Common Mistakes Online Poker Players Make
April 2nd, 2010 | Published in Inrodution
Playing poker online and playing poker in a casino were not created equal. The games and the rules may be the same, but the environment is different. Not noticing these differences can cost online poker players big in the long run. Remember that the two are not created equal and bear the common mistakes found among online poker players in mind the next time you enter an online casino.
The Top Three Most Common Mistakes for Online Poker Players
Forgetting How Fast the Poker Game Moves
In a traditional brick and mortar casino there is a lull between hands where the casino changes dealers or the dealer converts chips for new players and shuffles the cards. This means that the poker game overall moves at a slower pace. Therefore, a player who sits at the table for three hours may only play twenty hands. In an online casino, the poker game moves much faster. After all, there is no need to change dealers and the shuffling and chip counting is done automatically. This means that more hands are played in an online casino in the same amount of time. For example, a player who would have played twenty hands at the brick and mortar casino can pay forty or sixty hands in an online casino. Not noticing this time difference can cause you to eat at your bankroll if you are judging your playing by time and not hands.
Forgetting they are Spending Real Money
In general, people are much more likely to spend more if they are putting it on their credit cards and not paying in cash. The same is true of online casinos. As the online casinos typically only accept credit cards and the chips and monetary amounts are all virtual credits, it can be easy for a player to forget they are playing with their actual funds. This has on occasion caused an online poker player to spend more then they intended.
Not Reading the Other Poker Players
Online casinos take away the face-to-face interaction you get with your opponents in a brick and mortar casino. This does not mean, however, that you cannot read your opponent. Look for virtual clues about your opponents betting style and bluffing tactics. For example, has the player been very chatty in the chat window until the last hand was dealt? Chances are they have a high hand and are too focused to chat.