Poker is about people

...or as the old saying goes: Poker is not a card game played by people, it is a people game played with cards. This is particularly true of no-limit hold'em, where bluffing plays a much bigger role that it does in limit games. Math skills are essential in limit games, where over the long run the player who makes the best decisions based on the odds will almost always come out ahead. In a five hour session of no-limit, whether you are a big winner or big loser may depend on how you played a single hand.



The difference between the approach you should take to limit and no-limit is underscored by recent advances in poker-playing computer modeling. In the last ten years several universities have begun trying to develop computer programs that can compete (and beat) the best human players. Great strides have been made with computers when it comes to limit hold'em, with programs that consistently win against very good players. No-limit has proven a harder game for computers because it is hard for computers to understand human psychology. The really great no-limit players are conscious of what patterns they have established, and may change the pattern at a crucial moment.



The psychological aspect of no-limit is what makes trying to learn the game so difficult. A poker book (or blog) may say what is usually the best move in certain situations, but has your opponent also read that book?



If you want to play no-limit, I would highly recommend playing "real life" games rather than on-line. On-line is great for getting a grounding in the basics, and because of the speed of on-line poker you can get a lot of experience in a short time. Because you don't get many physical tells in on-line poker, you are forced to concentrate on bet-size as the primary clue to understanding your opponents approach to the game. This is great because bet size -when combined with what type of player you feel your opponent to be- is the best clue to the strength of his or her cards. This grounding has been the basis that has allowed many on-line players to make the leap to real-life poker.

To me, a real table with real people sitting at it is what poker is all about. Being able to tell at a glance which players should have gone home to bed hours ago and who seems alert is part of the game. The way people stack their chips, how they hold their cards, what they look at first immediately after the flop....and how you do all these things too, is just as important as knowing how to bet a top pair with a flush draw.

If on-line poker was as exciting as real-life poker, then why do all the T.V. ads for poker sites show real people playing instead of computer avatars?

So by all means get a quick education playing on-line. And when you are ready for the real deal, find yourself a real game.