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 following 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 the short run you could 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 types of gambling games come in favor of the home. Poker pits you against other players rather than the house. In a complete ring game (9 players) or shorthanded game (6 players), the target is to make the best EV decisions against the a great many other players playing worse (making -EV decisions) than you.

poker88 would be if you were dealt KK before the flop came (preflop), which everyone knows is an excellent hand preflop. This hand has a high chance to win against all other hands preflop. If you played and raised “all in” with this particular hand against a new 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. That is an exaggerated example and playing one hand would not be the smartest idea. What you will do is play say the most notable 20% of hands because against someone who plays maybe 70% of their hands, you again, will 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 attached to every decision and every situation. Many internet poker sites provide starting hand charts for novices to use, which would be the 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 another 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 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 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 can be your responsibility and if you do that, your money will be safe. Online poker sites have no incentive to cheat when dealing hands since they wish to be extremely fair so you continue to play, which allows them to earn their income by means of “rake.” That is a really small percent of the pot (usually 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 have never heard of it, they don’t advertise on TV or the net and there aren’t members playing frequently – you wouldn’t be depositing your money there!!! With that said, the majority of the major poker sites have become 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’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 such as 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 well known.

Many sites state “Deposit and obtain another $600!” Do they really double your deposit amount after depositing?

That depends on the website. Some sites offer you a really small portion (around 10%) of one’s deposit instantly, but that is rare. What typically happens is you deposit $600, and then after you accumulate some player points, they will provide you with the full $600. This is to ensure depositing players may also be active. With online poker sites such as Full Tilt Poker these points are achieved rapidly.

Websites on the internet will publish poker bonus codes which must be entered upon account creation. After that, the amount you earn depends on the time you may spend playing and the stakes you play at. When a player reaches 400NL limit, this means 2 to 4 dollar blinds and also have an excellent percent of wins, they are able to make up to 5K per month. This is of course in the event that you treat playing such as a job and dedicate a long time 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.