Poker Strategy

Skilled Poker Players are not “Gamblers”

Gambling and poker are connected, and in some cases poker falls under the very broad category of gambling. On the flip side however poker players, if playing the game correctly often do not classify as gamblers.

To understand exactly what this means one must define the word “gambling”. The term “Gambling” refers to wagering money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods. Typically, the outcome of the wager or bet is evident within a short period. In a nutshell, the word “gambling” means putting up something of value at risk, on a game or event of chance, in hopes of receiving much more than the initial investment. Does poker fit this term? The answer is yes and no.

To state flatly why poker would not in many terms classify as gambling; when poker is played correctly and players rely on skill, rather than chance, the game does not fall anywhere near the theory of gambling. This is because a player is risking their money or value against their own skill. However this statement can be considered as “loose”, and is not necessarily the case for all poker players.

Skill does not mean chance. Skill is earned and built up over an extended period of time through game experience. Most veteran poker players once started out as nothing but a little blip on the map to poker stardom, but through their many years of successes and failures they built up an incredible knowledge of the game. This knowledge, also considered as skill, is not anything like chance. If a poker player is very skilled or even skilled enough to pull off more wins than losses, than the game of poker can basically be considered as a base profit source. This means that every time one of those skilled players sits at a table or even over an extended period of more than one table, they churn a definite profit in the long run.

People who sit down and play a short term game, or two, of poker are lessening their overall chances of churning a profit and are more than likely not relying on skill. These type of newer, or “noob” poker players fall under the term “gamblers”. This is because they are simply relying on the chance of cards to get a good hand and hopefully gain some money. This includes people who don’t normally play the game of poker on a regular basis, and those who do play often but simply have no skill pertaining to the game.

Poker veterans are not the only players however that are excluded from the “gamblers” term. As a generalized statement, players with any kind of skill at all, pertaining to the game of poker, that overall pull in more wins than losses can consider themselves “non-gamblers”. It is true that over time some poker players lose more money than they bring in but it stands to reason these players are no good at the game and should not be playing. This, in turn brings up a completely separate question. Should poker players who fall inside this “gambling” category remain avid participants of the sport?

The answer is simple. If you are gambling; that means not relying on skill while playing the game of poker, than you should consider only playing every now and then for fun rather than for profit. However, if you are starting at the bottom and plan to grow from a potential poker pro, to an actual veteran than you will have to start in the “gambling” category and then pull yourself from it. Meaning in the beginning, as a novice you will have to rely on chance while you build up your poker skill and experience and then much later, you will then find yourself outside the generalized category.

So, basically to sum everything up, poker veterans and skilled poker players cannot be considered “gamblers” because they are not wagering on chance, but merely their overall expertise. Players who jump into poker for a few hands, or rounds are considered “gamblers” because they are not relying on skill but the fall of the hands. Those looking to become veterans of the sport will have to start at the bottom; which means they will fall under the “gambling” category for quite some time.

Tags:
Gambling, Poker

How Does Online Poker Differ From Traditional Poker?

When poker was first started there was no such thing as the internet. Players matched their wits against each other in traditional games; sitting around a table face to face. In today’s world, it is possible for a group of players to engage in a full match without ever laying eyes upon one another. Thanks to online poker venues, poker matches are available at any hour during the day or night and players from all over the world can test their skills at the table. Poker enthusiasts never even have to leave their living room or home office; and can play anywhere provided they have a decent internet connection.

It should be noted however, for both poker novices and professionals, that there are plenty of differences between online poker and traditional B&M (“Brick and Mortar”) games played at a casino. Many sites provide a biased insight claiming online poker has more advantages because they are just trying to attract more participants. The truth, however, is that online venues are tailored more towards player convenience; and is not necessarily the better choice between B&M tables or online tables. The best choice for where a player lays down his/her stack of chips is always going to be a matter of preference.

The biggest disadvantage to online play is probably one of the most important aspects of traditional B&M poker matches. The term used to describe it is known as, a “tell”, and online matches lack some of the more traditional forms. A poker tell is a sign, sometimes obvious, that informs more experienced players about betting patterns and habits of their opponents. For instance; a player calling or raising a bet merely on a hand bluff may have nervous ticks such as blinking more often, scratching their necks or cracking their knuckles. Of course a tell can sometimes include more important signs such as a player’s betting habits, things they say, and fold/flop percentages. During online play, opponents are not face to face with one another and can only view other player’s avatars’ or profile pictures. On the other hand, the lack of more conventional poker tells does have a positive effect over time. Novices and more experienced players are forced to focus more on the table environment, as opposed to their opponents, and this often helps build a stronger player in the end. In order to study a rivals habits online a player must pay attention to the chat box, betting amounts, fold/flop percentages as mentioned earlier, and how long a player takes to bet.

Advantages of online poker room, as said earlier, are designed to convenience participating players. The biggest difference between a conventional poker and online poker is that online venues are available any time of the day and night whereas this may not be possible in a regular casino. It is possible to play games on a lunch break, before going to bed, late at night when you can’t sleep, and whenever free time opens up. All that is required of online play is a login to the program on your computer; whereas traditional poker you would have to get dressed, drive all the way to the casino, and then drive home after and due to this it can often leave you strapped for time while you’re there.

The rate of average play for poker games is much faster online than it is in a traditional casino. Online there is no waiting for the dealer to shuffle cards, the deal is instant, and blinds are often placed automatically for opponents and players. There are also buttons which make the method of playing faster, including check and pre-made betting selections. The average rate of play for a traditional casino table is around thirty hands per hour, and during online play the rate is around ninety hands per hour.

Online poker does also offer much more than traditional casino’s for the learning novice. Many online poker providers offer a poker school to beginners or classes which teach the basics of the game. Due to lower costs of online venues it is also possible for online poker casinos to offer free money play tournaments to the community. This provides many players a chance to hone their skills without the risk of losing any amount of real money. This lowers the learning curve considerably for beginners and provides practice with other real opponents for those who normally have no one to play with.

Another positive between online and conventional casinos is the table limits. The limits online are generally much lower than those offered at traditional tables; this is another trait earned due to the lower cost of running an online casino. The lowest table limits in a regular casino are generally around $1 to $2 dollars, and on an online casino they reach as low as $.01. This provides the possibility of losing very little money in the event a player is forced to retire from a table.

Online poker also offers the chance to be a part of more than one table at a time. In the long run this can earn the average player much more money than in a traditional casino; provided they win at the tables they are participating in. In a traditional poker game it is only possible to be at one table at a time; and the only real way to make more money is to increase your limit. There are even a number of online venues which do not have a limit on the number of active tables a player can participate in; thus it is very possible for an experienced player to remain active in up to seven or more tables at a time.

On a final note it is very possible to see that in many cases for the more traditionally experienced player the switch over to online play will provide many disadvantages along with the advantages. Online play still does however provide its advantages, especially in the case of beginners, and will certainly provide poker enthusiasts with a more convenient way to play the game they love.

Tags:
Online Poker, Online Poker Rooms, Poker, Tell

The Value Of Strategy Versus Tactics

When you look for information on how to play poker effectively, you will often run into articles that place undue emphasis on developing poker tactics as opposed to developing poker strategies. With regard to the poker game, strategy can be defined as a thorough and wide-ranging plan of action that will serve you best in the long run. It is important to make the distinction between this and tactics, which are simply maneuvers that form the total strategy.

In a sense, tactics are best utilized as part of a bigger strategy, and not as the goal itself. Many beginning players are guilty of focusing too much on tactics without seeing the bigger picture. This leads to making decisions that may seem to result in the attainment of an immediate goal, but does little to advance the whole course of the game. Realizing that there is a clear need to form an effective strategy does little good at this point, since this realization more often than not results in regurgitating even more tactics instead of formulating an entire strategy for playing.

Interestingly enough, it is the nature of poker as a game that relies heavily on decisions that are made on the spur of the moment that inspires this way of thinking. Nevertheless, thinking only in the short term will effectively hinder your ability to make proper decisions that will serve you best the majority of the time. Poker isn’t really that complex a game, but the lack of an overall strategy can make things considerably more complicated for players that rely solely on tactics to get them through a game. What these players–and indeed all poker players–should realize is that adopting an effective strategy can actually make the decision making process a lot simpler.

It does not really take much to implement an effective poker strategy. In fact it can be as simple as wanting to win or simply wanting to have a few hours of fun at the poker table. Playing for fun as a strategy is simple enough but playing to win can be a bit more complicated depending on your skill level and how much you want to win. This will involve knowing what particular plays to make in the pursuit of your objective.

You can actually compare an effective strategy to a road map in the sense that it will help you see where you are going, the best route to take, and any obstacles that stand in your way. Moving through a game without a strategy is like knowing how to get to the next street but being utterly clueless after that point. Just as studying a road map thoroughly will help you get to your destination quicker with a minimum of fuss, so too will an effective poker strategy help you attain your goal the easiest and most efficient way possible. A holistic poker strategy will allow you to make the smaller decisions easier and ensure that they serve your poker game as a whole.

Tags:
Poker, Poker Game, Poker Tactics, Strategy

Reading The Other Players

One of the most interesting aspects of poker is that there are constantly numerous opportunities for you to learn something, no matter what your level of playing experience might be. Whether you are a first time player or a seasoned veteran, there is always something new to learn from other players or from your own experiences in the game. In some cases, you may even pick up some valuable lessons and not even be aware of it. This is all just as well as with poker, for the minute you stop learning is the minute that your game advancement stops dead in its tracks.

In truth, it is not really all that difficult to achieve a certain degree of proficiency at poker. In order to be a player that wins the majority of the time however, it is important to always learn, absorb and adapt. And to do that, you need a certain measure of self-control, as well as the ability to analyze any given situation that presents itself. Learning the skills necessary to analyze the various aspects of the game can help you make better-informed decisions when faced with the pressure cooker situation of a real world game.

What almost all successful poker players have in common is the drive and the capability to absorb information on a continuous basis, as well as to analyze all the information that they receive. Watching the other players around the poker table can be a valuable source of information in this regard. If you see another player get caught bluffing for instance, you can take note of his or her actions in order to avoid getting caught doing them yourself in a future game.

As useful as the above example is, experienced poker players will know enough to look beyond such basic detection techniques and possibly even know that the bluffer was bluffing even before he was caught. Of course doing so will take some experience on your part, but it is a necessary skill to develop if you want to be able to play the game successfully for a long time. In this sense, poker is a game of anticipating what the other players around the table are going to do before they even do it…in some cases even before the opponent in question knows that they are going to do it.

Developing this skill will give you the make the right decisions and the right actions when crunch time comes. This will also allow you to set up the scenario so that you are better prepared to react to whatever move your opponent will make. Even if you have only been playing at a particular game for a short period of time, you should train yourself to spot cues that other players are giving out almost immediately. It is a skill that will take a lot of playing experience to be sure, but developing it as early as possible will have many beneficial effects on your game in the long run.

Tags:
Poker, Poker Games