A great day for the sport.

[Calzone Lord]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

The difference is that in other sports people can watch the games and not have even the slightest clue and still enjoy them. People may have played these sports as kids and have a basic understanding even though they are still pretty clueless. In horse racing that just doesn't work plus for the gambling aspect to work you have to have rudimentary math skills and American kids arent exactly been mathmatic aces lately. It is far easier to bet sports as anyone can understand point spreads and over/unders.

The math you need to do in Poker is a lot more difficult -- and so many of the top players are very young.

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by Calzone Lord

The math you need to do in Poker is a lot more difficult -- and so many of the top players are very young.

I don't agree at all. Using math to understand theories of figure making and properly constucting tickets is far more complicated than sitting there waiting for the jack of hearts which is how the vast majority of people play. High stakes Poker between the very best players is a different story but that is .0000001% of the players.

[joeydb]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

I don't agree at all. Using math to understand theories of figure making and properly constucting tickets is far more complicated than sitting there waiting for the jack of hearts which is how the vast majority of people play. High stakes Poker between the very best players is a different story but that is .0000001% of the players.

They are both difficult, but for different reasons. You have a lot more time (days) to lay out the math required to handicap and even construct tickets, so long as you revise for scratches. This math is tough, but you can use computers if necessary to help you out.

The math in Poker is tough because you have no computational equipment and very little time. So if the goal is to bet for positive expectation at the poker table, you first need to estimate the number of outs that will give you the BEST hand, approximate that to 2% times those outs, figure the odds as (100 - 2*OUTS)/(2*OUTS) and compare to what the pot odds are. This is all done in your head. Even better - and this is what the pros do - figure what your opponent(s) have, and bet accordingly to make that same equation done by them show the play to be unprofitable for them so they may fold. This is very tough in my opinion.

Ever see how some of these guys even send signals to each other through betting? Let's say Phil Ivey has a straight, and he's playing someone who he is pretty sure is looking to complete his flush. Phil says, "Raise" to $7250. Why not $7000 or $8000 even? Well, if $7250 makes the pot odds for his opponent JUST below the even expectation number, Phil has pretty much just told his opponent that he knows his cards, and is implying that he has a better hand. That's intimidating.