Poker versus Blackjack

Let's talk about poker for once

The two most popular cards games online are poker and blackjack. Why do we play poker versus blackjack, and which game should you play?

When you ask why people play online poker with a passion, the majority will say, it is for money, but they would be kidding themselves. First of all, not everyone makes money at it. If you consistenly lose at poker, this is a contradiction. Only a few percent of online poker players are profitable over the long term.

Furthermore, we rarely do anything for only one reason. For instance, human beings don't work only to make money; we also seek other satisfactions like achievement, socializing, respect, keeping busy, being productive or getting power. If a job is more than just money, why would anyone pretend that playing a game is just for the money?

All humans are competitive creatures, and they will compete in practically everything: Blackjack, education, our dogs, vacations, and travel, etc. We play card games because we are competitive beasts, and most of us take these game very seriously - even with play money.

As how much we make represents our success at the game of poker, this is what people focus on. Many backgammon players play for some money, but never will they announce, "This is all about the money". They play for having fun, and winning money is just a small part of the pleasure of playing that game.

The idea that we play just for the money is reinforced by many poker and casino portals. Since money is fundamental to these webmasters, they believe that their readers have the same set of priorities. But it is not always true. It can be argued that we love to play games for many reasons, but firstly for pleasure. The chips lost and won are not different from fish from the river, just the mean to keep track of everyone's score.

It is just winning, catching the bigger fish that drives most people, not the money. In addition, everyone including the most dangerous poker pro has altogether unrelated objectives such as the desire for machismo challenges. For instance, most players will turn away if shown their opponents' cards; they don't like to win this way. Some players take stupid risks such as playing weak hands, ignoring pot odds, and playing versus better players.

You will not understand your own motives for playing poker until you know that the insistence that most players play to win is very false. This position is the same as the economists' thinking that companies seek to maximize their profits. Until very recently profit maximization was an article of faith, a foundation of economics. Not anymore. For example green companies try to also reduce carbon emissions.

Poker can be a lot like shooting at targets. You wait until the perfect moment, get your target carefully lined up in the sights and then you pull the trigger. The only problem is that the targets can, and often do, start shooting back at you!

Aggression in poker

We hear the poker experts talking about being aggressive, and it is part of the fun or poker, which is not part of blackjack. A lot of the newer players mistakenly believe that means being aggressive all the time. They become what we call "gunslingers."

The optimum tactic is to be selectively aggressive. Do not play Ace Ace pocket pairs the same as you play speculative hands such as 8 9 suited. There are lots of factors that should change your play and cause you to slow down or speed up, but in general be much more aggressive with wired pairs than when you have hole cards that depend on the flop.

When you run up against a gunslinger who pulls the trigger on you a little too often make mental notes. Nobody gets great cards all the time. Select your spot and you and the gunslinger are gonna tangle. But, you are gonna tangle when the time is right for you. Making mental notes of their betting patterns allows you to set the perfect trap when the odds are in your favor.

There are many different styles of online poker players. Have a preference for aggressive opponents. It is these shooters that you probably can win most of the largest pots from. They get in so far and then they don't seem to know when to back off.

When a gunslinger starts shooting at you, make your mental notes and when the time is right shoot right back at them. These gunslingers will pay off more often than you might expect.

Now it is time for you to visit one of the best online casinos for blackjack.