mathematics of poker

AlfieAA

AlfieAA

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Mar 17, 2012
Total posts
10,689
Awards
4
Chips
0
should i keep playing as much poker as possible, getting used to the basics or take a couple of days off and try and learn some math behind the game.....or will that come in time with just playing regularly and reading this forum?....

also are 'equity' and 'probability' the same thing?.....should i be learning these things straight of the bat?......when should i learn 'expected value'?......

when did you guys learn these things?....was it early on in your poker careers or did you pick it up as you went along by playing lots and reading bits here and there?...........is it possible to be good at poker without understanding these 3 aspects of the game?.....can one get by on only knowing odds and outs?....
 
C

Caesura

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Aug 17, 2012
Total posts
221
Chips
0
It sounds like you don't want to learn it but know you should. I've read about equity and ev so many times and still cant apply it or understand it but each time I read through it I understand a tiny bit more.
What it shows you is that if you make the same call over thousands of hands you will eventually win. Even if you lose the first 20 and think you will never make that call again, if you have 54% equity (or chance of winning), if you play enough times you will make money.
Have you got poker stove? Also you can download Apps for your phone if you have android and can run calculations when you are bored (oxymoron?).
Already you know that K9 only has a 36% chance of winning against a hand range of 18% which is why you fold it preflop
 
fletchdad

fletchdad

Jammin................
Loyaler
Joined
Feb 3, 2010
Total posts
11,707
Awards
2
Chips
122
should i keep playing as much poker as possible, getting used to the basics or take a couple of days off and try and learn some math behind the game.....or will that come in time with just playing regularly and reading this forum?....- a couple of days will be nothing, you need to continually do these things -

also are 'equity' and 'probability' the same thing? NO.....should i be learning these things straight of the bat? YES......when should i learn 'expected value'?......NOW

when did you guys learn these things?....was it early on in your poker careers or did you pick it up as you went along by playing lots and reading bits here and there?...........is it possible to be good at poker without understanding these 3 aspects of the game?.....can one get by on only knowing odds and outs?....

There are many good books that teach this stuff.I can suggest reading Nathan Williams' "Crushing the micro stakes" as a good start. It keeps the math at a minimum, as it is directed to a solid micro stake strategy, but still delivers a lot of good info. Asking if you can be good knowing only odds and outs is like asking if you will be good at golf if you only practice using a driver.

You need to understand equity and how to calculate it in any situation. You need to understand about fold equity and how that combined with you equity in the hand can make your expected value in certain plays go up. You also need to understand what expected value is and how to calculate it. And it is not easy. The basics are - sort of - but applying them under pressure are not.

I am sure there are a lot of good beginner books that cover these topics in an easy to understand way. Professional no limit holdem is a good book, but not a total beginner book.
 
Arjonius

Arjonius

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Jun 8, 2005
Total posts
3,167
Chips
0
At the lowest levels, becoming a winning player is much more about having fewer holes and leaks in your game than your opponents than it is about the amount of math you need to know to.

The two things aren't completely separate because knowing some math will help you to make fewer -EV decisions. But to become a winning player, you don't need to know much, and it's not difficult either, even for those who aren't good with numbers.

Learning more math can help a winning player to win more, but that's not the same thing. It's another step after becoming a winner.

And the really complex stuff isn't feasible at the table because the calculations take too long. It's about learning math-based principles and guidelines that help your decision making, not about being able to do multi-variant equations in your head in seconds.
 
AlfieAA

AlfieAA

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Mar 17, 2012
Total posts
10,689
Awards
4
Chips
0
cheers guys lots to consider here :)
 
D

ddeely1

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Jan 5, 2010
Total posts
128
Chips
0
I would recommend learning it and playing at the same time. I always set a few hours aside every week to study the game. Try learning the math and then applying it in your session.
 
Top