How Not To Back Down From Poker – Pokerbility. In this article I guide you through the common problems that you will encounter when playing both online poker and the traditional offline game of Texas Holdem. Please read on to learn how to land these punches.
Paradise Poker or Paradise Pokerstars as they are commonly known is the world’s largest poker room and was founded by wide spread online poker entrepreneur Chris Moneymaker. In January 2011 they launched what is essentially their own poker network with all the popular poker games already played by them.
Playing Texas Holdem poker in turn, requires a lot of elements of the offline game. You play with your friends, your family or those people you hardly know. Nevertheless, in order to be successful in the long term you will need some basics like for example; the ability to read your opponent, the ability to calculate pot odds, to build a proper poker image, to know when to back down from a big bet etc.
Most players do not have the skills or the knowledge to be successful in the long term. You will find that the vast majority of players who play online fall into this category. Consequently they are easy pickings for the more experienced players. There is nothing like having veterans under your belt and them giving you their business.
Back to the point, what are the main problems that you will encounter when playing Texas Holdem online?
Playing Too Many Hands
The biggest problem that you will run into when playing online is too many hands. This is the result of players playing too many hands. For example, the player that wins a pot with a full house may lose the same hand with three cards of a similar ranking. Naturally, a higher ranking pair will have more value, but remember, that a higher ranking pair will not always win. Sometimes a hand with a lower ranking will have more value.
Playing Way Too Many Hands
The vast majority of players will play far too many hands. The industry average in tournament poker is between 15%-20% of the total hands played. Therefore, when you are playing between 15% and 20% of the total hands, you are in fact playing way too many hands. The reality is that you cannot win them all, but winning more than you lose is the goal.
Showing Strength
When you do have a strong hand, you will show strength. Usually this is done by either raising the hand, or checking/calling the hand. A strong raise tells the other players that you have something and you are willing to engage, whereas a check/call can be seen as a weak play. A moderate/weak raise is a way to mix things up and still appear strong.
Pivotal Hands
It’s important to remember that the value of your hand depends on the hands of the other players. If other players have strong hands that are likely to beat yours, you should consider folding your hand.
Shuffle Up and Deal
When you are starting out as a poker player, it’s important to learn how to shuffle up and deal correctly. It’s one of the most important skills that all poker players should learn, yet many players either forget or just don’t apply this most basic of tasks.
Position
Many poker players have trouble determining their positional advantage. They lump everything into ‘early’, ‘middle’ and ‘late’ but the reality is that it actuallytops’ and(£100 to £200) are the most lucrative positions. If you are playing at a short table,(i.e. tier 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc), then the majority of the players will be playing from the blinds and will therefore be playing towards the end of the round. This is advantageous to you as you can consider your strategy as being ‘end game’ and ‘beginning game’
Loyalty Bonus
Every poker room offers player’s a loyalty bonus. This can be quite an attractive tool to gather up front cash. Loyalty bonuses are usually given to players who have been regular players for a long time and as a reward for their loyalty. The mighty poker sites such as Party Poker, Poker Stars and Full Tilt are great places to play in loyalty bonus poker rooms. They offer loyalty bonus poker rooms as an incentive to get players to join them.
Sequence of play
It’s important to sequence your play. Always follow your plan and be patient. If you lose, just move onto the next game and the one after that. If you are winning, then sequenced carefully and you will assured you will be a winner.
Tells
If you are playing with solid hand, then there comes a point when you will lose the game. At this point, you will have to be a player and react accordingly. Don’t get influenced, get tough and depend on your hand.
