Poker Tips

This section is for general poker tips - for other poker tips, poker game variations Rules, and everything else be sure to check out these links: Texas Holdem, Omaha high-low, 5-7 Stud, Poker Rules.

Tip 1

Don’t stay in a game with online poker players who prove to be better than you are. While this makes perfect sense, few poker players tend to listen to it for no other reason than they are convinced of their own superior online poker play. If you find yourself unable to properly read the board, gauge the other online players, calculate pot odds and the like, you’re in over your head.

Tip 2
Don't rush in for a quick half-hour session. You won't have the time to study the online poker players before joining the table, and, if you play a tight game, you'll probably end up posting a few blinds, maybe having a look at a few flops, and possibly winning a poker hand. More often than not all you'll be doing is adding to the pot for others to win. Budget on at least an hour.

Tip 3
Pick a poker table that you can afford. Remember that you'll be posting online blinds in at least 20% of the hands if the table is a 10-seater, and more often if the table seats less. If your current bankroll is $50, you wouldn't really want to play at a $5-$10 table

Tip 4
Don’t play too many poker hands. In other words, BE PATIENT. Winning the online poker game and patience go hand-in-hand. A good player knows that they have to throw away the bulk of their starting hands while they wait for something that’s truly playable. In online poker, if you start out trailing the only way you can win is if you improve your hand and your online poker opponent doesn’t. This tip is very important- so read the tip over if you need to...

Tip 5
Your best friend at the poker table is discipline. Conversely, ill discipline will separate you from your money faster than anything else. If you've taken the trouble to learn about starting poker hand standards, you'll know that you'll be folding the majority of hands you are dealt. Nothing is more frustrating than throwing away a poor starting poker hand only for the flop to bring a pot-winning set, had you held on. What you have to remember is that this will happen less often than not - statistically you will lose money by holding on to poor starting hands in the hope of catching the flop. You need discipline to stick to your game plan, so prepare yourself for this before you join the poker table.

Tip 6
Once you've got an idea of the poker players at the poker table, try and get a favorable seat relative to the different types. You'll want the unpredictable, wildly aggressive online poker players on your right, so that you can get out of a marginal hand before it becomes too expensive. Timid and passive players are great to have on your left, as the former will fold when you bet aggressively as a bluff and use Poker Psychology, and the latter will call anything, but will seldom raise

Tip 7
Before you sit down, take some time to watch the action at the table, and learn about the poker players. Try and spot the really loose poker players, the maniacs, the tight aggressive ones. Knowing whom you're up against can prove invaluable in a showdown

Tip 8
There's an old poker truism: "you can't play with scared money". Before you go join a poker table accept that you may lose the money you take with you. If you can't accept that, you'll end up playing a more timid game than you should, and if your online poker opponents pick up on this, they'll regularly drive you out of pots you could win by intimidating you with their stacks. You need to play poker sensibly, but in order to win, you must not be afraid to lose.

Tip 9
Never play a new poker game for high stakes. There’s something to be said for challenging yourself, but when it comes to learning a new online poker game the key is to go slowly and play at a level much lower than your usual. Remember, every game has its own subtle variations and nuances and while you may be a master in a Texas Hold’em Limit poker online game, you may find yourself floundering in No Limit Or Omaha high-low.

Tip 10
Getting sucked into a drawing poker online hand can be devastating to your bankroll at a no-limit table. If you're drawing to the nut flush holding the Ace and another suited card, against someone on a set, you can end up calling some expensive bets only to miss the flush on the river. You may even end up having to go all-in - and bankrupt. At a fixed limit poker table you're protected against this