Poker Rules Guide-The Factors of Profitability Poker

This article explains a few basic factors you should consider when you play in order to figure out whether you should play a hand or not.

Introduction

One of the first questions you ask at the beginning of each round of betting is: "Should I play this hand?" The analytical approach to poker indicates that any response is justified and that the more justifications you have for a decision, the more chances you have to make informed choices that will earn you money in the long term. The factors that will be presented here provide a basis although others can certainly be added as one gains experience.

Factors and their importance

Before you know these factors, you need to know that they are not of equal importance. So here are the most important. However, the order of evaluation of each of these factors of profitability is paradoxical. Make sure that you know these factors as well as the rules of poker. It is also good to read online poker news too to have more updates.

1) Your cards

This is probably the first factor that comes to mind for all beginners although it is the least important one. This may seem surprising but if you are new in the poker field, you should know that it will be less and less important as you progress. Obviously, despite being the least important, this advantage may be dominant over the others in some cases. Say you have AA or KK in early position with a table full of players better than you. Your card advantage alone justifies your move, although other parameters are the worst possible.

2) The position

This is the second factor and if you start to be familiar with the game world, you have probably heard of the importance of the position in poker. In practice, this means you cannot play as many hands profitably if you are the first to call. This is because everything becomes easier in poker when you have a better position. It is easier to bluff, to enhance your hand, to set traps, to play your opponent and so on.

Remember that you can often open profitably with a wider range of hands if you are first. For example, a hand like A9 is rarely good enough to open a cash game.

3) Competence

It is quite obvious that it is profitable for you to play against your opponent if you are better than him. The problem is that this factor involves many subjective judgments and the (relatively disproportionate) ego of poker players makes them think they are the best at the table and this affects their play significantly. So the most important but also the most dangerous factor is the misjudgment of the advantage you have over each of your opponents because it can quickly determine you to play hands that are not profitable for you.

Let’s consider two examples to illustrate the predominant importance of this factor. You are at a cash game table of 6 players and have 3 very good players to your left and two extremely poor players to your right. In the first case, you have J7 by being first to the second floor and A7. If you consider the first two factors presented, you have a better hand and better position in the second case, so this is the most profitable solution a priori. This is not so!

Your targets are to have an advantage in terms of skills over the mediocre players at the table. You have a very shaky hand, but you give yourself a chance to play a pot in position against the blinds, who are mediocre players. In addition to this, your recovery by being first to speak is often respected by the players to your left. In the end, it is worth taking the risk to play a pot out of position against one of them and to try to play in position against one or both mediocre players.

In the second situation, your position may well be the best possible and your hand better than the first one, but if both players in the blinds are competent and do not leave without a fight, then you are in trouble. If these players are better than you, so you have an interest in folding instead of raising.



You have to be aware of the tips and the rules of poker too. The online poker news can help you in understanding these things.

Keep in mind that most bets are low. It is very important to note that the advantage lies in the cards once exceeds a critical stake by (about 30 big blinds low). Also, if you start, remember that you are probably not able to assess your skill advantage over the other players at the table precisely. It is safer to focus on the first two factors mentioned.