There are several important strategy differences between online and live poker games. If you want to become a profitable online player, you should recognize the following differences and adjust your strategy accordingly.
There is More Bluffing Online
Your strategy adjustment: (1) be more aggressive with good hands and (2) bluff less because you are more likely to get called.
Players tend to bluff more in online games. In live games, bluffing requires a good poker face and a willingness to face public humiliation if the bluff fails. In contrast, online bluffers do not have to face their opponents, and if their bluff fails, they can simply log off.
The fact that online players are more likely to bluff affects your game in two ways. First, you can be more aggressive with good or even average hands, because there is a good chance that your opponent is bluffing with a weak hand. Second, you should seldom bluff while playing online. Your opponents realize that there is more bluffing online. Therefore, they will be more inclined to challenge your bluffs.
It is Easier to Find the Perfect Table Online
Your strategy adjustment: Find the right tables and clean out the bad players.
It is extremely easy to find bad players online. Almost all online poker rooms provide the following table statistics to help you find bad players:
- Average size of the pot: Look for tables with a big average pot size. These tables are filled with overly-aggressive bluffers. When you get a good hand, you can expect a huge pay off from these maniacs.
- Percentage of players who pay to see the flop: Look for tables where at least 40% of the players pay to see the flop. These tables are filled with weak, passive players who are playing way too many hands. These players generally do not understand concepts such as pot odds or position betting.
- Number of small stacks: Bad players generally have smaller stacks. If you see a table where at least 75% of the players are playing with small stacks, feel free to jump in and put them out of their misery.
Your Online Opponents are not Paying Attention
Your strategy adjustment: Make straightforward plays and ditch your fancy moves.
Straightforward play is the best online strategy. Most online players multi-task–their attention is divided between the game, checking their e-mail, watching T.V., and talking on the phone. Your fancy deceptions will not work against players who are barely paying attention to the game.
For example, the old fake table image trick, which works well in live games, will not work online. In live games, you might make a few bad bluffs to give other players the impression that you are a chronic bluffer. Your chronic bluffer image pays off when you land a monster hand, because other players will call your raises, thinking that you are still bluffing.
This trick does not work on the internet. When you play online, your early bad bluffs will go unnoticed by most of your opponents. Moreover, online players are generally such loose callers that they would’ve called your raises regardless of your table image.
Online Sessions are Much Shorter
Your strategy adjustment: There is less need for you to change up your game.
In live games, you often play against the same opponents for several hours. On average, a casino player stays at the same table for at least two to three hours. You are forced to vary your playing style at these games, because you do not want opponents to spot any predictable patterns in your play.
Predictability is less of a problem when you play online. Switching tables online is just a mouse click away. Online poker players only spend an average of 30 to 45 minutes at a table. You can safely play the same style because most of your opponents do not stay long enough to spot your patterns.
Online Games Tend to be Loose and Passive
Your strategy adjustment: If you are a good player, you can loosen up your starting hands requirement, play more hands, and play more passively before the flop.
The majority of the players online are loose and passive. Generally, these players tend to call too many bets before the flop and play poorly after the flop. If you are a strong player with a good understanding of pot odds and strategic positioning, you can loosen your starting hand requirements and play less aggressively before the flop.
Conventional wisdom says you should raise aggressively before the flop whenever you have a good hand. That is good advice against tight-aggressive players. However, when you play against loose-passive players, you might want to allow them to limp into the pot. Instead of making strong preflop raises and winning a small pot upfront, you should limp in yourself and rely on your superior poker skills to win the much larger pot on the river.
In these loose-passive games, a good player can play as many as 1/3 of his starting hands. Starting hands like AX-suited and small pocket pairs are playable from almost any position. Furthermore, you should not raise with AK or AQ preflop. Even though you are giving up some quick, small victories preflop, you will win more than enough big pots on the river to make your strategy profitable.
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