Poker is really a game of skill, and every decision you make is about maximizing your Expected Value or EV for short. The term “EV” will 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 isn’t gambling and the next explains why.
Most gambling games have a poor EV for you, and a positive EV (5.49% in this case) for the casino. In the short run you could win, but in the long run, 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 kind of gambling games are 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 in the event that you were dealt KK prior to the flop came (preflop), which everyone knows is a great 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 new player who played and called every all in, you would have a huge advantage as you’ll be a favorite every time, making it a +EV decision. That 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 a person who plays maybe 70% of these hands, you again, will undoubtedly be making a +EV decision each time you play with him. It’s likely that your starting hands will have a lot higher probability to win. That is just scraping the top, 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’s always variance and in the short term weaker players might get lucky, but that’s also what attracts them to come back and keep playing. In the long term, a good player who makes +EV decisions will always find yourself a winner. For this reason poker isn’t gambling but a casino game of skill and understanding how to exploit your opponent’s mistakes.
Could it be 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 it and the web and so are even listed on the currency markets. They allow you to play poker online free of charge or real money. 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 that, 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 the really small percent of the pot (usually 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 advertise on TV or the web and there aren’t members playing frequently – you wouldn’t be depositing your cash there!!! With that said, the majority of the major poker sites have become safe and reputable.
What are idnplay ?
There are three major sites for playing internet poker. Full Tilt Poker, Pokerstars and Party Poker have plenty of traffic, play money tables, plenty of freeroll tournaments and have excellent customer support. If you’re a beginner you should 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 individuals may like this extra security, and may 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 offer you a very small portion (around 10%) of one’s deposit instantly, but that’s rare. What typically happens is you deposit $600, and then 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.
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 spend playing and the stakes you play at. When 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 like a job and dedicate several hours each day to playing. Ultimately job freedom and the lure of easy money that is only a click away, is what draws so many people to online poker.