It is now easier than ever before to play poker online, with casino sites offering fast access to a range of these games. Before you get started, you might like to take a moment to consider the styles of play you will come across and how to discover your own style.
Loose or tight players
This definition refers to the number of hands that a player is likely to play. A loose player will play the majority of their hands, while a tight opponent might only see about 1 in 10 flops in Texas hold’ em games.
Of course, this is just part of the story, but it can be useful if you can work out the pattern behind an opponent’s play. For example, you might see the name “rock” used for players who take part in very few hands but like to bet big when they decide to play.
On the other hand, a “river rat” is someone whose strategy is based on calling just about any bet regardless of what they have in their hand. An expert, experienced poker player will work out the psychology of rivals and calculate how to try and beat them.
Passive or aggressive players
You can quickly see how aggressive or passive most players are. An aggressive player will be keen to raise and then carry on raising. The opposite type of style is passive, with this sort of player seldom making raises as they play.
An aggressive poker player will play virtually any hand, even if they start off with a very weak selection of cards. This player can be difficult to play against and will tend to take part in games where they either win a lot or lose a lot of money.
The term passive-aggressive is also used in poker. In this case, we are looking at an experienced card player who usually bets hard on hands they have a good chance of winning but is comfortable holding back when their chances are lower.
Find your own style
It is important to work out your own style and also to avoid being predictable, as this is what makes people easy to play against. No matter how hard you try, you will fit into one of the categories that expert poker players can spot, as everyone will fit into one of these groups of players.
The best idea is to start playing games with relatively low stakes at the best NJ online casino, where you will find variants like Casino Hold ‘em poker, Four Card poker, and Mississippi Stud. These games will give you different opportunities to try out your tactics and see how they work.
If you want to give yourself the best possible chance of winning, then you will want to spend more time learning about strategies and different ways of playing. But if you just want to have a good time, the information we have looked at here is probably enough for you to get started with confidence.