Online poker is booming again with record numbers of players battling it out on all of the top sites.
With more and more recreational players entering tournaments to keep occupied during Coronavirus lockdown, it’s time for seasoned professionals to go back to the drawing board and tinker with their strategy.
Poker strategy constantly evolving
Before the initial online poker boom in the early 2000’s poker students had to go to the library and buy books like Doyle Brunson’s Super System to get an edge in live games.
When an influx of players started playing online, where the field was staggeringly weak, anyone who studied even an inch of poker strategy had a clear edge over opponents.
At 600 pages and bound by a heavy black cover, Doyle Brunson's Super/System resembles The Holy Bible 🙏 https://t.co/NuXpK5VCIJ
— PokerNews (@PokerNews) September 10, 2017
However, as the years rolled on so did the knowledge of players, many of whom began to spend more than 12 hours every day studying poker and reviewing hands.
As the field got tougher so did the emphasis on strategy, with tournament players beginning to play extremely tight, with some often seeing the flop with a hand less than 10% of the time.
This strategy worked to a certain degree but when the majority of players began to play in the same way it was much harder to achieve an edge.
Poker boom is back
It’s common knowledge that recreational players play poker more loosely while professionals are typically more conservative with their chips.
As a result, it’s important to examine which poker strategy will work against a more reckless type of opponent.
You can play tight and wait for premium hands like Kings or Queens in the knowledge that the opponent isn’t paying as much attention as a professional, or you could try and represent these hands while continuing to play a small amount of hands.
Online poker is going to fucking BOOM over these next few months
-more poker players will be playing & streaming causing more new players to try it out
-very soft games to keep people around & create more winners
-huge GTD tournaments will attract people w/ nothing to do
— LEGION | Joey Ingram 🐉 (@Joeingram1) March 22, 2020
The fact is that bluffing against recreational players is never usually a safe play as you’ll find that they will call three barrels on the river with Ace high.
This is why remaining patient while playing pocket pairs, high suited connectors and picture cards will be key.
Becoming profitable over a long period of time in poker is a law of averages. You want to ensure that every time you put chips into a put you are getting positive expected value (EV).
This means that even if you lose a hand on the river despite being a 95% favourite, over a long period of time you will continue to be successful.
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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author should not be considered as financial advice. We do not give advice on financial products.