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 will be seen in two ways. A player can have +EV, which is positive Expected Value or – EV, that is negative Expected Value. Poker isn’t gambling and the following explains why.
Most gambling games have a negative EV for you, and a confident EV (5.49% in this instance) for the casino. In the short run you could win, but in the long run, 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 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 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 in the event that you were dealt KK prior to the flop came (preflop), which everyone understands is an effective 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 player who played and called every all in, you would 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 wouldn’t normally be the smartest idea. What you will 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 each time you play with him. It’s likely that your starting hands will have a lot higher probability to win. That is just scraping the top, and there’s an EV attached to every decision and every situation. poker88 provide starting hand charts for beginners 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 might get lucky, but that’s also what attracts them another and keep playing. In the long term, 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 finding out how to exploit your opponent’s mistakes.
Is it safe to play internet poker?
Absolutely, some sites have over 50,000 people playing at once. Major sites like Full Tilt Poker run advertisements on it and the web and are even listed on the stock market. They permit 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 this, your money will undoubtedly 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, that allows them to earn their income by means of “rake.” That is 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 advertise on TV or the web and there aren’t members playing regularly – you wouldn’t be depositing your money there!!! With that said, most of the major poker sites are very safe and reputable.
What are the best internet poker rooms?
You can find three major sites for playing internet poker. Full Tilt Poker, Pokerstars and Party Poker have plenty 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 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 like 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 obtain another $600!” Do they really double your deposit amount after depositing?
That depends on the website. Some sites provide you with a really small portion (around 10%) of one’s deposit instantly, but that is rare. What typically happens is you deposit $600, and after you accumulate a certain amount of 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 very quickly.
Websites on the internet will publish poker bonus codes which should 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, this means 2 to 4 dollar blinds and have a good percent of wins, they can make up to 5K a month. This is of course if 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 is only a click away, is what draws a lot of people to online poker.