If you are playing poker, the most important decision you will make is what to do with your hands. This involves calculating the expected value of each possible outcome.
The basic idea is that your chances of getting a particular card, and therefore winning or losing money, are based on how often that card has been drawn in similar hands over the course of play.
There are a few things to keep in mind when calculating expected value. First, it is important to remember that different poker hands have different values.
For example, a high-card (an Ace with any other cards), is worth less than a low-card (a Two with any other cards).
Second, you must also consider the odds of each possible outcome. For instance, if you are playing Texas Hold’em and have two cards to come (a Jack and an Ace), the odds of both those cards being face up are 1 in 21. That means for every 21 hands you will play, one of these two cards will be showing.
So the expected value of this hand is 0.5 (5/21).
Finally, you must take into account what other players are doing. If one player always plays high-cards and another always plays low-cards, their opponents may start to learn which hand they’re going to play and adjust their strategy accordingly.
This can change the overall value of a hand even if the odds of each individual outcome stay the same.
