Trying to figure out how to win at online poker can be a difficult task.
No Deposit Required Casino Code Printable 2023Everyone who plays wants to know how to increase their winning percentage but very few are willing to put in the hard work necessary to do so.
There are some simple changes you can make to your online poker strategy that will have an immediate effect on your results and in this article I'm going to go through a handful of those.
Use these tips as a foundation to build upon. Study each point thoroughly and look for ways to implement them into your own game.
Once you feel comfortable with these ideas start looking for more advanced concepts. Poker is a game of constant education.
1. Learn Proper VPIP
The first thing you need to learn when figuring out how to beat online poker is proper . VPIP stands for “” and represents what percentage of hands the player plays.
A high VPIP suggests you're playing too many hands.
It's pretty self explanatory. RP stands for “” and is the reverse of VPIP. GAP was introduced by Hold'em Manager 2 and represents the times you limped versus the times you raised. HUV is your , or the percentage of hands you've played heads-up before a flop raise.
The key to all of these stats is understanding where the cut-off points are. What is too high? What is too low? Here are some general guidelines to follow depending on the type of player you are:
Casual Player Targets
Casino and Sports Betting Apps With No Deposit RequirementsThese statistics should give you a good idea of what you're doing well and poorly. Try to focus on one stat at a time and find ways to improve the areas where you're struggling.
Reg Player Targets
If you play a lot of hands you're going to get exploited. It's that simple. The top online players in the world play less than 60% of hands over a large sample size. They play even fewer against good players.
Many amateur players still think that you need to see a lot of flops in order to win at poker but that just isn't true anymore. It's better to see a smaller percentage of the flops with a huge edge than a large percentage with a small edge.
Find the right balance with our stranger-than-fiction poker quiz questions.
Limping Should Be Banned
Limping needs to be added to the list of poker smoking gun theory. There's no reason to limp any hand at the table.
Not only does limping increase your VPIP and decrease your AF (which will lead to you being bled dry in more advanced pots), it also allows your opponents to limp behind you and see flops out of position.
Being out of position on the flop is one of the worst possible spots you can be in. You'll have to play tighter because you won't be able to effectively bet and attack-raise all of your best hands, which will cost you money in the long run.
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Raise More & C-Bet More Often!
I can't tell you how many thousands of dollars I've made simply by c-betting more often. Most amateur players limp in pre-flop, allow their opponents to limp behind, check the majority of flops and rarely bet three streets.
If they do betray strength it's usually with the nuts. Raising more pre-flop and c-betting more frequently will change the way the game is played. It will allow you to see the cheap turn more often, which is where a lot of the big $1/$2 pots are won.
When the board is safe your opponent is going to find it extremely difficult to call your turns bet. This will result in many checked heads-up bodies and a profit. If your opponent does bet the turn you should have a long list of reasonable calls that you can make.
Take steps to stop poker steaming.
Playing at a fast-table with a high GAP will allow you to make a living off of deceptiveness, pit-reading and controlled aggression. Stop limping and start taking control of the game!
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The Power of Polaris
Have you ever sat behind a mystery player and been completely baffled by the way they played? They seemed to always bet in just the right spots; they were almost psychic. That mystery player was probably using .
Reasons Why You're Not a Millionaire from Online Slots YetAs discussed previously, amateurs tend to not bet enough after the flop. Polaris solves this problem by randomly choosing between a bet and a check in unopened pots. This will force you to bet more often and in turn, fix one of the most common amateur mistakes.
I recommend setting it up so that it bets to 30% in unopened pots. This will increase your BPPP and help you become a more well-rounded player.
Why You Need to Understand Hands Played Headed-Up
Understanding your HUV is critical in today's games. Heads-up play has become extremely important over the past five years because sites have implemented four-max tables and shorthanded MTTs.
The ability to play heads-up is now one of the most profitable and exploitable skills in online poker. Amateur players seem to have a difficult time adjusting for heads-up action so learning how to increase your HUV and play well heads-up is crucial to your success.
Make sure you review the statistics mentioned above and find ways to incorporate them into your game. Try and focus on one at a time and look for ways your opponents are exploiting you in those categories. The key to becoming a successful poker player is finding ways to gain an edge and exploit others.
Best Mobile Casinos in the USA (and 1 to Avoid) - AskGamblersWork on eliminating your weaknesses and before you know it you'll be running over a ring table online or at a local card room.
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Online Poker Bet Sizing Mistakes
One of the biggest leaks I see in the average poker player's game is poor . Bet sizing is crucial to controlling the pot, building pots, balancing your range and representing hands.
Too much attention is paid to pre-flop play and not nearly enough time is spent post-flop. Sure, it's important to have a solid pre-flop game but if you can't follow up with strong post-flop play then your pre-flop game is useless.
Pay close attention to these common betting mistakes because this is where you can rapidly improve your game and quickly become a better poker player than most.
is betmgm casino legitToo Big of Bets With Draws
This is the biggest mistake I see professional players make on a regular basis. After missing a draw on the turn (or river) they will bet three-quarters of the pot or more with their air hand.
Dan "Jungleman" Cates
This move is completely senseless unless there is a significant chance that you pulled the miracle on the turn. Otherwise, you're simply giving your opponent information.
If I call a large bet from Dan "Jungleman" Cates on the turn with nothing but aces or kings, I can immediately put him on a draw. Now I know that if I choose to call a second bet on the river (or anytime in the hand for that matter) that he is most likely without a hand.
Obviously, this is not the image you want to portray. When bet sizing gets your opponent this type of information you're making incorrect decisions easy and cheap.
How much to bet in poker depends on the situation, but in this case a half-pot bet would be appropriate. This bet size will represent your entire range and will not give your opponent an easier decision down the road.
Not Considering Pot Size
Another major mistake I see is when players fail to consider the potential size of the pot when deciding how much to bet. This tends to happen more often in no-limit than it does in limit.
In this scenario players will make a large pre-flop raise, flop a monster and want to bet the pot on the flop. They don't realize that if their opponent calls, the pot is now quadrupled.
2023's Best Casino Bonus Offers in Pennsylvania - BetOnline: #1A much better option would be to bet around 50-75% of the pot. This will leave the effective stacks nearly untouched while allowing you to take the leadership role in the hand.
Controlling the pot size is a critical part of poker; don't let your ego make these types of mistakes. Always remember that the goal of betting is to increase the pot size when you have the advantage and minimize the pot size when you're behind.
Best Free Slot Games with Free Spins & Bonus Rounds (2023)More beginner poker strategy tips:
Don't Let Your Bet Sizing Show Your Whole Range
When you first start thinking about how to beat online poker, one of the first things you learn is that you should vary your bet sizing. This is very true, especially in six-max games. However, many players take this concept a little too far.
Full-body throws are not uncommon in poker.
Some players will bet different amounts with the exact same hands. This habit is completely unnecessary and will just confuse your opponents. The whole purpose of varying your bet size is to mix up your range. Your opponents should not be able to put you on a specific hand based on the size of your bet.
If I know that you always bet a half-pot amount with top pair and a full-pot bet with a set, I'm going to call down much more frequently. Simply putting your opponent's outs into perspective can be the difference between making a profit and a loss.
Make sure that you understand the purpose behind varying your bet size and use it to keep your opponent from locking you into a single hand. Once they're confused about what you hold, the rest is easy.
online casino real money floridaAlways Know How Much to Bet in Poker...
... Before you actually bet. One of the biggest problems I see is players getting confused about how much to bet in poker once they get a read on their opponent.
Perhaps you thought about entering a pot in middle position with the intention of betting the flop regardless of the outcome. After watching your opponents every move and telling body types and hand motions you're certain three players are in the pot ahead of you with AA, KK, QQ and a straight.
You finally get dealt an A♥ 4♠ and hit the flip along with two callers in front of you. You make a beautiful fake-bet, gaining looks of confusion and confusion/fear from your opponents.
You now have to make a decision: should you bet large to target AA or KK, or small to induce calls from worse hands? But you didn't consider that factor when you decided to bet the flop, did you!
Keep It Simple … Or Not!”
There's an old saying among poker pros: "Keep it simple. Sometimes less is more and the more convoluted lines you attempt to take the greater your chances of exposing yourself.
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A general guideline to follow is to keep it simple versus unknown opponents and complex versus those you've figured out. In the example above you likely had no read on the players who called ahead of you so you should bet the size that will give you the most information.
A small bet will inspire many of your opponents to call with any pair, while a large bet will have them folding everywhere. Find what the correct move is in that spot and then decide on a bet size. Don't vice versa.
Don't Forget About Pot-Committed Bet Sizing
Knowing when to get pot committed is a very powerful tool. Sometimes you should bet everything with the worst hand. You need to recognize situations like these because sometimes your opponent will fold the best hand.
This happens more often than people think. Even the best players in the world can fall victim to this mentality. The human mind is programmed to assume that someone cannot have put more money into the pot than they think the pot is worth.
This is obviously incorrect thinking but many players still fall prey to it. If you know your opponent is capable of folding the best hand, get pot committed! Bet your stack and take the spot.
michigan casino reviewsHow Do You Adjust for Online vs Live Bet Sizing?
On a purely theoretical level, live and online bet sizing should be exactly the same. However, due to practical factors, it's important to make some modifications when moving from one platform to the other.
Think you're ready for higher stakes poker?
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Author Bio:
Jonathan Little is a professional poker player and best-selling author. His poker career began in 2005 and since then he has earned over $6,000,000. Jonathan is an octuple book author and his work has been translated into flive different languages.
He writes a monthly strategic blog and a monthly reader-interaction blog for PokerListings.com.
