Jonathan Boccara's blog

Poker Tips - Awareness of the game is everything

It's easy to develop tunnel vision when playing poker. What it means. It means that you're looking so intently at something - your cards, the flop, your stack, whatever - that everything else just blurs and you ignore anything you're not focused on. This is especially common when playing online poker , because you don't need the distractions around you to get you out of the game.

That sounds like a good thing, right? To be that focused? The problem, however, is that tunnel vision takes away your ability to notice key details that can cost you a lot of money. Let's look at a couple of examples.

Beware of short stacks.

There's a tendency among online poker players in India to focus on players with big stacks - the same or bigger than themselves. The flip side of the coin is a subconscious relaxation against players with short stacks - maybe it's the comfort of knowing that you have significantly more chips than they do, maybe because you think they're rolling in a spiral. Either way, this tendency is a known factor, but it can also cause problems if you're not paying attention.

You see, most short-stack players know that they need to come out of their shell and start playing a little more aggressively if they're going to get away with anything. However, the lack of chips means that they will often resort to frequent flushes to get aggressive - read on https://utlandskacasino.net/casino-med-minsta-insattning/ This can be bad news for inattentive players who decide to rake with mediocre hands (perhaps with the goal of stealing blinds/antes) only to be faced with a flush by a short-stack player who has position. At that point, you're left with either trying to play a round with a hand you have nothing to do with; or dropping cards in confusion after essentially dealing chips. Neither is a good position, so you have to be careful.

Beware of players who walk away.

Another example that comes to mind is a player who is about to leave the table. Note that this doesn't mean they necessarily have a short stack-perhaps they have an ending time, maybe they need somewhere else. Whatever their reason, it's easy to imagine a situation where they look at their cards and say, "Maybe one more round..."

Now, unless you are specifically paying attention, this may sound like a player who doesn't want to leave. However, the more likely reality is that they have a very good or even great hand, and they want to get the last big pot before they do. So unless you yourself have a very good hand, you should let prudence be the best part of valor and fold while you still can.

I hope these two examples have helped you realize how important it is to be aware of everything that happens at the table, whether you play poker online or with others.

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