Poker is 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, which is negative Expected Value. Poker is not gambling and the next explains why.
Most gambling games have a negative 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 term, in the event that 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 come 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 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 prior to the flop came (preflop), which everyone knows is a superb hand preflop. This hand includes a high chance 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 an enormous advantage as you’ll be a favorite every time, rendering 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 very best 20% of hands because against a person 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 whole lot higher probability to win. This is just scraping the top, 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 in the short term weaker players could easily get lucky, but that’s also what attracts them to come back and keep playing. In the long run, a good player who makes +EV decisions will always find yourself a winner. This is why poker is not gambling but a 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 allow you to play poker online for free or real money. Any negative publicity would affect their business so these sites often provide the best customer service. Keeping your password secure is your responsibility and if you do that, your money will undoubtedly be safe. Online poker sites have no incentive to cheat when dealing hands given that they desire to be extremely fair so you continue steadily to play, which allows them to earn their income in the form of “rake.” This is a very small percent of the pot (usually significantly less than 1%). In poker, you are playing against the other players, and not the home.
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 on a regular basis – you wouldn’t be depositing your money there!!! With that said, almost all of the major poker sites have become safe and reputable.
What are the best online poker rooms?
There are three major sites for playing internet poker. Full Tilt Poker, Pokerstars and Party Poker have plenty of traffic, play money tables, plenty of freeroll tournaments and have very good 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. 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 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 then after you accumulate a certain amount of player points, they will give you the full $600. This is to ensure depositing players may also be active. With internet poker sites such as for example Full Tilt Poker these points are achieved very quickly.
Online sites will publish poker bonus codes which should be entered upon account creation. From then on, PKV earn depends upon the time you spend playing and the stakes you play at. Whenever a player reaches 400NL limit, this means 2 to 4 dollar blinds and also have a good percent of wins, they are able to 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 only a click away, is what draws so many people to online poker.