Online Poker Secrets» Game

The Average Chip Stack

jen — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 22:01:37 +0000

Most online poker sites now have the programming to show you what the average chip stack is, but if they dont, you can use this easy calculation:

Average = Total number of chips in play, Divided By, Number of players remaining

While this shouldnt affect your game completely, it does help you in understanding how fast or aggressively you should play and more importantly, how fast your opponents are likely to play.

Learn…

jen — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 16:12:21 +0000

Poker is a game of constant education. Once you stop educating, you start to lose your edge. There are so many brilliant online poker players out there for you to learn from and there are many resources out there for you to gain their knowledge.

Don’t play over-eager

jen — Mon, 18 May 2009 16:34:27 +0000

If you arrive in a game, online OR offline, and you are over-eager to play poker - this is generally going to affect the way you play. You want to get into the game, and you want to start playing – but if your hands are not good, you may find yourself wanting to play them just to get into the game. If your hands are ok, you may find yourself over playing them. And if your hands are great, you may find yourself not getting the value you need out of your hands!

A great online poker secret would have to be, play when you are calm, relaxed, in a zone, and ready to focus.

Know the Structure

jen — Sat, 16 May 2009 16:55:45 +0000

An important note about playing poker tournaments: Know the structure before you play!

This is important because, any changes in the structure can affect your overall play. If the structure is regular for the first 2 hours, and then afterwards, speeds up a bit – you will have to make a change in your game. If you arent aware of this before you begin the poker tournament, you may find yourself struggling to catch up and then you are not playing your A game.

Don’t Complain

jen — Wed, 13 May 2009 20:19:56 +0000

Learning to let go is a pivital part of growth in online poker. Steaming and Tilting are only going to make you suffer. Its best if you can learn this as early as possible in the game, so that you dont have to break a bad habit.

If you lose a hand, dont write into chat FFS and What a terrible beat and Of course you would win, donkey!

Let it go. Just let it go. Expect the worst so that when the worst occurs, you are not blown away.

The prospect of harm

jen — Thu, 07 May 2009 18:40:17 +0000

“What discourages opponents from coming is the prospect of harm” – Sun Tzu

Poker is not a gentlemens game anymore, it has become a war between opponents. This doesnt mean you have to insult or deface your opponents, but it does mean that you are in battle for their chips! Show that you are there for battle and you will see them begin to fall. Opponents will either choose to attack at the wrong times, or will back off from any confrontation with you.

Be prepared for death

jen — Mon, 04 May 2009 20:08:23 +0000

“However, though I don’t want to die, I want to practice so that when I’m faced with death, I’ll think nothing of it” – Suzuki Shosan, Warrior of Zen

The game of online poker cannot and will not be mastered if you do not take into account the idea of complete loss. Prepare yourself for all situations, including losing your stack or your bankroll.

Egotism

jen — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 17:40:51 +0000

Pride means the end of wisdom – Japanese Proverb

One of the best online poker secrets I could give is: DO NOT let your ego ruin your game!

Overconfidence is one of the biggest errors in Online Poker. Humility will help you through the long haul of the game. Just as lightening will strike more than once, you will go through the swings of poker, which means you will go through winning hands and sessions. Ego will not help you through these situations and will only assist in you losing more than you need to.

Mistakes are good

jen — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 18:30:45 +0000

“If defeat has more to teach us than victory, then perhaps a defeat is a victory unto itself?” – Miron Stabinsky

If you can take your past lessons/mistakes and use them as a tool towards your future games, then you are making your losses a win in itself. As stated before: poker is a game for the long run. You are given so many tools (especially in Online Poker) to learn from your mistakes, and you have the ability to take these mistakes into profit.

Review your mistakes, and see what you could have done better or how you could have taken action differently. Incorporate your mistakes into your strategy.

10x Max Buy-In Rule (Moving Up Stakes)

jen — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 18:41:22 +0000

If you already know the ins and outs of playing poker online, this online poker secret just might be what it takes for you to transition from a losing to a winning poker player.

No matter what stake you are playing, you should always have a minimum of 10x the Max Buy-in in your bankroll. DO NOT MOVE UP STAKES, UNTIL YOU HAVE ATLEAST 10X MAX BUY-IN TO THE NEXT LEVEL!!!

Having an appropriate bankroll to play a certain level of poker is just as important as understanding how to play the game! I keep a general rule to myself that if I am going to move up stakes, I must have atleast 15x the max buy-in for the game – this way, i have 5x buy-ins to play with and keep myself at the stake I am playing, without moving back down.