This information is the opinion of Smack Dog Poker. It is not guaranteed to make you money. It is only available to hopefully help you become a more profitable online poker player. Any comments can be posted in the Smack Dog Money Management Forum.

Intro:

When I first began playing online poker I would simply deposit money, play for the big one time payout, play until I was out of money, and repeat! This strategy quickly became very costly and was not very appeasing to my wife! :) I soon realized that I needed to decide if I was going to keep donating my money to other online players, or start managing my money, any more importantly, my playing time online.

This meant that I had to come up with a way to track my play, I had to set up some rules for playing online, and I had to STICK TO THE RULES! While the latter is the hardest to comply with, it is the one that will make you the most profitable.

Tracking Your Play:

In doing my research, both via books, online sites, conversing with other players, I found that I needed to track my play. So I sat down one night and created a spread sheet in Excel. This spread sheet is very simple and is available by emailing SmackDog Poker and asking for it.

I use the spreadsheet as follows:

*When I initially login to play poker online I also open up my spread sheet.

*I then enter the Date, my total starting cash for the day, and the time I begin playing.

* After you are done playing. Simply enter the total amount of cash you have available and the time you stopped playing.

The spreadsheet will calculate the total time you played, the total you are up or down, the current daily win/loss average, total monthly winnings, average starting cash, average ending cash, and also you can enter how much you have deposited into the online poker room, and how much you have withdrawn.

MY ONLINE POKER RULES:

*I play poker with these rules in mind. You may select which rules to follow, and/or you may add your own rules to this list. Do what works for you, but you must maintain an even head in order to be profitable at online poker. Do not let your emotions get the best of you. When you play on TILT, is when you lose the most money. Most poker players will catch a big win eventually playing bad cards and catching a winner this way is usually the beginning of the end.

1) I never initially sit down at a cash game with more than 25X the big blind in my bank roll. So if I am sitting in on a $0.50/$1 game, I buy in for no more than $25.00.

2) If I play in any tournaments, I enter all the information for the tournament in my spreadsheet. Don't cheat here! Sometimes I enter a tournament and bust out in 20 minutes because I play foolishly, etc. and I don't want to enter it because it might ruin my stats. Remember that you are more than likely not going to get rich over night following my strategy. You must have reminders of your mistakes to win in the long run.

3) If I go bust on my initial cash game buy-in in less than 15 minutes, I take a minimum of a 30 minute break. This allows you to clear your head and avoid playing on tilt.

4) I never play for more than 3 consecutive hours. This time will vary from person to person. Some may be able to play effectively for 5 hours, some for only an hour. Like I said it will depend on the person and you will be able to determine how long you are effective for by using the spreadsheet. After my 3 hours are up, I take a minimum of a 1 hour break.

5) If I go down more than $30 from my initial cash starting point I take a break of at least an hour.

6) If I sit at a cash game and double my money within an hour, I stop! STOP! Even if you think you are on a hot streak. Better to stop doubled up, then drop back to even, lose the rest of your money and kick yourself the rest of the night. Remember, the cards WILL go COLD on YOU!

7) If you have doubled up or more on your initial cash buy-in, and you MUST keep playing. Sit out a hand or two, and sit back in with your initial buy-in again. This will hopefully keep you from burning through all your winnings chasing a bad hand to the River. If you think you don't do this, you are wrong. Eventually, we all will chase a hand or two.

Like I said before, these are just some of the rules I play by when playing online. Most apply to cash games, but they are helpful.

STICKING TO YOUR RULES:

This is by far the most difficult thing to do, especially in online poker. With the actual cash not in front of you to touch, smell, take a bath in, etc. it is hard to visualize that you have $10, $100, even $1000 in your account. If it helps you at all, pull out some poker chips, assign each a value, and place them on the desk in front of you corresponding to the amount you have bought in for. When you lose some money, take some chips away! When you win some money, pull some more out. Try to have something you can touch that will represent the money you are playing with online. This will help you to stick to your rules.

If you have questions regarding this article, the excel spreadsheet, which is free to download and use, or any other question regarding online poker, please feel free to email Smack Dog Poker at MoneyManage@SmackDogPoker.com.

I hope this little bit of information will help you become a more profitable poker player.

Smack Dog Poker