People often ask me what are my best online poker tips these days. As somebody who has played online poker for 15+ years I’ve come to realize improving is a never ending pursuit. Fortunately I have 5 tips that when applied will absolutely increase the win rate in your next online poker session Also if your looking for a great place to play poker right now I highly recommend checking out Bovada.
Is Online Poker Worth Playing?
Online poker is more than a dreamscape and relies on more skill than luck. Nevertheless, since the 2003 poker boom amateurs have tried their hand at winning big, and while Black Friday left many wary, this year’s online World Series of Poker has reignited the nation’s poker fire.
If you live in New Jersey, Nevada, Delaware, or Pennsylvania you may be thinking about buying in —but be careful. Over the years, the number of fish have dropped and those who have continued to play may not always be what they seem. Professionals are playing as amateurs, players are being coached behind their computers, and it’s absolutely crucial to study up before logging on.
Tip 1: Play TAG
Our first advanced online poker tip is to play TAG. The best strategy for online poker is to play tight and aggressive. You’ll need to be selective about the hands you want to play before the flop, and pay attention to your position. When you’re in early position and the blinds play tight. You can play a bit looser from the cutoff and button.
Aim to only play 15-20% of your hands in larger games, and commit when you do. Holding back on unlucky hands will allow you to raise your odds and hold on to your money for winning bets. When you go in, raise and re-raise on each card to apply pressure and never let another player see a cheap showdown.
Tip 2: Stick to One Table
The temptation to play more than one table is real but it’s likely to weaken your odds. Your Return on Investment is almost guaranteed to drop by increasing your hands, and it can be difficult to keep track of who is doing what at each table. You’re already likely to see at least twice as many hands in an hour of online play as brick and mortar players, so don’t strain your odds.
Tip 3: Keep Notes
Another advanced online poker tip is to keep notes. It’s important to keep track of your own odds —especially in a tournament. There is software you can use to calculate your stats, which can help you find issues to improve on. However, you can also keep notes on other players and keeping track of their play is even more important. The majority of winning poker is game selection, meaning if you play at a lower stakes game you’re more likely to win.
Every winner relies on fish (chaotic recreational players) and having more at your table raises your odds at winning. You can use a poker HUD to access the stats of everyone at the table, and look for players that have a loss rate of -20bb/100. These will be your best customers.
Tip 4: Avoid Limping
Limping in poker is when a player enters the game by calling or matching the minimum bet instead of raising. This is a must use advanced online poker tip you should not take lightly. These players are often targeted by pros as the game goes on and limping can be a sign that you should have folded the hand. Instead, remember to play tight and aggressive and only enter if you’re willing to raise. A good rule to live by is to try to raise 3x the big blind when you have a hand you want to play. From there, if you’re really confident add an additional big blind for every player who limped in.
If you have a good hand this can significantly raise your stakes. Your odds remain the same pre-flop as before you bet, but if you’re betting large when you’re in the big blind you now have the opportunity to win on the other players’ fold.
Tip 5: When to Move Up
While playing online you need to play within your own bankroll. This means sticking to your initial investment, and not re-investing because you’re feeling lucky. The minimum rule you should live by is to wait until you have won 30 additional buy-ins to move up to the next level in cash games. For tournaments wait until you’ve accrued at least 100 buy-ins.
Some experts insist that even this is way too early to move up in the ranks. They suggest establishing a larger sample size, and logging 10,000 hands at your current stakes before moving up. Within this make sure you’re winning at least 5 big blinds (or buy-ins) per hour in cash games before moving up.
For tournaments the odds are a little trickier, and this is where software can be especially handy. It’s less important to track your cash percentage since the majority of money is made at the end of the tournament, and you’ll need to instead watch your ROI. Track the amount of tournaments you’ve played instead of hands and when you reach a positive ROI of at least 20% you may be ready to move up.
Where To Play Online Poker?
By far the best place to be playing right now is Bovada Poker. They have built a solid reputation for taking care of players, offer fast cash outs, and have amazing software. I also can’t forget to mention they just started doing the once a month million dollar tournament. You can grab a nice first time deposit bonus by clicking here.
Bovada Poker Live Gameplay
As far as poker software goes Bovada has some of the best. You can watch some of the live cash game gameplay directly below.
Final Thoughts
We hope you enjoyed these 5 advanced online poker tips. The most important part of winning poker is knowing your opponent. Study strategy to become the best rival you can, but pay attention to who is at your table. While it may feel easy to win big on a higher stakes game with a huge pot, lower stakes games full of fish can guarantee better odds. To win in online poker you have to be in it for the long run and commit to studying up and using all the tools available to you. The best part of playing online is the number of resources already available to you, so train with the right programs to learn everything you can. If your looking for a great place to play right now we highly recommend checking out Bovada.
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