Good poker players have a solid grasp on the mathematical components of the game. It is one of the fundamental in every poker decisions you have to make, whether you check, call, raise or fold. Each of these decisions have a monetary impact and that’s what determines a successful poker player over the long term. One of the mathematical concepts of the game is called Expected Value (EV). Understanding EV is one key to becoming a consistently successful poker player.
Expected Value (EV) is a term used to describe the value of an event over the course of all possibilities. It is the amount of money you can expect to earn in the long run by making a specific decision in a specific circumstance. Remember it is the value of the decisions made over the long run and it doesn’t relate to short term results.
Applying the concepts, imagine flipping a coin. The outcome of the flip can be head or a tail. You have a 50-50 chance of winning. Say you bet for a head and receive even-money, meaning for every one bet you win also one bet. In the short run say 10 flips maybe you will win or lose. You win because you are lucky and getting the flips on your side or you lose because you are getting run out of bad flips. This variance is even out in the long run. Over an infinite number of flips, chances are you are getting break even. Basing on the same example say an opportunity offers a win of $1.5 for a bet of a dollar. At 20 flips, you may still get unlucky and lose your bets. But in long run say a thousand flips, on the average you get an expected value more or less $250 ((50% *1000 * ($1.5-$1)).
Expected Value Concept in Poker
Texas Holdem Poker Starting Hands Selection
Learning to play winning poker is about developing the right set of skills. You have to equip yourself with the right amount of knowledge and strategies. Playing poker is like investing. You want to put your money in good opportunities with the chance for fair return. By playing holdem, good players can win most money with only a reasonable amount of risk. You can win by exploiting opportunities what bad players offers.
As a new player, your journey to the poker world is not about getting the big cards and winning them. Selecting correctly the starting hands (the hole cards) is one of the key at winning poker. Understanding the strength and weaknesses of your hole cards will give you a good information on your winning potential.
Good starting hands gives you more chances to form a strong poker hand with a high potential to win. By only playing hands that have profitable expected value, you will greatly increase your ability to earn money over the long-term. In his book Holdem Poker for Advanced Players, Sklansky presents the definitive grouping of the best Texas Hold'em starting hands.
Group 1: AA, KK, QQ, JJ, AKs
Group 2: TT, AQs, AJs, KQs, AK
Group 3: 99, JTs, QJs, KJs, ATs, AQ
Group 4: T9s, KQ, 88, QTs, 98s, J9s, AJ, KTs
Group 5: 77, 87s, Q9s, T8s, KJ, QJ, JT, 76s, 97s, Axs, 65s
Group 6: 66, AT, 55,86s, KT, QT, 54s, K9s, J8s, 75s
Group 7: 44, J9, 64s, T9, 53s, 33, 98,43s, 22, Kxs, T7s, Q8s
Group 8: 87, A9, Q9, 76,42s, 32s, 96s, 85s, 58, J7s, 65, 54, 74s, K9, T8
These rankings reflect not only which group each starting hand belongs to, but its approximate order in that group as well. The list put strong emphasis on connecting and suited hands. Referring to the above groupings, Group 1 and 2 should usually be raised to almost any position. On the other hand, you should play cautiously those on the lower ranks. For example hand like A7, since you have an Ace it doesn’t mean you have to play the hands all the time. These are one some of the troubled hands that even if you caught an Ace you may still lose the pot because of bad kicker. You have to take extra cautions.
The Rules and Mechanics of Texas Holdem Poker
Texas Holdem Poker is a form of poker with community cards. Every players gets two cards face down. These are hands that are distinct to their hand only. At the end of the hand, five cards will be shown face up on the table. Each player mentally takes his two cards and combine it with five cards on the board, and makes the best card poker hand he can make. They could use both cards from their hand and three from the board. Or they could use one card from their hand and four from the board. In extreme cases, they could use none from their hand and all five on the board. The purpose is to make the best poker hand from the combination of the starting hand and the board, without regard to how many cards are used from the starting hand.
The Cards
There are four rounds of card distribution and betting in Hold’em: the pre-Flop, the Flop, the Turn and the River. After the cards are dealt on each round, there is a round of betting.
Pre-Flop: Each player is dealt two cards face down. These cards pertain to only the hands of the individual. There is a round of betting after these two cards are dealt.
The Flop: Three cards are dealt face up in middle of the table, this is called the Flop. These cards are community cards that everyone uses in their hand and are collectively called the board. After the Flop, there is another round of betting. The term “the Flop” can refer to the three cards or the betting round.
The Turn: A fourth card is dealt face up in the middle of the table. This fourth card is called the Turn and is part of the board. After the Turn card is dealt, there is another round of betting. The term “the Turn” can refer to the card itself or the betting round.
The River: A fifth and final card is dealt face up in the middle of the table. This fifth card is called the River and is part of the board as well. After the River card is dealt, there is one final round of betting. The term “the River” can refer to the last card itself or the betting round.
The Showdown: After the betting round on the River, each player still in the hand at this point exposes their cards. Each player’s full poker hand consists of the best fiver card poker hand possible from the combination of his two cards and the five cards on the board. The highest five card poker hand wins the pot. If there is a tie, then the pot is split among the players that tied for the best hand.
The Betting
Before any cards are dealt, three things happen. One player will get the dealer button, called the Button, he is the de facto dealer in the hand. Casinos will provide an employee to deal the cards. In a home game, the dealer usually rotates from player to player, and an actual button would not be necessary.
