Practical Poker Math

Introduction
Certain practitioners can predict, with perfect accuracy, such
natural phenomena as the day, the night, the tides and even
celestial events that will occur a thousand years from now.
In poker, any player can predict with that same astonishing
accuracy the likelihood of any card appearing at any time.
He can predict the likely holdings of his opponents and,
based on his own hand, he can predict the long-term profitability
of any call, bet or raise.
In astrophysics and the navigation of spacecraft, the requirement
for accuracy is absolute. In poker a close approximation
is all you need.
The outcome of any hand of poker is determined by either
or both of the fall of the cards and the actions of the players.
If the cards fall so that you have the best hand and you don’t
fold, you will win the pot. If you employ a betting strategy
that compels your opponent(s) to fold, your cards could be
blank and you will still win the pot.
Knowledge of odds and probabilities can turn seemingly
random events, such as the fall of the cards, into eminently
predictable occurrences. An understanding of positive or
negative expectation will tell the long-term profitability of
any given play and a grasp of basic Game Theory can tell
much about the likely responses of opponents.
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