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The
number of players playing poker online constantly grows,
as does the number of card rooms. But strategy for
online poker is still only in its adolescence. This
Guide was the first of its kind when put online. It is
my attempt to fill a void in poker literature. This
Guide offers tips to both for players who have never
played a hand online as well as those with experience
who want to learn to play better -- to win, or win more.
Experienced users can skip some of the basics, but even
in discussions of the basics I hope experienced users
find some valuable ideas. Also, many of the linked pages
below offer other information that should contribute to
helping you win.
Since little has been written specifically on how to
beat online games, why am I? Why give away "secrets"?
First, I want to encourage more and more people to enjoy
poker in all its forms. Some new players, too far away
or too intimidated to walk into a conventional card
room, will be glad to start out in a relatively
unthreatening online environment. Online free games
represent the best opportunity ever for new players to
learn the game. Many of these players will naturally go
on to also play in casinos, so this Guide should benefit
brick & mortar clubs as well as online card rooms.
Second, this site has online poker card rooms as paid
advertisers, making it in my interest to create more
customers for them, which in turn attracts more ad
dollars. Readers should understand that I do get a
benefit from writing this Guide. I'm not paid by
publishers or by readers but I get compensation
indirectly via advertising. So, if you find these tips
helpful or thought provoking, I hope you will consider
patronizing my advertisers. If they get customers,
they'll pay me, and thus the online-focused pages on
this website will continue to be revised and grow over
time -- grow with the new technology, new card rooms and
influx of new players.
Online card rooms differ in small ways, but are similar
in big ways. Players should easily be able to recognize
small differences between the sites when they encounter
them, so almost all the concepts apply to any online
poker room.
The first thing to understand is that poker online is
not the same as brick & mortar casino poker (hereafter
I'll call this "casino poker"). While the rules are
generally the same, the way the games play are very
different. The primary reason for this is that there is
a complete lack of visual tells online. This means that
online players must bet to gain information about their
hand, whereas the same information is available to
casino players from visual clues. This means that there
are many more probe bets made online, which in turn
leads to probe raises. The end result is that there is
generally more action online than you will find in a
brick and mortar casino. I’m not saying one is better
than the other, or necessarily more or less profitable.
They are just different in fundamental ways. Many of the
abilities needed to win in casino poker of course also
exist in online poker. You still need good starting
cards... you still shouldn't tilt... you still shouldn't
play at a level you can't afford, and so on. I'm not
going to reinvent the wheel on that stuff. Check out the
rest of this website, the poker magazines and books to
study those things that are the same online as in a
casino. A flush beats a straight online. We don't need
to go over that.
Signing Up
Joining an online site is simple. You can fund your
online poker account in many ways, and different card
rooms may have various deposit options. In order to
comply with current regulations, some online poker rooms
may restrict play or deposit options based upon the
state or country in which you reside. If you are facing
such a restriction, the poker site will inform you of
your options during the deposit process. In most cases,
even if you are facing a deposit/withdrawal restriction,
you will still have several different methods available
to you for depositing or withdrawing funds. You may be
able to deposit in any one of the following ways:
1. Directly from your checking account.
2. With a credit card.
3. Through a courier like Moneygram.
4. With a Bank Wire
5. With a personal check through the regular mail.
6. By receiving a funds transfer from another online
player.
7. With a money order.
8. With an online payer like Neteller (citizens of some
countries may be prohibited from using this option).
When you sign up, you don’t even need to deposit at
first. You can play free games without giving any credit
card or bank information. In fact, you should play the
free games for at least an hour or so to get the hang of
how fast the action goes, what buttons to click, what
happens when you click a button if you aren't sure of
what it does: all the bells and whistles of how the site
works. The drawback of the free games is that they have
virtually no instructional value as to the correct
method of play. This is because “free” players do not
pay for their chips and therefore do not place much
value on correct or winning play. This pretty much
eliminates the “game within the game,” which is the
heart and soul of poker. The free games are, however,
excellent for a total novice. They offer newbies a way
to practice calculating basic odds on the fly, and
discover the relative strengths of hands. Still, you
should get off free games as soon as you can. Even
playing the .5/.10 games will offer you far more useful
learning opportunities than the free games.
Give some thought to your login or “screen” name. Some
people want to be distinctive, memorable. Others want to
be as anonymous as possible. Your screen name is the
first bit of "table image" you present to the other
players. Choose one that presents the personality you
want to convey to your opponents. Keep in mind that you
may be restricted from making multiple changes to your
screen name or picture.
Building an Online Poker Bankroll
The first enormous difference you confront between
playing poker online and in a casino is when you go to
buy chips. Online card rooms may limit how much you can
deposit each day, depending upon the deposit method that
you choose. This means that your daily deposit limit is
your de facto bankroll even if you have more funds
readily available. You can start to build your online
bankroll either through winning play, or by making
additional deposits on subsequent days. If you are a
high limit player, you should contact the support staff
at the poker site about easing deposit restrictions.
Deposit limits can affect both the way that you play and
the limit you are able to play at. Even if you are a
winning player, if you play very aggressively, or too
high for your online bankroll, you can end up broke and
out of action with no way to rebuy. Don’t let this
happen. Putting yourself out of action is a critical
mistake.
If your online bankroll is limited, you should make sure
that you are playing at a level where your bankroll can
withstand the daily swings. This usually means starting
lower or medium limits, and playing higher as your
bankroll grows. Keep in mind that your short term swings
will normally be greater online than they will be in
casino poker, because the games tend to be more
aggressive online. If you are trying to acquire a large
online bankroll without facing deposit restrictions,
consider getting funds transfer from another player.
Many sites do not restrict how much players can transfer
between themselves.
Cashing Out and Your Internet Bankroll
Cashing out from internet card rooms is not a problem,
but you should be aware that there are some common cash
out rules. First of all, you may be restricted from
cashing out for 48-72 hours since your last deposit or
funds transfer. This is because the poker site may have
expenses associated with your deposit, and they do not
want people continually depositing and cashing out. Also
keep in mind that some sites require that cash outs be
credited back to their original deposit method first
before a check can be cut. For example, if you initially
deposited $500 with your credit card, and you wanted to
cash out $1,000, they site may require that you accept a
$500 credit to your card and a $500 check. If you have
made several deposits over time, the site may require
fulfilling credits on all of these before they will
honor any other method of withdrawal. Regardless of how
they process cash outs, if you play at a major site, you
should not run into any problems getting your money.
If you want to get around this restriction, there are
basically two ways to do it. The first is to make your
initial deposit through a funds transfer from another
player. If you deposit funds this way, all cash out
options should be available to you. The second thing
that you can do is to keep a large enough bankroll
online, so that you are able to avoid making deposits in
the first place. If you do this, then your initial
deposit will be credited back, but all further
withdrawals are open to the method of your choosing.
Obviously, in order for this method to work, you need to
be a winning player, and you need to be able to leave a
substantial bankroll in your account at all times (it is
a good idea to do this anyway).
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