How to Become a Professional Online Poker Player

Becoming a professional poker player online, in the simplest form, means that you want to earn a living by playing poker. Do not be confused by the notion that a professional poker player is one who wins every time, that simply is not true. A professional in any field is merely a person who makes a living off of their chosen profession.

In the case of becoming an online professional poker player, you want to learn how to 'make a living' playing poker. That task is actually easier than one may think if you have the discipline to apply certain strategies and set certain goals and boundaries.

The first step, and likely the easiest, is to learn the basics of the game. Once you understand the basic concept of the game, you can take it to the next level and begin to learn poker strategy. A convenient way to learn the basics of the game is to play online poker at one of the many poker sites on the Internet.

As you progress in learning the basics, you can begin to use poker strategies that will help your game. However, the strategies are not as important as learning how to maintain your bankroll. If you intend to remain a professional, you must also maintain a reserve of cash to continue in your venture as a professional poker player.

A few other important disciplines in becoming a professional Poker Player is to learn:

How to lay down a hand when you believe you may be beat

How to figure out what your opponent is holding

How to effectively read a board (the flop, turn and river)

How to bet to get the maximum return on your winning hands

One of the biggest misconceptions is that a professional will always win, that is hardly true as anyone can see a professional in any sport does not always win, however the key is consistency. A good professional will cash about 1 out of 5 times or 20% of the time. This means that out of every 5 sessions or tournaments you play you should make a profit.

The key to becoming a professional poker player online is to win consistently. If you lose too often, you will blow your bankroll and have nothing more to continue as a professional poker player. This is the reason it is very important to learn how online poker sites work, how to manage your bankroll and poker strategies to avoid constant bad beats.

Tips on How To Survive A Losing Streak

Surviving a losing streak is one of the most difficult situations any gambler can experience and hopefully overcome. And I think everyone knows that the casino has the edge on most games and the house module win in the long run. The biggest problem with any losing streak is the gambler does not know when it module end, but knows that it module end. Losing streaks take a toll on the gambler's wager and also on their confidence. It is this double dose of negativity that makes a losing streak so hard to deal with. Here are some tips to survive your losing streak.

Tilt

Going on tilt is the countenance used when poker players become status and lose control of their emotions. Consequently they start making poor decisions and play badly and irrationally. Going on tilt is not confined just to poker players. Anyone who gambles on any casino games and online casino games can find themselves on tilt. Once a player starts losing money they are a prime candidate. They have lost money and they try to make it back quickly by raising the size of their bets or playing a higher denomination slot machine. This module usually just lead to more losses.

Take a day off

One way to survive is to just stop playing for a while. If you are visiting the casino and online casino for several days as I was, you don't have the option of going bag but that does not mean you have to stay in the casino and gamble. I knew that I had to get away from the gambling for a while. This module work, but if gambling is a major conception of your life, this is hard to do. Another element of play should be directly place into play.

Go For a Walk

If deep breathing does not help soothe you, get up and leave the table or machine. Take a walk around the casino to get away for a few minutes. If the walk does not stabilize you down, go to the rest room and wash your face and hands with cool water. If you are still opinion status then you should take a longer break. Go get something to eat or drink. Sitting down to savor a cup of coffee or a soft drink can help you to relax. (You should avoid drinking anything alcoholic when you are upset.) If that doesn't work then quit for the day and go home.

Gambling cycles like all components in life. Losing sessions can follow winning gaming sessions. No trend module stay in play forever, however the losing streaks are a conception of gambling and must be addressed by each player. It module happen to each player. How it is dealt with module determine how seriously the affect is on the gambler. Knowing what to do and doing it is the answer to this perverse side of gambling.

The Two Basic Kinds of Bluffs

There are 2 major kinds of bluffs:


Pure bluff -- When a player makes a pure bluff, he bets or raises with a bad hand that has little to no chance of improving. For example, if in five-card draw, a player has nothing but a king-high and raises, hoping everyone will fold.


Semi-bluff -- When a player bets on a hand that is probably not the best hand at the moment, but has a chance of improving later in the hand, it is called a semi-bluff. For example, if a player has 4 cards to a straight or flush in Texas Hold’em on the flop and bets, that’s a semi-bluff.

Do's and Dont's On Bluffing

Many players make the mistake of thinking that bluffing means that every X number of hands, you must pretend you have a big hand, no matter what he/she has or what other players appear to have. That technically may be bluffing, since that player is trying to represent a bigger hand than they have -- but if you don’t pay attention to the other players and pick your spots, bluffing can be a costly part of poker.


Remember: While bluffing is an essential skill to learn, it is not a mandate or rule of poker. Poker does not care how much or how often you bet. You will not be measured by how often you bluff, but by how often it works.



The Best Times to Bluff are when you can meet at least one of the following conditions:

• You are in late position and no one before you is representing a strong hand
• The board cards or cards you have showing make it possible for you to represent a strong hand
• You have a table image of a rock
• You have read other players' tells and sense they are weak and will fold to a bet or raise
• You are facing only one opponent

The Worst Times to Bluff are:

• When you know a player still in the hand is the kind who never folds
• When a player has so much money in the pot that your raise or bet will not be enough to force him to fold
• There are still many players in the hand

What Does It Mean To Bluff?

Bluffing is one of the key elements of poker and what makes it such a great game. If in every game of poker, every player knew every other players’ cards, the best hand would always win. What fun is that? But the fact that poker is a game of imperfect, incomplete information makes it possible to win just by representing that you have the best hand -- and getting the other players to believe you. That’s what it means to bluff.


In it’s simplest terms, to bluff means to bet or raise with an inferior or weak hand. Bluffing is an essential skill for a good poker player, and it’s important to understand how and when to bluff if you want to be a winning player.


It’s easy to win when you get dealt aces every hand, but the odds are against that. In order to be a profitable player, you’ll need to be able to win even with inferior cards.


On the other hand, if you bluff too much and in the wrong situations, you’ll also be a losing player, so balance is important.

Top Ten Worst Hands

1. 2-7

7-2 off suit is considered the worst hand in Texas Hold'em. They are the lowest two cards you can have that cannot make a straight (there's 4 cards between 2 and 7). Even if they are suited, they will make you a very low flush, and if either pairs, it's an awfully low hand.

Because it is the worst, some players will play it for fun and in online games, it is known as "the hammer."

2. 2-8

This is the same basic problem as above, only you've got an 8 instead of a 7. Still pretty bad for a high card. Suited or not, this is a fold'em hold'em hand.

3. Tie: 3-8 & 3-7

The 3 makes this hand able to beat the two above it, but with the 3-8 you still can't make a straight and the 3-7 still, well, just sucks.

4. 2-6

While if the board gives you a miracle flop of 3-4-5, you will have a straight, someone with a 6-7 will have a higher straight. If you get a flush, someone will probably have a higher flush. Against even 4 players, this hand will lose about 90% of the time. Not good odds.

5. Tie: 2-9, 3-9, & 4-9

The only thing these three hands have going for them over the hands above is the 9. If the 9 pairs, you'll have a middle pair that could still be beat by anyone holding pocket 10s, jacks, queens, kings, or aces, yet you might be fooled by a board filled with low cards into thinking you have the best hand and losing a lot of money. No straights can fill the gap between these cards, either. Beware.

6. 2-10

This hand has a legendary quality because Doyle Brunson captured two World Series of Poker Bracelets with it. But it's not a good hand -- Doyle Brunson is one of the all-time best in the game and unless you're a Texas road gambler who's logged thousands of hours at the table, you shouldn't try and win with the Doyle Brunson.

7. 5-9

Another hand people play because it's fun is the old 9 to 5, the "Dolly Parton." If you're playing to win, it's not a good idea to play hands because they have a funny name. That may be how you pick the winning horse in a race, but poker's a marathon, not a sprint, and over the long term there's no doubt this hand is a statistical loser.

8. Tie: 4-7, 4-8, 5-8, 3-6...

All these hands will rarely win, especially unsuited. Toss 'em. Just toss'em. Yes, even in the little blind. If you see two low cards in the hole, unless you're in the big blind and you can see the flop for free, fold.

9. Face card + low card, unsuited

One of the most common mistakes I see beginners make is that when they see any paint in their hand, they play it. J-2, Q-3, K-4 whatever -- and most of these hands are losers. They're junk that may win a few pots, but more often will lose you huge cash when you find the other player has a higher kicker and the winning hand.

10. Ace + low card, unsuited

This is another common beginner mistake, playing any ace. Again, it may win occasionally, and heads-up it's a fine hand, but at a table of 4 or more, this hand shouldn't be played if there's a raise in front of you. You're going to be outkicked a lot with Ace-little, and it's going to feel like a kick in the junk when the other player shows their higher ace.

Top Ten Best Hands

1. Ace-Ace

This is the best Hold'em poker hand you can hope to have. It's the best of the best, and will win more than any other hand. Also known as American Airlines, pocket rockets, and bullets.

2. King-King

This 2nd-best hold'em hand is still incredibly strong and will win you a good chunk of change. Two kings, or "cowboys" are only dominated by aces.

3. Queen-Queen

Two queens, or "ladies" are a very good hand. Sure, kings and aces will beat you, but you've got the upper hand on jacks and below.

4. Ace-King

Ace-king is a strong but tricky hand. It is the strongest of the drawing hands, but the flop needs to work with you to give you a pair of aces or kings for it to really pay off. Suited it is slightly stronger than unsuited, as then you can also make the nut flush much more easily.

5. Jack-Jack

A pair of jacks, ten-handed, will win almost 20% of the time. If the flop shows a queen, king, or ace, watch out, but otherwise, it's smooth sailing.

6. Ace-Queen

Ace-queen is the second best drawing hand, and when suited, will win about 20% of the time as well.

7. King-Queen

King-queen, especially suited, is a great drawing hand that is only afraid of an Ace falling on the board.

8. Ace-Jack

Ace-jack is another great drawing hand. Suited is always better here, but unsuited is still playable.

9. King-Jack

King-jack, especially in later positions, is a fine hand to play, but can be beat by any of the hands listed above and should be folded to big raises. Statistically, suited it will win just under 19% of the time, but unsuited that drops to just 15%.

10. Ace-Ten

Ace-ten is still a good hand -- you've got the ace, and can make a straight if the miracle J-Q-K falls on the board. But be wary of playing it too strong, especially unsuited, as if all you end up with is a pair of aces, you may be out-kicked.