Difference Between Poker and Blackjack

Depending on the type of poker game (there are many of them), you’ve dealt with 2, 3 or 5 pocket cards. In the Hold’em variant, the most popular in the world, players also have community cards which can help to build the strongest combination. In other poker games like Stud, 2-7 lowball, or 5-card draw, you should operate only your pocket cards. Usually, there are few rounds of bets. For example, in Hold’em, four: pre-flop, flop, turn, and river.

A player is dealt 2 cards and can then ask for more until they decide to stop. If he gets 21, that’s an immediate victory (unless the dealer also has a blackjack). If the player doesn't, the dealer starts dealing cards. He is obliged to stop at 17 and more, and hit if he has less (in most variations). One who has more points without getting busted is a winner.

The objective is to win as much money as you can. In no-limit variations of poker, you can increase the pot as long as you and your opponents have money (or chips, if it’s a tournament). In limit games, you can’t raise forever, but the pot still can be increased. You can win it by having the best combination on the table or by making other players fold their hands.

The main objective of this game is to complete a better hand than the dealer has. The best possible hand is 21 points. The bets are limited

Strategies and tactics may differ depending on the type of game, playing format and your opponents. It’s reasonable to play aggressively against tight rivals and tightly against aggressive ones. In Texas Hold’em, two pairs or trips is a great hand you can convert, in Omaha — a very dangerous one which can lead you to bankruptcy. Limited games, like Stud or Badugi, are mathematical: to be in the lead, you should count the chances very well and be extremely disciplined. There are dozens of books written about poker strategies, because it’s really complicated and always changes over time due to game trends.

It’s easier: you can just download the Basic Strategy table. It contains all starting hands in Blackjack and says what you should do to play as well as possible. The basic strategy will give you 99% of RTP, which casinos claim when you’re opening a Blackjack table.

Earlier, at land-based casinos, it was popular to count the cards out of play (their value) to decide if you had to stop or hit on your next turn. At online casinos, it’s useless because most blackjack games are played with 6 or 8 decks, and even if there is only one deck, it will be shuffled every hand. So, the Basic strategy is the best option to return as much money as possible. Though not a very interesting way of playing.

Long and complex. As a multiplayer game, poker is always changing. Mini-raises, overbets, or slow-play tactics may be highly trending this year and completely ignored in the next one. Thus, if you want to play poker well, you should not only learn the basics in the beginning, but also keep learning regularly, being highly attentive to the game’s trends.

And, like it wasn’t enough to be overwhelmed, there are software now. If you want to be a successful poker player, you need plugins like Holdem Manager, Flopzilla and so on, because your opponents have them and they will be far ahead if you don’t. This soft helps players to collect the stats easily and make better decisions.

Understanding the value of cards and total points is easy. You may face some difficulties learning when to split and when to double; a bit of experience is required. Yet, the learning curve is much easier in Blackjack than in Poker, and you can feel confident after only a few hours of playing.

The rules aren’t simple. Firstly, there are different kinds of games which look similar at first sight. For example, a guy has JJ in his hands, with J and 44 on the board (full house). He thinks that he has nuts (the best possible hand) because the full house is a very strong hand in Texas Hold’em. In the showdown, he loses to flush and goes nuts, thinking that this is a cheat.  It turns out he was playing short-deck — a Texas Hold’em variant with 36 cards instead of 52. In this game, a flush beats a full house.

The rules of each particular game are also more difficult than in Blackjack. You must know all combinations, the order of turns, and the amounts of bets on every street. For example, in Stud, you can bet only a limited amount, but you can double it if you see a pair in someone’s open cards.

The value of cards is counted one by one, with no combinations, and the bets are limited. All the difficulty is in the split/double/insurance options which Blackjack games offer you. And even here, the basic strategy can help you: this table shows when splitting or doubling is more beneficial.

If you have some issues with your bankroll management, the best option in poker for you is freeze-out tournaments. These are events when you buy a place in the tourney and a fixed amount of chips. If you lose it, you’re done in this tourney. When a tourney allows players to re-buy, add-on, and re-entry, you’re at risk of losing much more than you can afford. The same for cash games, where you can play until your bankroll is empty.

In online casinos, bankroll management isn’t about a particular game. When you enter the table, you play with all the money you have on your casino account. Which means, it doesn’t matter whether you play Blackjack, Roulette, or slots. Your money balance depends on how much you deposit. Set the deposit limit if you feel that you can lose more than it’s ok for you. If you want to play longer with this money, try to find the Blackjack table with low stakes.

Originally, poker is a social game: players sit around the table and communicate, trash-talking to suppress opponents' spirits, or just kidding around. In online poker, communication is available in chat, but in recent years, many poker rooms have refused chat. The reason is a communication between players online: too often, it becomes highly aggressive and even filthy, which affects the mood of the whole table, even if only one player is rude. As a result, communication between online poker players is now limited to emojis.

In online casinos, players may be at the same table, but there is no reason to talk to each other. Online casino in general is a lonely entertainment, where you can talk only to the dealer (though the point is questionable since the dealer is usually talking from an easy script). Thus, the social aspect of playing both Blackjack and Poker is close to zero.

Very demanding, always brings something new to the table: you hadn’t played for a couple of months, and the game had already changed. Requires a lot of learning and the discipline of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Seneca combined to be successful. Though, few poker players have kinda natural killer instinct, but it’s very few. So, if you want to play poker, be ready for consistent hard work (unless you don’t mind just playing for entertainment and losing all the time).

This is more a game of chance, though with some skill required. It’s simpler than poker, yet it may be thrilling if you’re into card games in general. You don’t need to learn and think a lot; it’s almost a pure entertainment, close to the slots experience, but you can play with a live dealer if you want (or pick an RNG-table for a faster pace).