Basic tips for beginners
Welcome to the world of online poker! Are you ready for the game? Got cash on your account? Software installed? Hold your horses…
Please read this content before you start your adventure. You will not regret this, we assure you. Sure, you can ignore it. But in a few weeks from now, with more experience and (probably) a bit less cash, when you read it again, you will nod your head… We were right, weren’t we?
Here are a few basic tips for all those who have not played poker online yet.
- Do not panic
Beginnings may seem like a nightmare. A long list of tables, things show up and vanish all the time, something moves. You enter the table and it gets worse – cards move around the table, chips switch players instantly, some messages pop up in front of you, you need to pay for something you don’t understand – heeeelp!!!
Do not panic – at first get familiar with the poker room – calm down and see the example here:
website
If you don’t feel like reading – just enter the table to see other players in action and watch the game.
Remember that chaos is just the first impression. A few hours later you will realize that the software is completely clear and you know who plays, at what stake and what’s happening in the game. If you catch a bug, you will play like professionals – at several tables at a time!
- Start from freerolls
Freerolls are free-of-charge tournaments in which pots are funded by the poker operator. This is a perfect opportunity to learn secrets of the game, see how the software works and enjoy first wins at no expense at all. Remember that participation in such tournaments often deviates from a good and reliable poker – people often do not care – after all they have nothing to lose. Wait until lunatics go away and try to win some free cash!
- Be patient and choosy!
Every good poker player surely perceives patience as one of the basic features of a solid player. Do not choose a king and four only because the king is a strong card. Wait for the king to come with another king or ace. Attack then! At the beginning in holdem, limit your initial hands to AA, KK, QQ, AK, AQ, AJ, JJ, 10-10. If you cannot raise before flop, you can pay to see it with lower pairs – if there is no card which assures the three of a kind, consider retreat.
- Do not let yourself be provoked
You have an average card and some con man risks everything? And this is the third time in a row? Should I call or not? Better not. Wait. Let it go now, you will beat him in a while. Arrange the strongest hand and let him bluff. You will get double satisfaction when taking his cash. Bluffs and big raises are for professionals. This is how you can become one of them…
- Have some spare funds
Do you hold 5$ and enter the table with 0,25/0,50 stakes? Do you think you will soon „double” this and it will be okay? Be realistic. Sharks only wait for such treats. You can be sure someone with 50$ dollars at the table will ask you to be all in at your first or second attempt. And what are you going to do? Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Start from the lowest stakes and enter tables with the maximum amount (e.g. tables with 0,05/0,10 to max. 10$ buy-in). First of all you can remain calm and secondly this is the only way you can maximize your profits. You can surely get more if you have four of a kind and 10$ than if you pay 2,50$ in. Remember – you can never win from one opponent more than you have at the table – this is why you should always have maximum!
- Test mini-tournaments
Our experience shows that beginners have much more fun when playing at single-table tournaments (called Sit’n’Go or Single Tournaments). This is because you can deposit the amount you actually have and enjoy longer play. Every player receives the same number of chips and starts a fight whose main goal is to eliminate opponents. As opposed to cash games, you need to spend more time in mini-tournaments, but it is worth it if you take your first steps!
- Do not drink and play
Poker is not a car, nobody will tell you that you cannot have a drink or two before your own PC. At least it seems like that. But your budget will feel worse than your head next day you wake up. If you don’t believe us – ask those who have some experience. There is no other way we can convince you 😉
- Next deal in a few seconds
Do not hand on tightly to your favorite pair of sixes when a king, ace, jack came on the flop and opponents bid fiercely. It’s not worth it. Sure, there is a few percent of likelihood that the third sixes will come at the end. But don’t be naive. Let it go and wait for another deal…
- Be fair to your fate
A poker player does not believe in good or bad luck. It’s just statistics. And statistics likes to be moody. If you want to play cards, you need to learn to forgive it. If you are super lucky and get the card which lets you rake in the whole pot, remember this moment. Recall it when you lose next time… This is poker…
- Do not copy losers
Someone has just beaten your A-A because despite raises it stayed in the game with 7-2 and somehow got these two twos? Are you mad and want to win back your money because „it is a lottery anyway”? In a short term it is, indeed. But in the long run such persons only invest more and more. And you are to keep control over this. Do not worry. Do your job and profits will come with time. Take good decisions and statistics will reward you! Do not pay attention to how much such loser has won this time, think how much he will lose next 100 times!
