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Online Poker Facts

Online Poker Fact #1

Welcome to our guide to some online poker facts . Lets begin by pointing out that online poker is not the same as online gambling, contrary to belief. If you were to deposit your money into an account in a casino, one thing is certain and that is that you will lose your money. You may win in any given day but in the long run you will not. This is a key difference between gambling and online poker. You must also consider that the house cannot be beat and so taking it on is a risky business. It is just not possible to come out on top in the long run, for the very same reason that you cannot beat Vegas. If Vegas could have been beat, it would have been done by now. The fact that it is still there taking in billions each year proves the point.

Online Poker Fact #2

The second fact is that most players lose playing online poker in the long run either because they are not good enough or don't spend enough time to learn how to really play. This is not meant to put you off as we would encourage you to play poker online as it is a fantastic game. All we would advise is that you take the game in your stride and learn how to play before you lose your hard earned money. Realize that most people lose because they don't take the time to learn the game properly and thus the casual poker enthusiast routinely falls victim to the genuinely skilled (educated) and dedicated poker player. This is all too common. Take a look at our poker strategy section if you are new to poker as we have some very thorough no limit strategy guides for you. Secondly, nearly every online poker room charges you to play on their site. This charge is called rake. If all poker players were of equal skill, all players would lose in the long run and the house would win. As all players are not equal, the vast majority of players end up paying the house and the talented few.

The combination of laziness to learn the game properly and the take into account the rake that is taken, typically results in players ending up at a loss. Most players don't like to admit this and go to great lengths to convince themselves (and those around them) that they are breaking even or making money. When loses start to become a common factor, even the occasional big win cannot overshadow the statistical facts and the figures your bank statements tell. As a result, most people convince themselves that online poker conspires against them. That is wrong. These people lose because they are generally poor players and don't make the strategic adjustments required to play poker on the internet. Don't fall into this category of player. See our online poker tips and read our guide to making money playing online poker.

Your job then is to be in the minority of winners. You will have to adjust to the online game and surrender your reliance on certain skills you may posses, like reading face and body tells and you will have to become more reliant on statistical data. Top 15 poker is committed to providing you with poker learning to ensure that you become and stay a winning player. Visit our poker strategy section and get yourself some reading material as this will provide insight into some of the great poker players minds.

Online Poker Fact #3

Third fact is that it is extremely hard to play your best game online. When you play in a brick and mortar game you are emotionally and behaviorally prepared. You put on your poker face and begin to amass information about your opponents through tells. There is so much information that you will get from players chat and mannerisms. All this goes out the window online. You no longer can count your chips, see players faces and voices or welcome the sight of a trembling hand or dry throat. You have just your computer screen and whilst you still get visual and audio cues, these cues are representational cues and are not real. This will affect your game so it is important to learn about the game so that you are prepared when you play online.

Online Poker Fact #4

Fact four is that everything happens a lot quicker online. From the time you get in to your house at night, with the relatively fast download or loading of poker software, you can be seated in a couple of minutes. Everything will happen faster. In a live game when you take a bad beat you may have a couple of minutes for the dealer to shuffle and then re-deal and this is welcome time for you to compose yourself. Online you can be facing another important decision almost immediately.

You will find the blinds come round more quickly and at times fast play can result in an unbelievably fast game. Just be prepared to have less time to make decisions. Also bear in mind that fast play magnifies mistakes as you have less time to come to the correct decision. Not all bad as your strengths are also magnified. Learn the game properly and these are things that you can exploit from lesser opponents.

Facts Summary

The moral of the story is that online poker is a different game to live poker games. There are different tells and different skills you need to learn if you are to make a success of yourself online. Understand that some people win and some lose online. Preparation and learning is the only key to success.

If you are looking to get right into the action compare all poker rooms for all poker games.

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