There are at least three fundamental skills you must learn before you go on a roll in agen poker qq. Obviously learn the cards. That is understand how cards combine into winning combinations in Texas Holdem poker. How different combinations rank against each other. Most of the players you will encounter do know that.
But those hours you spent online will pay off there. Since you played for free you could afford playing more hands. More practice made you faster and more comfortable running card combinations in your mind. The other two skills are being observant and adapting to current playing style. What is there to observe online you might ask? Even in online poker you can observe a lot. Watch how much time your opponents take to respond. Make mental notes how they respond to different situations.
Discern patterns in their play. It sounds like a lot of work. That is because it is but so is walking. You do not consider walking hard because you learned it once and it became you nature through constant practice. It works the same with poker skills. Finally, adapting means adjusting your game to take maximum advantage of specific individuals seated at your specific table now. You cannot play mechanically applying “best practice” rules like raise with your good cards and fold your junk cards. I want you to do better than that.
Here your sharp observation starts bearing fruit. You will notice that a raise from maniac means a lot less that a raise from a tight, cautious player. Betting out into four players after a raise on previous round says a lot more that an automatic bet on the flop. You have to adjust your play by loosening up and tightening down as opportunities come and go. There is one thing I learned well – playing poker is fun and playing is the important thing. But playing and winning is even more fun. Spend a little time preparing then you can enter on your own terms and be a dangerous opponent not a fish.
Where to Go Online
This is a brief section because the answer is easy. Find a site with Fixed Limit and No Limit poker which loads fast and its graphics are functional but sparse. I find that many gambling themed sites are heavy on flashy in-your-face graphics which confuse me and turn me off. You want to avoid those and seek out poker rooms where graphics are simple, functional and basically “get-out-of-the-way” for you to focus on poker. You have plenty of choices from feature-rich, downloadable software by large commercial online cardrooms with an excellent support for Windows and Mac. On the other end of spectrum is free no download poker software playable in a web browser. Such no download clients still offers full-featured Texas Holdem poker yet playable even on iPad or smartphone.
Where to Learn Poker Strategy
The pointers I gave in this article are only bare basics that get you started on the right foot in poker. However there is plenty more if you wish to improve your game. Depending on your personal way to learn and how you digest information you can go one of the two ways. Either spend a lot of time on poker forums interacting with fellow new players and learning via social group. It can be fun and pretty motivating but be prepared to spend some time. Another way is buying a book and really working through it. For the best value I recommend Small Stakes Hold ’em: Winning Big With Expert Play by Ed Miller and David Sklansky. The book is solid, methodical yet readable and covers all aspects of winning in poker.