7 Common Online Poker Myths Debunked
It’s easy to tell that something is popular by the sheer number of myths surrounding it. And poker seems to have its fair share of urban legend and myths that never seem to die down. It would be futile to go into the origins and theorize where these poker myths come from. Truth be told, some of these myths whip up a ton of interest for poker, while others suck the fun out of the game. In this blog, we’ll try to bust 7 terrible online poker myths that aren’t doing the game any favors.
Myth #1: You Shouldn’t Make Big Withdrawals Due to the “Cash Out Curse” The cash out curse is the erroneous belief that online bookies rig the system against players who make large withdrawals. This myth is mostly perpetuated by players who believe that online poker is rigged; which it is not. In all honesty, online bookies really don’t care if you make large withdrawals and don’t make money from your losses. In fact, they make money from the rake you generate by playing online poker often for real money. Forcing a cash-out curse simply isn’t worth it for the bookie.
Myth #2: In Poker, You Must be Able to Read Your Opponents to Win The best thing about online poker in India is that your opponent cannot read your facial expressions. Despite the absence of physical reads, online players are still able to rack up consistent wins with poker games online. If anything, this demonstrates the futility of physical reads in the game of poker. Don’t get us wrong, reads can be of help, but their benefits are mostly dwarfed by important things like actual strategy and mathematics.
Myth #3: Good Players Always Win According to this myth, poker is an exact science and if you’re good at poker, you should have no problems winning consistently. This isn’t statistically true due to a phenomenon known as ‘variance’. While it’s true that some of the best players win money in the long run, it’s also true that their short term results will always depend on probability. So losing in the short run is not an indication of you being a bad player. When it comes to poker games online, it’s mostly about the long run.
Myth #4: Colluding in Online Poker is Easy In free online poker, colluding refers to when at least two players ‘collude’ together to gain leverage over others. They can communicate via Facebook or the phone, to let each other know the cards they have. This helps them make more strategic decisions and gain an advantage over other players. While it’s true that colluding does happen in poker, it’s rare and getting away with it isn’t easy. Most poker bookies use a variety of detection software to expose instances of collusion, including sophisticated tools that make it impossible to cheat at live poker rooms.
Myth #5: Poker Sites Favor Bad Players This myth assumes that poker sites have the ability to decide who gets what cards and when. You can instantly dispel this myth by realizing that the cards are dealt randomly. Meaning, poker sites have no idea how the cards are distributed. It is also worth considering the fact that since online poker is more fast-paced it’s easy to make bad decisions and lose as a result. It also means that there are more opportunities for bad players to win. But overall, you should still be able to benefit from this.
Myth #6: Beating the Rake at Lower Limits is Impossible In poker, the rake is how the poker site makes money. While it’s true that rake does account for a higher percentage of each pot at lower limits, most people blow it out of proportion – it's not a big deal. Most bookies cap the maximum rake they charge based on the stakes, and the rake applied is never too high. It’s not impossible to win at lower limits because many players have made money by doing just that. If anything, this myth forces players to play poker online at higher states than they should, which can result in more damage to their finances than the low-stakes rake ever would.
Myth #7: Poker Bookies Create Action Flops Some players believe that poker bookies intentionally rig hands so that more players are strong, and by extension, more rakes being paid for a higher profit. This isn’t true. Players see more big pots and action flops because they are playing more hands at a faster pace due to the nature of online poker in India. In all, there is no evidence to support this myth. What poker myths do you think we should work on next? Let us know in the comments below.