The pandemic impacted almost every aspect of our lives, but one unexpected effect has been the rise of online gaming. According to The Washington Post, video games made up a significant portion of people’s social lives during the lockdowns and isolation of the past two years, with online friendships blossoming during this time. Online gaming, whether with friends or strangers, has been a huge boon for gamers around the world.





Alongside this rise has been the return of online poker. Though it is not legal in many US states at the moment, there has been a growing interest in poker with the return of the World Series of Poker to Las Vegas late last year. As poker is primarily a social game of interacting with other players to try to find out their strategy, it is a perfect game to play online.

Whether you’re playing for real money or not, you’ll want to know how to do your best when it comes to the games you play. Being a success is a real challenge; Poker.org reveals it is tougher to attain in the modern game than ever before as the landscape includes a wealth of training sites, free strategy resources, poker videos, and online tools. That means everyone thinks they’re getting ahead, but perhaps that’s not the case. The key is to grasp the basics first and walk before you can run.





If you’re just getting started with playing online poker, you’ll want to develop a strategy to help you succeed. Here are a few of our top tips for developing a winning strategy.

Know the Hand Rankings

This one might seem obvious, but it is worth mentioning regardless. Knowing the hand rankings and the odds of the progressively rarer hands is going to help you decide when to risk your chips and when to fold immediately. Knowing that a Full House beats a Flush or a Straight without having to look it up will give you a big advantage over any other beginners at the table. Having the chart printed out beside your computer or even on a second monitor when you’re playing online is a good move until you find you don’t need it anymore.





Be Selective with Your Starting Hands

If you watch professional poker players, you’ll notice a trend in their play style. Though some will be more aggressive than others, most will quickly fold their starting hands. Being selective with what cards they bet money on is the key to sticking around in games for the long haul. It might not be the most exciting way to play, but it is the strategy that most professional poker players employ. Having a pair that consists of face cards or aces is a good time to play aggressively, but other pairs could be worth playing so long as you don’t think other players have something better.

Learn When (And When Not) to Bluff





Few acts in poker are more iconic than bluffing. Making other players think you are holding the winning hand despite holding nothing more than a low pair or even nothing. We’ve all seen movies and TV shows where the main character bluffs their way out of a bad situation, but the art of the bluff is more complicated than just simply lying. The best bluffers know that it is best to do occasionally so that other players don’t pick up on any tells and so they have reason to believe that you are actually playing a good hand.

If you do decide to take it up, be sure to check out our top tips for staying safe while playing online poker over on the JustinResults.com blog.