Poker is 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 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 is not gambling and the next explains why.
Most gambling games have a negative EV for you, and a confident EV (5.49% in this instance) for the casino. In the short run you can win, but in the long term, if 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 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 chance to win against all other hands preflop. If you played and raised “all in” with this hand against a player who played and called every all in, you’ll have an enormous advantage as you’ll be a favorite every time, making 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 most notable 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 that your starting hands will have a whole lot higher probability to win. That is just scraping the top, and there is 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 improve your EV.
In addition, there is 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 run, a good player who always makes +EV decisions will always end up a winner. This is the reason poker isn’t gambling but a game of skill and understanding how to exploit your opponent’s mistakes.
Is it safe to play internet poker?
Absolutely, some sites have over 50,000 people playing at once. Major sites like Full Tilt Poker run advertisements on the TV and the web and so are even listed on the stock market. They permit 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 your password secure is your responsibility and if you do this, your money will undoubtedly be safe. Online poker sites have no incentive to cheat when dealing hands given that they want to be extremely fair so you continue to play, that allows them to earn their income in the form of “rake.” This is usually a very small percent of the pot (usually significantly less than 1%). In poker, you are playing contrary to the other players, and not the house.
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 frequently – you wouldn’t be depositing your money there!!! With that said, a lot of the major poker sites are very safe and reputable.
What are the best internet poker rooms?
There are 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 excellent 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 can 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 get 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 then after you accumulate a certain amount of player points, they will give you the full $600. This is to ensure depositing players are also active. With internet poker sites such as for example 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 upon 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 have an excellent percent of wins, they can make up to 5K per month. megapoker99 is of course if you treat playing 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 a lot of people to online poker.