You have played Holdem poker at the casino, or perhaps with your buddies, and you have played internet Texas Holdem, and now you are ready to work on your game. The question is should have have a different Holdem game, based on if it is online Texas hold em or not? The short answer is yes - you can't avoid the fact that internet Texas hold em is a different animal, but the long answer is worth exploring to learn exactly HOW your game should differ.
It does not make sense to play poker the same way with your penny-ante church friends as you would with high stakes cutthroats, so why would you assume you could take your physical card game and just translate it online? You have to make some adjustments.
What should stay the same
Before we talk about your internet Texas hold em game and how it should differ from your live Holdem poker game, let's look at how the online Texas hold em should stay the same as the other. After all, Holdem is Holdem. There are some rules that just will not change for internet Texas Holdem. In fact, no RULES will change, but since the environment will be different it neccisates that you take new factors into account.
What should NOT change is your smart Holdem poker play. Don't be throw good money after bad, don't play like a fish (unless you can profit from it, of course), use position to your advantage, play in the right stake level for your bankroll and experience level, etc. In other words, play smart poker.
What should change
When you log on to play internet Texas hold em you need to adjust to your game. Now, this really isn't a NEW rule. Any time you sit down at a new table, or new players join your table, or you play in a differnet location, you need to adjust your play to the circumstances, and internet Texas Holdem is no different. Online Texas hold em will require you to pay more attention to playing styles and patterns, and be aware of how fast the game is, but adjusting your play to the environment shouldn't be a new thing for you if you have been playing Holdem for awhile.
Here is what is true about playing online. The games are faster. There is no way to read tells on anything other than betting patterns. Outside of that, there are hardly any major differences worth noting.
When you play Holdem poker, especially internet Texas hold em, you have to make the adjustments that keep your head level, the cards working for you, and your opponents off-balance. Internet Texas Holdem provides a great opportunity to learn because you can play so much of it, mostly at your convenience. Just be smart when you play online Texas hold em and stick to the low stakes until you know what you are doing.
