Real money poker is huge. We’re not understating it either — if you’re a poker newbie, know that the competition for online poker is intense. If you’re going to play for real money, you have to realize that there are people out there that will work very hard to take every dime you put on the table. It’s just in their nature. They are playing to win. This is why it’s good to take breaks from poker, because you don’t want to get so sucked into the game that you forget what real life is about. It’s not always about competition and going head to head. If you don’t have the skill you need, you need to make sure that you practice until you have it down pat.
The biggest mistake that any poker player can do is entering the field when they really aren’t ready to play. If you’re stuck at work thinking about what a jerk your boss really is, you’re not ready to play poker. You need to mentally leave that stuff behind and think only of the action at the table. This will earn you a lot more money in the long run than if you were to just hope everything will smooth itself out. That’s just not the way poker goes. You have to make sure that you’re focused on doing all of the right things before anything else. This means going with solid poker theory.
Playing from the gut or going on hunches will make you broke. If you want to spend your money that way, fine. It’s entertainment, after all. You’re free to do whatever you want to do. However, may we make a suggestion? Learn poker theory. Practice it over and over until the rules are memorized for you. You should have a basic strategy that you love enough to play well, but that you’re not so in love with that you never do anything major. You have to make changes to your poker game every once in a while. This is true if you don’t have around to other casinos. You’re going to develop a pattern that will be used against you. There’s just no other way around it. You can’t just hope that everything will be okay. As a poker player, you have to take control of your life. You have to become captain of your own ship. You have to become someone that isn’t afraid to take risks.
If you can do that, a whole world awaits you.
If you want tips on playing better poker from the beginning, you have to start with the first one: know that there’s a time for practice. Don’t be so quick to involve money. Sure, it’s nice to make some poker wins with real cash but you can lose so much money. Make sure that your gambling money is separate from the rest of your money. There are a lot of people who believe that they can just jump in and be professional poker players. They think that it’s the ticket to a very easy life. This couldn’t be further from the truth. You’re going to need to make sure that you’re taking your time with poker.
Poker has overlap with investing. Just as big time investors starting out papertrading without real money, you’re going to have to gamble without real money. Playing as a practice player will help your strategy tremendously. It means that you aren’t paying with real cash for the mistakes that you are bound to make along the way.
Mistakes should make you tougher, not weaker. You’re going to have bad days as a poker player. You might as well get them out of the way. The power of mental clarity is something that just can’t be put into words. You have to think about the type of fun that you’re going to have. For hardcore poker players, the idea of going head to head against other people really is their idea of a good time. Don’t worry if you’re not there yet.
There is a social side of the poker community. Even though some veterans want to quickly label you as a donk, there are others that see themselves reflected in your timid actions. There’s a seat at the poker table for everyone, including you. People how tease you skip over the fact that they were once inexperienced. They forget that everyone has days where they’re not playing as well as they could. Go easy on everyone that you meet. They’re fighting a tough battle and they could use all of the help they can get.
All is fair in term so poker play. Don’t go so easy on people that you let them win pots. That might be okay when you’re just practicing but real money poker is a completely different story. Only you can determine when you’re ready for the big leagues. If you’re worried about going through too much bankroll, you need to stick with micro-stakes until things even out for you. Good luck!