After all, you play poker versus other players. Even when trying to play the most balanced (and difficult to read) strategy possible, almost all players have leaks or tells. It’s these flaws in their game that allow a savvy player to make money. With the general player field increasing its overall awareness, the opportunity to profit diminishes.
Even though the games are tougher, there is still money to be made out there. You’ll need to study, practice, and play appropriate games to see profits. The following tips should serve as a solid starting point.
The Games are Tough!
Even low stakes games can be tough. Although the players aren’t necessarily spectacular there, they play a balanced enough range to make it all but impossible to beat the rake at micro-stakes games.
Game and seat selection are crucial. However, as a newbie, this is often a little tricky.
Tournament players don’t need to worry about either game or seat selection. As long as they play within their roll (more on this in a moment), the software works out where you will sit.
There are usually multiple seats available at multiple cash games of the same stake. An experienced player might know some of the players sat at the table. Some might be loose cannons (great to sit on the left-of), and some might be sharks (best to avoid or have on your right).
For someone just starting out, you will have to just dive right in. Just remember that every player you see might be on a future table. Create a colour code to label them (e.g. red for shark, blue for solid, and green for fish). Take notes on players. If you see a hand you consider noteworthy play out, record it. Try to include detail too. In time this will get easier.
A decent note might look something like this:
“R3xBBv3L, CF/F”
The above denotes that the player raised 3x the minimum bet versus three callers (limpers) and then proceeded to check the flop and fold to aggression. This abysmal play is certainly noteworthy. Even if the flop stinks for his hand, the bluff equity on a four-way pot is massive at this point. Decent players at lower limits are surely taking a stab at such a bloated pot.
Work out your own way of note taking and build a catalogue of information about the players you see. Even on massive sites like PokerStars, you will see the same players over and over again. The more detail in your notes, the more useful they will be later in your playing career.
Practice Bankroll Management
Of equal importance and relating to game selection is bankroll management. Despite what some people like to say, poker is gambling. It’s not quite like casino gambling since the players themselves set the odds with the bets they make. A good player attempts to get money in on profitable gambles and get away from losing propositions.
Of course, this means that lady luck plays a large role in poker. Incredible players can have extended periods in which they cannot catch a hand, whilst their inferior opponents hit every miracle river under the sun. As a skilled player, they will lose a lot less than a poor player during these sessions. However, they will still lose money.
This is where bankroll management is crucial. However large your poker bankroll is should dictate the games you can play. The aim is to have enough roll to weather any periods of bad luck. Your win rate will also have an impact on the amount you need to play certain games.
For a beginner cash game player, it’s advisable to start with at least 10,000 big blinds. If you’re playing 100NL (50c/$1 blinds), you will want to play off $10,000.
For a beginner tournament player, it’s advisable to start with at 100 buy-ins for the tournaments you want to play. If you want to play up to $10 tournaments, a $1,000 would be adequate.
Bankroll management not only ensures that you have enough money to weather any apocalyptic runs, it can also act as tilt-relief. If you get sucked out on at your 100NL game three times in a row and you’re playing off $500, your roll is going to be looking pretty pathetic. No one wants to bust out and the threat of having to redeposit might well influence playing style.
Compare this to the player who lost the same $300 out of their $10,000 stack. The player will barely notice it and should be able to continue playing their best game.
Make the Most of Your Welcome Bonus
Perhaps the best way to get an early edge at poker is to use a welcome bonus. Even though they have significant wagering requirements, if you’re going to be playing a good amount of poker over the period, you should still be able to grind through it. Depending on the structure, you should work through a bonus rather quickly at lower stakes cash games.
A welcome bonus effectively lowers the cost of poker for a player. This can make learning very cheap.
It’s always good to deposit the maximum amount for a bonus if you do intend to take your poker education seriously. You only get one chance to use a welcome bonus. Claim as much as you can reasonably afford. More bonus is always better than less.
Although bonuses for new players are a great way to spread a bankroll, never play for the bonus. If the clock strikes 12 and you planned to finish your game at midnight, don’t force another 50 hands to unlock the next part of the bonus. Providing it doesn’t expire that night, it will still be there tomorrow. Play your poker as if the bonus weren’t there but make sure to maximise it by playing a lot.
If you need to find a welcome bonus, check pages like NoDepositExplorer. They provide great information about loads of different promotions. They even have a special section for bonuses for Hungarians.
Learn the Game
Learning poker doesn’t just happen at the table. After you know the rules and have fooled around on some tournaments and micro-stakes games, if you’re serious about playing, do some homework.
Most people don’t approach poker from the correct mindset. They play each game as an individual event. Poker is about the long game. It’s about playing different situations as they come up, using the best knowledge available, and making a profitable decision. Whether that profitable decision actually wins or loses is entirely irrelevant.
To an absolute novice, this sounds ridiculous. This is why it’s important to familiarise yourself with various concepts in gambling. David Sklansky’s The Theory of Poker, will give you a thorough understanding of how to approach poker games. This book alone will likely equip you with the skills to beat smaller cash games and tournaments online. Other great educational tools are online courses, such as Run it Once by Phil Galfond and Deuces Cracked are great for those wanting to further their poker education.
