Every so often a thread will pop up in poker forums debating whether short sessions or long sessions of poker are better. How long you spend playing online poker can be more important than you might think.

I made a little pro and cons list, followed by a brief write up of my opinion. This mostly applies to online cash games because other types of poker don’t allow you to come and go as you please.

Short Sessions

Pros:
• More likely to remain focused
• Less likely to soft tilt
• More likely to proactively game select
• Less eye strain and wrist strain

Cons:
• More time wasted loading up/closing out tables
• Less hands per hour for the same reason
• Less time to build up table image and get reads on other players
• Less likely to have a winning session

Long Sessions

Pros:
• Able to build up table image and potentially exploit table dynamics
• More hands per hour
• More efficient use of time
• More likely to have a winning session

Cons:
• Probability of losing focus is higher
• Soft tilt can set in
• Greater eyestrain and wrist strain

I am personally in the short sessions camp. I find it greatly beneficial to play one hour sessions instead of playing until your vision is blurred. Playing one hour sessions keeps me on my A game. Even a 15 minute break between sessions can get rid of some tilt and refocus me.

I still can play lots of poker by playing many sessions in a day. Some people will prefer otherwise, but I think in long sessions people tend to get lazy about game selection, but your tables are way less likely to go bad in an hour than they are in three hours.

Everyone is different and of course some ply long sessions, even legendary live poker players have been known to play marathon sessions that could last more than 24 hours. But online poker is quite different with much more decisions to be made per hour especially if you multi-table. So the stress level is much higher than it used to be before the rise of Internet poker.

There is always a moron at the table who will call every bet in a limit game. Playing online can reduce your expenses and put an otherwise losing day over into the win column.

Never underestimate the cost of food and gas. You can play very loose in a free game but you will learn nothing unless you treat the free chips like they are real money. If you play free for practice make sure that you play it like it is for real.

If you have nine other people playing real loose set back and wait to clobber them with a good hand. The ultimate game is no limit holdem. This is where all the practice in the free games makes you the money. Remember to focus. If you are playing with a woman be aware that she is a lot more dangerous than she may seem.

Don’t worry about the odds. Play the people and be aware that you will always live or die on the river. If a free poker game becomes a lesson in humility then be happy that it is not a real money game. Analyze your mistakes and learn more than how to eat crow.

When you sit down to a game be prepared for the long haul. If you are smart you will average playing in no more than three hands an hour. If you are stupid you will play in almost every hand.

There are many places to buy a Texas Holdem table. An online purchase is safe and secure and a lot smarter than spending twenty bucks on gas to save ten. Enter as many holdem tournaments as you can. The key to winning a tournament is survival in the first faze and naked aggression at the final table.

Get the download and get started. It may not make you a fortune but it is a lot of fun to play even if you never deposit any real money into the account. The best strategy is not to play with money that you cannot afford to lose.

It is a lot of fun to play and will give you lots of tense moments but if you get in over your head you can’t say that you haven’t been warned. If you want to order a Texas Holdem poker table online. Be assured that is is safe and secure. Most credit card companies have a line or two at the top of your statement saying that online ordering is 100% protected.

To get started just download the software and follow the directions. Take your time and look over the entire site before you begin to play. Playing online is very good practice for playing at a brick and mortar casino.

Do not be surprised when you play at how much position means in real life. You can learn how to play free holdem poker with little trouble. Understanding the subtleties of the game can take a life time. The official rules to tournament play are always posted prominently. Be sure to read and understand them before you risk your hard earned dough.

I think I’ve made the full transition to $3/$6 limit tables. Also, I think I’m finished with short handed tables, even at the best sites for holdem. Both seem like positives to me. Lately, I’ve been playing a mixed bag of things. I tried a little no limit games. I did all right, winning about $40 in two sessions at two different limits, but I didn’t enjoy it at all, so that’s probably over for now.

I played a decent amount of $5/$10 short handed. I did fairly well, winning about $250 in the two weeks since my last entry. That included 7 sessions, all winning ones. It was fun and I like the limit, but right now, it’s a bit to high for proper bankroll management, so I’ll stay away from it for the most part. I’ve been doing well at all short handed tables lately, so it seems like a strange time to move away from them, but I’ve refound my interest in full tables, so I just rather play there. The only thing I can foresee is playing a little short handed when I don’t have a whole lot of time. This might happen, it might not. I’m not sure if I’ll try to stop it or not. We’ll see.

I have been on a nice upward swing lately, even though I did just suffer a $100 little losing streak two days ago. What did it was multitabling. I hadn’t multitabled in quite some time, so I thought I’d give it another try on Thursday since I had a few hours to spare. I went to $1/$2 to get a lower limit since I was going to play 5 tables. That’s the first mistake. $1/$2 is different from $3/$6. The players a looser there and it is noticeable. Well, things didn’t go to well, and to make a long story short, I ended up losing a total of $70. After that, I was down about $27 for the day since I had previously won $44 at two sessions of $2/$4 short handed.

I stopped for the day there and picked up yesterday with $3/$6. I started out with just one table. I did alright, winning $26.50 before the table broke apart and I had to leave. Fairly soon after that, I took up 3-tabling $3/$6. I felt that multitabling could work, but it did not the day before because first, I had too many tables and second, I was not at too low of a limit.

Also, the double FPPs and VIPs that PokerStars was offering probably persuaded me a bit into this 3-tabling. Well, not a whole lot went right to begin with. I dropped at all three tables early on. At one point, I was down over $150 between the three. Then I was able to work my way back somewhat at each table, getting down only $70 then eventually only down $40 between the three.

I stopped at one table when I was up $22, then eventually stopped at another table when I got all the way down to -$81. The third table, I was about $20 up, and I wanted to get about another $20, but dropped all the way down to -$30. I fought back from there and finally stopped at only -$1 (basically even). It wasn’t pleasant, but for 3-tabling, I only lost $60, and for the day, I was only down $33.50 which isn’t too bad.

So after winning $44, I lost a total of $104. Not too bad, only down $60 from my previous bankroll high of $2344. Also, during the 3-tabling at $3/$6, I earned about 500 FPPs and am only about 500 VIPs away from reaching Silver Star for the month (which I haven’t done yet). The double FPPs and VIPs last until May 21st, so I’ll try to capitalize on that as much as possible.

Currently, I’m single-tabling $3/$6, which is what I think I’ll stick with for a while now, and I’m doing fairly well. I’m up about $65. I’ve set a loss stop at $35 from here so that I’m basically guaranteeing myself to leave with at least $30 profit. To update, I ended up leaving with $43 profit. I just lost a hand with AK and that seemed like a good enough sign for me to stop right there and take what I had won. So overall, still a decent session. Nothing spectacular, but good enough for me.

At Hand #32 we see the first… and what would amount to the extremely rare appearance of A-A in the tournament. Tommy liked to play some aggressive poker but bad timing when Tony caught him stealing, making him quickly lay it down.

Working from the production truck for the televised portion of the event I coordinate what hands will ultimately make the final televised production and get a tone for the game by seeing the players’ hole cards. From that omniscient vantage point, I could see the lay downs and aggressive manoeuvres of the players.

By Hand #39, Keith had suffered some breakdowns and his chip lead had whittled considerably. With Jody making a legitimate play at an unclaimed pot with his Q♠Q♣, Keith showed a little impatience by pushing all-in with A♥J♠. Jody makes the call and although there is hope with the K♦J♦6♥, there is no further help and Keith is eliminated in 7th place. The 34-year-old Software Project Manager from Vancouver had enjoyed some success cashing in past WSOP events and walks away earning $45,000 for his first televised appearance.

During LVL 22 with the blinds 25/50K + 5K, the play levels out with a good distribution of chips and a neck-in-neck battle for the lead. Counts for players returning from the dinner break:

Player Chip Count
Jody 1,776,000
Henry 1,764,000
Joe 1,273,000
Tony 1,118,000
Tommy 1,028,000
Nelson 542,000

We don’t get another casualty until Hand #53 when Henry pops the pot another 150K from early position with 9♥9♦. Next to act is “Tommy Boy”, as Gavin liked to call him, pushing all-in for nearly half a million, with A-J. What is it with Ace-Jack? Considering he is only 20-years-old, may forgive some of his recklessness, since the patience game may require some work for the Edmonton native. On a defensive note, there were not a lot of premium hands passed around; the entire tournament was card-dead.

At the Canadian Poker Tour’s analyst desk, Brad Booth was on hand to help assess some of the hands, comment on the tournament as a whole as tell us some more about the man whose name adorned the tournament.

“I’ve known Johnny Chan for two years and when I first sat down with him I had that star struck feeling, Brad said. “I felt like an equal but at the same time, I thought, ‘Hey, I’m playing with Johnny Chan.’ It was an amazing feeling and since then Johnny and I have become friends and the man has a heart of gold.”

With his 5th place finish at the BC Poker Championships, Nelson had the advantage of playing under the televised lights before. That didn’t save him from Henry, who was a Clubber Lang-like wrecking machine taking out opponents; his preflop raise of 200K with J♣J♥ wasn’t enough to shake Nelson free of… you guessed it, Ace-Jack. A board of 5♠K♥10♣ gave Nelson the gutshot but the 9♥ on the turn and 2♥ river didn’t save him. Much like his hometown Vancouver Canucks, he was free to go work on his golf game.