Poker is really a game of skill, and every decision you make is approximately maximizing your Expected Value or EV for short. The word “EV” will undoubtedly be used throughout this article and will be seen in two ways. A new player can have +EV, which is positive Expected Value or – EV, that is negative Expected Value. Poker is not gambling and the following explains why.
Most gambling games have a poor EV for you, and a positive EV (5.49% in this case) for the casino. In the short run you could win, but in the long run, if you played typical gambling games 1000 times, the casino would always find yourself winning by about 5.49%. As you can plainly see these kinds of gambling games come in favor of the home. Poker pits you against other players and not the house. In a full ring game (9 players) or shorthanded game (6 players), the target is to make the very best EV decisions against the many other players playing worse (making -EV decisions) than you.
A simple example would be if you were dealt KK prior to the flop came (preflop), which everyone knows is an effective hand preflop. This hand includes a high possiblity to win against all other hands preflop. In the event that you played and raised “all in” with this hand against a new player who played and called every all in, you’ll have a huge advantage as you’ll be a favorite every time, making it a +EV decision. This is an exaggerated example and playing one hand wouldn’t normally be the smartest idea. What you will do is play say the very best 20% of hands because against a person who plays maybe 70% of these hands, you again, will be making a +EV decision every time you play with him. It’s likely that your starting hands will have a whole lot higher probability to win. That is just scraping the top, and there is an EV attached to every decision and every situation. Many online poker sites provide starting hand charts for novices to use, which would function as simplest way to improve your EV.
In addition, there is always variance and for a while weaker players could easily get lucky, but that’s also what attracts them to come back and keep playing. In the long term, a good player who always makes +EV decisions will always find yourself a winner. Because of this , poker is not gambling but a game of skill and finding out how to exploit your opponent’s mistakes.
Is it safe to play internet poker?
Absolutely, some sites have over 50,000 people playing at one time. Major sites like Full Tilt Poker run advertisements on the TV and the web and are even listed on the currency markets. They enable you to play poker online for free or real cash. Any negative publicity would affect their business so these sites often supply the best customer service. Keeping your password secure can be your responsibility and if you do that, your money will be safe. Online poker sites haven’t any incentive to cheat when dealing hands given that they wish to be extremely fair so you continue to play, which allows them to earn their income by means of “rake.” It is a very small percent of the pot (usually significantly less than 1%). In poker, you are playing contrary to the other players, and not the house.
Obviously if the poker site seems shady, you have never heard of it, they don’t advertise on TV or the net and there aren’t members playing regularly – you wouldn’t be depositing your cash there!!! With that said, most of the major poker sites have become safe and reputable.
What are the best internet poker rooms?
poker88 can find three major sites for playing online poker. Full Tilt Poker, Pokerstars and Party Poker have lots of traffic, play money tables, a lot of freeroll tournaments and have excellent customer support. If you’re a beginner you should play at Full Tilt Poker or Pokerstars when you start. Other sites like Party Poker call you up after you sign up and require some form of id verification to activate your account. Some individuals may like this extra security, and will certainly go that route. Full Tilt Poker and Pokerstars do not require this. Overall, all three sites are incredibly safe and popular.
Many sites state “Deposit and get another $600!” Do they really double your deposit amount after depositing?
That depends on the site. Some sites provide you with a really small portion (around 10%) of your deposit instantly, but that’s rare. What typically happens is you deposit $600, and then after you accumulate a certain amount of player points, they will give you the full $600. This is to make sure depositing players are also active. With internet poker sites such as Full Tilt Poker these points are achieved rapidly.
Websites on the internet will publish poker bonus codes which must be entered upon account creation. After that, the amount you earn depends upon the time you may spend playing and the stakes you play at. When a player reaches 400NL limit, this means 2 to 4 dollar blinds and also have a good percent of wins, they can make up to 5K per month. This is of course in the event that you treat playing just like a job and dedicate several hours each day to playing. Ultimately job freedom and the lure of easy money that’s just a click away, is what draws so many people to online poker.