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 undoubtedly be used throughout this article and will be seen in two ways. A player can have +EV, which is positive Expected Value or – EV, which is negative Expected Value. Poker is not gambling and the next explains why.
Most gambling games have a poor EV for you, and a confident EV (5.49% in cases like this) for the casino. In poker88 could win, but in the long term, in the event that you played typical gambling games 1000 times, the casino would always find yourself winning by about 5.49%. As you can see these kinds of gambling games come in favor of the house. 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 understands is a great hand preflop. This hand includes a high possiblity to win against all the 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’ll 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 wouldn’t normally be the smartest idea. What you would do is play say the very best 20% of hands because against somebody who plays maybe 70% of their hands, you again, will be making a +EV decision every time you play with him. It’s likely your starting hands will have a whole lot higher probability to win. This is just scraping the top, and there’s an EV mounted on every decision and every situation. Many online poker sites provide starting hand charts for novices 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 could easily get lucky, but that’s also what attracts them another and keep playing. In the long term, a good player who makes +EV decisions will always find yourself a winner. This is exactly why poker isn’t gambling but a casino 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 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 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 undoubtedly 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.” That is a very 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 haven’t 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, the majority 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 plenty of traffic, play money tables, a lot of freeroll tournaments and have very good customer support. If you are a beginner you need to 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 form of id verification to activate your account. Some individuals 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 well known.
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 really small portion (around 10%) of your deposit instantly, but that is rare. What typically happens is you deposit $600, and after you accumulate a certain amount of player points, they will provide you with the full $600. This is to make sure depositing players may also be active. With online poker sites such as for example 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. Whenever a player reaches 400NL limit, which means 2 to 4 dollar blinds and have an excellent 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 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.