What Is EV in Poker?

EV, or expected value, is a mathematical term used to describe the long-term average outcome of a situation. In poker, EV is the average amount of money that a player can expect to win or lose in a given situation.

For example, let’s say you’re playing a cash game with a $100 buy-in. The pot is currently $50, and there are two players left to act. You have a hand that has a 50% chance of winning the pot. If you win the pot, you will win $100.

If you lose the pot, you will lose your $100 buy-in. In this situation, your EV is $50. This means that over the long run, you can expect to win $50 for every time you are in this situation.

Of course, in the short-term anything can happen. You could lose 10 hands in a row where you had a 50% chance of winning.

But over the long-term, your EV will hold true.

EV is a useful concept because it allows us to make decisions by looking at the long-term average instead of getting caught up in the short-term fluctuations. For example, let’s say you’re considering making a call in a tournament with a hand that has a 40% chance of winning. The pot is currently $100 and the bet to you is $50. If you call and win, you will win $200 (the pot plus the bet).

PRO TIP:EV stands for Expected Value and is a key concept in poker. It is a measure of how much you can expect to gain or lose from a certain situation. Knowing EV will help you make better decisions at the table and you should always consider it when making decisions.

If you call and lose, you will lose your $50 bet. In this case, your EV is $20 ((40% x $200) – (60% x $50)). This means that over the long run, you can expect to make $20 for every time you are in this situation. Even though your chance of winning is only 40%, it is still +EV to call because your expected return is positive.

On the other hand, let’s say you’re considering making a bluff in the same tournament with the same hand (40% chance of winning). The pot is currently $100 and there are two players left to act behind you. If you make a bet of $200 and get called, you will win the pot 40% of the time and lose your bet 60% of the time. In this case, your EV is -$20 ((40% x $100) – (60% x $200)).

This means that over the long run, you can expect to lose $20 for every time you are in this situation. Even though your chance of winning is still 40%, it is not +EV to bluff because your expected return is negative.

So what Is EV in poker? Put simply: it’s how much money we can expect to win or lose in any given situation over the long run. By looking at our EV instead of just our short-term results, we can make better decisions and become more successful poker players!.