Dear Mark,
I feel I am decent player at video poker. I also
feel I am ready to move up the ladder to the poker
room. Are there enough similarities between the
two to make me a successful player? Clarence M.
Before you thrust your
hand into that beehive, I got to tell ya, Clarence,
you might not enjoy the honey. BEE---sides, Clarence,
proficiency at table poker takes years of practice-a
sort of beekeeper's protection, lacking which you
will be stung senseless by the killer drones that
swarm over poker tables.Skill
aside, there are subtle differences-far too many for
this column's space limits. But for starters, in video
poker, you are playing against a machine that doesn't
talk
back, nor snicker
at shabby play, not give a hoot whether and how
much you win or lose. In table poker, you are facing
thinking and skill-rich adversaries, some of whom
make their living off of "video poker graduates."
They who can bluff you into giving up a winning
hand and as easily get you to fold what would have
been a winning hand, in both cases easing you into
Livin' La Vida Broka.
Video poker's other valuable variables include no
"ante" with the exception of the coins
you initially risk on the game. There are no bets
to call or raise to build a pot. The video poker
pot is predetermined never changes, except for progressive
machines. With video poker, the higher the hand,
the more you win, with Royal Flushes paying sweet
and heavy buckaroos, while on the table game, the
best you can do is to win the pot, -- often a starved
and measly mess. With video poker, you set your
own pace and more importantly, decide how much to
invest in each hand and selecting a machine consistent
with your plan.
Not so on a table game. In a spread limit game,
any wagers between the two limits are allowed. Also,
hand totals can be different and discouraging. In
video poker, three deuces are just as powerful as
three aces.
That constitutes the Preface to the Poker 101 text.
Do consider this brief shower of words before they
evaporate, Clarence, and learn by heart: "Self-proclaimed
aptitude at video poker isn't in a class with expertise
at the human poker table."
