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 undoubtedly be used throughout this article and you will be seen in two ways. A new player can have +EV, which is positive Expected Value or – EV, that is negative Expected Value. Poker is not gambling and the following explains why.
Most gambling games have a poor EV for you, and a confident EV (5.49% in this case) 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 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 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 if you were dealt KK prior to the flop came (preflop), which everyone knows is an effective hand preflop. This hand includes a high possiblity to win against all other hands preflop. In the event that you played and raised “all in” with this hand against a new player who played and called every all in, you’ll have an enormous advantage as you will 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 you would do is play say the top 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 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 function as simplest way to improve your EV.
In addition, there is 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. In the long run, a good player who always makes +EV decisions will always find yourself a winner. For this reason poker is not gambling but a casino 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 one time. Major sites like Full Tilt Poker run advertisements on the TV and the web and so are even listed on the stock market. They allow you to play poker online free of charge 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 undoubtedly be safe. Online poker sites have no incentive to cheat when dealing hands since they wish to be extremely fair so you continue steadily to play, that allows them to earn their income by means of “rake.” It is a really small percent of the pot (usually significantly less than 1%). In poker, you’re playing against the other players, and not the home.
Obviously if the poker site seems shady, you have never 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. garenaqq , Pokerstars and Party Poker have plenty of traffic, play money tables, plenty of freeroll tournaments and have excellent 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 such as this extra security, and will 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 obtain another $600!” Do they really double your deposit amount after depositing?
That depends on the website. Some sites give you a really 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 provide you with the full $600. This is to make sure depositing players are also active. With internet poker sites such as Full Tilt Poker these points are achieved rapidly.
Websites on the internet will publish poker bonus codes which should be entered upon account creation. After that, the amount you earn depends on the time you spend playing and the stakes you play at. Whenever a player reaches 400NL limit, which 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 every day to playing. Ultimately job freedom and the lure of easy money that is just a click away, is what draws so many people to online poker.