We’ve all gathered by now than online poker is a game of skill, where if you play by certain standards and with the odds, in the long run, theoretically, you will profit. There are of course within this the minor loops and bad runs that come with any kind of variation, but patterns emerge, and in the end all is laid equal.

There come times, though, in the midst of any online poker player’s repetitions, where the urge to step outside the “correct” manner of play, or even the more aggressive version of whatever game you’ve got running may be, and knowing, against the grain, make a decision to gamble against the odds.

Though you’d never want to make this a habit, unless you are playing like a lottery, which is a bad idea, there can be moments and situations where the gamble is worth the go. Getting in on a big draw, or calling when you have reason to believe that your poker online opponent is way weaker than he acts, but you are not sure, that little extra doubt can the odds you need to make a marginal call.

Other times too, when you are way up for a night, for instance, you might have enough of a leeway that you can stand to take a small hit, if it means in the end that you will make more. These are exceptions, not the rule.