Before you do what nearly every new online player does, which I have come to learn the process as “The Newbie Circle of Death,” I have 5 very basic ideas for you to take into consideration. (This article is not for advanced players or peoplepoker online who want to tweak their game. This guide is designed as nothing more than to help new players avoid the mistakes I have made. I do not take credit for all of these ideas, and I have learned them as I went along; but I describe everything in a way that makes the most sense to me.)
1) You don’t know what you don’t know. This was my biggest problem, I simply just did not know. You may not be in the same position I was, but if I had to guess, I would think you are. You probably have seen poker on television and thought, “wow, if he can be on tv I can too!” or “I crush my home game every week, I want to quit my job and play!” This was my attitude as I was getting started and I came to realize it was my biggest downfall.
It is great to have confidence in your game and to believe you are a winning player. However, belief and facts are two completely different things. Let’s take a look at my personal situation. I started to play poker after I watched the 2003 World Series of Poker on ESPN. I saw the bad beats, the big bluffs, and of course, the money. I wanted in. I knew nothing about the game except there was a lot of money on the line. But let’s look a little closer.
Do you know why televised poker is so successful? Because they choose what you watch. What most people do not realize, is that one hour poker program you just watched was actually a 10 hour long final table battle. Before that 10 hour long final table, it was a 3 day event of hundreds (sometimes thousands) of people playing for 10-12 hours every day.
Now, after saying that consider this. Remember I said they choose what you watch? Well, they choose to show you the most exciting confrontations. Those big bluffs, the amazing call downs with bottom pair, the one-outers on the river; sure they are a part of the game, but not a very large one. But, if you are anything like I was, I wanted to do just that! I wanted to feel that I pushed someone around, or that I earned a pot. It felt good to me, and when it worked, I was the best. But when it didn’t work, “How could he call me with that?!?”
Also, let’s look at your home game. Have you ever stopped to evaluate the caliber of your friends play? The people you are playing with are probably so bad to the point where you might think you are good. In my experience, I have played with some people who did not know what blinds were, played every single hand, did not know you could raise preflop, etc. You can notice these things and not be good yourself, just better than the worst. Do not let this go to your head thinking you are a poker God.
Primarily, when people start out playing online poker they start small. All online poker rooms have cash game as low as $.05 – $.10 blinds, and tournaments that you can play for a little as $1. Let me share with you a little secret; you need not be fancy when playing low stakes. I have beaten low and mid stakes no-limit hold’em for years, and I wouldn’t even consider myself a top notch player. You just need to have an ABC method of what to do. Learn basic preflop strategy, learn basic postflop strategy, and learn about position. These are 3 very basic principles and in my opinion are the foundation to a solid poker game. I will vaguely touch base with them, but not in detail, that is for a different article. Also, if I went into every possible situation or hand, this would be a very long read.
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