Keys to success in online poker part 3
Game selection
Poker opponent number 1: Phil Ivey, professional Full Tilt Poker player
Poker opponent number 2: Mr. I do not know the online poker rules at all.
Who do you prefer to play? Well if we talk about winning most money in poker there is no doubt about the answer at all. Phi Ivey is out of the question as your opponent if you practice good game selection in poker.
Poker is mainly all about spotting bad poker players. Finding the right opposition to play against in online poker is the decision that will make you the most money in the long run.
There are no arguments for just sitting down at a random table in online poker. With more than 20 poker networks and thousands of available tables there should be no reason to sit down and play unless there is bad players on the table.
Of course it is needed sometimes to sit down and play to get the feel for your poker opponents but the moment you realize that the value in your opponents are to little then you have to leave the poker table immediately. This is especially true if you are down a little. Pick a better spot to win your money back.
A few advices
To practice good poker game selection a few advices can show profitable for you. Always keep your bankroll spread on more than one poker site. Why keep your entire bankroll on PokerStars when poker sites like Cake Poker and Ultimate Bet poker have tons of bad players too. The flexibility to find bad players on different poker rooms is very important.
Remember to make notes on all players you play against. This way you can avoid tables with many good poker players seated before you even sit down. Bad players will not always remain bad. If you have a “fish note” on a poker player then you should evaluate his play in every session to make sure you catch signs of poker skill improvement.
Make a “poker player search” for all players at your table. If a player play more than 3 tables chances are favorable that it is an online grinder professional poker player that you most likely have to avoid unless a famous donk poker player also is seated.
Hold back on the tables
Do not play too many tables. If you are in good control regarding your poker rivals behavior at the table you play at, then open new tables and study the game and players there to find new cash generating fools.
Look for the location of your opponents. Countries without an old poker culture do provide many more bad players to a poker room. Avoiding many Scandinavian and American poker players at the same table can show to be a good and profitable decision. This is of course only a guideline as these countries also have some of the biggest losers in online poker.
Always evaluate your table when a player leaves and is replaced by a new player. Losing just one player can change the entire reason to stay at a specific table and it is extremely important to notice this immediately.
If you rail some online poker high stake games for a while you will notice that many times all players at a table sit out immediately another player has left the table. When the fish leaves there is no reason to continue the game.
Doyle Brunson has stated that he played against Chip Reese and many other good players at Bellagio to “keep the shop open”. While this is true in brick and mortar poker games it is not a real viable argument in online poker.
Online poker has made it a lot easier to shop around for bad players and you should spend all your time on becoming and expert in finding the right table to play at. Choose your games carefully and your poker bankroll and poker winnings will increase rapidly.