Poker is a game of skill, and every decision you make is about maximizing your Expected Value or EV for short. The term “EV” will 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 confident EV (5.49% in this case) for the casino. In the short run you can win, but in the long run, if you played typical gambling games 1000 times, the casino would always end up winning by about 5.49%. As you can plainly see these kind of gambling games are in favor of the home. Poker pits you against other players rather than 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 a great 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 has 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 player who played and called every all in, you would have a huge advantage as you will be a favorite every time, making it a +EV decision. That is an exaggerated example and playing one hand would not be the smartest idea. What you would 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 every time you play with him. It’s likely your starting hands will have a lot higher probability to win. This 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 beginners to use, which would function as simplest way to enhance your EV.
In addition, there’s always variance and in the short term weaker players might get lucky, but that’s also what attracts them another and keep playing. Over time, a good player who makes +EV decisions will always find yourself a winner. This is the reason poker is not gambling but a casino game of skill and understanding 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 it and the web and so are even listed on the currency markets. They enable you to play poker online free of charge or real cash. Any negative publicity would affect their business so these sites often provide 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 given that they desire to be extremely fair so you continue to play, which allows them to earn their income by means of “rake.” This is usually a really small percent of the pot (usually significantly less than 1%). In poker, you’re playing contrary to the other players, and not the home.
Obviously if the poker site seems shady, you have never heard of it, they don’t really advertise on TV or the web and there aren’t members playing on a regular basis – you wouldn’t be depositing your cash there!!! With that said, a lot 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 internet poker. Full Tilt Poker, Pokerstars and Party Poker have lots of traffic, play money tables, plenty of freeroll tournaments and have excellent customer support. If you are a beginner you should play at Full Tilt Poker or Pokerstars when you begin. Other sites like Party Poker call you up once you sign up and require some type of id verification to activate your account. dewapoker may such as this extra security, and may certainly go that route. Full Tilt Poker and Pokerstars usually do not require this. Overall, all three sites are incredibly safe and well known.
Many sites state “Deposit and get 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 is rare. What typically happens is you deposit $600, and then after you accumulate some 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. From then on, the amount you earn depends on the time you spend playing and the stakes you play at. Whenever a player reaches 400NL limit, which means 2 to 4 dollar blinds and have an excellent percent of wins, they are able to make up to 5K per month. This is of course in the event that you treat playing such as a job and dedicate a long time each day to playing. Ultimately job freedom and the lure of easy money that’s only a click away, is what draws a lot of people to online poker.