Playing Poker Home Games vs. Online Poker

IN THIS ISSUE:
* Playing Home Games vs. Playing Online

PLAYING HOME GAMES VS. PLAYING ONLINE

Most people meet up at a friendís house to play poker for fun. The ante would be a fixed amount of chips, and an example of the betting spread would a minimum of five chips to a maximum of twenty chips per round.

Playing casual games like these are simple: bet then call or bet, raise, then call. What does anyone really care? These home games are simply for bragging rights. Even though the person with the hottest cards wins at the showdown, it doesnít necessarily mean that person played his/her hands well at all.

There are three ways that make playing online different from the casual home game: the ante structure, the betting structures, and the skill levels.

* Ante Structure
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First of all, this is a trick paragraph. There is no ante unless you are playing 7-card stud. The betting is made according to blinds or forced bets where the person to the left of the dealer button must pay the small blind and the subsequent person must pay the big blind. The button, the small blind, and the big blind rotate from person to person at the table.

This ensures that everyone pays a little something to participate in the game. Otherwise any wuss could fold throughout the entire game and not lose a penny. All other players are not forced to bet to receive cards after the flop, but they must match the big blind or any raise to stay in the game and to see the flop.

* Betting Structures
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What separates the maximum amount a player could bet per round in an online game is called big bet poker, such as no-limit. Youíd still have to bet the minimum, but the maximum is restricted only to the number of chips youíre holding.

Although you may be limited in the amount of chips you have, I must debunk a common no-limit myth. Just because someone bets with more chips than you actually have, does not mean you must fold. Take this case where Player 2 and 3 each have $100:
- You have only $25 to call (and to go all-in).
- Player 2 bets $50.
- And Player 3 calls $50.
- The main pot would be $75 ($25 from your maximum call times the three players).
- The extra $25 from both Player 2 and 3 would total a $50 side pot.
- If you came up with the best hand youíd take down the $75 main pot.
- And if Player 2 had the second best hand, heíd swallow the $50 from the side pot.
- However if Player 2 had the best hand, heíd grab all the pots for a grand total of $125.

In the online world there is also a style of betting that somewhat resembles the no-limit which is called the pot-limit. In this structure, you can bet any amount from the minimum bet to the actual size of the pot.

A more popular form of betting is known as fixed-limit. For example a four-round game also known as a $20/$40 limit could specify that the beginning two rounds require $20 bets while each bet in the third and fourth rounds require $40. Also to limit the amount of raises, the player who begins the betting is commonly the one who caps it in each round.

* Skill Levels
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Skill plays a larger role online than luck does when playing against a bunch of your friends. While you may know how skilled your friends are at poker, the skill level of other people from around the world is unknown to you. Another reality check is to assume that they are actually trying to win because there is real money at stake online. Donít fool around and call at the river just to see what your opponent has. You may get lucky once or twice while playing your home game style, however if you want to win in the long run, build and stick to a solid strategy. The world is huge place to play against. With a higher degree of practice, and therefore skill, the world can be your oyster for the taking.

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