There has been a huge boom in the amount of online poker players, some here for fun some for profit. Online poker can be both but if you really want to turn a profit then there are somethings that need to be learned and rules to follow. So for those interested in earning a profit lets get into it.
Another thing that is big is to look into rakeback sites. If you have any interest of playing cash games aka ring games rakeback is a must. Rakeback site offer a percentage of the rake you pay back to you, mostly ranging from 10-33%, doesn’t sound like all that much but really adds up fast. Most of these site you have to sign up for a new account on a poker site but some you can have them put on an existing account as long as you didn’t download for another site. If you take the time to watch a cash table and add up what rakeback would be even at the micro stakes levels you would be suprised. Rake just goes to the site so why not take as much of it back as you can get.
Beginning- Starting a bankroll (br) can be done in two ways, by depositing or winning money in freerolls. Depositing is easy, invest your own money and play. This can make matters a lot easier as some site require you to deposit and maybe some sort of a play through period before you can cash out any winnings. You will have to check the site for requirements on cashing out. If however depositing is not an option or you just do not want to invest your own money then there is always freerolls. Which are free to play games that pay cash. Now most anyone that plays online poker knows about public freerolls, some pay money for that game and others give a ticket to play in another game that pays. Now these public games can range from 1500-12,000 people so the odds are terrible but can be done with patience and time. An alternative to public freerolls is private freerolls. These are without question a better way to start or pad a br. Every poker site has a section for private games, most have a tab marked private or special. Click on the tabs and look at the game there will be some website or atleast a name to seach. Go sign join the forum and better your odds at winning free money. Most of these games range from $25 to $250, naturally the higher payout the high number of people will play it. The $25-50 games tend to have 20-50 people so great odds of hitting a small cash. As a added bonus some forums give posting bonuses, money given by the site admin. for top posters.
Now that you have joined rakeback and you have given yourself the best odds to win free money you are ready to play. So now you have money in you account and you are ready to put it to work you have to pick the right game that is suited best to you. Now what to look for in a game. First and most important is to follow bankroll management. Good management is no more than 2% of your money ever invested in a multi-table tournament of any kind. Odds of cashing are normally 10% and mostly the higher end of that just gives your buy-in back and maybe a little. The only real return on investment are in the top 2% for the most part. So play low amounts and odds are if you are even a average player you can cash 2% of the time. Now for sit-n-go’s and ring games the max bring in is 5% and if you ever have more than 10% of your entire bankroll including what is on the table then you leave. There is no point in risking that much and at a cash table mostly if you are better than double what you sat with then most of the other players have far less so you are risking all the money your up vs. someone that doesn’t have that much there so they are more willing to take risk that could put you right back where you started.
Now what table is right for you. There is a big difference between cash games and tournaments. In tournaments the single goal is to survive, outlast everyone if you can but outlast as many as possible. Ring games anyone can rebuy when ever they want so the aggressiveness is much greater. Just because you do pretty good in a tournament doesn’t mean you can play in a ring game or vise versa. So if you can’t handle the aggressive play on a cash table stick with tournaments ans sit-n-go’s. If you can handle or adapt your play to a cah table then a lot of money can be make in a short amount of time. Keep in mind easy come easy go. Even the best poker players there are only win around 66% of the time. Tournaments on the other hand take a lot of time to play one game but the reward is greater when you win. Either type there is money to be made as long as you can adapt you play to suit the game you choose.
Now that you are playing one key thing that is often over looked and can make or break you is your table image. Being aware of what type of player the other people at the table see you as. Now in multi table tournaments this isn’t as big of a factor as in sit-n-go’s and cash tables. Whether you are a loose or tight player you have to know who you are viewed. If the first hand of the game you get caught bluffing then you will be viewed as a loose bluffer until you show otherwise. No matter how you are viewed you now need to use that to your advantage. If you are a seen as a bluffer then once you have a hand they will pay you off calling you down with weak hands thinking that you are bluffing. If you are seen as a tight player you can steal some blinds and push people off of weak hands thinking you have a big hand again. Now don’t over exploit this, if you are a tight player some will get sick of folding if you keep doing it. As well as a loose player can get a weak hand or two to pay him off but once you show a few big hands they will figure it out. Get cute you WILL get caught.
Now a quick note on showing hands vs mucking them. When there is a showdown you have to show, but they hand to pay to see it. Showing is something that should only be done with some other purpose in mind. Meaning if you see someone tilting and you feel showing a bluff will cause him to donate all of his money next time or if you want to show a tighter image and you show that you slow played after flopping the nuts because you feel that that will slow players down and make then think twice about betting into you next time, then do it. For the most part do not give free info. If you are playing heads up then showing is just plain stupid. When I play heads up vs someone that is showing all of their hands to me and pretty much just saying this is how I play every hand they are done. It will take an extreme amount of luck to win a game when you tell your opponent exactly how you pay.
Learn position, most pro players will say that 45% of hands can be played from late position and won. Be the aggressor from late position and steal blinds plus it gives you the benefit of knowing what everyone else in the hand did and you can make your play based on them as opposed to early position where you can make any play but can still only guess what everyone else has. Playing from late position allows you to have more control over pot size allows you to chase for as much as you want and not have to bet at all on the turn and take a free card if you want. Just keep in mind that if you check the turn and miss your hand it will be much harder to bluff them off the hand once you show weakness. Position could be the most important thing to learn and is one of the hardest to figure out.
Don’t give yourself away. Online there are a lot less things for people to read you on but timing and bet sizing are the biggest things to watch. If you have say pocket queens and take to long to bet a king high flop then you stand a chance of getting bluff off of the best hand just by freezing up for a few seconds. It shows the whole table that something on that board scared you and you would be better off just checking instead of making a delayed bet or a undersized bet. If you want to take down a pot you have to make sure either you have the best hand or you can make them think you do. A undersized bet is just the first step before of you donating to the pot before you fold. Now this can be used as a conscious tell, which is knowingly doing something to show weakness when you know you have the best hand. This gets calls when and even attempts to steal a pot for you when you have them crushed. So once in a while make a weak scared bet after taking a little time when you flop the best hand but never show weakness unless that is what you want them to think.
Trapping an opponent can really bring in a big pot, especially against a loose aggressive player. Now trapping goes both ways so don’t fall into one of you own. When I started playing I would trap about every time I had a hand it worked ok but the problem I kept running into was this. Trapping allows someone to stay in the hand, since they are not betting they will not be folding. By letting them stay in the hand they have a shoot to out draw you which means that when you make that big river raise or reraise on the river you will lose a big pot. Now trapping is great and can make plenty when you do it right. Be aware of the board card and any possible draws that could be there. Flush draws and straight draws mostly but even if say you have pocket aces and there is a big raise preflop and you just called, now any two paint cards give the possibility of two pair and some kind of straight draw. So even the best laid traps you have to remember to keep and eye out for what could beat and give it up when you are beat.
Which brings me to the next topic and that is reading people. As stated there are less tells online than live so you need to really focus. Now the upside to online poker is every poker site has a place to put notes on players. So anything you pick up on you write it down, that way if you ever sit at a table with them again as soon as you sit down you will already know what mistakes they make and waste no time busting them. I tend to put style of player, tight or loose and passive or aggressive and also a few details of hands played and tells shown. Also if you play with a some people or you know a pro that they play similar to then also add that in. Like if somebody is willing to play any two cards and is about as off the wall as can be then you may put plays like Gus Hanson. All sites give you these tools so use them at your advantage. As far as tells the two most likely are timing and betting tells. Watch for some one that normally better 3/4 the pot with hands and only 1/2 the pot with weak hands or bets the pot on bluff. You should always make sure you don’t make these rookie mistakes, if you bet 3/4 the pot with a big hand you bet 3/4 the pot on bluff let them guess when you have a hand and when you don’t.
Do not get stubborn and always trust your gut feeling. Most of the time when you look at the board and there is just so much that can beat you it is better to just get away from the hand and wait for a better spot to play. If your holding two pair or a set on a four flush board or a four cards to a straight board then more than likely you are beat and every cent you put in is already gone. Don’t pay someone off just because you had to know. If you tell yourself that you just have to know then you already know you are beat just fold it. Even when you are pot committed, a lot of people put to much focus on pot commitment and for me, I am never committed to a pot I am pretty sure I have already lot. Don’t all-in just because you already put a lot of you chips in. Even when I have over half my chips in the pot if I think they have me or drew out on me the just cut my loses and hope to get it back.
Once you are conscious of your mistakes and looking for their mistakes you are well on your way to making a profit. Most of this can be learned from playing but reading it and having it in your mind going in puts you that much further ahead and ready to work on mastering it without all of the losing it took for me to figure some of the simple stuff out. Be prepared, use good bankroll management and always try to get in the head of your opponents. Good luck and better cards.
