Posted by Dr Fro 1:39 PM
I have been spending more and more time at Party Poker lately. Of course online poker is different from B&M poker, but Party Poker in particular is different from Planet Poker. Planet Poker tends to have, IMHO, better players. They are either rocks are tricky, but seldom are they weak or passive loose. I have had to adjust my play. The first time I bought in, I eventually lost my roll. I got it back now, plus $75. I spend 90% of my time on the $50 NL tables, always with a full table. I have come up with a few simple rules that I have been following:

1. If losing, leave. There is a chance you are outmatched. There is a chance you aren't, too, but why chance it. There are hundreds of tables. Just switch.

2. Take notes. I use the player notes function pretty extensively and it has paid off a few times. Example: the other day, I was playing against a guy heads-up. He went all-in on the turn and I said to myself "this guy raised preflop, and the board has big cards, so he was probably helped by the flop" I almost folded, but then I read my notes. They said two things "will raise with baby pairs. will bluff all-in with nothing" OK, so I call and win with middle pair.

3. When up, stay. There are two reasons for this. The first is the corrolary to #1. You may just be better than the competition. But the more important reason has to do with the structure. In the old days, there was a minimum, not a maximum on your buyin on NL games. Due to the rising popularity of the game, maximums became common. They lured the suckers in without giving the pros the massive advantage of buying their way into a bully position. Obviously the size of your stack is a major advantage in NL, so why walk away when you have $100, only to sit down the next time with $50.

4. Rebuy often When my stack gets below $45, I rebuy. I want a big stack to use as a weapon and an opportunity to buy pots when I dont have a good hand. I also want to get full value on my big hands. Thus, I get buying up to the max when needed.

5. Fold to re-raises and check-raises Both of these are signs of strength. Few people would use them in a bluff. The few that would are either a) so bad that you will eventually end up with their money anyway or b) pros. In case b) you want to avoid combat with them. So in basically all cases, I fold to re-raises and check-raises. The only exception I can think of is if I have set an obvious pattern of doing this several times in a row and I suspect that someone has picked up on it and is making a move. Even then, I may wait one more opp before calling.

These rules have been serving me well.

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