Online Poker Strategies.
by Dougie Goguen | May 5 2011
***
Dougie helps you sort out how to play online poker to win with some basics.
***
There are strategies specific to online poker that don't apply in the real world. Online poker software gives you tools that you simply don't have access to in the real world and by using them to your advantage, you can start building a strategy that works best for you and allows you to get the most out of your bankroll.
Use Four Colour Decks
Bodog Poker, along with most other
online poker rooms, gives you the option of using a four-color deck when you play. I've found that a four-colored deck helps you avoid mistakes, particularly when you accidentally play as if you have a flush draw. It takes some getting used to, but it's one of the quickest ways to improve your game and allow your attention to focus elsewhere.
Bigger Buy-Ins Are Your Friend
It's pretty common knowledge that you should always sit in with a minimum for 20 times the big blind at any poker table, but the way online poker is played means that you should actually have something closer to 40 times the big blind in your bankroll. Why? It's actually pretty simple: you do not want to be the person that doesn't have enough money to raise and maximize a pot if they're holding the nuts. If you're holding a pair and the other pair hits the felt, you want to make sure that you can go big.
Keep Notes On Opponents
This is probably the single most important difference between online poker play and real world games. The
Bodog Poker software allows you to keep notes on each and every opponent you come across and you'll be able to quickly and easily remind yourself of how certain opponents operate. In online poker cash games, players are constantly moving from one table to another and you frequently don't have a chance to feel them out, so by taking notes about their playing style and moves they've made in the past, you can bring yourself up to speed. Big things to note include whether they're passive or aggressive, tight or loose, a bluffer or not and what kind of hands they play or pre-flop raise with.
Turn Down Your Music, Listen To The Game
Online poker is a lonely endeavor and a little music can really help those long stretches when you're not playing in very many hands, but I've found that being able to actually hear the software and its cues keeps my concentration in the game instead of wandering around. You might find that you're less prone to making mistakes as well when you see and hear what people are doing. It's improved my timing greatly and keeps me from having certain tells.
Learn To Leave The Table
If you're having a cold night at the cards, it's better to get up and walk away than continue to lose money. Missing cards feeds into frustration that can just loop back around again and again, making it so that you're losing more money. Online poker rooms have literally hundreds of tables waiting for you at any time and you can always come back after you've had a chance to cool down.
Be a Player.
Play online poker at Bodog.
