Choosing
a game
Make use of all that
lobby list information to find the best games you can! If
you like to play shorthanded, for example, it's not only
easier online to find three or four-handed start-up games,
but to jump in and out of them faster than a Mexican jumping
bean, happily navigating from games screen to games screen
while (hopefully) racking up profits.
Unlike in brick and
mortar casinos, you'll never annoy the staff if you hopscotch
between tables and games. Online, away from all those pedestrian
physical reality matters requiring salaried casino staff
- like dealer rotation, seating of new players, and breaking
down inactive games - nobody cares whether you play one
hand per session or ten thousand nor does anyone care if
you change tables a dozen or more times per hour.
For all the other
players know, you may have just left for work, had something
urgent come up at home or in the office, lost your Internet
connection, or just dropped dead. To them, you're just an
anonymous blip with a screen name.
But Internet anonymity
is a double-edged sword. Online, you can't stereotype opponents
by age, dress, gender, games familiarity, or apparent experience
with chip riffling or other manual poker skills. Therefore,
take advantage of all info given on the lobby or games screen
player list (such as city or country of residence) to surmise
whatever you can. Just remember to take such possibly deceptive
nuggets with a grain of salt and stand ready to revise your
conclusions later.
In some cases knowing
as little as a player's place of residence may be valuable.
It's a known fact, for example, that Europeans are far more
accustomed to pot-limit play than Americans, so unless you're
highly skilled at this betting structure, you'll want to
avoid a pot-limit games comprised mostly of players from
the other side of the pond.
Another thing you
should look for is folks playing in more than one games at
a time. Even if they play well, they may be more easily
distracted or bluffed. On the downside. they may play more
slowly: games with several multitasking players are likely
to be slower than others. But if you stick to one games and
remain attentive, you have an advantage over anyone whose
attention is split - just one more factor to consider when
choosing a game.
Last but not least, you'll be able to see if players are
waiting for the games. If so, double-clicking on the table
name brings up a pop-up screen on which you can join the
waiting list m. A lengthy waiting list may indicate an especially
good games with many "live ones" - newbies; folks
on tilt; maniacs gambling it up; tired, intoxicated or undisciplined
players; or players who just play poorly.
If there are many
more players on the waiting list for one table than for
others of the same games and limits, you're on the right
track. Join the list immediately and then observe the games
- you can always play in another games while waiting. After
you've verified your assumption that the games is relatively
easy to beat, you can remain on the list until you're called
to the table. On the other hand, if you don't like the looks
of the games after observing for a while, you can just remove
your name from the waiting list.
While observing, take notes! Jot down - using either the
site's note-taking feature, if offered, or your own noteSite
- of any poor or unusual play you observe. Determine likely
"calling stations," check-raisers, outrageous
bluffers, and tight players. Also list the screen name and
table stake of each player. Note: Even if a site's software
provides for note taking - allowing you to store typed notes
for that session and even save them to your hard drive -
the note-taking function may not work until you're actually
seated at the table. If so, use a noteSite and transfer
your pre-games observations to the games screen apparatus
later.
