11-29-04, LearnTexasHoldem:

Popularity Of Poker

Question: I really like your website, it has helped me lose money slower. I had one question, but now I have two. First, in your odds / probabilities section, it says that the odds of a pair pre-flop are 6%, but a little further down it says the odds of AA or KK preflop are .9%. Why is there a difference? Also, I was wondering if you had any opinion on why there has been such an increase in the popularity of this game. Do you think the movie Rounders had much to do with it? Or could it be the way the events are presented on TV - ie card cams, explanations, showing viewers the odds? I think I'm more hooked on watching the big games on TV than actually playing. Thanks again.

Jay Brown

Edmonton, Canada

Top 3 Beginner Rooms

Answer: For the pocket pair question, let's calculate the odds of getting a pair preflop (anypair). For the first card we can have anyone of the 52 cards. On the second card though we have only 3 cards we can catch to make us pair up. So for example if we have a Queen as the first card, there are only 3 more Queens in the deck. The chances then for us to have any pair preflop would be 3/51. There are 51 cards left and only 3 of them give us a pair. That equals about 6%.

Now to catch KK or AA preflop, we have to do something a little different: We can't have any card for the first one -- we can only have an Ace or a King. There are only 8 total choices for the first card which gives us 8/52. Now on the next fraction we can only again catch 3/51 (exactly the same as the first example). Now we multiply these two fractions together because both events have to occur. That gives us the .9%

Poker's popularity was helped by the movie Rounders. There were more young people playing at that time than before. Now though, the main reason for the explosion of poker has without a doubt been the World Poker Tour. Poker was struggling for years even after Rounders but now it is at an all time high and I don't see it dying down. Another reason for poker's growth is online play.

Playing poker a few times a week wasn't feasible for most people before the internet sites even if games were available; also, just think if you lived in the midwest somewhere, having games to play in wouldn't even be an option regardless of whether you had the time or not. So online sites have been a tremendous help in keeping people interested. Poker is a great game.

I think it was only a matter of time before people realized how fun poker is and how profitable it can be. It doesn't matter if you have been playing a week or a decade, the thrill of it never gets old. It also doesn't matter if you are 18 or 108, it is still fun. There are very few things that appeal to both men and women, black and white, young and old, rich and poor. I don't think there is any other game out there now that compares with poker. I use to be really into chess before cards because I loved the pure competition and the strategy.

Poker is much more fluid and dynamic than chess though and the learning curve is more gradual. Holdem especially is such a beautiful mixture of chance and skill. It is a game of both subtly and power. It is a game of risk but also discipline, of emotion but also logic. It has something for everyone so it is no surprise that it is sweeping over the globe.

Some uninformed people might assume its popularity has something to do with the addictiveness of gambling. I would disagree with that though. I don't enjoy gambling and never have. I don't really even like Black Jack where the house edge is less pronounced. Other people may be addicted to poker but I doubt it. True addicts wouldn't pick poker as their drug of choice.

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