The Dashflatpoker.com professional poker team sends us an article with 10 tips, 10 fundamental rules to keep in mind if you want to win at poker. A must read for beginners, but a nice refresh even for the most experienced.

10 Tips for Winning at Online Poker

Be careful

It can be very easy to get distracted when playing internet poker and this definitely works in favor of your opponents. Remember, to win it is essential to identify the strategy of your opponents and therefore it is necessary to analyze all the hands that are played at the table even those in which you do not participate. Take note of players who play a lot of hands and those a little more reluctant. You certainly don’t want to play all your chips against a player who rarely plays strong, and who, if still in the game, is likely to have a very good hand.

Don’t start too many hands

This is the basic strategy of any successful play online poker games, but also the most effective. Yet few players show that they have the right combination of intelligence and patience to play good starting hands.

Playing a limited number of hands will always prove to be an advantage over your opponents in the long run. We’ve all seen professional players bluff, and raise all-in in relatively unimportant games while watching poker on TV. What you can’t see are the long hours of hard concentration it took to get to the much-needed final table.

If you consider that your opponents play 50% of the hands and you only 25%, you will have an advantage over them in most of the games you play. When you have a pair, your kicker is likely to be the highest and your straight is beating lower ranks. By playing fewer hands, you will have a better chance of winning the games you want to win.

Patience, Patience, Patience

In major poker tournaments, it seems that for many players, the number one priority for many players is to try to increase their chip count as soon as possible. A poker tournament is more like a marathon than a 100m race. With hundreds of players participating, victory won’t come in an hour, but a distraction or a hasty decision will be enough to find yourself empty-handed! You will be satisfied with your progress if in the first 2 hours of the tournament you have managed to play a few hands and your chip stack has increased rather than decreased! The other players at your table will think you are boring, but wait for them to be eliminated having lost everything in a relatively mediocre hand, and will jump through hoops to be in your place!

Take notes on other players

With a large number of players, it will be impossible for you to remember everything that happens, which player follows which strategy and so on. To do this, it is important to take note of what interests us. “Everything makes broth” to literally stay in the tournament! Let’s imagine you have been moved to a new table with 2 other players named Teddy B and Moneyman. Having played with these 2 players in previous hands, you will surely have taken valuable notes about them.

Moneyman – Professional bluffer and risk taker.

Taking note of the players is crucial in such a tournament. If you ever find yourself in a situation where Teddy B raises, you know that to do so he must have a strong hand. Conversely with Moneyman, he is likely to be bluffing.

With hundreds of tournament participants, your notes will be a valuable tool especially in the later stages, when you will find yourself sitting with players you have met in previous ones.

Keep learning

The best players are the ones who never stop learning. Read books, poker articles, magazines and keep an eye on other players. The game of poker requires strong intellectual skills and dedication and it is no mere coincidence that many of the greatest players are college graduates and often hold prominent positions or are leading successful businesses. To improve your game, also search the internet: you will find thousands of interesting articles, information, notions and stories often told by the professionals of this game themselves.

Recognize When you’re Defeated

Sometimes it’s best to fold even those hands that look good, the ones we think we can win. It is certainly not an easy thing, but what differentiates the best from the group is precisely the ability to recognize when the opponent has a better hand. For example, you raise with QQ before the flop, 3 players call and the flop is revealed with A87. It is very likely that any 3 players who have called have an Ace. Sure, you can always bet, but if your raise is called it’s almost mathematical that your hand will be beaten so it’s best to fold immediately.

Read also: Online poker strategy: how to beat a maniac

Don’t forget how difficult it is to bluff online.

It is much easier to click a button on a computer screen than to physically take all your chips in a real poker room and dump them in the middle of the table. Likewise, bluffing is a less complicated business. A player can easily feel embarrassed for having decided to see when it was less appropriate in the presence of real opponents and spectators, while online, one is not afraid to look stupid because no one can see us. Therefore, it is best to be as selective as possible in choosing the right hand to bluff in.

Play only if you’re in the mood

If you’re tired, have other thoughts on your mind, or just don’t feel your best, don’t play! It is sure that you will not be able to give the best of the table. To win at poker, you must always be on top. If you’re not in the mood, forget it and try later or even another day.

Don’t Bet to See Cards That Won’t Help You

One of the most common mistakes in the game of poker is to assume that if you always bet on your cards, you have a better chance of winning. Imagine you have AQ and the flop has 9T4. You think you have a good chance (actually 7/1) that the next cards are Q or A and you want to bet to see them. This way of thinking is dangerous as, even before you see the next cards, your opponent may already have beaten you! You are in trouble if your opponent has one of these combinations TT, 99, 44, T9, A9, AT, KT, A4, TQ, AK, JK. Lots!! While the odds of 7/1 may look good, the actual odds of winning are far worse, especially if you are lined up against few players in the hand.

Have fun

You have to have fun play online poker. Remember why you started playing! Make sure you always play what you can afford. Poker is an exciting game. It’s a great feeling when opponents take your bluff and decide to fold. There is nothing more satisfying than knowing that you are playing your best and the feeling of being invincible. Play to the best of your ability and above all have fun, who knows what might happen. Everything is possible! There is only one winner, but everyone else contributes to the final prize while having fun!