Poker has always been grouped into other casino games such as roulette, craps, and slots, but it is nothing like any of those games. In games like roulette, you play against the house in a game that is stacked in a way that you have no way of winning in the long run, period. No matter what “systems” there are, and no matter what promises are made, the math shows that there is no way to beat the house.
Poker, however, is a completely different story.
In poker, you are not playing against the house, you are playing against other players. The house makes money from poker games by taking a small percentage of some jackpots, called rake. The rake is not enough to really impact the value of the game. All you have to do is be better at poker than your opponents, and that’s easier what it seems like.
Most poker players in most games think that they are much better than they really are. With solid strategies based on proven mathematical principles, it doesn’t matter if someone thinks they can “read your soul.” You will win again and again with good strategies, and a game of poker will become something of a personal ATM from which you can withdraw money when you need extra income.
The key to being better at poker than the players you are playing against is being aware of what you are trying to achieve in each hand. You don’t have to win all the jackpots, as long as you win big jackpots and lose small ones. This is how you can play a lot of hands, fold most of the time and still make a kill.