Poker and Math

By Wesley R. Young

As I play a great deal of poker and just happen to have a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics, I often get the question of whether having strong math skills give me an advantage at the poker table or not. Like most questions about poker, the answer is, it depends.

First let’s take a look at the areas that strong math skills may help. Determining correct pot odds and percentages are much easier for me than many players, but this is not a large advantage as anyone that passed 6 th grade math has the skills necessary, it just takes them a little longer unless they have all of the odds memorized. And anyone who plays much poker quickly memorizes most of the pot odds. So I think we can agree that this isn’t much of an advantage if it’s any advantage at all. The only other area that it can help is completely psychological. Poker is a game of small advantages and capitalizing on them. One advantage that professional players have is the confidence in their abilities that many part-time players don’t have. So if I believe I have an advantage because of my math skills and it helps me play with more confidence, then it can be a small advantage. The danger is taking this thought process too far. However, understanding the percentages can also be used effectively to avoid going on tilt. If you have a solid understanding of mathematics, you should be able to realize that short-term variance will always even out over time, for example if you are a 60% favorite in a hand, you will win exactly 60% of the time you put yourself in that position.

Well, if strong mathematical skills aren’t that important, why are many good poker players also strong in math? In my opinion, one of the most important skills at the poker table is analytic ability and/or thinking. Mathematically minded people tend to analyze situations slightly differently than non-mathematical people. Analyzing betting patterns and situations is a very large part of poker, especially at the higher levels of play. Many of you have read about thinking to different levels like thinking about what your opponent thinks you think he/she has, etc. To do this well, analytical skills are necessary. So the moral to the rambling is, don’t worry too much about improving your math skills. You will be much further ahead in poker by improving your analytic abilities. The good news is that everyone can improve these skills with practice. Start paying attention to what hands your opponents are in the pot with and the way they play them. Analyze every hand and determine if you would have played it differently and what works well and doesn’t. Keep looking for the small advantages and your game will improve. One last way to look at this is that if you can find 10 small advantages that each add 1% to your expected profit, you will improve it by 10% total. Though it sounds like a simple concept, many players fail to look at it this way. Good luck at the tables.