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The excitement of bluffing is one of the factors that makes playing poker so enjoyable and interesting. Playing online though demands a bit more of an analytical, perhaps robotic approach because the maths and statistics of the game stands out as a bit more important than perhaps body language in a live situation.
You should be playing the feel of the game and the position of the button but additionally fully knowing the odds will certainly improve your game and get you closer to those final tables. It genuinely will give you an edge. To notice the mathematical advantages of playing certain hands in certain situations can’t be overlooked.
Simple odds for straight and flush draws
If we brush up on some basics for minute – if you have hit 4 cards of a straight, it’s nice, you are one card away perhaps after the turn. To hit that straight it’s 1 in 14 odds on the river. If you are open ended then you will have double those odds at 1 in 7. To risk a decent proportion of your stack to call a 1 in 7 chance you have to think is really quite foolish. With a flush you may be looking at roughly a 1 in 4 chance. Hoping for your 1 in 4 on the river is not going to be a winning strategy.
This is all pretty obvious to someone who knows the game but using a mathematical approach a bit further requires a little more thought, changing dynamically depending on the format and amount of players at the table.
Heads up statistics
There is a great chart on the 888 website that gives you some statistical information about playing aggressively all in which they call a push fold chart, which is different to a starting hands chart. This is giving you great information about the maths behind shoving all your chips over the line. The game demands this style of play in many areas of tournament, not least the final table.
“The Nash equilibrium is a concept of game theory where the optimal outcome of a game is one where no player has an incentive to deviate from his or her chosen strategy after considering an opponent’s choice.”
The nash equilibrium metric is measured in Big Blinds with 20+ being the highest number.
View the table on the 888 website
The table on offer is designed specifically for heads up play which Is an important detail, it’s a little confusing to get your head around at first. You can improve your heads up game by getting some understanding how lesser hands are now more valuable and also appreciating the general importance of shoving vs folding as oppossed to betting normally. You can analyse the value that your position will give you – between calling and shoving.
To work out exactly these stats for other table sizes varies a bit between how many players are at the table and so an app called “Snapshove” has been created so you can enter your table stats to it and get your mathematically correct info nice and easily without having to think about it. It was developed by Max Silver who is a pro poker player with almost 5m in live winnings, that should go some way to convince you that you should pay attention. Use the link above to view the article on the 888 website to learn more.
Live games with 888
Having completed the London Live event in Febuary, the Bucharest event in March, Barcelona just recently in June, the next event is set to be Sochi on the southern tip of Russia, followed by Montesino Casino in Vienna.
Buy in for $888 for a guaranteed prizepool of $300,00.
I would also very much recommend giving their casino wheel a spin with which I cashed out almost £500 without making a deposit by meeting the wagering requirement playing slots, you can see my 888 casino article here.
Freeroll tickets and offers with the 888 poker client
It’s exiting to be handed a freeroll worth only a few bucks of value, blast through the qualifiers and suddenly find yourself in a seat worth hundreds of dollars with 1000’s on offer for the final table. You can get some high value freeroll tickets here too. You’ve got to be in it to win it and 888 will offer you plenty of value as a new customer to try out their games, you will get loads of daily freeroll tickets and I can confirm it’s very effective to keep you entertained and interested. Perhaps you can exploit some mathematical information and the mentioned app along with their freeroll offers to grind some free cash.
