There are many things a player needs to be competitive in online poker. The most obvious needs of poker are the money to play and the skills to win, but ask any professional and they will tell you that mastering poker is in your head. It is simply not enough to know the game on paper; you have to be able to touch it on the felt. That means that no matter how deep your stack is or how long you’ve been playing, you won’t get very far without a lot of patience, focus, and confidence.

Many aspiring poker players are handicapped by their inability to take a loss, learn from it, and move on. The fact is, in both live and online poker, you will lose more than you win. This is why players who see each flop drain their bankroll so quickly. The smartest strategy is to minimize your losses and make the most of your profits. Remember that the average player only ends up with money in one of the seven tournaments. You may have to accumulate funds out of your pocket for a long time before your poker habit sticks, but that doesn’t mean you should throw away your money.

If you are an online poker fan, the best way to protect your bankroll and learn from your losses is to set limits. Setting limits keeps you focused and helps you track what you are doing right and what you are doing wrong. It also makes it easy for you to see if your win / loss ratio improves over time.

Poker is skill-based, but it still has an element of luck, so sometimes even if you do everything right, you can lose. These scenarios tend to provoke a state of mind called “inclination.” Tilt can be the kiss of death even for seasoned poker players. Since many new players don’t recognize when they are playing tilt, sticking to your limits can be a good way to cut your losses when you’ve deviated from your strategy. If you feel a case of tilt approaching, regardless of whether you have reached your limit or not, the best approach is to just stand up and go.

A little stress while playing online poker is normal and may even be good because it keeps you on your toes, but maintaining that stress is just as important as maintaining your bankroll. If you are feeling overwhelmed by stress in the game, then your focus is no longer on the game. Alternatively, being too relaxed can also be a mistake in a game that rewards aggressive players notoriously.

Although free poker and cash poker offer two very different experiences, if you’ve never played competitive poker before, playing at the free tables can be a good way to test the waters. If you can’t cut it against the relatively soft competition at the point-only poker rooms, then you’ll be an easy target at the cash tables. In the same way, if you can’t bear to lose points, you are probably not ready to play for money.