5 Tips for Running Bad in Online Poker

One of the worst things that can happen to an online poker player is not being drawn out on, on the river. Although that is bad indeed, having a bad run or a major downswing is much worse. Unlike being drawn out on where it is over in a matter of seconds, having a bad run can last days, weeks, or even months. A player feels as if they cannot win and are ready to point the finger in any direction possible other than themselves.

It is possible that you chase too many hands, bet too big or even play outside your bankroll. These are all possibilities, no doubt about it. However, this can be your fault simply because when most players realize they are running poorly, they continue playing!

This is the last thing you should do when you are not playing well at poker online. You are only setting yourself up for further disappointment and even worse, a big serving of tilt. So, what should you do when you realize you are running badly? Our Top 5 tips below should be able to answer that for you and they are in order in which you should concern yourself with them.

Play the Right Games:

Did you just start playing poker and now you are losing every game you play? Have you only been playing poker for a month and now you are trying to learn every variation of poker under the sun? While this may not be a big deal to some, others take a while before learning a game well enough to make money. You may need to give yourself time to learn as a few months is simply not enough to have a good concept of some online poker tournaments.

Analyze Your Game:

You need to analyze your game and see where there may be leaks. When you advance in stakes, not only do you need to focus on picking up on your opponent’s mistakes, but you need to focus on yours as well. Before continuing to play, you should really do some careful research on how you play and what you can do to get better.

Analyze Your Bankroll:

Are you playing at too high of stakes for your bankroll? Best online poker is a complete mind game so it is possible that a couple big losses could be mistaken for a bad run. If you are playing tourneys at SNGs with only a small bankroll, never mind your skills, you can simply be facing a normal variation and your bankroll cannot withstand that type of loss.

Steer Away from Tilt:

Your emotion is rearing its ugly head at you and letting you know that it has taken over your common sense. It is too easy to tilt in online poker real money and before you know it, you are making horrendous plays, starting with bad cards, and continuously playing catch up. Tilt can be easy to spot but since you are analyzing yourself, it is just as easy to point to a bad run of cards as well.

Stop Playing:

Although this is the final straw if you cannot find the problem to why you may be doing poorly, why would you waste more money playing the game? it is not making any sense. You need to stop and take a break from the game, regardless of how difficult it may be. the length of time will vary on the person; however, the game will be there tomorrow, the day after and the day after that. The more you continue to blame the cards, the harder it is going to be for you to take loses. It will just end up being a snowball effect that will not only take its toll on your wallet but on your mind as well.

Happy playing!

 

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Few Tips to Prevent Ego Killing Your Online Poker Game

Playing online poker can be fun and engaging, but one of the mistakes beginners make is being cocky after a couple of lucky wins. There are the rare beginners who have a knack for the game, but they are a very rare exception. The safest and smartest way to play as a beginner is to know that you are bound to win a few and lose a few.

Stop being discouraged

Do not let it swells your head or discourage you too much. You are still learning the poker games online and it will take some time to really get good at it. When you begin playing, spend more time watching the more experienced players. Unless you have a really good hand, you should play it safe and fold when you do not have a solid hand to play.

Learn to bluff efficiently

It is best to learn to online poker real money bluff from watching experienced players before losing a lot of money under the assumption that you know what you are doing. You should also stick to lower stakes where you won’t feel too pressured to keep going when you are not confident in your hand.

Stop suffering from overconfidence

Best online poker beginners are not the only ones who suffer from overconfidence. Even more, experienced players can either drink too much or win enough to feel invincible. Everyone will be dealt with losing hands; the best strategy is to learn when your hand is so bad or you have already bluffed too much and need to sit a handout. The more times you bluff, the more experience the other players will have at seeing how is your strategy. They will start to get suspicious and start analyzing a player who always wins to try to pick up the tells of when that player is bluffing.

Stay in too often and you are giving them more opportunity to analyze you since the odds are not in your favour to win every game. Realizing when you have such a lousy hand that you should fold and sit that round out will throw off the other players. They will see you know that you will not win every hand and are strong enough to know when you are dealt a losing hand, making it harder for them to gauge when you are lying.

Happy playing!

 

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Learn the Myths about Online Poker Players

There are an array of books and movies where the protagonist is an online poker player, with James Bond’s adventure in Casino Royale being the most notable one. However, on numerous occasions, the game is often misrepresented. Here are some myths the general non-poker playing audience have about the game.

Poker is all about bluffing

Most people believe the game is all about making that one risky bluff at the right time that pays off and results in the player scooping the pot. However, this is not quite accurate. Bluffing is undoubtedly an essential part of the game, and the pros are very good at identifying profitable spots to pull the trigger and bluff. But then again, it is just one of the many aspects of the game.

The pros have genius-level IQ

The misconception exists that to play professionally, you need to be a genius. While the best players do have a higher than the average IQ, this is a fact for most professionals in any field. However, you don’t need to be as intelligent as Isaac Newton to play the game.

All poker pros are exceptional mathematicians

This is not true. The game does involve mathematics to a certain extent, but the calculations involved are relatively simple. Common concepts in poker games online like pot odds, equity, outs etc are easy to understand. You don’t need a mathematics degree to play poker!

Being a good player is enough

People believe that simply being good in player implies constant success from a professional front. But simply being good isn’t enough. The metagame is constantly changing, and in such a situation it is important for any seasoned pro to adapt accordingly.

The Pro Lifestyle is full of glamour

You might have seen quite a few best online poker pros brandishing their luxury villa, high-end cars and even attending classy shindigs now and again. But the underlying truth is: staying at the top is extremely difficult and leading such a lifestyle means having to deal with overburdening pressure. People usually just see the results but not the copious amount of time these pros spend learning and mastering the game.

Happy playing!

 

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Mind Set Of Poker Online Tournaments

Many successful No-Limit Hold’em cash poker online players have a tough time making the transition to successful tournament play. The skills players use to win at the cash tables don’t necessarily apply to the tournament tables, so you have to get into a new mindset and rethink your strategies and beliefs. In fact, many positive plays at cash tables are negative plays at tournament tables!

This post is going to examine some of the structural differences between tournaments and cash tables and discuss how those differences lead the poker online player to be put in unique situations. We also will discuss how you need to change your frame of mind to become a successful tournament player.

Tournament Chip Value

Each player in a tournament starts with the same number of best online poker chips. These chips have no cash value whatsoever, but if you lose all of your chips you are eliminated from the tournament. If you are eliminated early in the tournament you receive no cash at all, but if you make it far enough into the tournament you will receive a cash prize. The prizes get bigger and bigger as the first place receives the most.

The fact that tournament chips have no cash value really changes the required strategy for tournament play. Tournaments are all about survival, while cash tables are all about accumulation.

Payout Structure

Another structural difference between cash games and tournaments is the fact that the deeper you go in a tournament, the more money you win. Most tournaments award the first-place finisher with 15-20% of the prize pool, and payout the top 10-15% of finishers. The higher you finish, the more money you get.

The tournament payout structure really changes your online poker real money tournament strategy, because you have to focus on going deep to win the big payouts. You cannot play conservatively in tournaments.

The Tournament Bubble

The “bubble” of a poker tournament occurs when one more player needs to be eliminated before the remaining players make the money. When you reach the bubble, many players tighten up so they can increase their chances of making the money. No one wants to be the guy who goes the deepest but still goes home with nothing.

While everyone else tightens up, you should be opening it up to win chips from the passive players and increase your chances for a deep finish. Focus on stealing blinds and antes on the bubble, and you will be able to pad your stack for the later stages of the poker tournament.

Rising Blinds

Another structural consideration with poker tournaments is the increasing blinds. In tournaments, blinds increase every ten-fifteen minutes, which forces players to make moves or be blinded away. If the blinds never raised, the tournament would never end, because players could continue to play conservatively without concern.

While in the middle and later stages of a poker tournament, be very conscious of when you can steal blinds and antes. As long as you can take the blinds/antes once per round, you will be in good shape.

Your Own Playing Style

Generally, cash tables will tend to consist of less aggressive players and tournaments will include much more aggressive play. It is a widely held belief that aggressive players win the most money at poker, so we suggest adopting a tight-aggressive approach to improve your tournament play.

Happy playing!

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Let’s Talk about Bluffing In Poker Online

There are appropriate situations to bluff in poker online and there are situations where bluffing is entirely inappropriate. Online poker players need to be able to distinguish the two and make the correct decision. Too often, players bluff when they should not and pay dearly for it. Bluff attempts should always be taken with caution. There are flags that should instantly be raised and delay further bluff attempts in certain online poker situations. Learning to be an observant online poker player will help in noticing these situations.

The opponents at the poker online table will greatly impact these decisions. Opponent playing styles and tendencies significantly impact the environment for bluffing. For example, would you want to bluff at a table full of extremely loose players? Of course not, the chance of being called on your bluff with a garbage hand is too likely. The same is true for bluffing out of position at a tight table. The chance of being pushed in return or called from a later positioned player that has the dominant had is also highly probable.

Continuation Bets

Continuation bets can get a lot of players into trouble. Online poker real money players seem to get attached to their hand and even more attached to the chips they have given to the pot. A classic example of this is the Ace/King raise pre-flop that hits nothing on the flop. The inexperienced player will fire a continuation bet with this hand nine out of ten times. The bad part is that when they are called or re-raised, they call if re-raised or fire another continuation bet on the turn with unfavourable odds. However, the continuation bet can be a profitable bluff tactic if used correctly.

Players that open up the pot pre-flop have an advantage in that; they control the pace of the hand. If they are sitting in late position after raising pre-flop, are checked to and fire an instant continuation bet, they will probably take the pot down the majority of the time. This would be an example of properly using the continuation bet bluff tactic. Keep in mind; players should be cautious if the continuation bet is called and should not allow themselves to drown by continuing to try to bet their opponent off the hand.

Draws

The best online poker players that are inexperienced will often bet their draws heavily to push players off the hand or build the pot for if they hit the draw. This can be advantageous and also very dangerous at the same time. The strategy for bluffing with a draw is to either have the other players fold or note the aggressiveness and only call. The call allows the bluffer to see another card and hopefully, they hit their draw. However, if the draw is bet and an opponent comes over the top, now the situation is a little sticky. At that point, pot odds would definitely need to be calculated and determined as to whether calling the re-raise is worth it. Too often, players get attached to their draw bets and push too hard when they are obviously beaten. When bluffing, players have to observe their opponents and not be afraid to abandon ship if it gets ugly.

Stealing the Blinds

Stealing the blinds is typically only used in sit n go’s or tournaments. This is because the blinds escalate and blind stealing may be worth it because the pot is so large. Be very cautious attempting this bluff type because just about everyone is aware of it and are actively watching for players that are consistently trying to steal the blinds. The reason everyone is aware of it is that everyone feels the heat of the rising blinds, the short-stacked players pushing wildly and everyone can taste the prize pool. Blind stealing is most effective from the dealer position when the table folded around. This player has the opportunity to raise and steal the blinds.

If the blinds call, the dealer position has the positional advantage the entire hand. However, be cautious if a noted tight player calls a raise in the blinds from a player sitting in the dealer position. They most likely have a strong hand to call the raise being dominated in terms of position.

Happy playing!

 

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