There is an ongoing debate about the value of practicing poker by playing online at many of the free Internet poker sitesThe main reason cited to bolster the argument is "Nothing Ventured - Nothing Gained"

The free play poker sites give each player a certain amount of money to play withSome sites will replenish a player's bankroll as soon as they go broke, while others will make them wait a day before they are granted more moneyEither way since a player has no fear of ever going broke they will often play with an any two-card mentality for stating handsOnce in a hand they will play "no Fold'em Hold'em" and call each hand to the riverIf they go broke they will just wait for their next stack of cyber-chips and continue playing

I agree that many of the online players in the free poker sites are bad players and it can lead to the deterioration of a player's game if they start emulating the other playersPlayers have a tendency to lower their standards when they are playing for funIf a new player sees this going on they may adopt a similar playing style, which will be fatal once, they sit down in a live gameMy friend John D coined the term "Plunger" to describe this type of playerEven with the Plungers in the game I do believe that there is something to be gained from practicing online

Mechanics
If you are new to Texas Hold'em you can learn the mechanics of the game while playing onlineWatching and participating in a game will make you comfortable with the procedures and protocol of the gameWhen you sit down at a live table you will have an idea what is happening at the table

Discipline
Discipline is one of the most important traits you will need to be a winning playerYou can practice discipline by adopting a real game approach to your online sessionWhen I started practicing online I made up my mind that I would treat my cyber bankroll just the same as my real oneFolding hand after hand can get boring especially after seeing other players winning with pure trash hands but it takes discipline not to lower my standards and stoop to their levels of play

Reading The Board
Learning to read the board is another skill that can be practiced when you play onlineYou will have plenty of opportunity to do this as many times the play online is faster than it is in a live game

Reading The Board
Learning to read the board is another skill that can be practiced when you play onlineYou will have plenty of opportunity to do this as many times the play online is faster than it is in a live game