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Is learning the mathematics behind poker a worthwhile pursuit?
Hello Everybody this is my first post
Just got a book titled The Mathmatics of poker. I think it will take me a month to read and years to understand lol. I dropped A Level maths for psychology and now i remember why!!!
I'm worried that the effort i put into learning from this source could be of better use elsewhere. Is it just going to go round the houses just to conclude that the rules of thumb we all use as standard are approximate to optimal play anyway. (perhaps bridging that gap from approximate to complete optimal play would give substantiall rewards over time if it were at all possible)
I studied a little game theory as it related to optimal foraging theory at university (Biology not Maths!!!) and the models we looked at where very simple and not even close to the complexity of poker.
Ta Dave.
Just got a book titled The Mathmatics of poker. I think it will take me a month to read and years to understand lol. I dropped A Level maths for psychology and now i remember why!!!
I'm worried that the effort i put into learning from this source could be of better use elsewhere. Is it just going to go round the houses just to conclude that the rules of thumb we all use as standard are approximate to optimal play anyway. (perhaps bridging that gap from approximate to complete optimal play would give substantiall rewards over time if it were at all possible)
I studied a little game theory as it related to optimal foraging theory at university (Biology not Maths!!!) and the models we looked at where very simple and not even close to the complexity of poker.
Ta Dave.
Comments
Don't know the book in question but a solid understanding of the maths behind specific situations can be very, very useful.
I understand and use pot odds. But I cant calculate implied odds completly as it relies on the actions on others. I think game theory should in theory allow the calculation of implied odds but think this may be beyond my cababilty of learning, also the valid point of the rather short time bar. perhaps complicated mathmatical principles are only suited to live games?
It is an amazing book and exceptionally interesting, but there isn't really any need for it.
have given up on it. Got far enough in to realise it would require a large investment of time to gain a sound understanding of the books principles, and even more time to implement these into my game.
To be honest this book isnt really suited to the low levels i play at, as it assumes your opponents are going to make sensible decisions most of the time, which is often not the case.
I love poker and would love to understand the deeper levels of thinking that happen at the higher levels, but i havent got the balls or the bank balance to play them.
Another great book for those of you who play tourneys is Kill Everyone. It also covers some of the mathematical ground but is much easier to understand.
The book you mention is a toughie to follow unless you are a real maths nerd. There is actually a deuces cracked video series that has an episode for each chapter of the book. I have still to watch it all. Another book dealing with poker maths that I enjoyed was 'Poker Maths That Matter' by Owen Gaines . I have heard you can download it from most torrent sites, although I wouldn't know about that of course, lol. Gaines' book is far easier to understand than Bill Chen's book.
I personally find the timebar is way too fast to allow for serious calculations. Its like the last few seconds on the TV show Countdown clock. The more you try and concetrate the more flustered you get.
At micro level because of the low stakes theres too many all to willing to throw money in with stupid cards as well to play the luck game.
Enough material online, and you can learn in bitesize, rarther than trying to read an indepth book.
imo poor as it is, play each hand that is dealt to you on the strength of those cards.
when you start to calculate pot odds, implied odds then this can detract from what you have.
I.E. if your on the big blind with 7 2 off, utg raises 3x and the next guy calls and the button calls,
you have pot odds to call, BUT WOULD YOU ??
i suggest you watch each player and see if their play allows you to call/raise.
getting involved with the maths of the game,only realy comes into play post flop.
if you then have to calculate your odds of winning, then through it away, you have probably lost.
they all tell you the odds of winning i preffer calculating the odds of losing, being more realistic.
As most proffesioanls quote! "ON LINE POKER IS UNPLAYERBLE NO MATTER HOW CLEVER, OR SKILLFULL YOU ARE"!
There are more professional poker players who make a living online as there are who do so live.
And the reason they can consistently win is because they have a good grasp of the mathematics of the game. Which they may have learnt from books or simply by playing millions of poker hands.
And the source of their income is the number of players who havent studied the game enough and resort to blaming the software when they lose
Negrano once when on a site as a nobody! Started with $500 ...lost the lot...reloaded with $500...lost the lot! Funny how he was successful on the site that sponsered him!
DURRRRR! Dopey!
bludreid and frank53 just lol
OP you need to know some basic poker math, a lot of which you can learn off. Something like chens book is very advanced afaik though and you prob dont need that level of knowledge unless you play pretty high. Its supposed to be excellent though, so you could give it a go
Im called ridiculous....you dint highlight that !
"DOPEY"!
Ive forgotten most of what you lot will ever know!
what pros say online is unplayerble?
Quite a few have admitted that online poker is a lottery, or words to that effect!
I could ask you a simple question ...that would let me know how clever you are when i comes to understanding onloine poker softwhare!
But..i cant be bothered!