Theorem
of Poker
Sometimes
the simplest ideas or theorems can shed a new found
light on even the most complex equations. This is most
certainly the case in poker. To often, people search
for secret systems or spend hour after hour studying
odds and probabilities only to still find themselves a
loser when the cards are dealt. Are they doomed to
failure? Or are they just failing to grasp the
simplest concepts of the game.
The
simplest principle or soul of poker is best described
by master poker player David Sklansky as The
Fundamental Theorem of Poker. Just like in algebra
or calculus there is also a theorem of poker. This
Fundamental Theorem stated by Sklansky 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 if you
could see all their cards they lose. Conversely, every
time opponents play their hands differently then they
would if they could see all your cards, you gain; and
every time they play their hands the same way they
would if they could see all your cards, you
lose."
Obviously,
you could never hope to actually see all of your
opponents' cards. Unlike chess or checkers, poker will
always be an incomplete equation. But the idea that
you should always strive to play as if you could see
all the cards is a perfect description of how the game
should be played. Not hand by hand or game by game,
but as a whole - where you are constantly trying to
play according to basic fundamentals with the
knowledge that correct play over time will produce
positive results.
Click
here to buy David Sklansky's The Theory of Poker
or other poker related books.
