A Poker Theory

Poker Theory
"The next best thing to playing and winning, is playing and losing."
— A. Alvarez, writer and poker player
Poker, in its most basic form, is a zero-sum game. Without a third party poker like an online poker site that charges a fee to play in the game, the total sum of money at the table remains constant. When one player loses, another gains. This fact has some interesting consequences when you apply poker to the theory of probability. If two people play in an eternal match, the law of averages dictates that each person will eventually receive the exact same hands, in the exact same situations, the exact same number of times. Each will lose at some point with a king-high straight flush to the other's royal straight flush. Each will win holding a hand containing no pair — 7 high. Thus, in theory, the wins and losses will eventually equal out, and therefore the players should end up with the exact same number of chips in front of them as they started with. If the theory of probability is correct, and it is, then how is there money to be made at the poker table?
The answer is beautifully simple yet wildly complicated; if one plays better than the other, if he out-thinks and out-strategizes, then he will win the most money. Poker isn't about the number of pots you take down, or how fantastic you look winning them (though I do admit to thinking I look really good sometimes). Claiming a pot when you have the best cards isn't enough to make you a winning player. Remember, there is no grand pay scale for holding the best hand. No one gives you a pile of money for drawing a royal straight flush. Some sucker has to pay you off. You have to maximize profits through guile and savvy, eke out every last dollar that your competition is willing to lose to you — and, when you don't have the winning cards, flee as fast as possible.
The key to minimizing losses when you have a weak hand is recognizing the value of your cards compared to those of your competition. There is no predetermined fine for having a terrible hand. In fact, the stronger your losing cards are, the more money you are likely to part with. That's why the worst hand in poker is the second-best one at the table. When somebody has four aces in a natural game of five-card draw, it is much more advantageous for his adversary to hold no pair than a full house against him. The no pair is likely to fold right away and lose almost no money, while the full house is bound to misvalue his hand and get caught up in a raising war before he finds out that he's in second place.

great post, a fair bit of solid info explained in a simple form