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 be used throughout this article and you will be seen in two ways. A player can have +EV, that is positive Expected Value or – EV, which 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 cases like this) for the casino. In the short run you can win, but in the long term, in the event that you played typical gambling games 1000 times, the casino would always find yourself winning by about 5.49%. As you can see these kinds of gambling games are in favor of the house. Poker pits you against other players rather than the house. In a full ring game (9 players) or shorthanded game (6 players), the goal 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 in the event that you were dealt KK before the flop came (preflop), which everyone understands is an excellent hand preflop. This hand includes a high chance to win against all the hands preflop. If you played and raised “all in” with this particular hand against a 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. That is an exaggerated example and playing one hand wouldn’t normally be the smartest idea. What you will do is play say the most notable 20% of hands because against someone who plays maybe 70% of their hands, you again, will undoubtedly be making a +EV decision each and every time you play with him. It’s likely that your starting hands will have a whole lot higher probability to win. This is just scraping the surface, and there is an EV mounted on every decision and every situation. Many online poker sites provide starting hand charts for novices to use, which would be the simplest way to enhance your EV.
In addition, there’s always variance and in the short term weaker players could easily get lucky, but that’s also what attracts them to come back and keep playing. Over time, a good player who makes +EV decisions will always end up a winner. This is why poker isn’t gambling but a casino game of skill and finding out how to exploit your opponent’s mistakes.
Could it be 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 so are even listed on the stock market. They allow you to play poker online free of charge or real money. 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 have no incentive to cheat when dealing hands since they wish to be extremely fair so you continue to play, which allows them to earn their income in the form of “rake.” That is a very small percent of the pot (usually less than 1%). In poker, you’re playing against 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, the majority of the major poker sites have become safe and reputable.
What are the best online poker rooms?
You can find three major sites for playing online poker. Full Tilt Poker, Pokerstars and Party Poker have plenty of traffic, play money tables, plenty of freeroll tournaments and have excellent customer support. If you are a beginner you need to play at Full Tilt Poker or Pokerstars when you start. Other sites like Party Poker call you up once you sign up and require some type of id verification to activate your account. Some individuals may such as 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 obtain another $600!” Do they really double your deposit amount after depositing?
That depends on the website. Some sites give you a really small portion (around 10%) of your deposit instantly, but that’s rare. What typically happens is you deposit $600, and after you accumulate some player points, they will give you the full $600. This is to make sure depositing players may also be active. With internet poker sites such as Full Tilt Poker these points are achieved very quickly.
Websites on the internet will publish poker bonus codes which must be entered upon account creation. From then on, the amount you earn depends on 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 have an excellent percent of wins, they can make up to 5K per month. Poker Online is of course if you treat playing just like a job and dedicate a long time every day to playing. Ultimately job freedom and the lure of easy money that is just a click away, is what draws a lot of people to online poker.