When midnight hits on December 31st I will be perched next to my computer awaiting the many revellers returning home and switching on their computers for a New Years drunken night of online poker. It is my belief that serious profits are available for a sober poker player. Because poker is a worldwide game online the New Year celebrations will quite literally last all day with different time zones hitting the New Year at different points. There could be some tasty action over the twenty hour New Year period!

This brings me on to an important issue which we must cover i.e. game selection. Too many poker players simply switch on their computer and eagerly find a table and wait to be dealt in. This is a mistake. Winning Texas Hold’em poker demands attention to detail and game selection is the first big decision you make. The players on your table must be beatable and if possible less skilled than you. You must do all you can to find these players before you start playing.

Obviously when you first begin to play you cannot know your opponents but from the very first hand you play against them your radar should be classifying them into styles of play and as time goes by playing tendencies for certain positions and hands. If you use a poker tracking software program then you can keep records of your opponents. Usually at each level there are a selection of regulars who multi-table. It is quite likely that you will run into players more than once because of this. You should know who you want to play and who you want to avoid. This slightly slower way of choosing where to sit when playing online poker is definitely profitable as opposed to sitting with good players who constantly beat you.

Using the player search facility you can look for players that you have a good record against and sit with them. Some will even welcome you in the chat box! You should review your statistics and know between five to ten players that you like to sit with and search for them before beginning a poker session. If two are sitting together at a table either join or put yourself on the waiting list for that table as that is a great place to sit for you. Be careful for players changing their style and always be prepared to change your opinion of a player. Analysing your opponents is a constantly evolving process.

You should look out for usernames that you recognise that may be following you. If a decent player keeps appearing at your table they may be profit stalking you, so be careful when playing pots against them. You can combat them by changing up your style as their profiling of you is based on previous information. Changing your style goes against their knowledge of you and can turn you into a much tougher opponent very quickly. It works both ways.

Choosing the right time to play is important also. Late at night for Americans (very early in the morning for UK poker players) is a good time to play because players have often been drinking all night and continue to do so at home in front of the computer playing online poker. This is why I believe a wonderful time to play is just after New Year when people are returning from their nights out in high spirits and it is notorious for riotous partying and excessive drinking. There will be plenty of online poker action to enjoy at this time and as each time zone hits their New Year celebrations.

Perhaps you will start the New Year off with a bang by hitting a nice win online. Join me at the tables to find out!

By Malcolm Clarke

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