Posted by Poker is a game of skill, and every decision you make is about maximizing your Expected Value or EV for short. The term “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, that 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 cases like this) for the casino. In the short run you could 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 kind of gambling games come in favor of the home. Poker pits you against other players and not the house. In a full ring game (9 players) or shorthanded game (6 players), the target is to make the 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 before the flop came (preflop), which everyone understands is a superb hand preflop. This hand has a high possiblity to win against all other hands preflop. In the event that you played and raised “all in” with this particular hand against a new player who played and called every all in, you would have a huge advantage as you will be a favorite every time, rendering it a +EV decision. This 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 somebody who plays maybe 70% of these hands, you again, will undoubtedly be making a +EV decision each and every time you play with him. It’s likely that your starting hands will have a whole lot higher probability to win. That 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 novices to use, which would be the simplest way to enhance your EV.
In addition, there’s always variance and for a while weaker players could easily get lucky, but that’s also what attracts them to come back and keep playing. In the long term, a good player who makes +EV decisions will always find yourself a winner. This is 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 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 let you play poker online free of charge or real money. 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 be safe. Online poker sites haven’t any incentive to cheat when dealing hands since they wish to be extremely fair so you continue to play, that allows them to earn their income in the form of “rake.” It is a really small percent of the pot (usually significantly 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 regularly – you wouldn’t be depositing your money there!!! With that said, most 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, a lot of freeroll tournaments and have excellent customer support. If you’re 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 type of id verification to activate your account. Some people may like this extra security, and will 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?
poker88 depends on the website. Some sites offer you a very small portion (around 10%) of your deposit instantly, but that is rare. What typically happens is you deposit $600, and after you accumulate some player points, they will provide you with 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 very quickly.
Websites on the internet will publish poker bonus codes which must 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, this means 2 to 4 dollar blinds and also 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 just like a job and dedicate several hours every day to playing. Ultimately job freedom and the lure of easy money that’s just a click away, is what draws so many people to online poker.