Online Poker Game Strategy

Poker is a fun game that interests one and all. Winning continuously by playing poker may seem easy to professional players but to a beginner who is trying his or her luck for the first time, it may not be an easy job.

However, anyone with a sound strategy for playing online poker games can stay ahead of the pack, when it takes years of practice to become a successful poker player who plays poker to lead his or her life.

Once a player is armed with the right knowledge of the game and goes into the online world to apply the knowledge, then more than just enjoying the game, he or she could turn in some profits as well.

Here are a few basic online poker game strategies that can give a player a winning habit, backed by knowledge and skill –

Start by Playing Low-Stake Poker

This strategy is for beginners who are just starting to play online poker games for the fun of it. Before playing solid poker and professional tournaments, one should familiarize oneself with the nuances of the online poker world.

When a player plays low-stake poker it automatically gives him or her more chances to win at the table in the long run without substantially damaging the bankroll in the beginning. When one starts with winning, it helps the player to get rid of undue stress and he or she starts to enjoy the game more.

Once a player gets a hang of the low-stake poker games, then he or she could jump ship to the bigger and more complicated tournaments where the big professional players will be waiting for them. So, start with small and then eventually go big.

Begin by Playing a Single Table

Once a player starts winning, it is very tempting to play multi-table poker games as this is a key feature of the online poker world where one could play at a number of tables at any given point in time. As exciting as it may sound, for a beginner it might be very daunting especially if the player hasn’t got much experience at winning.

The more one understands the technical aspect of winning online poker games, the more valuable experience he or she gains which in turn will definitely serve him or her better in the long run. Once a player starts winning almost consistently at single tables, he or she will get more confident, and then they can count on maneuvering more tables at a time as dictated by their personal comfort level.

Use Software Functionality to One’s Advantage

As long as a website allows players to use the software while playing their game of poker, a player should always take full advantage of it. There is a lot of software to help a player in becoming better at online poker and one should never neglect them as they help immensely in improving their personal game.

What software basically does is – overlay the playing table and make a player aware of his or her opponents and their playing styles. In real-time, one can see when a particular opponent folds to a raise or look at stats like the opponents’ pre-flop raise percentage.

By studying all these stats and information thoroughly, a player will be able to make a more informed call each time and every time.

Play Tight but Aggressive

It is common among amateur players to wide opening too many Texas Hold’em hands at the beginning.

This is not a sound strategy as the key for beginners is to play only their strongest hands and avoid making most of the tough decisions that come with post-flop. This allows a player to play less but whenever he or she decides to take their hand into action, it makes their playing style more aggressive.

Since most players tend to play a lot of random hands, this strategy alone will let a player play more effectively without losing a lot of money.  

There is Art in Bluffing but Don’t Bluff Too Much

It is a simple poker strategy because if the world-renowned players didn’t bluff, they wouldn’t be able to take so much pot money back home. This is because although most of the time professional players miss a turn or flop, by sheer bluffing they compel their opponents to fold.

Better players know when to bluff so that they can get better hands to fold. A simple way of doing this is learning the trick of continuation bet or c-bet. This is basically a bet that a player makes on the flop after he or she has led the betting pre-flop.

In doing this, it doesn’t actually matter whether the player has hit the flop or not but it definitely keeps the story alive. On top of that, if a player has an aggressive style of playing, making a c-bet is a very good strategy in disguising his or her hand. The opponents at the table start to think that the player is actually trying to buy the pot whereas in reality, the player has nothing more than a decent hand.

But one has to be careful with bluffing because no player wants to bleed money by bluffing and getting caught by opponents, playing at marginal hands. A semi-bluff is sometimes a good idea when a player has a decent hand, one that has the potential to improve into a winning hand when all the cards are laid at the table.

So, a player should bluff knowingly but not irresponsibly.

Don’t be Afraid to Fold

Professional players make use of this strategy a lot of times, as just like bluffing, they know when to fold and they never get frustrated or demoralized by it.

When one is in the world of online poker games, sometimes it might feel boring to fold a lot of hands instead of playing but the simple tip is why should a player be tempted to play average hands and start losing money from the very beginning?

In the beginning, until and unless a player is absolutely sure of his or her hand, folding is the most practical option as it won’t damage the bankroll. Moreover, in online poker games, the next hand will be there in about a minute. So, going berserk because of waiting is simply out of question.

Even when a player is not sure what to do when a raise is called, folding the current hand is the best option against being unsure and losing a lot of money.  

Conclusion

Every online poker player develops a strategy that works specifically for him or her as they advance in the game and gain some solid experience. It is important that before gaining the experience a player follows a basic strategy as well as understands how he or she could apply the same at winning a game.

There will be some days of winning and some disappointing days when a player has his or her worst streak. But it’s important that one does not lose heart and always keeps the basic strategies in mind even when he or she is having a bad day at the poker table. The more one plays, the more one learns and the players who develop their own strategy keeping the basics in mind always stay relevant and ahead of the others in the world of online poker.