INTERNET POKER VS. REAL LIFE POKER
Informative article for those interested in poker
There are a number of little differences that need to be adjusted to
going from casino
(real life) poker, and online poker on sites such as Party Poker. Its
a fact that people
act differently online than they would in real life, in most aspects,
and it is a fact
that people play a different game online than they would in a casino.
Here are some
strategies and observations I've come across that I think apply to
most online poker rooms.
PLAYERS ONLINE WILL CALL YOU MORE
Some psychology and usability aspects come into play here. Usability
wise it is simply
easier for a player to click on "Call" as opposed to reaching into
their stack, counting
the chips out, and pu****ng them across the table. Pychologically, we
tend to feel a sense
of boldness online, because we are in the comfort of our own homes
rather than under the
scrutiny of others in a casino. Calling up chasing that straight or
flush and getting
caught, whereas embarrassing in a casino setting, does not seem so bad
online because
nobody knows who you are. Sure people will mouth off online, but it
just isn't nearly as
significant through a computer screen.
DEFENDING AGAINST CONSTANT CALLERS
Simply put, it is impossible. You are going to be drawn on more than
normal and will get
rivered by many more callers. Your vanriance will be greater in
internet poker as opposed
to in a casino ( especially in low limit internet poker ) . The only
defense is to realize
you are still playing proper poker as long as you keep puni****ng
others on the draw.
It is usually much more prudent to check-call the river with many
callers on the river with
you, because it just raises the chances that someone has a two pair or
better.
SPOT PEOPLES TELLS BY THERE BETTING / CHECKING / CALLING SPEED
Some people think you shouldn't pay attention to how long it takes to
perform an action
because sometimes it can be the modem speed, not paying attention, or
something else.
Although this is true in some cases, in my opinion, it is a major tell
that should be
incor****ated into your online strategy. Better players, usually
playing higher limits,
probably don't give off a lot of these, but most low limit players
inadvertantly do so.
Long pause, followed by a raise:
The most common tell of most players. The irony of this player
strategy is that they are
giving up their tell by employing it. The logic behind it is pure
strength, because people
usually only do it when there is a straight or flush draw on the
table. You bet, your
opponent waits 20 seconds or so then re raises you. Usually he thinks
he is beat anyways
and makes this raise hoping you don't had the draw and will be scared
off by the possibility
that he does. Don't fall for this. Sometimes the player will
legitimately think you are
bluffing and raise you, but most of the time it is the other way
around.
Automatic / Instant Raise
A raise that happens so fast that the user had to have had the
"bet/raise all" button
checked before play even came to him. Once and awhile it is a crazy
or a bluffer, but most
of the time it is a player excited about an excellent hand. It should
always raise a big
warning sign, and you should probably either fold, or check-call down
if you have a good
hand.
Fast calls to your bet
Usually when someone is chasing you with a mediocre hand, trying to
call you down quick and
scare you from betting next round. They are chasing the river and
want to see it for cheap.
If they really did have a strong hand they would be raising or
check-raising. In this case
if you have the strength you should continue to bet down the river,
and if you don't it
could be a great bluffable situation.
BET CONSISTENTLY!
It would be great it poker were just spotting other peoples mistakes,
but make sure you
yourself are not making any mistakes and giving tells without knowing
it. A good idea is
to take about 10 seconds before making an action, a set time, and use
that amount of time
no matter what you want to do. You can auto fold if it is pre flop
but in any other case
always try to take the same amount of time between actions.
BETTING TELLS
In internet it is much easier to get involved in no limit play than it
is in a real casino.
The reason is that no limit has usually been reserved for really high
stakes players or for
tournament play. As such, many new and weak players are unfamiliar
with what amounts to
bet in no limit poker. Since no limit poker is the most popular form
of internet poker,
where players can play small limits at a whim, there will be some
giveaways to their games.
Small bets in no limit (aka: weak hand)
This applies to casino poker as well as internet poker, but especially
apparent online, when
people play no limit with a slider bar. For example a measly $50 bet,
on say a $500 pot.
*More often than not*, this is a tell of a weak holding. Usually mid
to bottom pair is the
case. When this happens often a lot of players fold and the bettor
with scoop up the small
pot. Usually if it comes down to you and him this is a great time to
check-raise and steal
the pot, even if you have nothing.
Massive all in bets compared with actual pot value
This is usually reserved to very weak players and sometimes a tricky
player in the early
stages of a tourny. For a tight weak player usually they wait to get
an AA or KK and push
all in no matter what the actual pot is. Loose weak players will
usually go all in no
matter what poker pair they get. Most good players won't pull this
type of stunt because
it increases variance too much.
Unless you have a strong hand yourself, its a good idea to drop your
hand when this happens.
Why call a maniac who may or may not have a great hand, do not get
involved, unless you
possibly have an AA or KK yourself. If a player is constantly going
all in on the other
hand, if you can be patient enough to wait for a good hand, call him
down if your in a good
position to go heads-up.
PLAYER CHAT
There will always be people chatting it up in a poker game, whether
it's casino poker or
internet poker. From my personal observation, most solid players don't
do a lot of
talking. That said, you can often hear many of the TOP players doing a
lot of talking, but
that is because they are in their own league and are probably trying
to wrestle some
information from you or are comfortable talking and playing at once.
I find that most people who talk in game regularly aren't good
players. However, this
isn't the internet poker tip I want to focus on. A tell that happens
both in casinos and on
the internet is when someone who is *usually* quiet begins bantering
or talking. They don't
have to say much, just like "I'm bluffing" or "I guess I'll bet" or
something to that
extent. From a psychological viewpoint, when you're truly bluffing,
you're probably a bit
nervous and scared and your heart is racing a little bit. Most people
in this situation
are not in the mood for talking and are just praying for the other
person to fold. So when
the shy, quiet guy is suddenly so relaxed that is able to talk to the
table, it tells me he
is NOT worried. From deduction, there only one reason he's not worried
- because he's got
the nuts or something like it.
Now, big disclaimer that this is my general observations from both
real life poker and
internet poker. This tell spotting strategy works most of the time for
me. I've folded a
few winners to it before, but I've had positive net gain on it so far
from what I can tell.
Your mileage may vary.
DON't BE TRICKY IN LOW LIMIT INTERNET POKER
Normally, you can't even be that tricky in a 3/6 game in real life,
but with internet
poker, it's almost worthless to try and be creative in any of the
low-limit tables. Up
against an entire field of opponents who are willing to call you down,
bluffing and other
methods of deception will go right over the heads of your opponents.
Your opponents are
likely willing to showdown with down mid pair, low pair and sometimes
even Ace high
against you, so you will get caught with your pants down more often
than not if you're not
careful. The best defense against tricky players in low-limit games is
to just check-call
questionable hands (but please hold some strength if you call).
If you are interested in getting involved in online poker, I would
suggest Party Poker, it
has been good to me and you can start up with a free account. When
you get comfortable
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