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 be used throughout this article and 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 negative EV for you, and a confident EV (5.49% in this case) for the casino. In the short run you can win, but in the long run, if you played typical gambling games 1000 times, the casino would always find yourself winning by about 5.49%. As you can plainly 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 before the flop came (preflop), which everyone knows is a good hand preflop. This hand has a high possiblity to win against all the 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, 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 most notable 20% of hands because against a person 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 whole lot higher probability to win. This is just scraping the surface, and there is an EV mounted on every decision and every situation. hatipoker provide starting hand charts for beginners to use, which would function as simplest way to enhance 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 find yourself a winner. That is why poker is not gambling but a 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 it and the web and are even listed on the stock market. They permit 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 this, your money will undoubtedly be safe. Online poker sites have no incentive to cheat when dealing hands since they want to be extremely fair so you continue to play, that allows them to earn their income by means of “rake.” It is a 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 have never heard of it, they don’t really advertise on TV or the net and there aren’t members playing on a regular basis – 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 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 very good customer support. If you’re a beginner you should 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 such as this extra security, and can 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 obtain another $600!” Do they really double your deposit amount after depositing?

That depends on the website. Some sites provide you with a very small portion (around 10%) of one’s deposit instantly, but that’s 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 online poker sites such as 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 on 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 have an excellent percent of wins, they are able to make up to 5K a month. This is of course in the event that you treat playing 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.