what does an x% edge mean?

[LuckySlevin]

I'm reading Ace on the river and he keeps speaking about having a 1% or 3% edge, and states that if you haven't got a 1% edge in a game you should move down.

How do you calculate this edge? what is it? thanks

[oskar]

Just that you need to have to be slightly better than the average on the table to win.
Notice that he talks about 100/200HE and 30/60NL, so I don't think much of that book is applicable for microstakes. It's a nice story though.

[LuckySlevin]

But he speaks about leaving the table if you haven't got a 1% edge, could someone tell me how you calculate your percentage edge? thanks

[oskar]

Your BMI divided by your heads circumference.

[JKDS]

i think its just a fancy way of saying "if you cant spot the fish at your table, guess what?"

[LuckySlevin]

thanks jk - he certainly describes it as something quantatitive - i.e. there's a 3% and a 1% so it must be a bit more specific, it surprising it's a great book - and it's one of the few things he hasn't fully explained!

[Deanglow]

Yeah AOTR is a cool book about being a poker player. A lot less poker strategy content than I expected which isn´t a bad thing.

Yeah when he talks about an edge it is just qualitative ie no way to calculate it.

[Erpel]

They say poker is a game of incomplete information.

For the individual playing poker, this makes it a game of estimation.

Theory of Poker goes into some really basic examples about how I spot an opponent making an individual mistake, judging by how frequently he is given cards that allow him to make that mistake and how much it costs him every time I can calculate that he's leaving $18 on the table every hour. I cannot be guaranteed to be the person in the hand so the $18 is split between the 9 other people on the table giving me an average $2 profit per hour from sitting at this table with this opponent.

On a larger scale you keep an eye on all the players at the table - note individually how much better or worse they are than you based on how they play, factor in the type of mistakes they make (folding too much is often a less costly mistake than being a maniac) and what amount it's worth, factor in position, adjust your strategy to play more hands against the worst opponents that you have position on and estimate based on the above how much you are winning or losing per hour - and if that amount beats the rake you stay at the table.

There is no simple calculation that returns your edge at a table - it is an estimation exercise and the above is a simplified explanation of what you are trying to accomplish by it.