Poker Players Alliance Casino & Gambling Articles 2024
“Life [poker] is not always a matter of holding good cards, but sometimes, playing a poor hand well.” – Jack London
Are you interested in playing online poker? If so, are you a newbie, or are you an aficionado at sitting around a poker table in a brick-and-mortar casino?
1. Online versus traditional poker
There are many subtle differences between online and traditional poker, the most apparent being that online poker is played from anywhere as long as you have a computer device of sorts like a desktop, laptop, tablet, or smartphone. In contrast, traditional poker requires you to drive to a brick-and-mortar casino and sit around a table with other players and a dealer who manages the bets and the dealing of cards.
It is worth noting that it is sometimes a challenge to transition between traditional and online poker. Thus, before we look at several tips to help you succeed at online poker, let’s consider several pertinent differences between the two versions of poker.
2. Speed of game
Online poker is a much faster game than traditional poker. Circa 30 hands per hour are dealt in a live poker game, while online poker typically experiences double that per hour. And, if you can participate in multi-table online poker, you will see more than 60 hands dealt per hour. With two games being simultaneously played, you could experience up to 120 hands dealt per hour.
3. Bet sizing
The sizes of the individual bets tend to be smaller in an online poker game. Online players might open with between 2x and 3x the value of the blind or mandatory bet. On the other hand, traditional or live poker players will begin with a much higher bet. Figures up to 5 or 6 times the amount of the blind is common.
4. Greater variety of games
Online casinos that have poker rooms offer a greater variety of games than traditional casinos. Popular variants like No-Limit Hold’em, Seven Card Stud, and PLO are on offer online, whereas they might not be on offer at many of the traditional casinos or poker halls.
5. Online players have access to strategy guides
One of the fundamental differences between online poker and traditional poker is that online players have access to strategy tools, statistics, and guides that they can use while playing. When used correctly, this information can give you a competitive edge over your competitors. Juxtapositionally, live poker games do not allow these guides into their poker rooms.
6. How to succeed at online poker
As this quotation by Jack London highlighted above infers, you don’t have to have a good hand to win; it’s how you play the good and bad hands that is important to succeed at poker.
Now that we understand the difference between the two environments where poker games are played, let’s consider the following tips to win at online poker.
7. Sign up with a legitimate online casino
This point is the most critical point of the whole article. If you sign up with a fraudulent or scam operation, not only will you lose your initial deposit, but you run the risk of identity theft. Subsequently, it is worth looking at the casinos listed at CasinoSverige.me, as they are all bona fide operations.
8. Bankroll management
Once you have opened a gambling account with a virtual casino, paid your initial deposit, and submitted all your KYC (Know Your Customer) documents, the next step is to learn to manage your bankroll.
Many tips could be included in this section; however, the salient point here is that it is vital to place small bets on each poker game. You will never win every game; however, you can still increase your bankroll by adopting a conservative gaming strategy by only betting small amounts on each game. And, as long as you increase the number of wins versus the losses, the value of your bankroll will grow.
9. Play small stakes’ games
As highlighted above, a critical part of bankroll management is the size of the individual stakes or bets that you place. Even though the common assumption might be that you can only make money if you place big stakes, the risk of losing your total stake far outweighs the chance of winning big.
There are also a greater number of people in an online small stakes’ poker game. Thus, this gives you an opportunity to win big by playing a strategic game. And, if you lose, you lose very little.
10. Keep your strategy simple
The best type of poker to play for beginners, especially, is what as knows as “ABC poker.” It is straightforward, with rules that do not deviate from the basics. This allows you to utilize simple but effective tactics that will help you to win. It is worth noting here, is that it is easy to become complacent when you become proficient at the game. Complacency equates to the loss of concentration and the loss of your stake. Consequently, it is critical to pay attention throughout the game and to get maximum value from the hands that you are dealt with.
11. Playing a balanced style of game or not
Succinctly stated, a balanced style or game is a method of gameplay that avoids patterns that are easy to exploit. The rule of avoiding repetitive patterns by mixing up your tactics is a wise strategy to win as many games as possible. However, it must be noted that when playing low stakes poker, it is not necessary to avoid playing a balanced game.
Final thoughts
Deciding whether to play online poker or to travel to a casino to participate in a live poker game is essentially personal preference. However, the caveat here is that all brick-and-mortar casinos across the world are closed due to the viral pandemic that is sweeping the globe. The good news is that many online casinos offer a wide variety of poker games for you to choose from. Therefore, for the foreseeable future, online poker is a viable alternative to live poker.
