Online Poker Versus Conventional Poker

When you visit a plush casino in Las Vegas or in any other state, your casino gaming experience will not be complete without engaging in a round of Poker. Over the years, this card game has developed into several variations, including:

• Straight Poker
• Stud Poker
• Draw Poker
• Community Poker
• Online Legal Poker

With the sudden boom of the Internet, the face of playing poker and other casino games has completely changed. Instead of traveling to brick-and-mortar casinos, players now can engage in a round of poker right in the comfort of their own homes – through online legal poker.

A Comparison of Online Legal Poker and Traditional Poker

If you are a poker aficionado, do you prefer to bask in the excitement of playing a round of poker in a live casino – or would you rather play online legal poker right in the privacy of your own home?

To help you decide which of these two is a much better option, here is a quick comparison of the pros and cons of online legal poker versus the traditional poker:

1. The way that players interact with each other.
Obviously, in the traditional casino setting, players are sitting right across each other. This adds a certain element of excitement in the game in the sense that players can gauge each other’s reactions whenever the hands are dealt. With online legal poker, you do not have the luxury of gauging the reaction of other players since you are on an online instead of a live setting.

2. The way that the hands are dealt.
Say that you have one hour to spare. In a live casino, the maximum number of hands that can be dealt is 30. This is due to the delays in shuffling, collecting and dealing the cards. With online legal poker, there no delays, the shuffling and collecting is instantaneous – so the maximum number of hands which can be dealt in an hour is about 90.

3. The rate of earnings and cash bonuses.
Traditional casinos cannot easily offer cash bonuses. With online legal poker, a lot of cash bonuses can be offered as a way to attract online players. The rate of earnings in online legal poker is also much higher than the conventional way of playing this popular card game.

Now that you have an idea about the pros and cons of playing conventional poker and the online legal poker – you can decide for yourself which one will bring you the most number of benefits and the maximum hours of enjoyment.

Sit and Go Strategy

A sit n’ go (SNG) tournament is typically a single-table tournament with an unscheduled start time. When a predetermined number of people register, the tournament begins. The number of participants is determined by the site and the game. Several sites use 9-person tables, while others use 10-person tables. Stud variations typically seat 8 players. Stakes range from $1 to several hundred dollars, but the focus of this article is the lower-limit, No Limit Hold ‘Em SNGs, the $5 and $10 buy-in levels. Multi-table SNG tournaments are now available on many sites, but we will focus on the single-table versions for this article. These tournaments provide the player with several things: the ability to play in a tournament setting without committing several hours of time; the ability to hone short-handed and late-tournament tactics; and the thrill of winning a tournament with very little risk due to the low stakes involved.
Typically, SNGs pay out the top three places. First place receives 50% of the prize pool, with second and third receiving proportionately less – finishing lower than third rewards you with experience, but no money. So our goal, first and foremost, is to finish no lower than third. With a third-place finish, we are guaranteed a profit on our tournament buy-in, and we are then free to take more risks while playing for the win.
This strategy for playing SNG tournaments is divided by blind levels. You must be able to adapt your style of play to the escalating blind structure in any tournament. You must be even more adaptable in SNG play, as you are not only adjusting to the escalating blinds, but you must also adopt different playing strategies based on the shrinking number of players at the table. This is not like a massive multi-table tournament, where new players will be sent to your table to replace the players that ‘bust out’. You will begin with a full table, and usually within one hour the field has dropped to two or three players. So you must stay focused and remain flexible in your playing style.
Level 1-3 (7-9 players) – Usually in the first level of blinds at least one player will go all-in and lose. If you have found a particularly loose table, 2-3 players will be sent to the rail in the first few levels of blinds.
The key to these first levels is to play tight. Maintain aggression when you have solid hands, but play extremely conservatively early on. Be very wary of overvaluing your hands, and be willing to fold almost anything to a raise. Raise pre-flop with A-A, K-K, Q-Q, A-K and that’s all. It’s often wise just to fold most other hands outright. One of the most overvalued hands in these early rounds is A-X, suited or unsuited. Don’t commit too many chips to hands like A-7, A-5, A-J or any other speculative hand

Beat the Casinos at their own Game

Here are the real reasons that people lose at land based casinos:

* Free alcohol – your reasoning is dulled and you start making stupid mistakes

* Scantily clad women – the casino uses these women to distract you.

* The ringing of the slots and the cheering of the crowds – This gives you a false sense of hope. If all of those bells are ringing, somebody must be winning. Why not you?

* The lighting – the casino deliberately creates an atmosphere where time is meaningless. Have you ever noticed that there are no clocks? This keeps you playing longer than you would have if you could see day turn to night.
* Oxygen - many casinos pump in oxygen to give you a bit of a buzz so you can play longer

The advantages of an online casino:

* No alcohol. You can choose not to go to the fridge and get that beer. You also don’t have anyone pushing it on you.

* You can shut off the sound on your computer. Without the sounds, you are less likely to allow your emotions to run wild. You will also think a lot clearer when betting.

* No scantily clad women. You can shut off the tv, and radio and tell your girlfriend or boyfriend to put some clothes on.

* Most of us have windows so we can watch time pass. More importantly, you should wear a watch and preplan how long you will spend gambling on each round. You can also keep an eye on your funds. No need to count chips. The screen tells you how much you have won or lost.

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Online Poker Tips for Beginners

Online Poker Tip #1

If you are new to online poker, an important poker tip is to be sure to learn the software of the poker site you have chosen to play poker at. It doesn’t make sense to start playing poker for real money and make mistakes with the poker software. Every poker site offers free poker games. Play in these free poker games for at least 10-15 minutes to get used to how to post blinds and make your actions before risking your hard earned dollars. Remember this poker tip.

Online Poker Tip #2

Another important poker tip is that you should be sure to take full advantage of the deposit bonuses at the site. Almost all poker sites offer some type of deposit bonus for new poker players. A common deposit bonus is 20% up to a $100 maximum bonus. Even if you are not willing to risk $500 in playing poker, go ahead and deposit the $500 to receive your $100 bonus. Once you have played enough hands you can withdraw the $500 and put it back in the bank. Of course, you have to be careful not to lose it all when playing poker. Be sure to set an amount that you are willing to lose and do not go over it. If you don’t want to lose very much then be sure to play at limits which you are comfortable with and fit your bankroll. For beginners with a bankroll of $500, I would not recommend playing poker at limits greater than $.50-$1. Managing your bankroll properly by playing at the correct limits is one of the best poker tips I can offer as many players make the mistake of playing at limits too high and end up going broke.

Online Poker Tip #3

Pay attention to this poker tip! This third online poker tip is talked about a lot in my book, Internet Texas Hold’em: Winning Strategies from an Internet Pro. Many poker players get distracted in online poker by talking on the telephone, reading emails, playing two tables at once, or watching TV. Let your opponents be the ones who make big mistakes to hurt their poker game because they don’t pay attention. A big part of your winnings will come from analyzing the style of play and poker strategies used by your opponents.

Online Poker Tip #4

Here’s an online poker tip focused more on strategy. It is probably the most important poker tip I can suggest in terms of strategy for beginning poker players: don’t play many poker hands! The biggest online poker mistake by poker beginners is playing too many poker hands. They watch poker on TV and see these professionals play crazy poker hands and think it is OK to play them. You will be sure to lose if you play too many poker hands. One big advantage you will have over your opponents is that you will play fewer poker hands than your opponents. My website has a great tool to help you in your starting hand play. This tool uses the starting hand guidelines outlined in my book. You have no excuse! Remember this important poker tip on’t play many poker hands.

Online Poker Tip #5

Have fun! Poker is a game which is meant to be fun. To have fun you need to be sure that you are playing with money that you can afford to lose. On the Internet it is possible to play for pennies. With these low-limits you can play poker for a few hours for less than the cost of going to a movie. So even if you lose a little think of it as entertainment. This poker tip is essential to enjoy the game! I see too many people take this game too seriously and end up forgetting this tip and the reason why they played the game in the first place.

Online Poker Tip #6

Finally, an important online poker tip to beginners and everyone else, poker is more fun when you win! Take a little time to study your poker game to improve your results. Be sure to read my book and poker books from other authors, participate in the poker Forum on my website, and read poker magazines for articles such as this one. One good idea or poker tip can end up saving you lots of money.