The game of Poker has become an international phenomenon, played by many different types of people. It is a game of strategy, calculation and luck. It requires a combination of the twin elements of skill and fortune, but over time, the application of skills will eliminate much of the luck.
A round of betting begins once all players have received their two hole cards. Players can call a bet, or raise it, by putting chips into the pot in turn. A player may also “fold,” or drop the hand, by putting no chips into the pot at all.
Another card is dealt on the board, the fourth one (called the turn). Again, there is another round of betting. Finally, a fifth card is dealt face up – the river. The last round of betting then occurs before all players show their hands and the winner is declared.
This article explores the underlying skill of Poker, which is to minimise losses with poor hands and maximise winnings with good hands. This is known as MinMax, and the aim is to make money when playing Poker by extracting maximum value from your opponents when you have a good hand, while minimising the amount you lose when you have a bad one.
A simple measure of a player’s skill is their tightness, which is defined as one minus the proportion of hands they called or raised before the flop. This is an indicator of whether they are a loose or tight player, and tighter play tends to be associated with better results in Poker.