Poker is really a game of skill, and every decision you make is approximately maximizing your Expected Value or EV for short. The term “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, which is negative Expected Value. Poker isn’t gambling and the next explains why.
Most gambling games have a poor EV for you, and a confident EV (5.49% in this instance) 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 see these types of gambling games come in favor of the house. Poker pits you against other players rather than 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 if you were dealt KK prior to the flop came (preflop), which everyone understands is a superb hand preflop. This hand has a high chance to win against all the hands preflop. In the event that you played and raised “all in” with this particular hand against a player who played and called every all in, you’ll have a huge advantage as you’ll 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 someone 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 that your starting hands will have a lot higher probability to win. This is just scraping the surface, 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 function as simplest way to enhance your EV.
In addition, there is always variance and in the short term weaker players might get lucky, but that’s also what attracts them another and keep playing. In the long run, a good player who makes +EV decisions will always find yourself a winner. This is exactly why 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, poker88 have over 50,000 people playing at one time. Major sites like Full Tilt Poker run advertisements on the TV and the web and so are even listed on the currency markets. They permit you to play poker online for free 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 to play, which allows them to earn their income in the form of “rake.” That 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 home.
Obviously if the poker site seems shady, you have never heard of it, they don’t really advertise on TV or the net and there aren’t members playing frequently – you wouldn’t be depositing your money there!!! With that said, a lot 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 lots of traffic, play money tables, a lot of freeroll tournaments and have very good customer support. If you’re a beginner you need to play at Full Tilt Poker or Pokerstars when you start. Other sites like Party Poker call you up once you sign up and require some form of id verification to activate your account. Some people may such as 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 popular.
Many sites state “Deposit and obtain 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 your deposit instantly, but that’s rare. What typically happens is you deposit $600, and then after you accumulate some 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 must 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 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 a long time every day to playing. Ultimately job freedom and the lure of easy money that’s only a click away, is what draws a lot of people to online poker.