Psychology Childhoodadolescence
Free Poker Online Guide Asks Do You Need All That Math Stuff To Win Poker?
Do you think poker, free poker games or otherwise more to do with math or is it more about psychology?
Players are still debating on how to classify poker, although they will unanimously agree that poker contains both mathematical and psychological elements.
Some people advise knowing the pot odds in order to determine whether a call is proper or not. Others will tell you that the tells other players give you are the key factor. Many believe that knowing preflop odds is a prerequisite. Some will tell you to bluff a tight player and trap a loose player.
I have tried to reconcile the mathematical and the psychological element in poker when playing. In many ways math and psychology are deeply connected. Using pot odds is a math play method. Yet if an opponent insists on making weak bets every Flop when you have a draw, this is something you can exploit. You call.
If you know that your opponent doesn’t give mathematical attention to pot odds, then it is a part of his psychological character.
Usually a mathematically-inclined player will get chips because all other players are making mathematically ill-advised moves. And the analysis behind this is a psychological analysis – the way how others play.
Usually, a math player is believed to play the cards; a psychological player plays the other players.
These distinctions are not so hard-fast, and many players can effectively do both. A math player in a board of 10-7-3-4-8 will bet or call a bet with A-7, if only he psychologically knows that (1) the board cards are small so that it would not help the other players, and (2) the opponent should raise if he has a hand better than top Pair. Both analyses are mathematical [note the 'small' in (1) and the 'better' in (2)] and psychological ['other players' in (1) and 'opponent should raise' in (2)].
Math and psychology, it turns out, go together. But there are situations where one of the two will prevail. For example, you use pot odds to call when on a draw. Or maybe you move all in with a small pair when short-stacked. When the table is so tight, you bluff without remembering at your hand. Or you wait for a trap at a loose table.
In exceptional situations, they go together. Against a good player, you mix-up your play. This means playing in a way so random (math) that the other players get bothered over their inability to get a read from you (psychology). And when someone moves all-in against you when you have a marginal hand, you determine your stack size relative to him and use some pot odds (math) and figure out the chances he may be bluffing or trying to steal with a more marginal hand, and this requires a track history (psychology).
Doing poker math in game as well as the whole mind game thing takes a while to learn. Don’t lose money learning, go practice hard at free poker games sites first, then, and only when you feel very confident in your understanding of the game, should you move into lower stake money poker games.
And what better place to practice your poker math and mind games than at free online poker site http://www.NoPayPOKER.com where you can play free poker games 24-7 with no fear of losing money like you do at on money sites while still winning real cash.