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Expected Value in
Online Poker
When
you first set out to
learn poker, there are all sorts of things that you have to
master. It truly is one of those games where you can learn the rules
in 15 minutes, but you have to spend a lifetime if you want to
master the art of game play. For those who want to have success in
online poker, the idea of expected value is a huge piece of
poker strategy. Whether you play poker tournaments or you
play ring games, expected value can be looked at in a couple of
different ways.
The first way that one must look at expected value is in an overall
sense. When we talk about
poker in terms of a money making machine, you have to know
that it's impossible to win every single session. Poker pro Phil
Ivey could play low level tables against poor competition and he's
going to lose every now and then. It's just the nature of the beast,
because poker is not a game where you can be perfect, no matter how
well you play. With this in mind, people who play poker tournaments
and want to make money need to understand their expected value for a
given session. That is, how much can you expect to win for every
tournament that you play. This is important because it will allow
you to select tournament levels if you plan to really make a run at
making cash.
The more important poker strategy lesson of expected value has to do
with individual hands. Poker is a game where you have to get your
money into the hand with the advantage. You won't win every time,
even if you have the advantage, but your expected value will
normalize if you play enough hands. To take a very rough example,
say that you get your money in with the best of it and you're a 60%
favorite. Though there will be a lot of variance you are going to
lose some hands in the short run, as you play longer, you will see
things come back in your direction. As a poker player, you have to
have the patience to wait out the bad spells and take advantage of
the long run value of playing the hands.
One of the lessons that you must lean when you play poker is that
you have to play within your means. If you are playing levels that
you can afford, you will be more likely to put the chips in the
middle when you've got a 57% advantage. This will do good things for
your bankroll over time, but if you're playing levels that are too
high, you will lose your entire bankroll on the 43% of the time that
you lose the hand. Staying within yourself will help your overall
expected value for each session.
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