Expected value!?

[jonnyboy151]

As simply as you can, bearing in mind i'm not aware of all the poker terminology, can you explain expected value?


Implimenting expected value into poker scenario's would be useful, it helped me understand pot odds. Be thorough if you can, break it down, i know it's a nightmare but i'm a nice lad and your help, although un-rewarded will hopefully stay with me forever!


Once again, cheers,


Jonny.

 

[Dorkus Malorkus]

Put simply, it's the average net result in the long run of making a certain decision.

Let's say you flip an unbiased coin with a friend. If it comes up heads, you give him $1. If it comes up tails, he gives you $2.

The expected value of each flip of the coin is the sum of the probability of each outcome multiplied by the net result of the same outcome. In this case...

EV = (0.5*-1)+(0.5*2) = 0.5

So you will, on average, be gaining 50 cents with each flip of the coin, obviously making this a wager you would want to take!

For a more in-depth explanation which includes poker-related examples, read this Expected Value article from FP.

 

[Stick66]

Put simply,

Impossible to do. Books and articles do a way better job of explaining EV than any of us could do here (applause for DM's valiant effort). There are entire chapters written on the subject due to its complexity.