There are so many thousands of poker players at each online poker room that you will likely play against several new players each time you take the table. These guys are unknown quantities and as such you will not have had the opportunity to gain an impression of their style of play. Are they loose, or tight? Do they play like a rock or do they have a tendency to go for gutshots. If you’ve played against a poker player online before, you can gain a picture of your opponents play. If not, you are walking into the unknown and that can cost you money. To be able to maximise your chances of making money at an online cash poker game there are two main areas that you need to analyse carefully; your opponents and the table stats. Prior to taking a seat at a cash game there is a great deal of information you can view about the specific table itself. It is important that you analyse the data at your disposal so you can make an informed decision as to whether the table is worth entering.
How to Select a Cash Game Table
Obviously the first thing that you need to do when in the poker room lobby is to select the stake that you are comfortable with. Once you have done this, it will likely leave you with 10’s of different tables to choose from. Most people will just click on a table at random and start playing away. On a number of levels this is an extremely foolish thing to do. It is akin to a racing driver turning up on race day expecting to win a race without having completed any practice laps or preparation. One of the great things about playing poker online is the amount of data you can get before you have even started playing on a table. In the lobby area you can usually check various statistics for each table such as –
- Number of players
- Names of players around the table
- Chip stack of each player
- Average pot size
- Percentage of players seeing the flop
- Hands played per hour
Based on the statistics on each table you can make fairly safe assumptions about the kind of game being played on each table. For example – If a table has a high average pot size with a high number of people seeing the flop on average, it would be fair to assume that the table consisted of some loose players that will call and raise frequently. A table with a large pot size but few players seeing the flop will usually mean there are some tight, aggressive players on the table. Typically these players won’t play a hand unless they have strong pocket cards so will often raise pre-flop and when in a hand the player will raise very aggressively. If there is a small pot with a high percentage of players seeing the flop, the game will usually be full of passive players that call the blinds and fold on the flop. Based on your read of the table you should opt for the table that will suit your table to the greatest extent.
Choose Your Opponents Wisely
A great facility that is present in most if not all online poker room software is the ability to view a live table whilst in play. If you are considering joining a cash game, you should watch the game carefully for a while and try to get an impression of the table dynamic. Is there a large stack in there bullying the other players? Can you spot a tell in any players? Is there a fish in there that you can exploit? By taking a few minutes and actually viewing a few hands you will be able to get an idea of what type of players you will be playing against free of charge. Most importantly if you spot weakness in one or more players, you may well have found the table to join. Some players take notes on their opposition if they find that they have come up against easy pickings or a highly skilled player to avoid in future. Simply writing down your findings can be fine. Alternatively there are notes fields which you can utilise which will allow you to write notes against a player you are playing against and the software will store the information for you. Poker room software will even allow you to search for particular players to see if they are online and if so what table they are on. So if you have been taking notes on weak players you might want to have a search for them to see if they are playing so you can join their table and take their chips. There is no mercy in online poker!
In Summary
When you have narrowed down the tables you want to play at based upon your stake value, there are two considerations to take into account – table stats and your opponents. If you have preferred opponents based either on their style of play or general lack of ability, try to seek them out using the online poker site search facility. Players tend to stay at similar stake levels when playing cash games so if their stake value is the same as yours, there is a chance they could be online at the same time as you. If so, try to join their table and focus your attention on bullying them out of their chips. If there are no preferred opponents online, you will need to do your homework on the actual table stats. For example, if you’re a tight aggressive player you might want to choose a table that has a high percentage flop rate and high pot value – in other words a table that likely features loose players. The best scenario is to have a favourable table that features your preferred weak players. If you happen to get this, set a few hours aside, stay out of the chat box and watch those chips fly!