NoPokerFace.net

(Contribution by TJ)

Before you take the plunge into cash poker games, you can take these steps to prepare yourself:

• Prepare yourself psychologically to lose a few games. Raw statistics inform you that you will lose periodically. If you play in a no-limit game and you lose the all-in bet to a weak hand, you need to shrug it off. In the end, you win more games than you lose by keeping a solid, strong playing style. When you are playing poker, you should focus on your long-term poker playing skill. Keep the bigger picture in mind.
• Choose the limits in accordance to your bankroll balance. You need to have adequate cash to withstand the swings of fortune. You should begin with three hundred big bets in the limit play (if you choose to play $1 / $2, that means six hundred dollars), ten full buy-ins in the no-limit play (fifty dollars if you want to join a table that allows a five dollars max buy-in), or twenty tournament buy-ins in tournament play. Every time you lose twenty-five percent of your bankroll, step down to the lower limit play, continue doing so until you are able to win regularly.
• Get a poker diary in shape and you are ready to go. You can't really be fully aware of your winnings and losses if you don't establish a reliable way to track them. Excel files come in handy for this.
• Make a cozy poker nest. You are going to be spending many hours in front of your PC, so make it comfortable and play-friendly. Comfortable chair, big enough screen and anything else that could give a slight edge.
• In the ring games, do remember that you can easily switch tables. You have to understand you may not be the greatest player on the cyberspace - and you may not even be the most skilled player at your table. If the current game you're playing at seems too hard, make organized notes on the good players you find (in case you encounter them in the future) and move along to a less demanding game.

When you lose in online poker, you lose real money. If you ever feel that you don't care much about the final result of a game or hand (or worse, you seek to lose a few games just to clear an account you have set up with a poker site), just log out, play some PC games to take away your boredom and come back later. Winning online poker is hard enough without adding up a financially apathetic behavior to the mix.