Five can’t miss tips for online success

If you play poker online these tips will help you quickly and consistently win more from online poker games. 

Online poker players make mistakes and to make money you must take advantage of those mistakes and avoid making them yourself. These mistakes are made by new and experienced players alike and according to my poker pro friend, there are five main ones that most players fall victim to.

1) Avoid Distractions

Poker is a skilled game that requires concentration and attention to detail. If you become distracted, you’re hurting your observation abilities and relying too heavily on luck alone.  I know lots of poker players who play multiple games online at the same time. It is, after all, one advantage online poker has.

While experienced players may be able to handle this, beginners should focus on one game at a time while avoiding other distractions altogether. TV's, radios, and phones all divide your attention and take your mind off the game at hand.

While distractions are the most costly mistakes that players make, they are easy to eliminate. Turn off the TV, grab a Coke, and turn off your phone. This way you won't be running around your home when you should be concentrating on your game.  

2) Turn the Chat off

Some players think that since they are online, talking no longer is a tell. However, except for using auto-play buttons, talking serves as the biggest tell in online poker.

Think about it, you can’t see your opponents, so talking is an information tool. Don't bother taunting or talking to other players. This will give players a look into your personality and therefore your true playing style.

Disable the chat feature. Once I did this, my online game improved dramatically. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve taken advantage of a player because of what he/she was saying.

3) Don’t Use Auto-Play Functions

The auto-play buttons are made to speed up the game. Though they can be useful if you habitually use them, you’re using them at the cost of your chips.

Since online poker players are separated by hundreds of miles, one of the only "tells" in an online poker game is the amount of time that a player takes before acting on his or her hand.

There are a few general guidelines that speed of action can convey about a player:

Slow check = Weakness
Quick call = Strength or a draw
Quick check = Weakness
Quick bet/raise on turn or river = Strength

This formula is widely accepted by poker players and, believe it or not, it holds surprisingly true. The first tell is simply an understanding of poker psychology, but the last three are based on the auto-play buttons.

If you have a weak hand and you click the automatic check button, you are telling everyone at the table that you have a weak hand. However, if you take a moment, people will be forced to question themselves with questions of slow-playing, check-raising and thinking of how you played in the past.

It’s not to your advantage to use the buttons, so don’t.

4) Don’t Make Enemies

Making enemies in poker is never a good idea. If you win a pot just drag the chips to your pile, but don't say a word. If you lose a pot to a lucky draw, take it on the chin and don't whine.

If you make enemies at the table, they’ll come after you and try harder against you. It’s never good to have players who want you out of a game, because they’ll be more likely to make a move against you.

Keep to yourself and let the chips do the talking.

5) Don’t Show your Cards

Showing your cards is rarely a good idea. Some players claim that it puts other players on tilt and shakes them out of their game. However, instead of hurting the other players, showing your cards usually hurts you and forces you out of your game.

Remember, you always want people to respect your bluffs. If you win a huge pot on a stone-cold bluff and you’re feeling cocky and turn over your 7-2 offsuit to shake up the other players, you just gave them a peek into your style.

Now the other players know your style of bluffing and your betting method. Later on, you make another move for a pot by pushing most of your stack into the pot. Now the players think back and remember your past bluff but this time, they don’t believe you and you’ve bluffed away your stack.

If you keep these five examples in mind and avoid them, you’ll undoubtedly have more success at the table. I’m a pretty decent online player now and I know these tips had something to do with it.

Until next time, may the chips fall your way.

-Carrie