Online poker takes the concept of a land-based casino and cranks it up to a whole new level. The game can be played from the comfort of your home on a computer, tablet or mobile phone. The stakes can range from free to satellite entries into the world’s best live tournaments.
The landscape of online poker learning has changed quite dramatically since the heydays of the Moneymaker boom. Back then there were a few good poker forums worth visiting, a couple pieces of software to learn with and a limited number of books that deserved a read. Today there are an almost infinite number of poker forums to join, Discord channels and FB groups to discuss poker in as well as hundreds of poker programs to help you learn and improve your game.
It is hard to know where to begin with deciding how to learn poker. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of “YouTubers” and poker streamers who claim to teach players how to play the game. However, the vast majority of this content is of very low quality and will only hurt your game. There are a few paid poker training sites that provide high quality video training, but this is not cheap.
In order to maximize your chances of winning at the poker tables it is important to be able to read your opponents and understand their betting tendencies. Online poker offers a different set of challenges as players can’t physically read tells and must use their own mental and emotional skills to size up their opponents. However, with proper poker study and the right strategy it is still possible to dominate online.
One way to increase your edge is by learning to play other poker variants such as PLO. These games have unique math and strategy that most players don’t spend much time on, so learning about them can give you a massive advantage over your competition.
Using poker software like Poker Copilot can be a great tool to help you analyze your game and identify areas for improvement. The software allows you to track your poker results over a period of time and compare different types of sessions. For example, you can see how you perform in heads-up versus 6-max, or how your win-rate changes with the number of flops seen.
Once you have a solid understanding of the basic rules of poker, it’s time to start playing for real cash! The best poker sites will accept a variety of payment methods including credit cards, debit cards, pre-paid cards, bank transfers, third party eWallets and even eChecks. It is important to choose a poker site that offers a secure environment and to follow all of the recommended deposit and withdrawal methods. Fortunately, it is becoming increasingly easy to find legal, regulated poker sites in the USA. For more information on that subject check out our article on US poker sites.