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 be used throughout this article and you will be seen in two ways. A player can have +EV, that is positive Expected Value or – EV, which is negative Expected Value. Poker isn’t 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 term, if you played typical gambling games 1000 times, the casino would always find yourself winning by about 5.49%. As you can see these kinds of gambling games come in favor of the house. Poker pits you against other players rather than the house. In poker88 (9 players) or shorthanded game (6 players), the goal is to make the 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 understands is a good hand preflop. This hand includes a high possiblity 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 an enormous advantage as you will be a favorite every time, making it a +EV decision. This 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 someone who plays maybe 70% of these hands, you again, will be making a +EV decision each time you play with him. It’s likely your starting hands will have a whole lot higher probability to win. That is just scraping the top, and there is an EV attached to every decision and every situation. Many online poker sites provide starting hand charts for beginners to use, which would be the simplest way to improve 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 to come back and keep playing. In the long run, a good player who always makes +EV decisions will always find yourself a winner. This is exactly why poker isn’t gambling but a game of skill and understanding how to exploit your opponent’s mistakes.
Is it 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 the TV and the web and are even listed on the currency markets. They enable 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. Maintaining your password secure can be your responsibility and if you do this, your money will be safe. Online poker sites have no incentive to cheat when dealing hands since they desire to be extremely fair so you continue to play, which allows them to earn their income in the form of “rake.” This can be a really small percent of the pot (usually less than 1%). In poker, you are playing against the other players, and not the home.
Obviously if the poker site seems shady, you haven’t 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 cash there!!! With that said, most 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 excellent 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 people may such as this extra security, and can certainly go that route. Full Tilt Poker and Pokerstars 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 provide you with a very small portion (around 10%) of your deposit instantly, but that is rare. What typically happens is you deposit $600, and then after you accumulate some player points, they will provide you with the full $600. This is to ensure depositing players are also active. With internet poker sites such as for example Full Tilt Poker these points are achieved rapidly.
Online sites will publish poker bonus codes which should be entered upon account creation. After that, the amount you earn depends upon the time you spend playing and the stakes you play at. When 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 in the event that you treat playing such as 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.