Responsible Gaming

And so the training begins…

Posted by Waldorf 1 on 17 Sep 2008 at 08:09

Hi everyone. Waldorf1 here.

Last night I taught Adam the basics of playing poker online and he entered his first online tournament – he’ll tell you about this later. Here’s a few of my own dos and don’ts when it comes to playing poker that I took him through:

1. Do . . . try beginners’ freerolls

As a new online account holder you’ll often be able to participate in beginners’ freerolls. What’s that mean? Well, they cost you nothing and you can still win hard cash. Even better, because these tournaments are closed to more experienced players you’re not going to become “shark” bait at the first attempt!

Use beginners’ freerolls and ‘play for fun’ tables to hone your skills and familiarise yourself with the software.

2. Don’t . . . play too many hands

Don’t be scared to fold. If you consider yourself a beginner then wait to be dealt good, “premium” hole cards (starting cards) before getting involved in the action. For example Ace-Ace, King-King, Queen-Queen, Ace-King . . . . Remember that on average professional poker players only play between 25-30% of their starting hands.

As Kenny Rogers once said “You gotta know when to hold’em, know when to fold’em!”

3. Don't . . . play drunk

Whether you’re playing in the casino or online in the comfort of your own home, playing under the influence of alcohol will affect your game. So stay away from the booze if you don’t want to lose!

4. Don't . . . Play at too high limits

Know your limits and when you fancy stepping up a level, only do it cautiously. There is a massive difference between the standard of play at a $1/$2 limit cash table, and a $5/$10 no limit cash table. Whatever you do don’t chuck all your hard earned bank roll away on your first visit to a higher limit table.

5. Do . . . play multiple cash games

Fancy yourself as a pro? Think you can earn money by playing online . . . play multi-table 4 x $1 / $2 no-limit cash tables rather than 1 x $4 / $8 no- limit cash table . . . then only play super premium hands (A-A, K-K, Q-Q, J-J, T-T, A-K, A-Q, A-J, A-T and maybe 9-9, also play the ‘big blind’...obviously!)

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