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 undoubtedly be used throughout this article and will be seen in two ways. A player can have +EV, which 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 negative EV for you, and a positive EV (5.49% in this instance) 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 kind of gambling games are in favor of the home. Poker pits you against other players rather than the house. In a complete 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 understands is a superb hand preflop. This hand has a high chance to win against all the 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 would have a huge advantage as you will be a favorite every time, rendering 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 top 20% of hands because against someone who plays maybe 70% of their hands, you again, will 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 surface, and there’s an EV attached to 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 is always variance and for a while weaker players might get lucky, but that’s also what attracts them another and keep playing. In the end, 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, poker88 have over 50,000 people playing at once. Major sites like Full Tilt Poker run advertisements on the TV and the web and so are even listed on the currency markets. They let you play poker online free of charge or real cash. Any negative publicity would affect their business so these sites often supply the best customer service. Maintaining 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 steadily to play, that allows them to earn their income in the form of “rake.” This is the really small percent of the pot (usually less than 1%). In poker, you’re 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 web and there aren’t members playing frequently – you wouldn’t be depositing your money there!!! With that said, most of the major poker sites have become safe and reputable.
What are the best internet poker rooms?
There are three major sites for playing internet 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 need to 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. Some individuals 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 popular.
Many sites state “Deposit and get another $600!” Do they really double your deposit amount after depositing?
That depends on the website. Some sites offer you a really 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 give you the full $600. This is to make sure depositing players may also be active. With online poker sites such as for example 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. After that, the amount you earn depends on the time you may spend playing and the stakes you play at. Whenever a player reaches 400NL limit, which means 2 to 4 dollar blinds and 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 such as a job and dedicate several hours every day to playing. Ultimately job freedom and the lure of easy money that is only a click away, is what draws so many people to online poker.
