Poker strategy
Poker strategy
Poker is a popular card game that combines elements of chance and strategy. There are various styles of poker, all of which share an objective of presenting the least probable or highest-scoring hand. A poker hand is usually a configuration of five cards depending on the variant, either held entirely by a player or drawn partly from a number of shared, community cards. Players bet on their hands in a number of rounds as cards are drawn, employing various mathematical and intuitive strategies in an attempt to better opponents.
Given the game's many different forms and various dynamics, poker strategy becomes a complex subject. This article attempts to introduce only the basic strategy concepts.
The fundamental theorem of poker thumb|200px|David Sklansky at the World Series of Poker
The fundamental-theorem-of-poker, introduced by David Sklansky, states: Every time you play your hand the way you would if you could see your opponents' cards, you gain, and every time your opponents play their cards differently from the way they would play them if they could see your cards, you gain. This theorem is the foundation for many poker strategy topics. For example, bluffing and slow-playing (explained below) are examples of using deception to induce your opponents to play differently from how they would if they could see your cards. There are some exceptions to the fundamental theorem in certain multi-way pot situations, as described in morton's-theorem.
Pot odds, implied odds and poker probabilities The relationship between pot odds and odds of winning is one of the most important concepts in poker strategy. Pot odds are the ratio of the size of the pot to the size of the bet required to stay in the pot. [[bluff-(poker)|Bluffing]] is a form of deception where players bet strongly on a weak hand to induce opponents to fold superior hands. Related is the semi-bluff, in which a player who does not have a strong hand, but has a chance to improve it to a strong hand in later rounds, bets strongly on the hand in the hopes of inducing other players with weaker "made" hands to fold. Slow-playing is deceptive play in poker that is roughly the opposite of bluffing: checking or betting weakly with a strong holding, attempting to induce other players with weaker hands to call or raise the bet instead of folding, to increase the payout.
Position
- Position refers to the order in which players are seated** around the table and the strategic consequences of this. Generally, players in earlier [[position-(poker)|position]] (who have to act first) need stronger hands to bet/raise or call than players in later position. For example, if there are five opponents yet to act behind a player, there is a greater chance one of the yet to act opponents will have a better hand than if there were only one opponent yet to act. Being in late position is an advantage because a player gets to see how their opponents in earlier position act (which provides the player more information about their hands than they have about his). This information, coupled with a low bet to a late player, may allow the player to "limp in" with a weaker hand when they would have folded the same hand if they'd had to act earlier. Position is one of the most vital elements to understand in order to be a long-term winning player. As a player's position improves, so too does the range of cards with which they can profitably enter a hand. Conversely this commonly held knowledge can be used to an intelligent poker player's advantage. If playing against observant opponents, then a raise with any two cards can 'steal the blinds,' if executed against passive players at the right time.
Reasons to raise Unlike calling, raising has an extra way to win: opponents may fold. An opening bet may be considered a raise from a strategy perspective. David Sklansky gives several reasons for raising, summarized below.
Gap concept The gap concept states that a player needs a better hand to play against someone who has already opened (or raised) the betting than he would need to open himself. The gap concept reflects that players prefer to avoid confrontations with other players who have already indicated strength, and that calling only has one way to win (by having the best hand), whereas opening may also win immediately if your opponent(s) fold.
Sandwich effect Related to the gap effect, the sandwich effect states that a player needs a stronger hand to stay in a pot when there are opponents yet to act behind him. A player can leverage their table image by playing out of character, and thereby inducing his/her opponents to misjudge his/her hand and make a mistake.
In live poker, as opposed to internet, stereotypes are often used for initial 'reads'. For instance, people of retirement age are often witnessed to play tight. Players will often project this image on unknown people of retirement age. Young people wearing headphones and hoodies are often witnessed to play more aggressively and mathematically if they played a lot of winning internet poker. These stereotypes can often be good bases to start a profile.
Often, there is a rather small pool of players in a given card playing venue. People will carry their history of playing with them in these environments.
Internet poker players can use large databases of hand histories to get a more precise player profile. Statistical information about opponents is displayed on the tables in the form of a heads up display. The most commonly used software is PokerTracker and Hold'em Manager.
Equity Players' equity in a pot is their expected share of the pot, expressed either as a percentage (probability of winning) or expected value (amount of pot probability of winning). Negative equity, or loss in equity*, occurs when contributing to a pot with a probability of winning less than 1 / (number of opponents matching the contribution+1).
:Example :Alice contributes $12 to a pot and is matched by two other opponents. Alice's $12 contribution "bought" the chance to win $36. If Alice's probability of winning is 50%, her equity in the $36 pot is $18 (a gain in equity because her $12 is now "worth" $18). If her probability of winning is only 10%, Alice loses equity because her $12 is now only "worth" $3.60 (amount of pot * probability of winning).
:Texas hold 'em example :Alice holds <span style="color:red;">J♦</span>8♠. Bob holds <span style="color:red;">K♥</span>7♠. After the flop, the board is <span style="color:red;">5♥6♥7♦</span>. If both hands are played to a showdown, Alice has a 45% chance to win (which she is unaware of, because she does not know what hand Bob holds), Bob has a 53% chance to win and there is a 2% chance to split the pot. The pot currently has $51. Alice goes all-in for $45 reasoning that she can take the pot immediately if Bob folds or that Bob calls with a worse hand. Bob's simple pot odds for the call are also 32%; since his equity of 53% is greater than the pot odds he has to call, Bob has a positive expected value for the call (if he knew Alice's hole cards).
Short-handed considerations When playing short-handed (at a table with 3-6 players), players must loosen up their play (play more hands) for several reasons:
Mindset considerations In 2014, Bwin conducted a study to see what makes a professional poker player. The brain activity of poker players, of varying degrees, was monitored using EEG headsets and visualised into brain maps. Leading sports psychologist, James Hazlett, then interpreted the findings: * More experienced players showed higher levels of focus and concentration throughout the game. * The amateur players had less control over their emotions, and were prone to allowing negative emotions, such as frustration, to distract them. * Whilst opponents were taking their turn, the expert players opened up another table or watched replays of hands they had played poorly to improve. * The brain maps showed that the professional players were led more by logic and intuition.
The conclusions of the study suggest that poker players can improve their strategy by considering their mindset. Mental training techniques, commonly used by athletes, could therefore help to improve performance by working on elements such as self-control and concentration.