Playing Poker
Online
Written by Kathy Watterson and Lou Krieger
Provided by Royal
Vegas Poker
This
column was jointly written with Kathy Watterson, my
coauthor on “Internet Poker: How to Play and Beat
Online Poker Games.”
Some of the material in this column will be
found in that book, although it will appear in a
somewhat different form.
If you’ve wondered about whether playing poker on
the Internet is for you ¾
whether in play money games just for practice, in
learning environments such as Poker School Online, or
for real money in cyber
casinos ¾
but you just haven’t gotten around to it yet, this
piece should be spot on.
We’re going to answer most of the frequent
questions we’ve encountered about playing poker
online with facts, and with as little spin as we can
muster.
Question:
What’s the biggest difference between online
poker and “in-the-flesh” play in a real casino,
card room, or home game?
Answer:
The
impersonal, disembodied anonymity of the Internet
demands play that is far more card-based than
opponent-based. In
most cases, winning play depends on first investing in
good starting hands, and thereafter on making only
good decisions based on what cards appear next and
whatever action takes place before it’s your turn to
act.
Forget “playing the player” by cupping chips as
though you’re ready to call, pretending you’re
ready to muck your hand by motioning toward the
discard pile, or staring down a bluff. You can’t
“make a play” when you and your opponents are
invisible to each other. Likewise, you won’t be able
to pick up many clues from other players’ gestures,
either. Your ability to detect tells ¾
particularly physical movements or verbalizations
—is drastically reduced online.
One exception is that you can sometimes read into
pauses, or into their absence. For example, an
opponent who usually acts only after several seconds
might reveal an exceptionally strong hand by using a
pre-action check box to raise any and all bets in a
given round. Since use of a pre-action check box
ensures split-second action in turn, such use may constitute
a tell. On the other hand, it may simply mean
that the player ran to answer the door, grab a snack,
or tend to his hand in another game. So be careful of
reading too much into pauses, or lack thereof, until
you’ve had a good deal of experience in online
games.
Read
more about how to raise your poker game by clicking here.
Lou Krieger is the co-author of 'Poker for Dummies'
and the host of Royal
Vegas Poker.
Your strategy repertoire online is largely limited to
the six basic actions: folding, betting, calling,
raising, re-raising, and check-raising —
supplemented by other poker skills, such as good game
selection, good site selection, careful note-taking,
astute observation of action, alertness to opponent
behavior and noticing who is playing in two games
rather than one, who’s on tilt, or who has been
playing all night, and wise money management.
Q:
What does an online game look and sound like?
A:
It
looks and sounds like a sophisticated video game.
It’s rich in graphics, realistic sound effects, and
complex split-second synchronization of player action.
You’ll see a mock-up of a poker table sporting
colorful chips, cards, player seats, and possibly,
though not necessarily, a dealer box, with or without
a mannequin-like representation of a dealer. Since all
dealer functions are executed at lightning speed by
the game’s software, if there’s a dealer box shown
at a cyberspace card table, it’s only for show.
You’ll hear realistic sounds of cards whirring,
chips clattering as pots are pushed, and the clacking
of bets and raises during action. Also, you’ll be
able to verify the amount in your stack or the amount
of a bet or raise or pot simply by positioning your
cursor above the designated chips or stacks.
State-of-the-art software keeps instantaneous
and accurate track of chip stacks, bets and
raises, all-ins, and accruing pots.
A
beep, buzzer, or repetitive sound will signal you to
act if you’re distracted from the monitor. If you
fail to act within a designated time, you’ll first
be declared “sitting out,” but after a few rounds
of inactivity you’ll be unceremoniously dumped from
the table in far less time than the traditional forty
or sixty minutes you may take for a meal in a casino.
You’ll communicate with other players by typing
into a “chat window” seen by everyone
participating in the game, but the only way to “call
the floor” to make a complaint or check the history
of a hand is to fire off an e-mail to customer
service. As online poker casino software evolves,
these procedures are likely to become faster and
easier.
Q: How easy is it to get into a game or change games?
A:
It’s
simplicity itself. In a real casino you have to go to
the podium, get on a waiting list, endure short waits
or even lengthy waits of an hour or more, or perhaps
join a “must-move” game before reaching your
desired table — only to have to repeat the process
all over again if you want to change limits or games.
Most of this unpleasantness is avoided online.
You simply click on the game of your choice if
a seat is open or, if the table is full, click on a
waiting list for the desired game. A pop-up screen
plus a sound signal beckons when your seat is ready.
As long as the volume is turned up on your
computer, you can be busy away from the computer until
your seat is ready. Many game types and betting limits
are available, including a wide range of tournaments.
Don’t like the game? Simply click to exit and get on
a waiting list or simply take a seat at another table
by clicking on an empty seat. In a real casino,
you’d have to move your chips — not to mention
notifying the floorperson or “brush” and getting
permission to move in the first place. Changing games
through the podium can be tedious and time-consuming,
and often not even possible if a game has a very long
waiting list.
Online, you just click and go, and you won’t have to
consult anyone. Often
you can be in a different game within five seconds.
And you won’t have to rack those cumbersome
chips you just won, as they are automatically added to
your online account.
When you arrive at your new table, you’ll be
given the option of buying as many chips as you like,
as long as you have the money in your account to
purchase them.
Q: Can I play in more than one game at a time, unlike
in a real card room?
A:
Yes!
Many online poker rooms allow and even
encourage you to play in two or more games
simultaneously. After all, they rake more money this
way. It’s easier at some online casinos than
others to segue from screen to screen (meaning table
to table), so if you want double or even triple
action, try out several sites offering multiple game
play to see which has the most congenial software. And
yes, you may also play at more than one site at a time
if your computer is up to the job — meaning, in
general, that it’s anything better than a dinosaur.
Q:
Exactly how much will I know about my
opponents, and how will I know it?
A:
Beyond
what you observe of their play, you’ll know only
their made-up screen names and the city, state, or
country the player declared as his place of residence
when he signed up to use the site. However, very
little policing seems to go on regarding verification
of this information, since such obvious phonies as
“Planet Earth,” “Skid Row,”
“Doghouse,” and “Beyond the Rainbow,”
have been spotted even in cash games online.
Opponents’ handles are customarily accompanied by
colorful visuals such as computer composite figures or
avatars, photos, or cartoon caricatures submitted by
players or created through software at the site. These
“stand in” at cyberspace tables for the live
people they represent.
Q:
But aren’t players likely to choose handles
and avatars that are misleading or
deceptive?
A:
Yes,
and most do. Screen name “Granny Hannah,”
predictably accompanied by a composite avatar or photo
showing a bespectacled old lady in a rocking chair
darning a sweater, is likely to be a 25-year-old card
shark from
Atlantic
City
.
Be forewarned: When
it comes to identity, little online is what it appears
to be. So you may as well join the crowd:
Choose your “handle” and accompanying
avatar carefully to mask your identity and playing
style. Once you’ve submitted them, you may not be
able to change them, so put some thought into what
name and image will represent you online.
Q: How can I compensate for the scarcity of
information about my opponents?
A:
You
can easily take notes online. Note taking is awkward
at in-the-flesh games, where you’re forced to walk
away from the table or grab a few stolen moments
between hands to scribble something beneath the table.
More and more sites are providing convenient
screens for note taking. By all means, use them.
Depending on the site, you may be able to save these
notes to your hard drive. If your site doesn’t offer
this capacity, keep important notes in a physical
notebook or in a spreadsheet, since notes taken in any
given session will do you no good if you can’t use
them days or weeks later.
Q:
But couldn’t a wily opponent continually
change names to keep me from tracking his play?
A:
Internet poker casinos recognize that the
only way you can remember an online opponent is to
remember his play. Therefore, requests for screen name
changes are usually denied unless someone has an
excellent reason, since a name switch could give
someone an unfair advantage. Remember: Choose your
screen name carefully — you may not be able to
change it!
We hope this answers some of your questions about
playing poker in the brave new world of cyberspace.
If you haven’t ventured there, you might just
want to give it a try. After all, where else can you
play in your jammies?
And instead of a drive, all it takes is a few
mouse clicks before you arrive on site.
Whether you play for real money or decide to
get your feet wet in play money games, we think
you’ll like playing online.
It’s especially convenient on those occasions
when you can’t get to a brick and mortar casino to
play. When the poker bug bites you but you don’t
have the time to play, or the baby sitter doesn’t
show up, and even when you’re at the office and the
boss is away, poker in cyberspace is a nice
alternative to traditional casinos.
