When players first learn to play poker they may start out with play chips. Using play chips is a great way to learn about the basics of poker but does not offer a whole lot in terms of the quality of competition. Most play chip players will simply push all-in right away because they are not playing for real as there is nothing of value on the table. Gradually as players get better they may graduate to the freerolls offered on any of their favorite online poker rooms. The online poker freerolls often have large fields with a small payout overall. It can take hours to play from start to finish. If you are a beginning player and sit at a play chip or freeroll table you will often see people going all-in preflop with horrible cards. It probably will not be uncommon to see people playing horrible cards and chasing everything to the river either. When you first start to play poker, learning good habits is critical to long term success.

There are many different styles of play. Some players are loose and aggressive, others are tight and passive. Each player has to learn which style suits their own game the best. Whichever style fits you, it does not change the fact that good habits will help you become a better player.

When I talk about good habits I mean learning how to read players, learning about the game of poker itself, and taking notes. Poker is easy to learn but if you continue to refine your own game and work on getting better, you will find yourself winning more than you lose. Reviewing your own hand history is a very easy and free way to learn. Go over the hands you have played and continually ask yourself if the cards you played and the betting were good. It is easy to think you made a good play in the heat of the moment, but after you distance yourself from it you may see that it may not have been the optimal play at the time. Another good habit is to play only when you feel like it. This one sounds so basic, but a lot of players do not do this. They will play tired, or when their mind is not focused. It is easy to lose if you are not concentrating. If you play on the ring tables you can wipe out your entire bank roll easily because of this. There are many other good habits to help play winning poker. I hope some of you share yours with everyone else.

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