Online Poker: A Loose Bet?

You're sitting heads-up with your final opponent. It's a winner-take-all tourney, you've already outlasted the best, and now you hold the Ace-10 of clubs with two additional clubs on the flop. Your opponent just went all-in. Naturally, you assume he's made a small pair. You know you can mop the floor with him if you catch another club. Do you risk it all and call with just a flush draw? What if you're playing online?

Digital Dealer vs. Flesh and Blood

In a brick and mortar style tournament, you very well might have made the call. The idea of a perfectly shuffled deck playing you the wrong cards in real life is upsetting, but some say easier to deal with than random computer-generated cards falling into place to reveal two hearts on the turn and the river. Internet users ofttimes feel shafted when they lose online, and understandably so when the person first to act plays 2-7 off-suit and cracks your pocket Aces by making a full house on the flop. The question left standing then is this: "Is risking real money in online gambling a good bet to make?"

The best answer that can be given in regards to such a question is simple. Everything in moderation. This doesn't apply just to online gambling either, but gambling in general. The Mrs. might be a little irate if you lose the first-born child in a game of Omaha. Knowing the odds in any situation you're in is also key. When you're sitting at a full table, playing the Ace-three off-suit may not seem like the best hand. In a heads-up game, however, Ace-anything is statistically proven to win a vast majority of the time. Playing online is not like brick and mortar style tournaments, so just like you alter your style depending on the number of opponents at your table, you must also change it up when you hit the newest poker site.

Psychology in Poker

In a real-life setting, if you make a huge bet with King high and someone catches you bluffing, odds are human emotion is going to take effect and you will feel, even in the slightest degree, embarrassed. This may or may not prevent you from trying to make another bluff in the future, but online, this isn't a worry at all. Nobody can condemn you physically for going all-in with squat, making it without difficulty to do so. It's much easier to brush off the typed "OMG ur stupid!!1" than it is to actually deal with a face-to-face glare from the person standing next to you. It's proven best to just play playable hands.

Does it Pay to Play?

Siting from my own personal experience, you can make a profit playing poker online. I've cashed out numerous times after doubling, tripling, or quadrupling my original starting money. I have, however, read material that featured detailed information about online poker. It's always best to know what you're putting yourself up against. Be wary of some sites, though, and stick with the most popular. They grew large for a reason, and that's because people trust them to do their job, including but not limited to getting you your winnings on time.

I recommend starting off with play money tables (tables that allow you the use of replaceable chips that have no cash value) until you get the hang of things. While playing with the fake chips does give you a sense of how to work things, keep in mind that the difficulty of play increases when people start gambling for real money. For now, enjoy yourself, and always remember: "Never go all-in on a draw."