Online Poker vs. Online Gambling:
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 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 following explains why.
Most gambling
games have a negative 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, if
you played typical gambling games 1000 times, the casino would always
end up winning by about 5.49%. As you can see these types of gambling
games are in favor of the house. Poker pits you against other players
and not the house. In a full ring game (9 players) or shorthanded game
(6 players), the goal is to make the 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 a good hand preflop. This hand has 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 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 would do is
play say the top 20% of hands because against a person 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 lot
higher probability to win. This is just scraping the surface, and there
is an EV attached to every decision and every situation. Many online
poker sites provide starting hand charts for beginners to use, which
would be the simplest way to improve your EV.
In addition, there
is 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 run, a good player who always makes +EV decisions will always
end up a winner. This is why poker is not gambling but a game of skill
and understanding how to exploit your opponent's mistakes.
Is it 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 are
even listed on the stock market. They allow you to play poker online for
free 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 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,
which allows them to earn their income in the form of "rake." This is a
very small percent of the pot (usually less than 1%). In poker, you are
playing against the other players, and not the house.
Obviously if
the poker site seems shady, you have never heard of it, they don't
advertise on TV or the web and there aren't members playing on a regular
basis - you wouldn't be depositing your money there!!! With that said,
most of the major poker sites are very 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 lots of traffic, play money
tables, plenty 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 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 people may like 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 well known.
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 very 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 online poker sites such as 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 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 a good percent of wins, they
can make up to 5K a month. This 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 is just a click away, is what
draws so many people to online poker.
