Quote:
Originally Posted by dankness3
B
My teacher responded by saying that math isn't really about numbers and equations as much as it is about the art of problem solving. You are given a certain amount of information, and you have to use this information to solve a problem. This is really the only way I think that you could say poker is all math, in that it is also the art of problem solving.
Poker is about making a correct decision based on the information that is presented to you. The better/ faster you are at making this decision, the better at poker you will be.
I guess that is one way to look at it, and quite well-put of your teacher.
But how to you make those decision you talk about? You do it (consciously or not) by using math.
As I see it, an in-game poker decision is two things: 1) Estimating people's ranges in a spot and taking into account their tendencies (i.e. reads). 2) Choosing the highest EV line given 1).
Now, I think we can all agree that 2) is math (simulations, solving equations etc.). Some would say that 1) is an "art" or something to that effect, but I claim that it is mainly math as well; we use bayesian inference to estimate a range for our opponent and while there is some sort of "intuition" in getting "reads", I think that in some way, this can be put on a quantifiable footing as well (e.g. I think it is x% likely that he will do this with that hand and y% likely he will do this).
EDIT: You can also think of the "reads" part as "Given what I have previously seen (his actions and his stats) how to I think he will react with these portions of his range?" which can be quantified/estimated (although you could argue, that you here need to use some "intuition" when remembering his past actions).
When we talk about being a professional, there're a lot of decisions away from the table as well - bankroll management, when to play and when not to play etc. etc. but these are certainly mathematical in nature as well (bankroll management is obvious, when determining if to play or not you need to estimate or quantify your EV and if it's possitive you play, if it's negative you don't (actually you should weigh it against other alternatives that could be more (life)+EV) and this is again using some mathematical reasoning).
Thinking about poker this way, I believe, makes it mainly math-based (I dont know if 95% is correct but I'd say that it isnt far in any case).
Last edited by acehole60; 04-26-2012 at 02:23 AM.