CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

BONUS—ONLINE PLAY

The more burned out your mind “ is, the weaker your decisions
will be, and you should test yourself. Some players,
for example, playing on two games they’re a winning player.
Now they go to six, and they’re all of a sudden losing.
“

MASTE RCL ASS

 CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

BOnus—online play

SUBCHAPTERS

• ONLINE IS ALL ABOUT THE • USE DATA COLLECTION TO TRACK • BE COGNIZANT OF BURNOUT
NUMBERS PLAYER TENDENCIES

CHAPTER REVIEW

nline poker is different from live poker in a through database software. Stats can be overlaid on your
O few ways. Online cash games are usually a uniform
100 big blinds and GTO/math-based with tight-aggressive
table to show your opponents’ tendencies.

players, whereas in a live game, you will sometimes see
1000 big blind stacks in a much more casual atmosphere.
There are advantages and disadvantages to online play.
For example, while it is possible to play a lot of hands in a
short space of time, this encourages players to play a tighter
style. Players are rarely affected by boredom because of
this, making it tougher to profit overall.
Even though physical tells don’t play a part in the online
game, you can use timing tells. Sometimes a player will
deviate from their normal pattern giving you additional
information. There is also all the data collection available
It is important to play the right number of tables to suit
your goals. If you want your win rate to be at its highest
possible point, only play a single table. Each table you add
will reduce your edge, as your brain struggles to process
the additional information. Be wary of the mental burn-
out that can happen if you play a lot of tables at the same
time. Mental burnout can lead you to play on autopilot,
and if you play on autopilot for too long, you can also
unwittingly reinforce bad habits. If you feel you are
struggling to keep up, scale back your volume.

UP YOUR GAME

Watch a player on Twitch.tv paying close attention to
the timing of decisions. Can you correlate any patterns
between the length of time taken and the strength of
the player’s hand? You can also try to manipulate your
opponents by switching up your own decision time in a
specific situation.
It is important to avoid burnout from playing excessive
volume online. Start your online career by playing only a
single table and build up from there. Keep a record of how
clearly you can think as you add more tables. Make sure
not to increase the number too quickly.

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MASTERCLASS