Understanding the basic texas holdem poker rules will get you a long way in online poker. I don't mean your basic rules such as high card, pair, two pair, 3 of a kind, straight, flush, quads, straight flush, and finally royal flush. What I mean is poker rules such as knowing when to holdem and knows when to foldem. Not only that, knowing the proper bankroll management will also make you extremely profitable. It all started a few years ago. I was in college with no job, no money, and no desire to do anything. I kept reading poker forums and free texas holdem poker strategies trying to find the right strategy to win with. Little did I know, observing the play of others was my secret weapon.

Before I sat in any cash game, I watched the play of others for a good 10 minutes or more. I jotted down every move they made and what poker hands they played in certain situations. Some of the questions constantly raced through my mind.

Tight or Loose?

Passive or Aggressive?

Tilt or not Tilt?

What kind of poker chip stacks?

Many thoughts raced through my mind as I watched a single cash game table for 10 minutes or more each time before I sat down. This helped me greatly during the game because when it came down to crunch time I was able to perform. I got so good where I could predict my opponents next move and new how much they would bet right away. I knew exactly how much to bet to get them out of the hand and I knew exactly when I needed to fold. The best part about it all is I was making a killing each day and there was no one stopping me, especially since there was thousands and thousands of new players joining everyday. These new players were horrible and just waiting for you to take their money. The best time to cash in on these players is after you see them take a beat. They will buy in usually for the rest of their bankroll and just try to double up as quickly as they can to make themselves feel better about losing. Patience will be the driving force to profit on these players and all poker players for that matter. Most people do not have the patience to keep folding hand after hand if the cards are not coming. They will try to get cute and make moves with complete garbage. Worst of all, when the garbage actually hits they get rewarded! Terrible play gets rewarded sometimes, that is just a fact of poker. You can minimize your loses though by playing smart and never going on TILT. If you ever suffer a bad beat, the best thing you can do is just completely shut off your computer and walk away for a few hours and come back later with a clear mind. I wish you the best of luck in your poker career and please understand that patience will always be rewarded!