Poker games are now near instantaneously accessible to anyone with internet access, thanks to the rise of sites like Sky Poker. Just twenty years ago, finding poker games to play in would often depend on your circle of friends, or proximity to a brinks and mortar casino. The online revolution has changed this, just as it has changed so many aspects of modern life. Indeed, the rise of the internet has altered not just the way people access poker games, but also the type and number of people playing online. One of the possible disadvantages of this new world of online poker games is the anonymity of your opponents, which can result in new and novice players facing the seasoned skills of a pro player without actually knowing this until chips are rapidly lost. Here are a few guidelines for the beginner that can help you avoid becoming shark bait.

Perhaps the easiest way to avoid facing mismatched competition is to start playing low limits poker games, and gradually build up to more serious contests. While this cautious approach will preclude the possibility of any dramatic and significant jackpot wins, the much more important principle of risk limitation can be maintained. The smaller the jackpot you play for, the greater your chances of winning.

At this point, it is perhaps wise to spell out a general truism of not just poker games, but any card game – winning means leaving the game with more cash than you started out with. While this may seem blindingly obvious, the fact is that many beginners get caught up with the thrill of winning hands, so much so that the state of their bankroll gets overlooked. Most pro players, by contrast, will almost always fold on mediocre hands, preserving their bankroll so that they are able to play aggressively and bet big when a genuinely good hand comes along. Put another way, winning small amounts in five hands means nothing if all your winnings are lost in the next game. The score won’t be five – one, the result will simply be your loss.
Playing too many hands, simply to be a part of the action, is a classic beginners mistake which will often lead to the needless depletion of your bankroll. Another general problem, resulting from the widespread popularity of poker games is the exposure many novices get to televised, big tournament play. It is easy to pick up a skewed view of what makes a top player successful, especially when watching televised highlights.

The most obvious example of this is the deployment of the bluff. Pro players will often be seen to bluff during TV highlights of tournament play, because these exciting plays represent the kind of drama that makes for compelling entertainment, and so the producers of the show focus on this action. What you won’t see is the background to the bluff, which takes in a multitude of factors. These include the knowledge other players have of the usual tactical habits of the well known pro, and the mirror image of this knowledge that the pro has of the other players, as well as a multitude of other psychological factors, including the sending and reading of ‘tells’.

To summarise, don’t try and copy the way other players approach the game – this is not the road to jackpot success. Give yourself the time to learn your own style. Do this in low limits games, and quit when you’ve reached the limit of what you can afford to lose – you can always come back to play another day.