If you’re new to online poker, you probably can’t wait to sit down and play. But be careful. Sharks patrol these waters.
The games are full of money-hungry professionals, playing anywhere up to 24 tables at a time.
They prey on less experienced players and will relentlessly punish any rookie mistake. Even at the lowest stakes and in the smallest tournaments, the tables are full of multi-tabling regulars who won’t think twice about taking all your money.
They’re in it for the money
These regulars have been at it for a while. They’ve played hundreds of thousands of hands, they know all the odds and are familiar with every trick in the book. And then some tricks that aren’t even in the books.
They don’t just spend a lot of time playing, they also spend a lot of time analyzing their hands, always looking for ways to improve their game. Fun and excitement is not why they play. They’re in it for the money, period.
No, they’re not cheating
So, you wonder: “How can they play up to 24 tables at once? How do they keep track of the action and actually know what other players are doing? They must be cheating!”
Rest assured, they’re not. They do, however, run software that keeps track of all the hands played at their tables. This software will put all the hand history information in a database and show all sorts of statistics on their opponents on a heads-up display while they’re at a table.
Sharks and their HUDs
Using a heads-up display, or HUD, they’ll know at a glance what kind of player they’re facing. It will show them what percentage of hands you play, how often you raise, how often you will fold to a re-raise, and what percentage of the time you will fold in the big blind when someone raises and so on.
They’ll have all the stats from previous sessions at their disposal as soon as you sit down. With this information, they can make the right decision almost instantly.
Be smart about poker
This may sound a little scary, but don’t let this discourage you from playing. On the contrary. Let this motivate you to be smart about poker.
Be willing to study the fundamentals and avoid turning into one of those players who deposit money, lose it all in the first night and never come back. Before you know it you’ll be one of the multi-tabling regulars, beating up the newbies who were too impatient to actually learn a thing or two before they started playing.
Beginners-only tables
Even if you’ve done your homework, how are you supposed to deal with these regulars? The most obvious solution is to avoid them when possible. Avoid them like the plague!
Some sites offer “beginner’s tables”, only open to players who have recently signed up with the site. Don’t worry about being labelled “a beginner”. If you’re starting out, it doesn’t hurt to take a seat at one of those. It’s a great way to get started without being exposed to the sharks.
Pick the right site
You can also opt to play on a site which only allows for a small number of tables to be played simultaneously. Or pick a site which doesn’t support the use of HUDs or limits the amount of statistics players can import to their tracker software.
Don’t get involved
When you’re looking through the lobby of a poker site to find yourself a game, take a minute to browse through the tables. Check if there are players who appear to be playing in just about every game at your level. You may want to think twice about sitting down with them.
If you do, try not to get involved with them too much. Don’t even think about outplaying them. Many have tried before you and had their chips taken away. It also helps if you make notes on these regulars, so you know what you’re dealing with in the future.
Swallow your pride, save your chips
Don’t feel bad about avoiding certain players. Just swallow your pride. You’re not being a coward, you’re being smart.
In poker, you make money from other players’ mistakes. Since these regulars are most likely to make fewer mistakes than you, why bother? Save your chips and go for the easy money. There’s plenty of fish in the sea. Don’t worry, your time will come. Soon, you’ll be ready to dominate these regulars.
For now, just make sure you don’t become easy prey for the sharks.
The next article in our journey focuses on position - Why position matters.
