Online poker games are tougher now than they've ever been before. That's why it's especially critical that players exercise intelligent game selection and actively seek out the most profitable opportunities, because you can be quite sure that they won't be coming to you.
For my money, the softest possible opportunities in online poker can all be found in one place - the tournament satellite lobby. Why are satellites so soft? There are a variety of reasons, and by exploring why satellites offer such a great value to online poker players, you'll also learn the mistakes not to make when you start mining one of the best veins for profit in all of online poker.
Satellites are soft because they attract weak players
The very nature of satellites guarantee that you'll get a weak field. Satellites are the lottery of poker - they offer the chance for a small investment to be parlayed into a massive payday (via the winning of a seat and then success in the target tournament). That sort of appeal is going to inherently attract players who are looking to gamble, who are looking for a path to a quick score, as opposed to smart players who represent your tough opposition.
Satellites also have more of an appeal to casual players - while some forms of online poker can seem esoteric to a recreational or predominately live player (think super-turbos, 3x 4-max shootouts, and so so), satellites are firmly rooted in the lexicon of almost all poker players. The more familiar with a format players are, the more likely they are to participate, and satellite fields are weak as a result.
Satellites are soft because proper strategy is counter-intuitive
Even strong players can easily make mistakes in satellites, where the emphasis on survival - especially near the bubble - is so strong that it often dictates some very strange plays. I can't think of another situation in poker where it's proper to fold AA preflop, but you'll find plenty of those situations in satellite play.
Fold AA preflop? Suggest that to most players and they'll look at you like you just grew a third arm. That's good news, because it means that you'll have the opportunity to avoid mistakes in satellites that even quality players might make, giving you a significant edge.
Remember, when you win a satellite online, you don't have to play the tournament you win a seat to - you can generally get Tournament Dollars for the seat, and most sites allow you to convert those into cash (for example, selling PokerStars T$ is a simple, 3 step process that takes a minute and gets you cash for your satellite winnings).
Satellites are soft because of super-satellites
Wouldn't you love to play 10/20 against a player who usually played.10/.20? Sure you would - no superstar players are hiding at that level - but you'll very rarely get the chance.
Not in cash games, anyhow, but in tournaments, you can - thanks to super-satellites. Online, even smaller buy in satellites are often fed by smaller satellites (known as super satellites). So, if you're playing in a $50 satellite, there's a good chance that many of your opponents got into that satellite by playing a $10 satellite (and that those players may have started off at a $1 satellite, or even a freeroll).
That's a great opportunity, to have such a massive skill gap between yourself and your opponents. Satellites represent one of the few chances you'll get online to have such a huge distance between yourself and the guy in the next seat, and not grabbing it means money lost.
Hopefully that gives you an overview of not only why satellites are soft, but also a starting point for how to approach this excellent opportunity for profit. See you at the tables!
For my money, the softest possible opportunities in online poker can all be found in one place - the tournament satellite lobby. Why are satellites so soft? There are a variety of reasons, and by exploring why satellites offer such a great value to online poker players, you'll also learn the mistakes not to make when you start mining one of the best veins for profit in all of online poker.
Satellites are soft because they attract weak players
The very nature of satellites guarantee that you'll get a weak field. Satellites are the lottery of poker - they offer the chance for a small investment to be parlayed into a massive payday (via the winning of a seat and then success in the target tournament). That sort of appeal is going to inherently attract players who are looking to gamble, who are looking for a path to a quick score, as opposed to smart players who represent your tough opposition.
Satellites also have more of an appeal to casual players - while some forms of online poker can seem esoteric to a recreational or predominately live player (think super-turbos, 3x 4-max shootouts, and so so), satellites are firmly rooted in the lexicon of almost all poker players. The more familiar with a format players are, the more likely they are to participate, and satellite fields are weak as a result.
Satellites are soft because proper strategy is counter-intuitive
Even strong players can easily make mistakes in satellites, where the emphasis on survival - especially near the bubble - is so strong that it often dictates some very strange plays. I can't think of another situation in poker where it's proper to fold AA preflop, but you'll find plenty of those situations in satellite play.
Fold AA preflop? Suggest that to most players and they'll look at you like you just grew a third arm. That's good news, because it means that you'll have the opportunity to avoid mistakes in satellites that even quality players might make, giving you a significant edge.
Remember, when you win a satellite online, you don't have to play the tournament you win a seat to - you can generally get Tournament Dollars for the seat, and most sites allow you to convert those into cash (for example, selling PokerStars T$ is a simple, 3 step process that takes a minute and gets you cash for your satellite winnings).
Satellites are soft because of super-satellites
Wouldn't you love to play 10/20 against a player who usually played.10/.20? Sure you would - no superstar players are hiding at that level - but you'll very rarely get the chance.
Not in cash games, anyhow, but in tournaments, you can - thanks to super-satellites. Online, even smaller buy in satellites are often fed by smaller satellites (known as super satellites). So, if you're playing in a $50 satellite, there's a good chance that many of your opponents got into that satellite by playing a $10 satellite (and that those players may have started off at a $1 satellite, or even a freeroll).
That's a great opportunity, to have such a massive skill gap between yourself and your opponents. Satellites represent one of the few chances you'll get online to have such a huge distance between yourself and the guy in the next seat, and not grabbing it means money lost.
Hopefully that gives you an overview of not only why satellites are soft, but also a starting point for how to approach this excellent opportunity for profit. See you at the tables!
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