Common Myths About Online Poker
A few weeks ago, we gave you the basics of how to play Texas Hold’em. While there is a lot of literature out there on Texas Hold’em, there is still a lot of myth surrounding online poker. If anything, myths have gotten worse since the Poker Boom in the early 2000s.
Today, we will cover some of the common myths surrounding the online game and poker in general. This article will help you sort through some of the misinformation and help you move forward in your poker game.
Poker Sites are “Rigged”
Contrary to popular belief of many amateur players, online poker is in no way rigged. If anything, the online version is a fairer version of poker than the live version. Online games are dealt using random number generators and the results are remarkably more mixed than what you see in live poker.
If online poker rooms were indeed rigged, you would not see the rise of successful online players that you have seen over the years. You’d see more losing players and scam websites. If anything, RNGs make the playing field even and gives everyone a shot at winning.
Online Poker Players Do Not Analyze Your Play
Many people believe that they can go online and succeed at poker without any tools or any help. Sadly, that is not the case in today’s online poker landscape. Serious online poker players will take the time to analyze every aspect of their play and are usually using some form of program to analyze your play in real-time.
Heads-Up Displays or HUDs are commonplace amongst online poker players and a necessity if you plan to play online poker with any seriousness. Some online poker rooms are taking measures to eliminate the use of HUDs, but unless the site is using anonymous tables, there is still plenty of opportunities for players to analyze you play. This means you need to always be working on your game because if you don’t, someone will solve your style of play.
Learning Texas Hold’em is Enough
While there are still many people that focus on Texas Hold’em, many pros will tell you to learn something other than Hold’em. We’ve already covered the basics of Omaha poker, but you should probably learn at least the games of HORSE if you plan to become a well-rounded poker player.
Learning Omaha, Stud, Stud Hi-Lo, Razz, and other games will help give you additional revenue streams. When new games start to become popular, such as Short Deck Hold’em, you should start learning them. The quicker you learn new games, the more you can exploit other players.
High Rake is Not a Problem
Some of the biggest complaints over the last few years are over the amount of rake being collected by certain major online sites. The rake of online games has been steadily rising over the years. Casual players do not worry over rake too much, but the rake is a major concern for serious poker players.
If you are not calculating the rake into your sessions and your profits, you are costing yourself money. Compare the rake at poker sites and strive to reduce rake where you can. The less you pay in rake, the more money you can add to your bankroll.
Old School Online Poker Strategies Are Still Valid
Poker is an ever-evolving game, and that includes strategy. Many believe that basic strategy from the 1980s and 1990s still applies to poker. By and large, it does not. At least for Texas Hold’em. The game of Hold’em and Omaha has evolved so much since 2000 that strategies from before the Poker Boom are largely obsolete. They may work at the lowest stakes or in home games, but otherwise, they are long-term losers.
Now if you are talking strategy for games like Stud or Razz, older strategies can still benefit you. Your best bet is to work with newer strategies for flop-based poker games and a mix of strategies for other games. Ignore most Hold’em strategy from players who no longer play poker as it will be outdated.