Poker is really 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, that 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 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 run, if you played typical gambling games 1000 times, the casino would always end up winning by about 5.49%. As you can see these kinds of gambling games are in favor of the home. 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 very best EV decisions against the 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 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, making it a +EV decision. That is an exaggerated example and playing one hand wouldn’t normally be the smartest idea. What you would do is play say the most notable 20% of hands because against a person who plays maybe 70% of their hands, you again, will be making a +EV decision every time you play with him. It’s likely that your starting hands will have a lot higher probability to win. This is just scraping the surface, and there is an EV attached to every decision and every situation. Many internet 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 could easily get lucky, but that’s also what attracts them another and keep playing. Over time, a good player who always makes +EV decisions will always end up a winner. For this reason poker is not gambling but a game of skill and finding out how to exploit your opponent’s mistakes.
Could it be safe to play online poker?
Absolutely, some sites 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 allow you to 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. Keeping your password secure can be your responsibility and if you do this, your money will undoubtedly be safe. Online poker sites haven’t any incentive to cheat when dealing hands since they want to be extremely fair so you continue steadily to play, which allows them to earn their income by means of “rake.” It is a very small percent of the pot (usually less than 1%). In poker, you are playing contrary to the other players, and not the home.
Obviously if the poker site seems shady, you haven’t heard of it, they don’t really advertise on TV or the web and there aren’t members playing regularly – you wouldn’t be depositing your cash there!!! With that said, almost all 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 online 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 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 form of id verification to activate your account. Some people 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 website. Some sites offer you a very small portion (around 10%) of your 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 provide you with the full $600. This is to ensure depositing players are also 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. From then on, the amount you earn depends upon the time you may spend playing and the stakes you play at. When poker88 reaches 400NL limit, this means 2 to 4 dollar blinds and also have an excellent percent of wins, they can make up to 5K a month. This is of course in the event that you treat playing such as a job and dedicate a long time every day to playing. Ultimately job freedom and the lure of easy money that is just a click away, is what draws a lot of people to online poker.