Tips: Choosing a Table and Time of Play
Novice players may not have the experience but read on and let these couple of simple poker tips below help you gain that much-needed experience without blowing a whole lot of cash.
1) Choosing a table.
Perhaps the most common mistake newbies make is jumping into any available poker table without considering the various factors that come into play.
Ask yourself:
- Is the level fit for you? Do not gamble more than you can afford. If the stakes at a particular table is too high, do not be embarrassed to go down a notch to a more comfortable level. You can opt to move to a higher stakes table once you gain experience and your confidence level builds up.
- Who are the players on the table? If you are new to the game, then do not pit skills with veterans of more than ten years. Your money will be gone long before you realize what hit you. If the players are unknown to you or there is no form of rankings, take notes and try to identify who they are.
- How about the amount of each player? Are you willing to play with people still with a high stack of chips?
Be patient until you find a table that fits you. Do not jump into the first available one you see.
2) Choosing time of play.
Most people would play after work but it may be to your advantage to play at another time. It is a well known fact that players' moods vary according to time of day. Emotion while best left outside a poker table can not help but creep into one's game. People are normally more vulnerable early morning. So you can opt to play in the morning (but that is of course with the assumption that you are a morning person).
Or choose to play with people in a different time zone where you are at your prime but your opponents are not. Likewise, play when your bio-rhythm is at your peak. Do not play when you are harassed or frazzled or simply out of it. It will show in your game, which other players will take advantage off.
Do not also play when you are distracted such as when your favorite show is on, during the times when your toddler demands your attention or God forbid during office hours when your boss is likely to drop by at any moment. You may even want to take off that phone from its cradle for good measure.