Poker is 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 you will be seen in two ways. A player can have +EV, that is positive Expected Value or – EV, that is negative Expected Value. Poker is not gambling and the next explains why.
Most gambling games have a poor EV for you, and a positive EV (5.49% in cases like this) 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 plainly see these types of gambling games are in favor of the house. Poker pits you against other players and not the house. In a complete 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 before the flop came (preflop), which everyone knows is a great hand preflop. This hand has a high possiblity to win against all other hands preflop. If 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’ll be a favorite every time, rendering it a +EV decision. That 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 these hands, you again, will undoubtedly 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. This is just scraping the top, 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 for a while weaker players might 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 find yourself a winner. This is the reason poker isn’t gambling but a game of skill and understanding 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 permit you to play poker online for free 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 that, 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, that allows them to earn their income by means of “rake.” This is usually a very small percent of the pot (usually less than 1%). In poker, you’re playing against the other players, and not the house.
Obviously if the poker site seems shady, you have never 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 money there!!! With hatipoker said, the majority of the major poker sites are very 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 lots of traffic, play money tables, plenty of freeroll tournaments and have very good customer support. If you are a beginner you need to 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 individuals may such as 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 get another $600!” Do they really double your deposit amount after depositing?
That depends on the site. Some sites give you a very small portion (around 10%) of one’s deposit instantly, but that is rare. What typically happens is you deposit $600, and then after you accumulate a certain amount of player points, they will give you 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. After that, the amount you earn depends upon the time you may spend playing and the stakes you play at. When a player reaches 400NL limit, this means 2 to 4 dollar blinds and also have an excellent percent of wins, they can make up to 5K per month. This is of course if you treat playing just like a job and dedicate several hours 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.
