The Essential Theorem Of Poker

The fundamental theorem of poker 99 sounds a lot more intimidating than it really is because it works on the couple words that most people don't hear everyday. In reality, the fundamental theorem of poker is quite simple and clearly spoken - yet at the same time it's a lot more complex compared to the scientific-sounding name implies.

The fundamental theorem of poker is another contribution to the poker world by notable poker player, theorist and author David Sklansky, who also developed the gap concept, among other things. The theorem reads as follows:

"Every time you play a hand differently from the way you would have played it if you could see all your opponents' cards, they gain; and every time you play your hand the same way you would have played it in the event that you could see all their cards, they lose. Conversely, every time opponents play their hands differently from the way they might have if they could see all your cards, you will get; and each time they play their hands the same way they'd have played if they could see your entire cards, you lose. "

It's a whole lot of words to sum up a reasonably simple idea, and that is this: if you could see your opponent's cards, then it will be possible to make decisions centered on complete mathematical certainty. Thus, assuming you knew your math and understood some basic poker concepts like pot odds, you could always make perfect decision to bring you closer to winning the table. By the same token, if your opponent could see all your cards, he would have the same decision-making power.

What might theorem of poker emphasizes is the fact that information is by far the most important resource that any poker player has. The more information you have, the better your chances of making the correct decision.

Unfortunately, there is certainly little that players can do to truly increase their available information. While you may possibly have the ability to "read" your opponents, any information that you will get from this is far from complete. Plus, there is always the chance that your opponent is earnestly deceiving you, feeding you misinformation that may surely lead to you making an incorrect decision.

What you can take away from the fundamental theorem of poker is that there's always a proper decision. As you shouldn't beat yourself up for making an incorrect decision, you should use every hand as an opportunity to gain as much information that you can. Learn about your opponents so that you can better predict their actions in the future. Even if the only information that you could glean is that your opponent is playing completely randomly, that's still information that you can use.

Do not think too hard about how precisely this theorem applies to your everyday game - you'll just drive yourself crazy. Instead, contemplate it in a broad sense and try to keep your mind ready to accept every possible avenue for new information.