Approaching The Game Of Poker For Profit
- Filed under: Casinos
- Date: Aug 25,2010
In Poker, some games offer more potential for profit than others. Limit Hold’em was once the most popular online game. There remain many low to medium limit games, and also those with limits as high as $100/$200 per game. Because one can always find a hold’em game whether online or at a casino, it undoubtedly offers the most profit potential of any of the games. There are many not-so-hot players out there that do not rise to the level of the $20/$40 limit.
If your goal is to find the most profitable game out there, limit hold’em is for you. It has a profitable history, is currently remaining profitable, and there are no signs of diminishing profits for the future. It’s popularity means that there are many novices to make a nice profit from if you took the time to learn and practice the nuances of the game as well as your opponents.
The amount of literature devoted to the game gives it a big advantage over other less popular types. It is the most studied of games and it is even possible for the most studious of players to learn much from the published material. This renders decision-making that much easier.
Of course, the ease of learning the game promotes many skilled players at the table, both online and off. This fact cuts into its profitability, especially for the average player. The run-of-the mill player cannot expect to make a net profit.
If you would like to avoid this dismal fate, there are several very specific questions you can ask yourself in order to determine which game is best for you. Poker is a game of chance, a game of skill and creativity, and it is a game of risk and self control. Determine as precisely as you can how prone you are to taking risks and how well you are able to control yourself in such situations: that is, whether the risks you take are impulsive and uncalculated (.i.e. a disaster in poker terms), or whether you are the type who likes to take calculated risks designed to win as well as to thrill.
There are special tests to help you determine how risk-prone you are. If you cannot help yourself, slot machines will probably be your best choice. If you would rather avoid risk, it is best to gravitate towards limit games in the exact proportion to your aversion towards risks.
If you are an individual who must have everything under your control as often as possible, decide whether you are a human calculator who remembers every card played and every combination of cards in a three or four hour long marathon games, or the psychologist who made your best moves by reading your opponents’ body language and facial expressions. The latter player should be in a no-limit or MTT poker game, not limit hold’em.
It is of interest that the psychological player has the better chance of becoming a well-developed player. There are very few high-limit games played as high risk tends to cut off players early on in the game. The no-limit and tournament varieties are both easy to find and complex enough to provide a challenge. These games should be the choice of the budding beginner in the field of poker.
The author is a successful limit cash game player. He plays poker online and receives Rakeback at Full Tilt Poker and competes in the monthly Races and Rolls Freerolls.
