Most pro tips we present in this blog generally focus on in-the-flesh poker, and often tournament play. While in general you can glean “take outs” from these tips here’s a series that are specific to online poker:

Know when to quit (for the tournament, or the day, or week!)

You have to have a stopping point. Despite the ubiquity of re-buy tournaments on the Internet, in general you should never lose over ten percent of your total bankroll on the same day. If you do, you’ll just end up playing catch-up poker and generally your game will change for the worse.

Play within your means

Do not overplay your bankroll. You’ve got to survive the peaks and troughs of poker – whether in tournaments or cash games. You really do have to be disciplined to play cash-game poker because your bankroll is constantly at risk – and it’s easy to get in over your comfort level. In tournament play you know what you’re going to spend before you go – so if you tend to lack discipline – stick with tournaments!

Use those satellites!

If you’re a beginner at tournament play (or even a savvy semi-pro), earning your way into the big tournaments through satellites is good sense. Don’t pay a $500 entry fee when satellites are an option. If you’re not good enough to win the satellite, you’re probably not good enough to play in the tournament to the final table! Think about it.

Play a game you’re good at

Choose a poker game where your expected value is better than the average person in the field. You do not want to play a game that you’re not strong at just because the field is better and the final prize pool is richer.  As No Limit Hold’em is so popular at present, it might seem that that’s where the money is – but in fact, if you’re an Omaha player, your likelihood to be in the money is probably greater in an Omaha game, even if the prize pool is not as big.

Play only one game at a time (when starting out)

If you starting out on new, unfamiliar software, play only one poker game at a time despite all the latest multitabling features that the new poker room might offer! Play only one game until you are very familiar with the particular poker site, and then ramp up to two simultaneous games if and only if you’re absolutely sure you can do so without compromising your skill. Many online poker players should just stick with a maximum of two concurrent tables despite the top online pros playing 4 or 5 online tournaments at once. What they’re doing is gambling early and aggressively across several tournaments knowing they’ll bust out of a couple early, but they may gain a big stack in a couple of others, positioning themselves early on to get into one or two simultaneous final tables with a decent stack. You’ve got to be good to handle this level of play and this skill does not just arrive overnight!

Poker is all about the mathematics

There is no way around it. You do need to do your homework to be a good poker player. Input different hand scenarios into an odds calculator when you’re not in-play. Record and memorise the results. That way you’ll have the knowledge in the heat of battle and be able to make calculated decisions rather than panicked ones.

Poker is a game of learning – it never stops.

Knowledge is key in poker: books, game clips, a mentor… Poker books are great reading – regardless of whether you agree or not with the content – because they make you think. Authors have different styles of play – and all can be winning poker players! Many players learn best by pulling the “good bits” from each book/author and coming up with their own unique playing style. If you’re going to learn from poker videos pick those by professionals who have won the big bucks. Howard Lederer, Phil Hellmuth and even Annie Duke all have great videos out there. Play professional players if you can from time to time (eg    tournaments where pros are highlighted in red in the lobby). These guys play, chat and interact. Listen and learn.

Tagging

Reading your opponent in online poker is far less easy. You need to take whatever you can get about an opponent and analyse it. When first playing a new opponent, ask yourself why they’re betting a given amount at a specific time in play. Study and familiarise yourself with each opponent’s betting patterns. Once you know that player, you’ll be able to apply suitable strategy around what they’re likely to have and how they’ll bet. Tag them! Most good online poker software lets you annotate players (only you can see it) and so next time you play that opponent you’ll be able to build on what you’ve already observed.

Consistent betting patterns

If you vary your betting according to your hand strength you’ll hide a sure-fire tell for online pros (most online players make fairly consistently bigger bets when they have a strong and vice versa). Be creative and deceptive!

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