UNIQUE BUTTONS! Pre-action buttons are completely unique to online poker and can be extremely useful if you know how and when to use them. All of the big sites have pre-action buttons which give you the chance to select certain actions in advance of when the play actually reaches those actions. Their purpose is to speed up the game but they can be traps so you’d be well advised to practice using them via play-money games until you figure out how to employ them effectively. Basicially the buttons help you make some general choices about the way you want the game to go. Here’s an example: You’re offered the chance to auto-post a blind. Suppose you need an urgent loo break during a game, this pre-action facility will take care of your blind bet and hence not delay the game for others. If you need a long break you can use the pre-action button marked “sit out” and you will be left out of upcoming hands until you announce your return. The most significant of these buttons is the one enabling you to automatically fold a losing hand at the showdown without the opposition being able to see what you had.
SAFE NOT SORRY Pre-action buttons are usually marked “muck lost” or “muck losing hands”. It’s a good precaution to always select one of these buttons. Failure to do so means every time you’re beaten at the showdown all the other players get to see your losing hand. This is way too good a “tell” to be giving away just because you didn’t pre-select the “muck lost” button. If you never use the buttons at all it’s odds on Texas Hold’em and Omaha players who like to profile will build up info on your style of play which will feature the word CARELSS next to your online name.
BEWARE LOW-CUT DRESSES Regular Hold’em player Ben Warburton mails us with profound advice, “In live games I’d always look for a table with a pretty girl at it and end up trying to see down the front of her dress! This, it turns out, is not a good way to be successful at poker! These days I play Texas Hold’em online at home without distraction.”
Profound words indeed. Surely a man with such deep insights can only be weeks away from winning a major tournament?
