Texas Hold'em Poker

Playing online poker has become big business over the past decade. In particular, the game of Texas Hold'em attracts millions of people online every single day. The mistake many people make when playing poker online is that they simply jump straight in with no prior knowledge of the game. Here at TexProPoker we aim to keep you clued up on the game so you can become a winning poker player...

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How Free Play Poker Changes Your Strategy

Posted by Pro Poker Player | Posted in Poker Online, Poker Strategy | Posted on 23-09-2008

Playing poker without having real money bets is a great way to learn the game. It lets you learn which hands are best and which are worst. It can teach you when you should bet and when you should fold. It can even teach you some of the more advanced bluffing strategies.

The best thing you can learn from free play poker is that you can get into situations that are complex without having to pay a lot of money to get there. Thus, you can get some high-level experience without having to lose money in the process.

However, there is a major flaw in free play poker. Without risking real money people, bet differently and play differently. It’s like the difference between playing poker with your buddies and playing poker at a World Series of Poker tournament. It’s a completely different game, for obvious reasons.

In a free play game, you can take risks that you would never take if you are using real money. For example, if you are down on chips and a free play game, you might keep betting when you shouldn’t. It doesn’t matter if you lose, you get more chips no matter what. In a real money game, when you run out of money you’re done.

That doesn’t seem like it would be a big deal, but the difference in how you’ll make decisions because of that is huge. The difference is also significant in how your opponents will play. Often times they will go all in on a bluff, because there is no real penalty of loss. That penalty is a huge factor.

Knowing this, you will likely change your strategy significantly when you play free. If you know that your opponents are going to bluff when they shouldn’t, you can often make money just on the fact that they’re willing to make dumb decisions and you might not be. Many people play conservative in a real money game, but not many people play conservative when they’re not risking any real loss.

Use this idea to your advantage the next time you’re practicing online in a free game. Being contrary to the rest can likely give you a competitive advantage that most people would never think about.