For a long time, we’ve been proud to offer anonymous poker tables where players can get a game of online poker without having to wonder if another player is getting an unfair advantage. These tables are free from player trackers and other software that gives enhanced players the edge on their competition. This means that, each time you sit down to a table, you’re completely new to the other players.

At casino sites that don’t offer anonymous tables, this isn’t the case. Instead, at those sites, players are able to track your every move and play over time. They can even see your whole play history to learn your tendencies and the results of your play sessions! They know what moves you’re likely to make in each situation, getting an unfair analysis of the likelihood that you’ll check, bet, raise, or fold. Armed with this information about the cards that are in your hand and your preferred online poker strategy, they can beat you more often than they otherwise would. And all the while, you’ve got no information about their hand.

That kind of poker just isn’t ethical, and so we offer anonymous tables where the playing field is leveled and no player has extra information about any other player.

There’s a second set of benefits that come from anonymous online poker tables, though. It’s the fact that playing at anonymous poker tables lets you sharpen your skills, because you’re not faced with players that know way too much about your poker tendencies. Instead, you’re playing straight up poker, and your actions will have the proper results. No player will have their thumb on the scales, so to speak. You get to play a fair game, and so your choices and outcomes will be training you the right way, based on reality.

Let’s go over a few of these skill development benefits of anonymous online poker.

Anonymous Poker Tables Prepare You for Live Games

Player trackers and heads-up displays (HUDs) give you an advantage when you play, but they also are a bit of a crutch. Instead of analyzing the game in your mind, you’re watching the HUD and waiting for it to give you the best action to take. In a way, this can keep you from really focusing on your own online poker strategy, hoping that the software will give you the right answer in an online poker game. Getting in the habit of relying on a tool like this can actually cripple your online poker game if you ever want to play live or at casino sites like ours that offer anonymous poker tables.

When you’re not using extra poker software, you can actually focus on the game at hand, as well as your opponents. This includes reading tells.

Yes, tells! You can read tells online. You’re not seeing the body language and facial expressions of other players. You’re not hearing them speak. But you are able to get some information from the way they play each hand of online poker at our casino site.

  • Time to click. How long does it take your opponent to get their action in? Did they think a long time? Are they scared? Trying to trap you? Or was it an insta-raise? Be careful, people can bluff by trying to indicate strength.
  • Amount. Sometimes it can seem like a person simply pushed the slider into a random spot to appear confident. Other times, it’s an amount carefully designed to attract a bonus call. Keep an eye on the other players and how they choose their bet amounts. You may get a feel for whether they have the goods just based on that.
  • Chat. People can still communicate in an online poker room. Keep an eye on the players that are talking at your table, and you may get some bonus information on their mood and hands.

Anonymous Tables Help You Better Understand Situations

Anonymous poker tables are a lot easier to figure out. When people are using player trackers and HUDs, they can take surprising actions. They’ll fold decent hands, thinking that you’ve probably got the best cards. They can bluff you out, based on a high percentage chance that you have a weak hand. It’s hard to understand the situations you face, because players are taking strange actions. At an anonymous online poker table, people behave more naturally, which leads to a lot less confusion in your online poker strategy.

Anonymous Tables Level the Playing Field

This is the most obvious advantage of anonymous tables. No player has an unfair advantage by getting information about the tendencies of other players. An online poker table should foster an environment where each player succeeds based on their skills and knowledge, with a little bit of luck. When online poker player trackers and HUDs are used to expose player histories, the table becomes a shark tank and fish get chomped.

Anonymous Tables Help You Work On Your Style

If you’re relying on software and poker tools, you’re missing the opportunity to develop your own style of play and online poker strategy with each new game. Instead of growing your feel for the game and how to best beat other players, you’re waiting for HUDs to recommend the best actions live in real time. At that point, some players might as well just let the HUDs play the online poker game for them. But then, why even sign in? Should each player just put their own AI against the rest?

That’s not even online poker at that point. At Ignition Casino, we keep the game pure. Human players only!

Anonymous Tables Tournament Play

Online poker tournaments give you the biggest opportunities to cash in on huge paydays, but if they don’t feature anonymous poker tables, the top spots are going to be occupied by sharks using new, unfair software. We make sure that each player starts from the same spot with the same stack of chips and a fair chance to win.

In our opinion, there’s no other way to really play online poker.