One of the Biggest Advantages of Playing Online Poker

 One of the Biggest Advantages of Playing Online Poker

Friends of mine that are not very familiar with poker often ask me if it is much harder to play online poker since you can’t see your opponent and make decisions on their physical tells. I generally tell them that live tells even though they absolutely exist, aren’t as prominent as they are portrayed to be. There are definitely tells in online poker, but that is a subject for another day. Today we are here to discuss one of the biggest advantages of playing online and that is being able to take notes on the other players. Pretty much all of the online sites allow for you to label a player as a SHARK or a FISH, but although I feel that is important, I feel that it is more important to add notes. Just putting that someone is a “bad player” to me isn’t enough. It is more important to note why he is bad or more importantly what his tendencies are. A specific note that I find important is for those players that play extremely crazy in rebuy tournaments during the rebuy stage. There are many online grinders (both good and bad) that specifically look for huge double up or triple up spots especially early in tourneys. Having that note on these players will help you make a better decision when facing them in marginal spots.

Let’s get back to the details of notes on online players. With players that I consider to be solid, I generally put that in the notes. That to me means that they know most of the important concepts in poker. If I see something that they tend to do more often, such as 3 betting from the button or very aggressive in blind vs blind scenarios, I may add that note in there as well. The key to poker whether it be live or online is to take advantage of whatever you can based off the actions and tendencies of your opponents. Since many online players multi table, there are some that definitely play on auto pilot. I see some guys that ALWAYS do the same thing in a given situation. I’ve seen guys ALWAYS min raise button when folded to them or ALWAYS raising from small or big blind in a blind vs blind situation. Putting a note on these players regarding something that they always do can be super important.

On the other end, remember that other players will (or at least should) be taking notes on you. I will often add something in my notes on a player if I feel that they view me a specific way based off previous hands played against each other. It’s kind of a “I know that you know that I know what you are doing” vibe if you know what I mean. Remember, in poker, the more knowledge that you have about a player or a situation, the better chance you have of succeeding. Use that knowledge wisely and you will most surely make yourself some money.

---Frank DiRe @Fld15 

    Nerdthusiast Content Writer

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