The online poker sites would have you believe that their software is fair for all players. In fact many of the online poker sites are required to submit their software for rigorous testing to prove it is a fair game for all players. However, is the software really fair? On the other hand, is there something going on in the background that many people never realize?
Many victims of bad beats will scream “this site is rigged” while others will counter that the suck outs and bad beats are all a part of poker and it happens even in live games. While that is true, it still begs the question as to whether there is more to the online poker game than meets the eye.
In a recent study conducted by a popular poker player the focus was to see how often a player was doing better than his or her opponents and by how much. However, the results were very interesting. It showed that while the results of the online match were relatively consistent as to who won and lost, the results for the live match were very different.
The statistics regarding the live match proved to be very different as the experienced players used the game and the mathematics to make a strong argument as to why these results were not as effective. In fact, many of the results that the person would get from the online poker game were negative. This led the person to ask “if these results are accurate, if I am receiving bad beats as often as I thought, and if these results are really valid, what is the reason behind it?”
While the response to this question can be read in many ways, the best way to explain it is this. The popular poker player used a popular card game to explain the concept of probability. In this poker game the player is dealt 5 cards. Now the player can fold his or her cards, or he or she can also choose to play on. This is done after the cards are dealt. In many ways it is the same as being dealt 5 cards in the live poker game.
The premise of the poker game is that the cards you have are already giving you a 50% chance of winning, as the cards are being dealt. The cards you don’t have, are called “deadwood” cards. If the cards are high in value (aces, kings, queens, jacks, and tens) then it is likely that someone will have a better hand than you. But, the low value cards are more rare because players understand that they are not getting the same benefit as having aces and kings.
As the game progresses, some players will understand the mathematical advantage the house has, or will be closer to actually beating the house. At this point another player will understand the effect that human psychology has on the game. We are all human beings and we all react differently to various circumstances. In this instance it is human nature to want to believe we have the better hand when in fact we may not have it. This is the basis of the card counting that occurs in the game of blackjack.
Nothing can be for certain until the person being dealt the cards actually sees the cards. But, the common kartupoker rule is that if you don’t see your cards for 30 minutes or so, they are probably not as good as they appear to be. The human propensity to believe what we want to believe often influences our judgment and we tend to remember our mistakes, more than we remember our successes.
Blackjack experiences the same psychology on a daily basis. The game is a game of memory and almost every hand you play is remembered by your opponents. The blackjack dealer may be skilled and may know the best move for each hand, but if you remember your 20 wins from the last 20 hands, you can easily push the dealer out of the casino. Remembering your 20 wins is difficult, but it is easily done. Keep in mind also that you may have a streak of good luck, even if you don’t think it is statistically likely.
The key to blackjack is not remembering your 20 wins, but making sure that you have a reliable judgment on any new hand that you are dealt. Even a minor decision can lead to a major decision if you are focused. The major decisions will be your last, so you have to commit your mind to them and be patient.
The worst mistake any player can make is to be too negative or skeptical about a game that you have played and know nothing about. If you are hesitant to play on a negative table, you will play on a hot table. If you are uncertain of the cards, you play on a cold table.
To play blackjack successfully, it is not enough to know a lot about the game. You must have a plan, and that plan should be you against the dealer.