Urban Adventure Racing

The popularity of online poker is exploding with over two million players playing in 300 poker sites every day. A lot of poker players enjoy playing in the comfort of their own homes, while others still prefer the traditional live game. Despite the efficiency of being able to play without necessarily dressing up, hitting a busy casino and putting up a stern poker face, online poker involves additional challenges as well. Tells cannot be picked up from fellow players’ avatars making “reading” a lot more difficult and challenging compared to live poker games. Nonetheless, below are a couple of tips and strategies that will help in improving online poker play.

Since tells are difficult to pick up in online poker tables, it is important to be observant of how your opponents play their cards. Put emphasis and try to take note what cards a certain player usually plays, what bets make him fold, and his betting patterns. Learn to tell if a certain player is passive, aggressive, loose or tight. For aggressive and loose players, play tight and avoid bluffing. It will be difficult to win a pot from these players but trapping these players by slow playing and check-raising when you’ve made a hand would work. When going against passive and tight players, be sure to raise often, but be wary of falling into a trap. Tight and passive players usually fold when they have nothing, but when they have made a good hand they usually slow play, commit to the pot and create traps.

Do remember that in poker, whether online or in a live game, position is power. Refrain from playing marginal hands when in early or middle position on PokerStars. It will be difficult for you to pick up tells of whether you have the best hand since you are in an early position to act. Take advantage of your position if you are the last to act. Don’t be afraid to shove in some chips when you feel that nobody in the table has made a strong hand. Given the difficulty of being able to pick up tells in online poker, you can always take advantage of your position by representing high cards and a good hand whenever you are by the button.

Patience is always essential in poker. Don’t be afraid to fold a lot of hands. Remember that you will always be dealt with other hands. You don’t need to push your cards or always win with a bluff. Keep in mind the saying “fold and live another hand.”

Since poker at home offers a lot of possible distractions, avoid multitasking and doing other things while playing. Remember, it is more difficult to pick up tells in online poker so you have to exert more effort in getting reads and focusing on your own game play. As thrilling and efficient as it may look to play multiple poker games online, this is highly unadvisable. Keep focus on only one table.

With these tips, playing online can work to your advantage. Poker may be a game of luck, but it is one that anyone can win and excel in when skills and tactics are involved.