Playing poker online is one of the most important skills I’ve learned. It helps you figure out your own strengths and weaknesses, and also how other players play. I’ve been playing poker online for almost a year now, and I’ve done pretty well in the first year. Here’s some of the tips I’ve used to become so good at poker.
Play tight. This doesn’t mean you don’t ever play hands, you just have to wait for the right hands. When you’re playing Texas Holdem, a common mistake is people rushing into a hand and missing the fold button. Until you’re in the right position, you just have to be patient.
You don’t need to play every hand. This is actually one of the worst tips I can give you. You have to learn the skill of folding. I would play at least 50% of your hands, and that’s even better if your bankroll allows it. In poker this means you’ll play weaker hands in the beginning, but when you know your skill level is high, you’ll play aggressively.
Fades or Duty. This is something you have to do whether you are in a cash game or tournament. As a tournament player, you have to learn how to be patient. You have to know that sometimes it’s going to take a really long time to make a big hand, so you have to promise yourself you’ll wait for a better spot. This is the essence of the patience pyramid.
Play at a high level. This is one of the biggest disadvantages of cash games. Unless you have access to playing $1/$2 games, you’re not going to be playing against the biggest poker players. Playing against players like Phil Ivey and Mike Matusow will require you to not only have skill, but will require you to have a high bankroll to compete.
You’ll also have to develop a mindset that you’re going to play online poker for a living. A lot of online players don’t feel comfortable working hard for an hourly wage, so they try to nickel and dime their hands in games that are already their favorite. You have to be different in an online game, and put in an image of being a tough online poker player, which will scare many players into giving up on you.
Incellaneous
In addition to figuring out what type of poker game you’re playing, you want to get your other skills as well up to scratch. This doesn’t only include the obvious things like using the Internet and the poker rooms efficiently, but you also have to be smart about your coaching and learning.
Despite the fact that nothing is ever easy, there are a few skills that you can develop to help you become a better poker player. You can’t become a master in a day, but you can learn and slowly perfect a few things, and practice as often as you can. Experts already have this down, but most lack either a perfect coach or mentor to teach them the finer points of the game.
If you want to be a better poker player, you’re going to have to spend some time learning the game, practicing, and reading books and articles about it. Experts do it, and you can pick up some of their knowledge and apply it to your own game. But if you don’t want to spend any time actually learning how to become a better poker player, just go out and buy a book or two and be happy that you’ve learned something.