Online vs. Real Life Poker
There are a number of small differences between playing live poker playing on the internet that you should be aware of. People tend to behave differently on the internet than they do in real life, so it makes sense that players act differently in internet poker than in real life poker. Here are some internet poker strategies and observations that will help you make the adjustment.
- Calling
- Bluffing
- Tells
Human behaviour and psychology leads us to call more on the internet. Since it’s so easy to click the call button (and the fact that somehow internet money just doesn’t seem like real money) you’re going to find there are a lot more callers to your pot size raise or blind steal attempts. Psychologically, most people also feel more confident online because they’re not under the scrutiny of others as they would be in a casino.
Consistent with too much calling, there’s also a lot of bluffing on online poker. Players who often play tight in real life will want to experience the thrill of pulling off a big bluff online and will decide to play much more aggressively. With the ‘all in’ button just a click away, there’s just too much temptation, especially at a low level game, to go in for the gamble. The way to take advantage of this is to wait for your monster cards and reel in the big fish.
Even though you can’t really see your opponents when playing internet poker, you can see what their actions are. Many of the common live tells of shaking hands or chip stacking are missing from the live game. One of the more reliable tells is to spot how fast they bet. Generally, if a player bets fast it means that they have a strong hand. If they bet slowly or take a long time in their action, it usually means they need to think things over, which implies that their hand isn’t very strong.
Use these strategies to make the transition from live to online poker. Remember that practice does make perfect so play low level online games and win like you do on the live games!
Discuss the differences between online and real life poker with other players at our forum.
