Poker and video games both seem like idle pursuits, like wastes of money and time for those with nothing better to do. But only to the uninitiated! 

Talented poker players and talented video game players can profit handsomely from their talents while illustrating displays of skill that can entertain masses of people.

Online Poker and RTS Video Games

The greatest similarity comes between online poker and real time strategy, or “RTS” video games. Both of these allow a player to log on from their home computers and challenge other players (today there’s even poker Mac OS). For both, while there is an element of luck, it is generally the most skilled players who will win the day.

Tactics in Poker and Video Games

Both poker and RTS video games require that players master certain tactics in order to succeed. Without these tactics, a player will be at a severe disadvantage.
Tactics critical to poker play include slow playing, bluffing, trapping and check-raising. Video game strategies that players must at least be familiar with if not implement themselves include the rush, turtling and camping.

Expertise in Poker and Video Games

Expertise in video games does not necessarily transfer to poker or vice versa. However, it should be noted that two of the most successful young poker players today, Ivan Demidov, who made both the WSOP and WSOPE main event final tables in 2008, and Bertrand Grospellier, who has both a WPT and a WPTE championship under his belt, are both champion video game players, with professional level skill in games like StarCraft.

Playing Poker and Video Games

Playing video games that are not multi-player interactive strategy games will probably not hone your strategic or competitive skills too much. This is similar to the understanding that playing free money poker games on the Internet probably won’t advance your education as a poker player. You won’t learn to play poker until you’ve felt the pain of real loss.
However, they can both still be quite entertaining. If you do make the effort to play the high level games, you will probably find you experience significant gains in both arenas, and may even be able to transfer them from one to another.

Posted in Uncategorized