Internet Texas Hold'em

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Internet Texas Hold em vs. Face-to-face Play

The current trend is for a growth in online poker play. This phenomenon is fueled by many advantageous reasons that include: a. no tipping b. no travel c. 24-hour, 7 days a week action d. No second-hand smoke e. deposit bonuses, match bonuses and promotions f. Faster action - you can play more hands per hour g. ability to play multiple tables at the same time h. ability to play for fun or for real money and micro-limit games i. a greater selection of games

Internet Texas Hold em Strategy Differences

Some of the strategy differences that are unique to the World Wide Web include:

1. Short playing sessions - A poker player can move into and out of a game much more than in a live game. This means that you are rarely playing the same opponents for a very long time. On the Internet , you can play for a few minutes or a few hours. You can play just a few hands and then sign off. Contrast this with a face-to-face game that can last for several hours with the same opponents.

Strategy result: The other players don't have very long to evaluate how you play, so play a more straightforward and less deceptive/evasive game. Many times you won't be playing the same opponents long enough to project a loose or tight table imagethat you could use to your advantage in a face-to-face game. In other words, don't worry too much about your table image in an Internet card game, just play a straightforward tight game and mix up your game a little less than you would at a face-to-face game.

2. Reference Aids - I have never seen in any land-based casino in Las Vegas - or in ANY brick and mortar casino - a player allowed to take a laptop computer to the poker table that had poker analysis software on it or take a printed sheet of paper with an odds chart printed on it. When playing in a face-to-face poker game, you need to have a lot of odds information memorized and hope that your memory is accurate. You have to sit there and do a bunch of calculations in your head in spite of all the casino's distractions. Now, at Internet casinos you can use odds charts and poker software to your heart's content.

Strategy result: When you are at home playing on your computer at an Internet Poker Table, you can utilize an odds chart like the one at our Basic Odds Lesson. Now you don't have to rely on your memory and memorize a bunch of charts, etc.

3. The Cyber Environment - Playing at an Cyber Poker Table means that you can't physically look the other players in the eye. Playing on the Internet also means that you can have more distractions at home such as talking on the telephone, reading email, watching television, and don't forget being able to play at more than one table at a time.

Strategy result: Poker players tend to bluff more since bluffing is only a mouse click away, while in a face-to-face game you have to physically move your chips to the center of the table. On the one hand, you should probably bluff a little less at an online game since your opponents will tend to call you a little more. The other side of the coin is that you can't assume that your opponents are bluffing all the time, but you will need to call and raise a little more often against the other players who are trying to win every pot. A profitable bluff on the Internet is profitable when you rely more on the pros and cons of a particular hand, rather than on table image. Table image is obviously more important in a face-to-face poker game that lasts several hours with the same opponents. Lastly, watch those distractions while playing on your home computer. Sure, it's so comfortable to play at home, but remember that you are playing with real money.

Internet Texas Hold em Table Chat

Chat allows you to communicate with the other people at the online poker table. Of course there is a certain amount of Poker Etiquette as defined by each Web Based Casino. Each Casino will also have its terms/acronyms for their chat function. Below is an example.

The following if from the Golden Tiger.

Players often use acronyms to express themselves in chat. Expressions, terms, acronyms may vary from Casino to Casino, so be sure to check out each casinos terminology before you play. However, many of the terms are the same across the Internet. Here is a list of some common expressions: