? Absolutely not. Assuming a move your opponent would make based on their playing style is a skill that comes under the spotlight in online poker, as you have to rely on it much more than live poker.

How to determine someone’s playing style? For starters, it’s essential to understand the four basic types of poker personalities:

● Loose–Passive
● Loose–Aggressive
● Tight–Passive
● Tight–Aggressive

A loose player is more likely to proceed past the preflop (they decide to play 30% to 100% of their hands), while a tight player is often more likely to fold than play. On average, tight players play 10% to 25% of flops in hold’em.

Passive players don’t often bet, meaning they are more likely to call or fold. Aggressive players are more likely to raise, re-raise, and re-re-raise.

Your job is to recognize the playing personalities and adjust your online poker strategy accordingly.

Rule #4: Don’t Cheat

Cheating is not fair play, and you risk being blacklisted if caught cheating. Remember that everyone is there to have fun, and cheating can really kill the mood. Ultimately, you risk your overall reputation as a poker player if you’re caught cheating, and the community manages to put your online poker name to your face.

There are various ways to cheat in online poker, and we’ll mention some of them in this article. This should help you stay clean and even notice if someone is cheating.

● Collusion – Two players agreeing to support each other in an online cash game or tournament.
● Ghosting – Having a more experienced player use your poker account instead of you. Ghosting is also when you receive advice from more experienced players while a session is underway.
● Poker Bots — Using bots to automate playing poker online while sticking to the optimal game theory.
● Multi-accounting — Players making two or more accounts on a single poker platform with the goal of cheating.

Rule #5: Draw a Line When It’s Time to Fold and End the Session

Are you an emotional poker player? Are you likely to tilt if things don’t go your way? If the answers are positive, you should consider setting up a budget for your poker session, in addition to win and loss limits. After meeting either of these limits, you should end the session and come back another day.

This should also apply to live poker, but there’s one substantial difference when playing online — it’s much easier to deposit more money, with players risking losing much more.

Learn when to hit the brakes in online poker.

Final Thoughts

To sum up, playing poker online might have some advantages compared to its land-based cousin, but it also bears more responsibility. Hopefully, the five rules presented in this guide should help you from straying off-track and having an enjoyable experience, regardless of the type of poker you prefer playing.

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