As one of the most popular games in the casino, poker is enjoyed by thousands of people across the world and is even considered a profession. When poker became available as an online game, this opened the playing field to an even wider variety of people who would have never thought of playing before. Today, poker can easily be accessed on any portable device and players can try their hand at several different poker games, even playing in multiple rooms at one time.
Can physical and online poker be considered the same?
While the fundamentals of physical and online poker are the same, many claim that the two are very different with online poker being considered more of a game, while physical poker is considered by some as a sport. However, for years, the online poker community has been snubbed by the great physical poker players, who have taken a while to come around to the idea of professional poker online.
Similarly, those who learnt poker in the online world have been found to struggle when it comes to playing in the physical world, with many players finding the speed of physical games too tedious. Those who learnt to play poker in the physical world have also encountered difficulties when trying their hand at online poker too.
Implementing physical poker strategies in the online space
That being said, many of the physical poker strategies used can also be implemented in online games. Below are 5 strategies that are transferable to online games.
Bluffing
While bluffing is a little different in the online space, you can still apply the same principles as you would in live poker. In online games, bluffing is harder to pick up on and there is also a lot more of it going on as you cannot physically see your opponent. Without being able to pick up on physical queues, it becomes much easier for players to bluff – a lot.
The best way to manage this is by making notes on the hand of your opponent’s so that you are more easily able to track their moves and smell a rat.
Additionally, if your bluff comes off then be open to showing your hand at showdown. Not only does this give you credibility at the table, but it also sets the scene for what kind of hand you’re happy to bluff with. Now that players expect a certain strategy from you, you can either play to this, or make a move that no one will expect.
Value Betting
Value betting works in the same way with physical and online poker. The idea is to try to get called by worse hands as these players think they have an edge on you. You should only go for a value bet when you think your opponent will have a worse hand 50% of the time or more though in order for it to be profitable. In this sense, you need to be patient and wait it out.
Some of the top considerations for when placing a value bet include stacking ratio (you want the stack to pot ratio to be smaller), your opponent’s tendencies and the likelihood that they are going to bluff and the opponent’s hand range.
Folding
As the saying goes ‘You got to know when to hold’em and when to fold’em’. While it is an underrated move, fold poker can be an essential part of any strategic poker players strategy. While many players focus on the confrontational approaches including bluffing, raising, and firing bets – and this is usually a good strategy that allows you to win the pot, a well-rounded player is also ready to cut their losses in order to improve their overall win rate.
Some aspects you should consider when making the decision whether to fold include –
- Your position
- Your opponent’s position
- Starting stack sizes
- The size of the open
- Tendencies of your opponents
- The skill set of the opponent you are up against
Raised Preflop
Some experts state that you should always enter the game with a raised preflop. This may seem like odd advice for someone that’s used to playing live, however in the online games, limping during the initial preflop is a lot less common and doing this can increase your chances of being singled out.
Monitor the Table Talk
While it can be a little more difficult to profile your opponents in an online game as you may not be able to physically see them, keeping an eye on the tone of the ‘table talk; in the chat is just as important as it could allow you to pick up on some vital tip-offs.
Overall, although online and physical poker feel very different and players of either variants have strong feelings on the two being compared, there are a lot of similarities. As a general rule, we have found that poker strategy from physical games can be applied to the online ones.
By following the above top tips on common strategies from physical games, you will be playing like a pro online in no time.
Disclaimer: We are simply here to provide information about poker games for entertainment purposes only. Although we talk about poker online on our websites pages, it is the responsibility of all visitors to this website to check current local laws in their own area or country before doing any poker online.
