Keep a Cool Hand
By Paul O’Neill

We all like to win, and winning at poker is something so satisfying that it’s hard to describe. It’s a combination of knowing your skills beat the opponents, of knowing that luck is with you today, and finally, knowing that you kept a cool hand.

Keeping a cool hand is a real must, especially in online poker. There are quite a few things that can encourage you to lose control, such as not paying close attention to the game because you’re at a chatty table.

Now, a chatty game is not a bad thing…after all, online poker is more sociable than face-to-face poker…as long as the other players are in the same spirit. There’s nothing like a wolf in sheep’s clothing to trap unsuspecting sociable poker players at an enjoyable chatty game of online poker! Watch out in case one of your opponents decides to come out from underneath the sheep’s disguise and starts going for the kill…

Another way to keep your cool hand is to be aware of your emotions. If you’re having a bad beat day at the poker table, the worst thing you can do is to overreact and play harder trying to win back what you’ve lost. This is known as going on tilt, and going on cybertilt is easy if you impulsively decide “I’ll show them!” Remember that there are some very good poker players who are just lying in wait for cybertilt players to become vulnerable to pressure.

The final tip about keeping a cool hand is to play your skills. Find out what you’re good at, it could be bluffing, or it could be understanding the opponent’s psychological approach. Whatever your best skills, improve them, and know when a game is not going to bring out your best play.