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 be used throughout this article and you will be seen in two ways. A new player can have +EV, that is positive Expected Value or – EV, which is negative Expected Value. Poker is not gambling and the following explains why.
Most gambling games have a poor EV for you, and a positive EV (5.49% in this case) for the casino. In the short run you can 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 plainly see these types of gambling games come 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 very best EV decisions against the many other players playing worse (making -EV decisions) than you.
A simple example would be in the event that 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 the 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 a huge advantage as you’ll 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 poker 88 would do is play say the very best 20% of hands because against a person who plays maybe 70% of their hands, you again, will be making a +EV decision each time you play with him. It’s likely 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 novices 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 could easily get lucky, but that’s also what attracts them to come back and keep playing. Over time, a good player who always makes +EV decisions will always end up a winner. This is exactly why 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 are even listed on the stock market. They permit 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 is 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 desire to be extremely fair so you continue steadily to play, which allows them to earn their income by means of “rake.” It is a really 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 web and there aren’t members playing frequently – 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 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 excellent customer support. If you’re a beginner you need to 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 type of id verification to activate your account. Some people may like 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 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 some player points, they will give you the full $600. This is to ensure depositing players may also be active. With online poker sites such as Full Tilt Poker these points are achieved rapidly.
Online sites will publish poker bonus codes which must 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 an excellent percent of wins, they are able to make up to 5K per month. This is of course if you treat playing like a job and dedicate a long time each 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.