Poker players should skip casino side games.

Recently I’ve noticed that some of the poker gaming companies belonging to the IPoker  network have started to push their casino side games much more heavily. Only yesterday I got a free $20 poker bonus from paddypower poker only to be used in these games.

Whilst this may seem like a good thing for the average poker player, for the guy or girl that takes their poker a bit more seriously, casino side games are a very unwelcome distraction.

Poker is a game of patience and skill with some luck thrown in for good measure and to keep you from being over confident at your game. Witness the following hand from a $10 SNG:

Casino side games are an unwelcome distraction.

I had a feeling that the button was raising light because he was continually raising it up but I got caught with my hands in the cookie jar and we got it all in with me behind in the race.

I spiked a 10 on the flop and then it seemed I would win the hand easily when the King came. But lady luck dealt a killer blow below the belt when the jack came on the river. That hurt.

The point of the above hand is that no matter how good you are at poker there will always be bad beats to suffer which is why winning is not a constant upwards curve. You need luck to win.

If you have two players of equal skill level and an equal amount of luck then both of those players will slowly lose their bankroll to the house rake. This is why you need to be a slightly winning player to break even and beat the house rake.

It takes a lot of time and patience to build a poker bankroll and it’s a laborious process. Use my guide at sixhanded.com if you are serious about it. End shameless plug!

casinogames

Casino games on the other hand are one of the fastest ways to lose money known to man. You can watch your cash disappear as fast as you can fill your Jag up with petrol. And of course if you are lucky enough you can also win it back very rapidly indeed.

The point is that whilst poker requires an application of mind to be good at it and build a bankroll, playing casino games does not need any of those traits and is exactly the reason why so many people look to casino and slots games for diversion from the drudgery of daily work life.

Casino side games have their place, but it’s definitely not in a poker client and it’s certainly not for poker players serious about their game.