10 Things to Avoid While Playing Online Poker

The world of online poker is getting extremely popular day-by-day and with its increasing popularity, it is also getting highly competitive. In order to stay longer in the game, it is essential that one keeps on learning and improving his or her personal strategies and techniques.

It is easy to learn the rules of the game but learning how to play poker so that a player can turn in some profits can be a bit complex.

If a player is more taken in by the fun and excitement of playing, rather than developing a sound knowledge about the game and trying his or her skills to keep on winning at online poker tables on a consistent basis, the task can be very much daunting.

Even one small silly mistake on a player’s part can be decisive in making or breaking fortunes.

Here are a few mistakes for beginners and poker enthusiasts to avoid when they have just started exploring the fascinating world of online poker –

Sheer Unwillingness to Fold

This is a common mistake that beginners tend to make more than often. There is no harm in folding one’s hands if it is just decent or average, especially in the early stages of the game.

As soon as a player gets his or her playing hand, they should start evaluating all the possibilities that could emerge with the 5-card combination on the table. If odds are not in favor of the player, folding is undoubtedly the best option.

It is important to remember, in order to win one does not have to be impatient or play relentlessly with average hands. It is best to always analyze and weigh all possibilities before making a move.

Prematurely Getting Ready to Fold

Contrary to the first mistake, amateur players often show a tendency to lift their cards early in order to fold way before it is actually their turn to act.

While unnecessary delay at an online poker table is a big no-no for everyone, folding actually takes a second, and since it is a decision that is not accompanied by any rigorous preparation, it doesn’t delay the action significantly.

If a player prematurely shows early signs of folding even in the online world, opponents across the table make a note of this and evaluate the player either as a novice or as a weak one.

Ignoring One’s Position

A player’s position at an online poker table is just as crucial as the position at a poker table in a real-life gaming parlor. A player’s decision to play a hand should always come from his or her position at the table and this is one of the most important aspects of playing poker.

If one decides to play out of position, it is recommended that he or she should make the move before the opponents at the table have an opportunity to predict the player’s hand and make a game plan to counter it accordingly.

So, it is important to be swift to play strong hands from an early position or otherwise play as tight as possible and stick to one’s position at the table.

Overvaluing One’s Hands

Even if a player has an ace and a king as his or her pocket hand, depending on the cards that get laid on the table, it is important that one evaluates the real value of his or her hand instead of overvaluing it before the dealer lays out all the cards.

A big pair in the pocket hand is just as good as a single pair if the cards laid out on the table do not match a player’s playing scenario. So, overvaluing hands is never a good option and professional players adjust their situation accordingly looking at the table and not getting carried away by just looking at the pocket hand.

Therefore, as a beginner, it is important that a player evaluates his or her hand depending on the current playing situation.

Playing Way Too Many Hands

This is another common mistake that most beginners make while playing online poker. If a player plays too many hands without understanding the real value of them, it is sure to damage the bankroll of the player significantly and before realizing it, it will result in quick burn-outs.

While playing the majority of hands keeps a player entertained as well as involved in the game, losing by playing average hands instead of making a surefire move with a great hand is never a good idea.

It will only result in loss of money and morale. Knowing when to play and when to fold is therefore crucial in keeping a player in the game for the long run.

Playing at Multiple Tables

Playing poker is surely a fun thing but playing irresponsibly, just for the fun of it, is never going to serve any player any good. As a player who has just started to test the waters of the online poker world, it is highly recommended that he or she sticks to playing the game at a single table rather than rushing from one table to the other.

It is found very often that because of the thrill of playing multiple games at any given point in time, a player misses his or her opportunity to win a game at one particular table because he or she was already focusing more on another game taking place at any table. This is never a wise technique or strategy.

The smartest thing to do is play at a single table until a player rolls in some profit and gets a habit of winning. Then, only the player can take that confidence to play at another table at the same time.

Frequent Bluffing

Bluffing is a significant part of playing online poker, but implementing it way too often is not a good idea. Since it is a strategy to confuse opponents at the table, by making them believe that a player has better hands than them, the art of bluffing should be used seldom and strategically.

If a player irrespective of the table situation bluffs repeatedly, it makes the playing style of the player predictable in the eyes of the opponents. The player becomes easy to read and the beauty of bluffing falls flat on its face.

A bluff should always be implemented depending on the position at the poker table, the size of the bet, and also depending on the opponents’ style of play, experience as well as a skill set.

Not Concentrating Enough on Opponents

To succeed in the game of online poker, a player requires information on the competitors that he or she is facing across a particular table, besides having knowledge and skill set.

The more information one has on his or her opponent, the more ahead the player stays from all of them. Be it a particular playing style, betting habit, or even folding style and raising routine, the more information one gets, the better is the player’s chances of winning the table.

If a player has a detailed note on an opponent, the next time he or she comes across the same opponent at a different poker table, the game is more than 50% won before the first card is even laid out.

Mismanagement of Bankroll

If a player is a millionaire or a multi-billionaire, then it’s fine but if one does not have an unlimited source of money to bring to the poker table, it is wiser as well as safer to start by playing at the tables that one can afford.

If one overplays and loses all the money by playing irresponsibly, the fun of playing itself dies instantaneously. With no money, the chance of playing at other low-stake games also goes away, and then the player gets stuck in his or her mental stress.

The key is to start playing at affordable tables in the early playing days and as some profits start to come in, to start raising the stakes little by little, instead of going at a full blow and losing everything at one go.

Avoid ‘Tilting’ at Any Cost

‘Tilting’ is an experience that every poker player has got affected by after going through a rough patch or suffering a big loss. Once this happens, to salvage something from the game, the player throws every known and successful strategy out of the window and starts playing aggressively without investing any thought into his or her play.

This is detrimental as then, adrenaline and emotion always get better off the player, and eventually, he or she ends up losing more. Both professional and amateur players get affected by tilting and therefore, the solution to this is always trying to keep one’s emotions in check while playing a game of poker.

Frustrations always lead to wild moves which in turn, never result in a profitable outcome. The best thing to do when a player is getting affected by tilting is to leave the online poker table for a few minutes and then come back with replenished energy and a fresh mindset.

Conclusion

As an amateur player of online poker, it can be a bit tough to understand all the complexities of the game and master the skill of winning. But if one keeps the aforementioned mistakes at bay, a player will have a better chance than others to get their first of their many wins at an online poker table.

To take their personal game to the next level, one has to be patient, persistent and above all keep on studying and learning about the game. There is absolutely no substitute for this. No matter how good a player gets at playing the game, there is always room for improvement.

Just in life, one will make mistakes playing poker. But what separates good players from the very best is that the latter recognizes the mistakes, learns from them, and fixes them the next time they are at a virtual poker table.

As a beginner, it is important to be a little more vigilant and try to avoid these common mistakes and then see for themselves where their skill and knowledge take them in the long run of success.