Tuesday, March 14, 2006

+EV

14 MAR 06

It’s been a while since I’ve done anything +EV. I’ve been on a winning streak for the month of March, so I don’t want to jinx it by talking about it. What I can tell you is that I’ve done four +EV things that I’m pretty proud of.

1. The last time I played, I folded AJ on the button to a reraise from the cutoff. This isn’t really a big deal because it’s the right move, but I think it shows my growth as a poker player. I would have lost the hand, but the outcome doesn’t matter.

2. I stopped playing internet poker 2 months ago. I’d like to say it’s because of my fears about cheating, but it was really about my inability to stop playing –EV games. I’d keep winning at the 2-table turbo SNG’s just to give it all back at Limit Hold ‘em.

3. I actually chose to work at my internet business a few times lately rather than go to the casino. This is +EV in the purest sense.

4. Perhaps my biggest +EV choice recently – I was very tired when I got home yesterday, but I got home early enough to hit the casino for one of my famous “drive-by shootings.” Instead, I took a nap.

That’s money in the bank.

3 comments:

Heather said...

now listen, there is no royalties for a phrase I coined! :D

DrChako said...

For those that don’t know, Maigrey coined the brilliantly impromptu phrase, “Bah, when serving justice, guilt is a poor condiment” in the comments section of my blog entry about a Valentine’s Day Maiming I levied against a deserving opponent. She realized how great the phrase is, and now uses it as the banner on her blog. In fact, it can also be found as the banner at Hoff’s place.

Since it was first posted to my blog, I demanded royalties. Can you blame a guy for trying to cash in?

(I guess you can.)

DrChako said...

Thanks Hunter. Sorry for the obscure abbreviation. EV stands for Expected Value, and is commonly used by poker players to gauge which games are good, and even which bets are good. For instance, if you have a one in four chance of getting the card you need for the best hand, and your bet is only 1/10th of the pot, this is considered +EV and you make that bet every time. On the flips side, any table game (like blackjack or craps) has a house edge and is always -EV.