Poker is a game of skill, and every decision you make is about maximizing your Expected Value or EV for short. The word “EV” will be used throughout this article and will be seen in two ways. A new player can have +EV, that is positive Expected Value or – EV, that is negative Expected Value. Poker is not gambling and the next explains why.
Most gambling games have a poor EV for you, and a confident EV (5.49% in cases like this) 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 end up winning by about 5.49%. As you can plainly see these types of gambling games are in favor of the house. Poker pits you against other players and not the house. In a full ring game (9 players) or shorthanded game (6 players), the goal is to make the 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 a great hand preflop. This hand has a high chance to win against all the hands preflop. If you played and raised “all in” with this hand against a new 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. This 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 be making a +EV decision each and every time you play with him. It’s likely your starting hands will have a whole lot higher probability to win. This is just scraping the surface, and there’s an EV mounted on 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’s always variance and in the short term weaker players could easily get lucky, but that’s also what attracts them another and keep playing. Over time, a good player who makes +EV decisions will always end up a winner. That is why poker is not 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 it and the web and so are even listed on the currency markets. They permit 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 haven’t any incentive to cheat when dealing hands given that they want to be extremely fair so you continue steadily to play, which allows them to earn their income by means of “rake.” This can be a really small percent of the pot (usually significantly less than 1%). In poker, you are playing against the other players, and not the house.
Obviously if the poker site seems shady, you haven’t 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 megapoker99 said, most of the major poker sites are very 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’re a beginner you need to 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 such as this extra security, and can certainly go that route. Full Tilt Poker and Pokerstars usually 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 site. Some sites give you a very small portion (around 10%) of one’s deposit instantly, but that’s rare. What typically happens is you deposit $600, and after you accumulate some player points, they will provide you with the full $600. This is to ensure depositing players may also be active. With online 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 on the time you spend playing and the stakes you play at. When a player reaches 400NL limit, which means 2 to 4 dollar blinds and also have an excellent percent of wins, they can make up to 5K per month. This is of course in the event that you treat playing like 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.
