Recently I got the chance to read a interesting and thoughtful explanation of why playing poker in casinos are for chumps.
Essentially, the way it goes is:
- PLAYER COUNT: You sit at a table with 10 other people.
- PLAYER STACK: It’s usually typical to see a player come in with $300 in chips for a total of $2700 winnable at the table.
- HOUSE RAKE: Every hand, the casino takes $4 in the house rake.
- HANDS/HOUR: You play approximately 30 hands per hour.
Poker isn’t called “a grind” for nothing: It’s a game of patience and waiting for the right moment to make one’s move is very important. However in just 2 hours of play, at $4/hand, one player gets literally eaten alive by the house. In just 8 hours, 4 out of the 10 players would be GONE, the equivalent of ~$1000 worth of cash, and that money isn’t winnable by you as a player any more.
Wow. Not my kind of game. Even with a nasty variance, I can do better at blackjack table. Even with a crummy mathematical house edge of .4% and no advantage play at all, I can sit and play for hours with $300 at $3-$5 table with relatively minimal ‘risk of ruin’.
Besides. I’ve got no poker face. Makes me glad I chose not to play poker much a long time ago. I don’t have the sophistication to watch my stack, their stack, the pot odds, my position, the play history of my opponents, how much they’ve bet, etc.
I like my basic strategy card. It’s important to know one’s limits. [smile]
kurtsh
Kurt's Thoughts 