OnLine Poker, the Top Ten Items You Must Remember to Avoid Losing Your Shirt.

When you play online poker, your adrenaline will jump up and down as the game progresses and this is expected. This is fine as long as you remember the basic rules and that you follow them constantly to get the odds in your favor. So let’s get to it, here are the basics that you need to know by heart:

1. Do Not Bluff Inferior Opponents
If you happen to play against an opponent that you have confirmed is worse than you, try not to bluff specially if you notice that he makes a call on most of the bets. For players like these, they always think you might be faking, so they call, hoping they can get lucky. Not good. This will result in you losing money.

2. Do Not be Afraid to Go All-In Against a Superior Opponent
If you think you have the odds on your side, even if slim, you should go for it, like a puncher going for one big punch against a skilled boxer. It sure beats a war of attrition that can go on for hours, and againts a superior opponent at that.

3. You Don’t Have to Win Every Hand in Heads-Up Play
You do not have to win every single hand. No need to go all-in every time. The idea in heads up is to chip away, so to speak, at your opponent. Slow and steady is the key. Remember that you do not even have to win most of the hands anyway, just the important ones. However, if you luck out on a really excellent hand, don’t place a humongous bet right away to start, place an amount that your opponents can call but make it large enough to get the most of your good fortune.

4. If Your Hand is Weak, Drop It
Sometimes, you will get into this streak where you get one mediocre hand after the other and it really becomes tempting to play them. Hold off. Wait and see because the converse is also true, when a streak of good hands that you can capitalize on, will follow.

5. Excercise Patience
Online poker on the web is usually much faster than regular play, which can impact your ability to make the right call. So those beeps and annoying flashing things, just ignore them and focus on making full use of your allotted time.

6. Do Not Give Up Too Soon
When your chips start reallly going down, you will be tempted to make the large bets in an effort to catch up, and you start really calling long shots. Cut it out and do not panic.

7. Play Only When You are in Shape
If you are sick, then do not play. Simple eh? Online gambling will always be there waiting for you, 24X7, so there is really no need to play if you are not well.

8. Watch Out When an Opponents Style of Play Changes
If your opponent has played according to a pattern for most of the game, then plays totally different, you must pay attention. You are potentially being lured into a trap. If an opponent has been playing conservatively all night then bets all-in, or starts betting minimum after going big all night, or even when they take their time all of a sudden when calling or raising on big bets, watch out. If your gut tells you something is not right, trust it, then fold.

9. Mix it Up
When playing online, patterns of play are easily detectable, which opponents will take advantage of, since you have made yourself predictable. So learn how to mix it up, like alternating flat calling and variable raising a big blind pre-flop in Texas Hold ‘Em. Keep the other side guessing but do not go nuts by playing weak hands.

10. PostMortem Analysis
It does not matter whether you win, lose or draw. You need to learn from all of them. Be critical of what you did good, what you did that is bad, and what you can do to fix the bad part. Then do the same exercise for your opponents style of play, especially those you feel are superior to your skills. This is the best way to learn and improve your game. As in any postmortem, write it down for future reference, or even better, record it electronically on your computer. It makes it easy to evaluate later.

Daxx is a a retiree who used to work in public schools as a teacher. In an effort to relieve his boredom, while at the same time make some money on the side, he has gotten into IM, setting up a varied collection of sites such as the Bellagio Hotel Las Vegas where he hangs out when he has enough money, or at the Imperial Palace Las Vegas where he goes when the budget is tight.

Article Source: OnLine Poker, the Top Ten Items You Must Remember to Avoid Losing Your Shirt.