Using Game Theory Poker Strategies May Be Optimized To Win

Image source: Flickr

The correct application of game theory poker strategies can help you beat the odds and be a big winner. However, this is not as straight forward as heading over to Bet365, or other online betting sites in the UK, and doing some fancy math. Gambling mathematics is only ever half the story in poker. Indeed players will find most game theory applies more to the other half. Play to beat not the probabilities but the opposing players infinitely easier. It is in this manner your tactics during play can be optimized. 

It is the imperfect nature of the information each player has that makes poker so much fun. You can never be sure what opponents have in their hands. There are a plethora of possibilities. Only some of which, in the short term, can benefit you. However, game theory poker strategies do not focus upon these nearby goals but on long term winning. A player will more often apply them to their fellow players than to the mathematical probabilities inherent in the cards they possess.

This is because the Expected Value calculations every player undertakes are far more variable towards the end of a hand. The pot value increases seeing players lose money ahead of the result, but in doing so increasing the possible Actual Value of a win. This means any game theory poker strategy relies on a far greater variance at far longer intervals. Those taking advantage of UK gambling laws to play poker online need to assess that ratio. Regardless of the Expected Value.

Find The Balance Of Implied Odds On The River

Many see this in practice on the river in a game of Texas Hold’em. The pot size and the imperfection of information mean there’s room for a large profit. However, in order for that to pay previous play will have to be circumspect. That balance of “Implied Odds” is hard to strike, but it is often how gamblers make their biggest wins. Fewer big wins vs more frequent small ones. The endless debate. Gambling with game theory, however, adds to this Defensive Value as well.

“I sit at the poker table and my job is to destroy people.”

• James Woods

Defensive Value is the assessment of any particular strategy against the best opponents can muster. This will, naturally, differ from the EV. It is between these two that large wins can occur. In essence, you only play hands which either hide your own strategy or are sure-fire winners. You’ll see this amongst the game theory poker strategies which players often employ at online sportsbook sites in the UK. However, this too can be used against them. Game theory is like that.

Develop Your Game Theory Poker Strategies At Bet365

For each of the game theory poker strategies you employ, your opponents will be employing as many against you. Indeed it is the rational placing of their past behavior into a payout matrix which will give you the best chance. Betting using game theory is thus not so much as about winning as not losing. It minimizes the risk of loss thus increasing the chance of a win. Remember poker is a zero-sum game. The only real problem is that it presumes opponents will play rationally or optimally. Itself a rarity.

“Life is not always a matter of holding good cards, but sometimes playing a poor hand well.”

• Jack London 

Like any bet on sports in the UK then, using game theory poker strategies is a double-edged sword. If wielded carefully it can be a great boon. As a strategic analysis of opponents and an estimation tool for bet size, it’s perfectly imperfect. It allows players to play each other rather than the odds, to win despite them, and to do so again in the right circumstances. It helps you avoid having your own strategies exploited whilst helping you exploit those of your opponents. 

Read more about game theory and gambling.

Click here to visit the bet365 Sportsbook

We take a look at how game theory poker strategies concentrate on opponent analysis rather than strict mathematical adherence to the odds on the cards you hold winning.