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 undoubtedly be used throughout this article and will be seen in two ways. poker88 can have +EV, which is positive Expected Value or – EV, which is negative Expected Value. Poker isn’t gambling and the next 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 can win, but in the long term, if 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 are in favor of the home. Poker pits you against other players and not the house. In a complete ring game (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 before the flop came (preflop), which everyone understands is a superb 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 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. That is an exaggerated example and playing one hand would not be the smartest idea. What you will do is play say the most notable 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 lot higher probability to win. That is just scraping the surface, and there’s an EV attached to every decision and every situation. Many online 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 might get lucky, but that’s also what attracts them to come back and keep playing. In the end, a good player who 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.
Is it 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 are even listed on the currency markets. They allow you to play poker online for free or real cash. Any negative publicity would affect their business so these sites often provide 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 given that they want to be extremely fair so you continue to play, which allows them to earn their income in the form of “rake.” This is usually a really small percent of the pot (usually less than 1%). In poker, you’re 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 net and there aren’t members playing regularly – 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?
You can find 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 start. Other sites like Party Poker call you up after you sign up and require some type of id verification to activate your account. Some people may like 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 obtain 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 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 online 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 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 also have a good percent of wins, they can make up to 5K per month. This is of course in the event that you treat playing such as a job and dedicate several hours every day to playing. Ultimately job freedom and the lure of easy money that is only a click away, is what draws so many people to online poker.