Playing Better Poker - How to Play Online Poker

Online poker is built on the same principles of regular poker, but a completely different game altogether. The in-game strategy is far different, the pace is faster, and you can even play multiple tables at the same time! Many players will approach online poker just like a regular game, but the fact is, this is not best way to win.

To start analyzing how to improve your ability to play online poker, you need to consider the differences between a live game and the virtual one. Most of the major differences are based on one simple truth: online poker is played in your home, while regular poker is played in a casino. This means that you don't have the ability to look at your opponent, or determine anything about his playing style by look or actions. You cannot talk with them face to face, and unless you're well known on the internet, you can't use your reputation against him.

But the one thing that you can do is control your own environment. If you are a math guy and like to see some statistics, print off a few and tape them to the wall next to your monitor. That way you'll always know the odds of getting a flush on the river, or the odds of flopping a set, and you know what the right plays are. Before I play online I like to ensure that I have some snacks and a water bottle ready and waiting. If you are certain to get bored waiting for slow players, turn on some music or the television. This is about creating a comfortable situation for yourself and ensuring that you can do your absolute best at any time.

The next thing that you need to understand is the online strategy that most players use. Remember that most of the tournaments online are fairly cheap compared to live tournaments, where entry can start at $50 for an inexpensive tournament. For an online tournament, you can pay as little as 50 cents or two dollars for entry, so expect people to play more hands than normal, and play far more aggressively than normal. This is, to a lesser extent, also evident on Betzip (explained below), where tournaments are free and membership costs you money. Many players will also be playing in multiple tournaments at the same time (which I do not recommend), so they may not be paying too much attention. For myself, I find that it is better to play in one large tournament than three smaller ones.

Then there are the tells that other people will have. Reading people, figuring out bluffs, maximizing your opportunities and creating a table image are among the most important pieces of strategy, as most real poker players consider the cards to be secondary. The cards, however, take center stage in online poker, where reading people and table image is nearly impossible to effectively create without one-on-one interaction.

So what are you to do? Online Poker only offers three different ways to read people: their chat, their screen name, and the time it takes them to bet. We'll look at how each one plays into their strategy and give you an idea on how to interpret these things.

The easiest thing to interpret is the player's chat. You can see what they say in the bottom corner of the screen, and it is the truest indicator of what they are thinking. Many people will tell you exactly what they had at the time being (and typically, I've found that most people are fairly obvious), and others will tell you what they folded, giving you a better idea of what everyone else has. Misspellings typically indicate a younger, more aggressive player, while excessive taunting and "hurry up" style messages indicate a steaming or anxious player. One of the best things to look for in chat is who responds. If you directly ask someone a question and they don't respond, one of two things is happening: one, they have turned off their chat, or two, they are playing multiple tables at once (one of the "advantages" of online poker).

Every poker site makes you choose a nickname. Some poker sites allow you to create a biography that other players can view, while others will let you upload any picture you want to act as your logo. All of these things are signals that you can glean information from. Someone with a nickname like "george123" obviously won't tell you much, but if George listed his favorite poker player as Phil Hellmuth, then you can presume that he's pretty tight, and if he doesn't chat and doesn't have an image, he's either computer illiterate or is trying to fade into the background. If you are playing against "gang-star" who has a picture of a hot girl for his logo and lists his favorite music as the most popular hip-hop star of the day, you can probably guess that this is a young, aggressive, and pretty confident guy who you can take advantage of by playing tight. These little customizations are enticing for many players, and can help you create a snap profile of how they play and how you can take advantage of them.

The final tell that people have is how long it takes them to bet. Unfortunately, this can be difficult to interpret because of the fact that online poker allows you to play multiple games at once. Therefore, some players may be taking longer to bet because they have a lot of decisions to make all at once. In general, however, a player who takes a long time to make a call is trying to suck you in and is sending the message that he is weak. More often than not, he will have the absolute nuts. A player who takes a while to raise may be trying to goad other players into playing quickly and possibly making mistakes. Quick bets are often badly designed to make you think that the player is strong. Many times, these tactics go unnoticed by the majority of players, and they lose a strategic advantage by not paying enough attention.

Also notice that many poker sites will allow you to write notes about others that you can use to remind yourself of their play style. Take advantage of this! If there is someone who you know plays tight, mark that. If you know they go all in on any ace, mark that too. You'd be amazed how difficult it is to tell apart some of the players online, even with all of the customization options (find any site that lets you upload pictures, and look at how many of them have eyes or pocket Aces as their pictures).

Online poker looked like it was dead in the water when the Port Safety Act was passed this past year. Recently, however, a loophole has been discovered that will allow you to continue playing poker online, although you might be surprised at how different it is. The answer seems to lie in a website called Betzip (the address to sign up is below). This site is designed much differently than other gambling websites, because according to the new law, gambling online is basically prohibited. To solve that problem, Betzip institutes a "membership fee" of $20 per month (less if you sign up for multiple months), and offers you "prize money" instead of "winnings." Because of the structure of the tournaments, you have a shot at winning a lot of money if you play the multi-table events, and even more once you get better and more recognized.

So while the structure is a bit different, you'll still have a use for those online poker skills. Besides, given the recent final tables at major tournament events all over the world, it's clear that online poker is one of the absolute best ways to improve your game.