expected value

M

Memphis legend

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I been reading a lotta strategy poker books. maybe I'm just slow but I don't get expected value. how do you calculate something your not sure of , like your opponents hand? all I use is my outs, and pot odds. somebody explain to me why you'd wanna use expected value? I just think some GTO book writers came up with another way for you NOT to fold
 
maestro121920

maestro121920

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consider also implied odds and position
 
O

odonob

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A lot of this EV etc, is a nonsense unfortunately. The game is far, far too random to believe this stuff. The game is far too random to apply a system to it. Play, get to a level and throw out the books.
 
Joe

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I been reading a lotta strategy poker books. maybe I'm just slow but I don't get expected value. how do you calculate something your not sure of , like your opponents hand? all I use is my outs, and pot odds. somebody explain to me why you'd wanna use expected value? I just think some GTO book writers came up with another way for you NOT to fold
To calculate EV definitively you need all the data, including your opponents' holdings.

Therefore it is a very good analysis tool when reviewing play retrospectively.

I.E. to look back and see whether any given decision was positive, or negative, expected value.

As you've noted, during play we don't have all the information required and, even if we did, working out the EV formula is above most people's mental arithmetic capability in the short time we have to act.

That being said, with practice and experience you develop a better sense of what your EV is going to be like in certain spots as well as what kind of plays will generally result in positive or negative EV.

While it might not be something you calculate at the felts, understanding the implications of EV and learning to invest chips in +EV spots and avoid -EV plays is absolutely crucial to profiting consistently at poker.
 
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nutself

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Calculate the exact expected value of a hand while playing is almost an impossible task for me, the best I can do is get a feeling of it, and play according to my intuition.
 
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alien666dj

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I want to use expected value with other aspects of the game in order to get as much information as possible about my opponent and their opening range.
 
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