Online Poker Strategy
Game strategy in poker
In order to delevop our online poker play we can use game theory in other games and pastimes to help us to see poker for what it is and a possible way forward. Let us look at a game like noughts and crosses as a simple example of a game with very easy strategy. If you go first in this game then you place your nought or cross in the middle square. This gives you the maximum possibility of a win. If you go second then you simply go in one of the four corners which immediately blocks three lines, the diagonal and two further lines. With correct play by both players then nobody can ever win at this game.
So the lesson here is clear in that when a game becomes solved then it is very difficult to make money at the game. At noughts and crosses then you would never be able to make any sort of money at this game. Any player who wanted to play for money would in all likelihood already know the strategy and so this would mean that the action would be non existent. There is simply no way that a player could play for high-stakes in this game.
So it then becomes clear that the more players who know correct strategy then the more difficult it is to play for serious levels of money. This principle applies to more advanced games that require more advanced strategy and poker is one such game. Years ago then it was difficult for many players to learn and understand the secrets that the professionals knew. However with the advent of the Internet and computer software then players have become ultra sophisticated and some games have become almost solved at the higher levels.
This happened in limit hold’em a few years ago where the very best players basically solved the game. This then knocked on to high stakes limit games becoming rare. It was only a matter of time before the best players did the same with no-limit holdem and this is now leading to the high stakes games at no-limit hold’em becoming rare as well. This is bad news for the rest of us because it means that the very best players are now playing lower down the pecking order. So this means that the very best in the world are playing lower stakes and the lesser but still very strong professionals are playing in greater and greater numbers at levels like NL400 through NL1000.
It is no coincidence that many players who were at the top of the tree at NLHE are now switching to PLO. But surely it is only a matter of time before this game also becomes solved and high stakes PLO action may be rare as well in a few years time or even less. The only levels that are going to be easily beatable are going to be levels up to say NL50 and NL100 as these levels are low enough for novices and inexperienced intermediate level players to be around at in high enough numbers.
