The game of poker can be incredibly expensive if you’re not careful. While there are strategies and habits you can learn to improve your odds of winning, it’s important to remember that poker is still a game of chance. As a result, you should never play with money that you can’t afford to lose.
When you play poker online, you’ll often have to make decisions on the fly. That’s because you’re playing a game that’s constantly changing and based on the decisions made by the players around you. As such, it’s important to understand how to think in ranges and use basic strategy to your advantage. This means calculating pot odds, identifying your opponents’ actions and reading the board.
Another important thing to remember when playing poker online is that it’s a much faster-paced game than live poker. While at a live table you may expect to see 20 hands an hour, online it’s not unusual to get 3-4x that amount. This faster pace can be a huge advantage and makes the games more fun.
When it comes to poker online, it’s also important to have a short memory and not become emotionally invested in bad beats or coolers. While these things will happen from time to time, you need to keep in mind that the math will sort it out in your favor over the long run. So don’t sweat the bad beats, just re-buy (assuming you can thanks to bankroll management) and move on.
