5 Tips to Play Poker Online Like a Pro

Playing poker online is very different from playing in person at a casino or at a home game.  Needless to say, many of the same principles still apply.

However, with no way for other online players to profile your ability as a gamer, there are certain aspects of online poker that will always prove beneficial at one point or another. It’s true, after using reviews to find the best online casino, there are steps that can help you get ahead.

In this article, we consider what else might help you get ahead with online poker and some tips that should increase your chances of winning at the very least.

 1) Respect the Learning Curve and Know Where to Play

As already mentioned, you want to avoid any professional players online and find a game in which you stand a chance of winning. Needless to say, this is not always possible but most professionals take their place in high stake games where they can win more money. It’s true that understanding the nuances of playing poker online will help you but knowing where to play is the fastest way to improve your chances of winning. With this in mind, avoid high stakes games at the beginning and look for games in which you can learn without losing a fortune in the process. In fact, this is how many gamblers lose patience with online poker, for they underestimate the learning curve involved.

2) Learn About the Difference Between Online Poker and Land Based Poker

Other players cannot see you during an online poker game and vice-versa. For this reason, you need to realize that poker changes when you cannot properly assess the likes of a bluff when a player makes an important call. It’s true that you have a chat feature online but this is merely entertainment as opposed to a tool that you can use to your financial benefit. At the same time, this is just one of many differences to learn about. For instance, betting is usually a lot bigger at the best poker tables in land based casinos and players make far more calls online because it’s easier to click a button rather than speak up in front of the other players in person. If you want more tips in this regard, check out this useful cheat sheet for online poker.

3) Forget Taking a Balanced Approach to Online Poker

It might sound risky or counterintuitive but sticking with a balanced approach to online poker is little use in the smaller games. In other words, it’s important to use this style against professionals or the same players but this rarely happens when it comes to the small stake games. You see, thousands of players are moving around in these low stakes games so it’s rare or unlikely that you come across the same players more than once. Further, overthinking your approach or certain patterns can be quite stressful and drag the enjoyment from a game. 

But what does this mean? It means forgetting about patterns and revealing your style or strategy, while trying to simply mix up the size of your bets every now and again. Either way, a balanced style in smaller stake poker is little more than a cause of stress or anxiety!

4) Keep to ABC Poker and Make the Most of Strong Hands

For most online players, they only want a showdown with you and a chance to win. Again, this sounds rather basic but it’s a human tendency when it comes to playing poker online. Unlike poker in the real world, these players tend to only care about their own hand and nothing much about what you might have in yours. For this reason, you’re best to just let the cards fall how they will and adopt the ABC approach to poker. Similarly, keep in mind that you should always try to get the maximum value for your particular hand and know that players in low stake poker games can get away with betting more than the professionals in such scenarios. After all, many of your opponents are likely to call your bets so you might as well make the most of your best hand when the time comes. In short, bet to the max when you have a strong hand.

5) Work on Your Online Poker Mindset

Now, we don’t want to patronize, but mindset is everything for online poker and there’s a reason why many top poker players are also business pros. For the best poker players, it’s important to work on this mindset and invest time when it comes to improving their mental state. As a rule, the less you feel affected by what’s going on during a game, the better your mental states. Needless to say, if you can improve this mental state, you will be less affected and more capable on the table.

And this should really go without saying because emotions such as fear or anger are often paralyzing. When cognitive parts of the brain are affected in this way, it seriously impedes one’s ability to think and act rationally. As if that’s not enough, even a player with strong skills or ability can be reduced to an average player at best and books, videos and forums are great places to start working on this mindset to improve your game with online poker.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, something like 4 card poker might be different from another game of poker in terms of the rules. However, achieving success with online poker is often just a case of deploying the simple techniques with your actual skill level. Either way, it’s best to avoid stressing too much and worthwhile investing in your mindset because at the end of the day, online poker is supposed to be fun and no amount of overthinking will improve your chances of winning.