5 Most Reliable Online Poker Tactics
Ever wonder if there are any foolproof strategies in online poker that should never let you down? Well, the bad news is that there’s no magic formula to guarantee wins every time. And the good news is that some strategies are time-tested and consistently effective — you won’t guarantee wins with them but you’ll certainly increase the chances of those.
Mix Up Your Playstyle
If your opponents can read you like a book, they will adjust. That is, they will start countering your moves. For example, if you always play aggressively with strong hands and fold weak ones, any observant player will catch on quickly.
So a smarter thing to do is to mix in bluffs and semi-bluffs (we’ll cover these in more detail further on). Sometimes play a strong hand passively to throw them off. The idea is to be unpredictable. To practice this strategy, play poker on a platform with soft competition where you can meet opponents of different levels, including newbies.
If you learn to vary your playstyle, you’ll force your opponents to make mistakes. They can’t be sure if you’re bluffing or have the nuts. They are thus more likely to make incorrect calls or folds. Which is cool for you, right?
Semi-Bluff
A semi-bluff is when you play (bet or raise) with a hand that isn’t very good at the moment. But it has at least some potential to improve. This is effective because it combines the chance of winning the pot immediately with the chance of improving to a strong hand if called.
For example, imagine you have a flush draw or an open-ended straight draw. By betting, you can win the pot right away if your opponents fold. If they call, you still have a decent chance of hitting your draw on the next card.
The beauty of semi-bluffing is that it makes you harder to read. Plus, it allows you to win pots even when you don’t have the best hand at the moment. Of course, it works best on platforms that don’t allow tracking software. For example, you can safely practice it at JackPoker — as we see from the JackPoker review, such software is prohibited there and the competition is generally soft.
Bet Sizing Tells
Bet sizing can reveal something about an opponent’s hand strength. The thing is that many players unconsciously vary their bet sizes depending on the hand.
For instance, some players might make smaller bets with weaker hands. That’s because they hope to see the next card cheaply. Others might bet big with strong hands. It’s their way to protect against draws. Observe these patterns. They help you read their hands.
The Value Bet
You make such a bet when you want to be called by a worse hand. It’s a way (and a pretty effective one) to extract maximum value from your strong hands. The key is to accurately assess your opponent’s range and determine the optimal bet size to get called by weaker hands.
Let’s say you have a strong hand on the river. Of course, you can (and perhaps, want to ) make a huge bet. But that might scare off your opponent. So what you do is make a smaller one that they are more likely to call. The goal is to get the most value out of your hand and for that, you entice your opponent to call with a worse hand. All in all, it’s a delicate balance between betting enough to get called and not so much that they fold.
Psychological Weaknesses
You should have heard it many times that poker is a mental game. It really is. And this means that exploiting your opponents’ psychological weaknesses is actually a very good idea.
For example, some players go on tilt easily after a bad beat. If you apply pressure on them during these moments, you can force them into rash decisions. Others might be overly cautious after losing a big pot. These are prime targets for bluffs.
So do observe your opponents closely and look for signs of frustration, overconfidence, or fear. Use this information to exploit their mental state.
Final Thoughts
Of course, these strategies won’t necessarily turn you into a winner. But they will turn you into a better player. You will be in more control over your play and, as a result, enjoy it more, too.
