Hold or Fold: Quick Decisions of Online Poker

Playing poker online can be tremendous fun. Many people play both via the Internet and in their living rooms, for the many varieties of games within poker rarely lets a player get bored. Someone may play online one weekend, risking a few pounds, and play with friends once a month, risking only bragging rights.

Playing online grants an anonymity that can be both advantageous and disadvantageous.

It can be much easier to overextend spending with no representative chips to track, but a player’s physical hints of card strength—his “tells”–are hidden from others. Betting patterns may indicate what a player may be holding, but nervous twitches or habits cannot be physically seen.

If you are the player trying to bluff, however, the fact that those “tells” of yours are hidden are actually a good thing! Too bad you can’t tell how confident the other players are.

Playing online usually is faster paced than real world games are. Fewer pauses for drinks, breaks and snack runs cause the game to progress much more quickly.

When you want a quick game, one is available almost every our of the day somewhere online. Don’t overextend beyond what you can afford to lose and keep the game fun! Good luck!