How to Survive the Online Poker Wars

Playing online poker can be a ton of fun. It's a great way to pass the time and maybe win a few dollars in the process. With that said, it can also be a bit stressful if you take it too seriously.

As you progress beyond being a recreational online poker player, you'll probably find yourself playing in higher stakes cash games and tournaments. The more you invest, the more likely you are to take your-poker playing seriously, raising your expectations of success. If the losses start to mount, the stress is always going to rise as well.

What you need to realize is your opponents probably have the same mindset. Furthermore, there is always a chance you'll be sitting at a poker table with a poker pro who is looking to take advantage of players with lesser skills.

It will take time to improve your online poker-playing skills. To help you survive the online poker wars until you can compete with the best poker players in te world, here are a 10 suggestions you might want to take to heart.

1. Understand the Rules of Selected Games

There are more than 2 dozen poker variations listed on most online poker sites. Before you start investing your hard-earned cash, you need to know the rules of the game or games you have selected. Read them carefully. You should find a free format that you can use to practice your game or games of choice.

Recommendation: It's better to be a master of one or two variations as opposed to trying to master the poker-playig universe.

2. Start at Lower-Level Tables

Experience is king within the poker-playing community. If you are just starting as an online poker player, you'll want to stick with the lower limit tables and poker tournaments. If you do this, you'll be less likely to encounter pokers pros who are laying in wait for SUCKERS. You'll also reduce your financial risk as you learn to become a better overall poker player.

The right time to up your game and progress to higher limit table will be when your success at the lower levels is frequent. Your bankroll should be bigger, making it easier to absorb losses at the higher limits. Trust your instincts and move up when you feel the time is right.

3. Know Your Opponents

Until you can lay claim to being a poker pro, you don't want to be mixing up with those folks in cash games. It's best to stay in your class to avoid being outclassed by more experienced online poker players.

Hint: Most viable online poker platforms will track player performance. They will use data that tracks criteria like player game performance, skill, and success per poker variation. Players earn points by winning cash games and finishing in top positions in tournaments. Since player ratings are visible by other players, you would be well-advsed to take a look at whose playing at your table. Be wary of players with high ratings. Those could be poker pros.

4. Play Tight

There are two schools of thought regarding how aggressively one should play. Some top players suggest playing aggressively to steal blinds, run up pots, and pressure other players. This type of play is better suited for experience players with big bankrolls.

We would recommend playing tight. This will allow you to limit your losses until a good hand lands in your lap. That would be the right time to turn up the pressure a little with aggressive play. When you get hundreds of online poker hours under your belt, that's when you might want to change to a more aggressive player.

5. Watch Oppnents for Their Playing Tendencies

Except for poker pros and higher level amateurs, most poker players will have a playing style. If you carefully watch the table flow, you might pick up betting tendencies on several of the players. Pay particular attention to the ones who tend to win the most hands. If you can pick up player tendencies, you'll have a better idea of when it's time to hold them, and when it's time to fold them.

6. Understand Your Hand-Playing Position

Position is everything at the poker table. Regardless of your hand, some positions will afford you more leverage than others. You can use this information to help calibrate your calls, folds, and the amounts you wager.

The small and then big blinds are the best positions. They will allow you to gather more information before you have to make a bet. They will also make it easier for you to control a pot and extract more money with advantageous hands.

7. Manage Your Bankroll

If you are gambling responsibly, you'll have a finite bankroll you can use to play online poker. Once that amount is established, that's the amount that your want to manage carefully with the following objectives in mind:

• Setting per hand and per day limits will help limit your losses


• Keeps you in action longer until good fortune shines


• Keeps you from getting overly excited or anxious of the size of your wins and losses


• Helps you establish good wagering habits that could lead to more success


• Makes it easier to tracks wins and losses, which will help you recognize your strengths and weakenesses

8. Avoid Going TILT

Playing winning poker requires that you keep yourself in good mind and spirit. What you never want to do is allow a loss or bad beat to frustrate you and put your emotions on edge. In poker circles, that's called "going TILT."

If you allow yourself to go TILT, it could cause the following issues:

• You could start altering your normal playing strategies


• It could impair your ability to make good wagering decisions


• It could create lasting emotional stress that might affect other aspects of your life


• Could cause you to starting wagering with reckless abandon as youu chase to get back your losses

9. Use Poker Tracking Software

There is nothing illegal or unethical about using poker-playing software. A lot of experienced players do exactly that as a means of helping them play to the best of their ability.

You'll want to find a software platform that tends to get endorsements from top players. Top-rated software platforms should be able to help you in the following areas:

• Help you manage your bankroll


• Help you make proper gameplay decisions


• Provide hisorical data regarding your previous play


• Help you track hands and results without having to do so manually


• Give you a competitive edge over players who don't use poker software
  

10. Gamble Responsibly

At the end of the day, you have to have enough discipline to gamble responsibly. What does gamble responsibly mean? You should never gamble with money that's needed to maintain your normal lifestyle.

Most gambling experts would tell you to only use discretionary cash for your online gambling endeavors. By definition, discretionary cash is the money that remains after you have paid your bills and put something in savings or an investment. If you stick with this rule of thumb, your losses should not cause difficulties in other areas of your life.

Conclusion: Armed with this information, you should be in better position to survive the online poker-playing wars. Be patient. It will take time to incorporate these tips into your playing style. Once you get to the point that some of these things have become second nature, you should see yourself getting better as an online poker player.