With the online poker boom taking the world by storm there are millions of people playing online every sing day. Since the ratio of good poker players to poor one is very low you can all but guarantee that there are thousands of novice players out there whose money is there for the taking. These quick simple tips will help assure your success at the table as well as minimize your bad beats. They are broken down into 3 categories: strategy, recognizing tells, and finding experienced players to help mentor you.

Strategies

1) Play Tight- This is the best piece of advice I can give. Loose players will win big hands here and there but they also loose more money, to other players as well as to the online site in the form of a rake. By playing tight and committing only to tops hands you protect your money and give yourself more leverage to take bigger pots when you hit your big hand.

2) Understand Your Betting Position - Playing tight is effective but it doesn’t hurt to limp into a hand with A 8 or suited connecters. But, you need to be strategic about the hands you decide to jump into. If you’re the 4th person to act at a table of 10 and you call the big blind there is a good chance the pot might be raised before the action goes all the way around the table. That puts you in a position where you will either fold your hand and lose money or pay to see the flop with a weaker hand. You’re better off playing those hands when you are in the small blind or are 8th to act.

3) Switch Strategies - Since you are going to be playing tight 95-99% of the time, switching strategies for a few hands will completely throw your competition for a loop. If you decide to bluff a hand to steal a large pot, other players might think you have them beat and fold to your large raise. You can usually get away with this for a hand or two to pick up chips, but don’t get careless. Pick your spots and keep the loose play and bluffing to a minimum to reduce your odds of getting burned by a better hand.

4) Play Regularly - Reading the tips I’ve provided is pointless unless you plan on implementing them on a regular basis. Practice makes perfect, or practice makes money. There are a TON of poker websites that offer play money games, real money games, as well as free roll tournaments. Putting $50 into an account can last months if you are playing 5/10 cent blinds, and hopefully you will make money so that $50 will be you first and last deposit! If you’re not comfortable parting with your money I recommend playing in free roll tournaments. They cost nothing to enter and pay out money to the top 5-10% of the players. If you go the free roll route I recommend signing up for 3-4 different sites since they all have different free roll schedules. You can learn more about freeroll schedules and sites at PunchBook.

Recognizing Tells

5) Playing with Pokey McGee - Many online players are involved in multiple games and are only playing top 5 hands. If you are heads up with one of these players it’s a good idea to raise small. These plays will usually fold. To go along with that, if that person raises (especially pre flop or at the turn) it’s a good idea to get out of the hand and watch.

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