Poker Pro vs. Card Counter-And the Winner Is?

There is a raging debate going on at my Wednesday night poker game. The question is… Who has the best chance of making money gambling, a card counter or a good poker player? The vote was tied at 4 to 4.

Having made a nice living for the last 31 years playing blackjack I’m obviously biased. It certainly must be blackjack. Let’s look at the facts as I see them.

In poker you are playing against multiple players and, although there is certainly skill involved in poker you may be playing against more than one player with more skill than you. In blackjack you play against the house and you are not pitting your skill against other players that could possibly have a higher degree of skill. Throw in the luck factor which I believe can devastate the poker player, especially in no limit or pot limit games where you can lose your entire bankroll on one hand. While in blackjack one unlucky hand will not cripple the card counter because of a preconceived betting pattern.

I will admit that if you were rating adrenalin rushes poker wins hands down. But is that a good thing? Not in my opinion. Some people would disagree with me but I would prefer to grind out a nice living knowing that I have an advantage every time I sit down at the table. I know that I have the advantage and will win over the long haul where a poker player can’t possibly know if he has an advantage at his table unless he plays against the same players all of the time.

There have been statistics published that 95% of poker players are losers. I think it may be worse than that. The rake alone can be as much as 5%. That’s a lot to overcome without even knowing if you’re one of the better players at your table. Watch the tournaments on TV and you will see a pattern. The same people wind up at the final table time after time. The others are, basically, dead money. Now I’m not saying that all card counters win, they don’t. But they can practice and hone their skills and be consistent winners. According to their skill level they can have up to a 2% advantage over the house while a poker players advantage can’t be measured.

The card counter doesn’t depend on the poor play of others at the table to have an advantage. His advantage is built in by his skill level and the quality of players at the table mean nothing to his advantage or disadvantage.

In summation, it’s my opinion that poker is more exciting but when my money goes on the line it’s as a card counter not as a professional poker player.

If you are interested in learning basic strategy and card counting, http://learn-winning-blackjack.com is a great place to learn. The lessons are free and they’re easy to learn. There are basic strategy charts and links to other sites with great information.
Ed Irion has been a professional Blackjack player for 31 years. He has made millions of dollars playing Blackjack in casinos all over the world. He still plies his trade in the casinos today using many aliases. This is the first in a series of articles to help you learn and better understand Blackjack.

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