Poker is really a game of skill, and every decision you make is approximately 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, which is negative Expected Value. Poker is not gambling and the following explains why.
Most gambling games have a negative 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 see these kind of gambling games are in favor of the house. Poker pits you against other players rather than the house. In a full 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 before the flop came (preflop), which everyone knows is an excellent hand preflop. This hand has a high chance to win against all other hands preflop. In the event that you played and raised “all in” with this hand against a player who played and called every all in, you would have a huge 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 will do is play say the top 20% of hands because against somebody who plays maybe 70% of their 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 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 novices to use, which would function as 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 another and keep playing. In the long term, a good player who always makes +EV decisions will always find yourself a winner. For this reason poker isn’t gambling but a game of skill and understanding 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 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. Keeping megapoker99 secure is your responsibility and if you do this, your money will be safe. Online poker sites have no incentive to cheat when dealing hands since they wish to be extremely fair so you continue to play, which allows them to earn their income in the form of “rake.” This is usually a really small percent of the pot (usually less than 1%). In poker, you are 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 web and there aren’t members playing regularly – 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?
There are three major sites for playing online poker. Full Tilt Poker, Pokerstars and Party Poker have plenty of traffic, play money tables, plenty 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 begin. Other sites like Party Poker call you up once you sign up and require some type of id verification to activate your account. Some people may like this extra security, and may 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 get another $600!” Do they really double your deposit amount after depositing?
That depends on the site. Some sites offer you a really small portion (around 10%) of your deposit instantly, but that is 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 make sure depositing players are also active. With online poker sites such as for example 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. Whenever a player reaches 400NL limit, which 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 if you treat playing like a job and dedicate several hours each 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.
