Thinking Through an Online Poker Hand
In order for you to progress in online poker, you need to think beyond the cards that you play. There are various situational factors that you have to keep in mind when determining the expected value of your poker decisions. These factors will depend mostly on whether you are playing a poker tournament or a cash game.
Situations factors in online poker
There are various layers of complexity involved in poker that makes this game extra special. Here are the main and primary situational factors to consider during poker tournament play.
- The Stage of the Tournament (Early, final table, etc.)
- Number of players at the table
- Playing styles and personalities of players
- Your image at the table
- Your stack size in relation to the blinds and antes as well as that to others at the table
- You position relative to your opponents
- Action that has occurred before you
- Number and type of players left to act after you
- The pot odds
- Your position post-flop
- Your cards
Decision making in online poker
In online poker, the cards you hold have a higher weight in your decision making process that they should due to the fact that you see your cards first. You also need to train yourself to detach the value of your hand until you’ve seen the action unfold in front of you.
- Observe the action
- Think about situational factors and tendencies of other players
- Put each opponent on a range of hands
- Pick up a hand that is conductive to actions
- Narrow down possible actions to take and how your opponents would react
- Act