Poker is really a game of skill, and every decision you make is about 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, that 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 positive EV (5.49% in this instance) for the casino. In the short run you can win, but in the long run, in the event that 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 and not the house. In daftar poker88 (9 players) or shorthanded game (6 players), the target is to make the 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 before the flop came (preflop), which everyone knows is an excellent hand preflop. This hand includes a high possiblity to win against all the hands preflop. If you played and raised “all in” with this particular hand against a player who played and called every all in, you would have a huge advantage as you will be a favorite every time, making it a +EV decision. This is an exaggerated example and playing one hand would not 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 their hands, you again, will undoubtedly be making a +EV decision each and 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 top, and there’s an EV attached to every decision and every situation. Many internet poker sites provide starting hand charts for beginners 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 another and keep playing. In the end, a good player who always makes +EV decisions will always find yourself a winner. This is why poker is not gambling but a casino 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 are even listed on the stock market. 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. Keeping your password secure is 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 want to be extremely fair so you continue steadily to play, which allows them to earn their income in the form of “rake.” This can be a very 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 net 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 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, 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 after you sign up and require some form of id verification to activate your account. Some people may such as this extra security, and may certainly go that route. Full Tilt Poker and Pokerstars do not require this. Overall, all three sites are incredibly safe and well known.
Many sites state “Deposit and get another $600!” Do they really double your deposit amount after depositing?
That depends on the website. Some sites provide you with a very 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 provide you with the full $600. This is to ensure depositing players are also active. With internet poker sites such as Full Tilt Poker these points are achieved rapidly.
Online sites 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. When a player reaches 400NL limit, which means 2 to 4 dollar blinds and have an excellent percent of wins, they are able to make up to 5K a month. This is of course in the event that you treat playing just like 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.