Online casinos are packed with thousands of games across every genre you can think of. Slots are the most commonly played of these games – but are they the best?
People love playing slots because the jackpots are massive, so there’s the possibility of getting a life-changing reward if you’re lucky. But that’s pretty much where the supposed benefits end. Slots are all about luck and fortune; you have no control over what happens in the game. That’s why more players are signing up for poker rooms and non GamStop poker sites to try a different type of game entirely!
Poker has been around for decades yet it remains the best online casino game you can play. As we look deeper into this game and how it works, the reasons for it being better than any other online casino game are obvious. We narrowed it down to five major points:
It’s largely about how skilled you are
The uniqueness of poker stems from how it works as a game. All other casino games are either 100% or 90% based on luck. With slots, you’re banking on the reels aligning and the right symbols matching up. On a roulette table, you have zero control over where the ball lands and no way of influencing proceedings.
It’s the same with every other casino title – apart from poker.
In a poker game, your skill determines if you win or lose. Sure, there’s a slight bit of luck dedicated to the cards you’re dealt – but it’s up to you to decide what you do with them. Do you bluff and win with horrible cards or do you fold to avoid losing money? So many strategic elements are at play, which is why the best poker players in the world manage to consistently win.
This game doesn’t leave things up to chance; you have the power to always win if you’re skilled enough, and that’s a very attractive prospect.
You’re not playing against the house
Another significant difference between poker and other casino games is that you’re not up against “the house”.
It’s a PvP game where you’re against other people playing poker. At online casinos, the house always has an edge over you. It’s how these platforms keep making money; they’re advantaged before bets are placed, so they’re going to win more than you will. It’s extremely rare for players to achieve lifetime profits against the house when playing every casino game other than poker.
The house usually sets the odds or offers the bets you have to make. They control the games, but in poker, it’s you and your opponents who control everything. Other than the initial buy-in, you all decide how much money will be bet or whether you want to place bets at all. There’s also something more enjoyable about knowing your money will go to someone who’s got the better of you at a game, rather than being fed into the pockets of a rich casino.
You can win decent money over time
Let’s throw a few figures at you for a second:
- £49 million
- £47 million
- £41 Million
- £37 Million
- £35.27 Million
That’s a lot of money – but what does it mean?
According to talkSPORT, it’s the earnings of the top five poker players of all time. The next five below this are all within the £30 million bracket as well, proving just how illustrious this game can be. If you’re very good at it, you can win a lot of money over an extended period.
Have we used an exaggerated sample size to prove a point? Yes…but that’s by the by! You know you won’t hit figures like these when playing online poker, but it still showcases how possible it is to win consistently. It goes back to the idea of this game being skill-based rather than luck-based. When you take luck out of the equation, you have more control over your potential to win.
No casino game will come even slightly close to dishing out consistent wins.
It’s the most social of all casino games
You could play thousands of games at an online casino. Some of these are the most beautiful and visually striking games you’ve ever seen. They captivate you with fun features and all the bells and whistles. Some offer great live dealers to help you have a more traditional casino experience.
Regardless, none of them are as social as poker.
Online poker is comfortably the most social of all casino games as you talk to other people and it’s more of a group activity. You can arrange fun online poker nights with friends from around the world – or you can meet new people when playing at random tables or in tournaments. It has the power to impact your life in multiple ways, which can’t be said of many other casino games.
No other games give you as much risk management
We’ve kind of alluded to this when talking about other reasons poker is the best online casino game. It gives you far more control over how much risk you take while playing. You could argue that every casino game puts you in control of the risks you take, but that’s not strictly true.
For example, you could decide not to place a bet on a slot machine…but then you’re not playing the game at all.
With poker, you can fold one round and be back the next. You also decide how much you want to raise a bet by – or if you want to match it. This level of control is unmatched in other games and it’s why people love poker.
All in all, if you want to enjoy an online casino game that’s not purely luck-based and rewards skill, poker is the one for you. It has all the features you’ll enjoy from any online game, with the benefit of possibly winning money if you get good enough!