One of the biggest challenges in internet poker is maintaining focus. You can’t afford to relax and let your mind wander like when you’re playing a video poker machine. A focused online poker player is a winning online poker player. While keeping focus is important in live play, it takes on an entirely new level of importance in the Internet game.

Why Is Focus So Important in Poker?

If you lose focus during your internet poker game, you make mistakes, and mistakes can be very costly. A good poker player is always observing. He sees the betting patterns of his opponents.

He also understands what is going on in any given hands, even in hands for which he is not an active participant. A player who is not vigilant is giving up a considerable edge, and is not maximizing his expected value in the game.

Why Is Focus So Hard to Maintain in Online Poker?

In a live poker rooms, the sights and sounds of poker surround you. You are interacting with the other individuals in the game minute by minute. When playing online poker, all you are interacting with is a flat screen and little movement. Furthermore, you have all the distractions of home including loved ones, television and telephone pulling your attention away from the game.

How Can You Combat Loss of Focus in Online Poker?

One way is to keep your online poker computer in a room that you can close off from distractions. Create an environment where your only focus is the game.

Another option is to multi-table. While this will divide your focus to some extent, at least it will keep your attention on poker and on the screen in front of you, rather than on outside influences.