I’m sure just reading this title makes a lot of people cringe. Well, go for it: cringe as hard as you can, get it out of your system so we could take a cold, hard look at this question before us.
To make things clear, here is the question at hand, in detail: Poker is a game of skill. Slot machines are a game of chance. Logically, one would assume that one has a better shot at winning money based on skills, and not chance. Right?
Wrong. Give it a few minutes and you’ll see, logically speaking, that the better chances are with the slot, not the poker.
And two clarifications before we begin:
- If you think that poker is not a game of skill, but a game of luck, please stop reading and go play with your teddy bear. I don’t have the patience to explain to you why you are wrong, so wrong, and don’t think you even deserve an explanation.
- I’m excluding pro poker players from the following diagnosis. If you participate in the World Series of Poker in Vegas every year and make your living from playing poker so yes, OK, you have a better shot at making money through poker.
The rest of you (of us!) buckle up and let’s do this.
A Quick Overview of Poker & Slots
Worry not, I’m not going to explain the rules of poker. If you’re on this site, you probably know enough poker to find your way around a deck of cards.
Just a few poker pointers to keep in mind:
- Poker is played in a group, whether around a physical table or online.
- It is you against everyone else.
- Unless you are Joe McKeehen, there’s probably someone better than you at the table.
- Your skills are put to the test.
As far as slots:
- Slots are played solo.
- Man against the machine.
- No one is better than you playing slots (not that it matters.)
- The size of your wallet in put to the test.
It’s a Lucky, Lucky World
There are tons of chance-based games out there, and for a good reason apparently. There is the lottery of course, the most common mass-gambling and there are scratch cards and online prime scratch cards – is it the same actually? Not sure… Anyways, slot machines join this ancient tradition of chance-based gambling.
Kids play a lot of chance-based games. They don’t make money playing them, but they love them. If you tried to play a skill-based game with a 4 year old, you know why it’s better to play with kids chance-based games; they tend to get pretty upset when their skills don’t perform the way they want them too. Anyways!
Even Your Best Poker Face Might Not Help You
The thing is this: when you play poker you are not in control of the game. Looking at online poker, you have no idea who the other players are. You can see their avatars, or their online profiles or whatever, but you can never know who they really are. So yes, the player to your left is “Shannon” but who is really Shannon?
Trust me when I say this, and this comes from hard-knock experience of playing way too much online poker, there are some sneaky predators out there in the wild, around virtual poker tables. They start you off with soft winnings, build your (fake) confidence, and when you feel just cocky enough, you’re going to lose.
Beware of the hubris – there is always a better poker player than you out there, closer than you think. Another word of advice: don’t marry a girl just because you think she’s a babe. You’re bound to see a babe-ier girl sooner than later.
Look For Real Money Slots Online
With slots on the other hand, and more than that, online slots, you know from the get go what are your chances of winning money.
Go to any casino slot website, such as PrimeSlots or any other that offer real money slots, drill down to a slot game, such as Gonzo’s Quest or any other, and you can see in the game description the RTP – Return To Player ratio. This is the percentage of the money the game is paying back in winnings out of the total money being put into it.
Let me save you the trouble – average RTP of online slot games is 96%. Meaning, the game pays in winnings 96% of the money played. (Land-based slot machines have average RTP of 85%, not too shabby either.)
This is of course not per player, but per game. But these percentages are guaranteed, all Slot Spinners, peeps who spin on a regular basis, know this. No sharks around the slot table; actually, there isn’t even a slot table
The Choice & Chance Is Yours
So think about it again. Where your chances of winning money seem brighter? Playing against unknown rivals in a game of skill, or holding hands with lady luck in a game you know spews back money at players?
