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Internet Poker vs Casino Poker
Playing in a casino and playing online / internet poker has a number of petty differences that you should adjust to. It's a fact that people tend to act differently on the internet than they do in real life in areas outside of poker, so it makes sense that people act differently in internet poker vs real life poker also. Here are some internet poker strategies and observations that I think applies to most online sites.
Players will call you more in Internet poker.
There's some psychology and usability aspects in this statement. On the usability level, it's much easier for a player to click on a 'Call' button as opposed to reaching into their stack, counting up their chips and putting them on the table. Psychologically, most people also feel emboldened while online, because they aren't under the scrutiny of others like in a casino or real life. Whereas someone hitting a runner-runner in a casino will often be glared at or had something said to them, this 'embarassment' factor doesn't quite apply on the internet. Sure, people will mouth off online, but a poker confrontation in the casino vs the internet is more psychologically significant.
How to defend against constant callers?
Simply put - you can't. You're just going to be drawn on more than normal and get rivered by many more callers. Your variance or "swings" will thus be greater in internet poker as opposed to casino poker (especially in low-limit internet poker). There is no good defense against this except to realize that you are still playing correct poker as long as you are punishing others for their draw. However, it's usually much more prudent to check-call the river when you have many callers on the river with you, because the chances are raised that someone has a two-pair or better.
Ignore internet poker nicknames / aliases.
Both good players and bad players will pick names like "ALL-RIVER" or "ALWAYSBLUFFIN" so you can't assume this person really is a river rat or a strong player trying to fool you. If you look at the rankings for any of the tournament ladders for any of the internet poker sites, you'll see that there are all sorts of strange and 'deceptive' names at the top. (Quick note that ladders aren't perfect measurements of skills however). Don't let people use this internet only strategy fool you. You'd probably be on your guard if some guy dressed in a bright pink tuxedo sat in a casino game, so treat this the same way.
Learn to spot tells by observing betting / calling / checking speed.
Some people think you shouldn't pay attention to how long it takes someone to perform an action, because they might be on a modem, not paying attention or other stuff. While that might be true in some cases, it's my opinion that for most players, this is a major tell and should be incorporated into your online strategy. Sophisticated players or higher limit players probably won't give off too many of these (unless it's a ploy to throw you off), but most low limit players inadvertantly will.
Learn to bet consistently yourself.
Poker would be easy if it were merely about spotting what other people are doing wrong, but you could be giving off all sorts of signs to your opponents at the table without knowing it. A good idea is to always give yourself the same amount of time before making an action. When the action is to you, make two mental counts and then select your action. If you're going to fold, then it's probably ok to simply auto-fold, if it's pre-flop. What you want to do is simply, not let anyone guess onto your game at all.
Betting tell.
One thing you don't get to play in a casino poker very often is no-limit, unless there is a tournament game going. One of the reasons is that no limit has usually been reserved for the high rollers and high stakes poker players and it's hard to find casinos outside of the big poker rooms that offer no limit. As such, many new and weak players are unfamiliar with what amounts to bet in no limit poker. Since no limit poker is a popular form of poker on the internet, where players can play small limits at their wish, there will be some giveaways to their game.
Internet player chat (usually a big hand).
There will always be people chatting it up in a poker game, whether it's casino poker or internet poker. From my personal observation, most solid players don't do a lot of talking. That said, you can often hear many of the TOP players doing a lot of talking, but that is because they are in their own league and are probably trying to wrestle some information from you or are comfortable talking and playing at once.
I find that most people who talk in game regularly aren't good players. However, this isn't the internet poker tip I want to focus on. A common thing that happens both in casinos and on the internet is when someone who is *usually* quiet, begins bantering or talking indicates he's bluffing. They don't have to say much, just like "I'm bluffing" or "I guess I'll bet" or something to that extent. From a psychological viewpoint, when you're truly bluffing, you're probably a bit nervous and scared and your heart is racing a little bit. Most people in this situation are not in the mood for talking and are just praying for the other person to fold. So when the shy, quiet guy is suddenly so relaxed that he is able to talk to the table, it tells me he is NOT worried. From deduction, there can be only one reason why he's not worried - because he's got the nuts or something like it.
No, big disclaimer that this is my general observation from both real life poker and internet poker. This tells spotting strategy works most of the time for me. I've folded a few winners to it before, but I've had positive net gain on it so far from what I can tell. Your mileage may vary.
Don't be tricky in low-limit internet poker.
Normally, you can't even be that tricky in a 3/6 game in real life, but with internet poker, it's almost worthless to try and be creative in any of the low-limit tables. Up against an entire field of opponents who are willing to call you down, bluffing and other methods of deception will go right over the heads of your opponents. Your opponents are likely willing to showdown with down mid pair, low pair and sometimes even Ace high against you, so you will get caught with your pants down more often than not if you're not careful. The best defense against tricky players in low-limit games is to just check-call questionable hands (but please hold some strength if you call).
Source: BonusGambler.com Editors' Choice
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