Online Poker Advice

The question whether to play online or live doesn’t have to be mutually exclusive. Some people like to mix it up playing on both. However, if you are one of those that like to pick one and have that as your bread and butter, have no fear because we are going to highlights the advantages of both settings in this article.

Why Live Poker is Great

Playing in a casino is great because its more “real”. All the movies you saw didn’t have players at the laptops or PC did it? Live poker encompasses more of the people involved in the game.

Secondly, live poker is notoriously easier than online. The stakes you play in live games can be significantly higher before you reach similar levels of players online. Live games that are $1/$2 play like NL $25 online. This is not a joke; it’s widely attested that you can almost times your normal stakes by 10 to get similar level of play in casinos.

As a whole, gamblers are typically a bit of a superstitious bunch, there has to be a certain way to go about things or a certain way to play to ensure you’re winning and if you’re on a losing streak then it must be down to some external factor rather than just the chance of the game – so if there’s an approach to improve chances of winning many will certainly take it, and over the years betting strategies have certainly become a talking point for many especially when a more competitive edge can be gained in a game like poker, but is there any truth to the belief that a betting strategy can help you win?

(Image from pokernews.com)

There is of course the psychological aspect of it – bets can tell a lot about a hand, or for a good player very little too, so if you’re at the table playing against others then having a particular betting strategy can certainly help to unnerve those who may not be expecting a certain strategy, there is of course the other hand that playing a certain strategy could also tip other players off to your own approach and be a certain tell, and the betting strategy could do the opposite and be a factor why you start losing hands – and of course with gamblers sometimes being superstitious the psychology of it is a bit of a back and forth. 

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.