Adapting to Different Poker Sites

There are a lot of online poker sites available nowadays, most of us start out on one site and learn the game there but sometime later we invariably look elsewhere for whatever reason. One factor that I think a lot of players fail to fully appreciate and understand is that there are often a number of differences in playing styles between these sites, which may require adjustments to our game (i.e. A certain way of playing on site A may not be suited to site B). This blog entry will look at why there are differences but I want to stress a word of caution here; this is my own personal opinion of some of the sites I have played based on the games I have played there, but I have very limited experience on some and the games I have played may not match those that you may play, so I am not going to talk about specific details but try and help give some concepts to think about if you are trying to adapt to new sites. 

Different demographic of players

Different poker sites and networks may well attract different markets of players, they may be targeting specific countries, or age ranges or abilities etc and as such if there is a substantial demographical difference this may well lead to different tendencies in play (For example Scandinavians are generally thought to be more aggressive).

Different software capabilities

Some software is easier to multi-table on than others, for example features such as 4 colour decks, resizable windows, ability to tile / cascade windows all help players to multi-table, the more of these features that a site has the more multi-tablers there are likely to be on that site. As a rule the more tables someone is playing the closer to standard ABC poker they are likely to be playing. Another good example of how the platform software can affect play is evident in PKR. On older versions of PKR the preset bet size buttons used to be 2xBB, 3xBB, 4xBB and 8xBB for every street regardless of the pot size, generally players are more likely to use the preset buttons than manually type bet amounts in and on the older versions it would be a common occurrence that a player would bet 8xBB into a 50bb pot on the river, now PKR have changed these preset buttons to 1/2 pot etc and so the same player might now bet ¾ pot (37.5bb) on the same 50bb pot. A more common difference is open bet sizing, where again the preset buttons often determine open raise sizes rather than player preferences (Stars allows customisable buttons so players can configure their own open raise sizes). Playing on party for example, I often see either a min raise or a 3x as an open, but less frequently 2.5xbb. These are just some examples of how playing styles can be dictated by the software alone.

Differences in MTT structures

Sites all have their own MTT structure; with differing starting stacks and increases in blind levels, some sites have smaller starting stacks, but gentler increases in blinds that generally means more room for play in the middle stages while not being extremely deep in the early levels. Also a subtle difference if you play full ring games is some sites have 9 seat as full ring and others 10 and this alone should have an effect on hand ranges.

Player Pools

If you play on Stars you will usually be sat a table full of random unknown players due to the huge playerbase, which can make it a lot harder to know what to do in certain situations, whereas on sites with much smaller player pools you will often seem familiar faces and if you take notes can make more informed decisions against players, these smaller sites will often have players taking unusual lines in order to deceive regular opponent’s whereas on Stars the most profitable line is usually the best to take as players are less likely to know you well enough to be able to adapt.

Player Tendencies

Different sites tend to yield players with different tendencies, for example a lot of online bookmakers now have poker sites and these players generally seem to call and gamble a lot more than on traditional sites. You can be sure that a lot of the players on Pokerstars will be multi-tabling and are using tracking software. Also Pokerstars is frequently full of players who will 3 and 4 bet a lot lighter than on PKR for example. This last point may well be because PKR has a higher proportion of recreational players. Knowing the generally tendencies of players on a site can help you make better decisions against unknowns.

Range of Stakes and Qualifiers

The range of stakes that a site offers can affect the way opponents will play, if $100 MTTs are the norm then the standard is usually going to be more aggressive and tougher than if a $100 MTT is dubbed a monthly high roller event. In addition to this generally the more qualifiers there are in an MTT the tighter the play will be, particularly around the bubble. If you are playing a MTT at a new site it is worth having a quick look beforehand at what satellites are offered and how many players are winning a seat and hence more likely to be playing tighter.

Associated Forums

If a poker site has a closely associated forum with it then this can heavily influence playing styles, particularly if there are one or two dominant posters on the forum. This is because their own playing style will come out in replies to posts and other people reading them will absorb this knowledge and are more likely to introduce it into their own game. If you are playing at a site you are unfamiliar with it is often worth browsing any forum they may have first and looking at strategy replies to see if there are any clues as to general playing styles, all this information may help you when making a marginal decision against an unknown.

Loyalty Program and Bonuses

A site is more likely to have a higher number of ABC grinders if it is has a good loyalty scheme and offers regular bonuses to players. These players will frequently be multi-tabling and are more likely to be playing as many hands as possible, often resulting in more basic poker in order to clear bonuses. It is always worth being aware if there are any big bonuses currently running on a site as this may have an impact on playing styles (although this is probably more common in cash games than MTTs).

So there are a few reasons why there might be differences in playing styles at different sites, how you personally identify, adjust and ultimately take advantage of these differences will be down to your individual circumstances, such as which site you are moving from and to and what games you are playing, your own playing style etc. so I cannot give a nice easy formula to adapting to a new site, however the first step should be to consider the reasons above and any others you can think of, see which apply and to what degree and then decide in advance how you are going to adapt and then after a period of playing assess how this has or hasn’t worked, and re-evaluate frequently until you feel you have adjusted as well as you can.

I will finish by giving you one example of how I might play differently on PKR to on Pokerstars, let’s say we are deep in an MTT and on the button with 18bb and both blinds have 15bb and are complete unknowns to us. It is folded to us and we look down to see 22, now on Stars I would usually shove here as I expect random players on Stars to 3 bet jam a wider range than on PKR and I will be forced to call, however on PKR I may well elect to min raise and then fold if they jam as I believe they will fold enough to the min raise to make this the best play, clearly if I suspect the players on PKR to be aggressive and capable of 3 bet shoving a wider range than I will usually elect to open jam the deuces.

I hope this entry has given you some food for thought in differences between sites and I wish you every success no matter where you are playing!