Online poker is a big industry with millions of people playing. There are huge tournaments every week and a wide variety of juicy games for recreational players and experts alike to enjoy. Unlike most other forms of online gambling, online poker has a far higher percentage of skill. This is unquestionable and is evidenced through the numbers of players that make a living from online poker. Many of these players playing professionally invested in poker coaching to get there. In this article, we’ll look at a few reasons why poker coaching is popular around the world.

The prizes are worth it

The online poker coaching scene is popular because people can see how great the prizes are. It doesn’t matter if you’re playing tournaments or cash games, there are coaches that are ready to help you reach your goals. They’ve developed strategies based on millions of hands of experience and will impart this wisdom to you for a fee.

Many people believe that poker is an easy game however this is not so, many inexperienced players also referred to as ‘rookies’ often get a touch of beginners luck but once this passes it becomes clear the game is a lot harder than the professionals make it look.

The rule of thumb is not to bet what you simply cannot afford to lose, now many people may say they cannot or do not want to lose anything so it’s a good idea to start off small especially when playing online. Free bankrolls are the answer for many new players in poker as it’s got less risk.

Many online poker sites will actually give you money to play as long as you sign up with them; simply! They will not require a deposit from you and although we are not talking big bucks to play with it is a great start as you can see how you get on with the game and weigh up the risk of putting your own money in.

It seems to me that poker stop-and-go play — a term I first heard used by 2004 WSOP champion Greg Raymer — works much better in online games than it does in cash game play at traditional, brick and mortar casinos.

But don’t ask me why. It just seems to work out that way. At least that’s been my experience. It might not be your experience, but in $15-$30 and $30-$60 online games, stop-and-go frequently works wonders.

I like to think of the stop-and-go play as analogous to a football play you see wide receivers run all the time. A wide receiver goes 10 yards upfield, and then flexes his inside shoulder as though he is going to button-hook back and catch a short pass.

The quarterback does his part too. First he fakes handing the ball off to a running back, which brings a safety up to defend against the run. Then he pump-fakes, just as the receiver dips his shoulder. But as soon as he does, the receiver turns back up field and heads toward the end zone. If the defensive back bites on the receiver’s initial move, the receiver will have a few steps on him, and that’s all it takes. If the quarterback delivers the ball accurately, and the receiver is sure-handed, it’s a touchdown — or at the very least, a long gain. Only a quick recovery on the part of the defensive back, or a safety who takes the proper angle, can run down the receiver before he reaches the end zone.

You can do that at the poker table too, as long as your opponent is a good enough player to get away from a hand when he suspects he’s beaten or he realizes the price to find out is just too high compared to his estimate of how often he’ll win a particular confrontation.

Bluffing is an important element to master in poker, but should only be attempted at the most opportune times where your likelihood of success is at its greatest. Semi-bluffing is tried more frequently than a pure bluff. The difference between a bluff and a semi-bluff depends on the chances that your hand may improve on either the turn or river cards. A pure bluff usually has no chance of your hand improving or of taking down the pot if your opponent calls your bet. On a semi-bluff, there is likely some chance of winning the hand if the other player calls.

The Pure Bluff

Pure bluffs are attempted when you have little or no pot equity and will rely on the usually large size of your bet and the belief that your opponent will fold in order for you to win the hand. Semi-bluffs are typically done in drawing situations where you have some equity and where winning the pot, if your opponent calls you, will be dependent upon catching one of your cards or outs on the turn card or river.

Heads up poker is often an overlooked part of the game, as most poker players don’t like playing heads up. However, heads up poker can be extremely profitable with the proper strategy. You don’t need to worry about learning how multiple players play since you’re only playing against one other opponent and there is a lot less variables involved that you need to consider. Take a few minutes to read through out Texas Holdem heads up poker tips and I can assure you that you’ll be able to start playing on the micro limit heads up tables and make money on any popular poker sites for UK players online.

• It’s imperative to be aggressive while playing heads up poker if you want to make money. The reason you need to play aggressively is because there is a good chance that neither you nor your opponent will hit a hand preflop or on the flop, which means that the aggressor usually takes down the pot.