Poker is really a game of skill, and every decision you make is approximately 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 new player can have +EV, which 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 positive EV (5.49% in this case) for the casino. In the short run you can win, but in the long run, in the event that you played typical gambling games 1000 times, the casino would always end up winning by about 5.49%. As you can plainly see these kinds 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 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 understands is an excellent hand preflop. This hand has a high possiblity to win against all the hands preflop. In the event that 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’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 very best 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 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 end, a good player who always makes +EV decisions will always end up a winner. For this reason poker is not gambling but a casino 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 so 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 supply 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 given that they want to be extremely fair so you continue to play, which allows them to earn their income in the form of “rake.” It is a really small percent of the pot (usually significantly less than 1%). In poker, you’re 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 really advertise on TV or the net and there aren’t members playing frequently – 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 plenty of traffic, play money tables, plenty 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 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 individuals may such as this extra security, and will 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 get 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 a certain amount of 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.

megapoker99 on the internet will publish poker bonus codes which should 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, 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 if you treat playing such as a job and dedicate a long time every 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.