Poker
IS a large math problem. The more we understand the math behind the game, the better our instincts will become.
Though it is a math problem, it is a math problem largely based on uncertainty. The uncertainty includes the unknown cards and our human opponents. So, even poker math can only tell us the probability of something happening, it can rarely tell us what
will happen.
EV (
expected value)
tells us an average result of a specific situation if it were played a number of times. This is the poker math that sets us free and allows us to make the best decisions. As a side benefit, it also gives us confidence to accept the bad beats because we know that if our assumptions were valid, that these bad beats were a definite possibility, which makes them a little easier to accept.
Instincts absolutely play a role in the poker math. Without a set of assumptions (outs, opponent read, opponent observation, pot odds, SD equity, fold equity, stack impacts, etc.) we cannot begin to do the math. The better our instincts are, the more accurate these assumptions can be. We can play 80% of our hands without specifically calculating anything, but for the 10% of important hands that will have a high impact on our results, we need to understand and be able to execute the math that matters.
Good luck and God Bless.