Yet, poker and blackjack are often placed side-by-side and compared in terms of odds, strategy, and more. Card players usually want to know which game would bring them money. Although it’s possible to determine the house edge for blackjack, things get a bit complicated when it comes to poker. In blackjack, most of your time will be spent in local casinos plying single games, as well as local blackjack tournaments. In other words, the poker circuit is much bigger, much better, and much more profitable for the players on it. 21 (BLACKJACK) The most profitable hand type in blackjack is the natural 21. In a traditional 21 game the payout for a natural is 3:2, or 1.5 times the player’s original bet. It consists of an ACE and a 10 value card (10, J, Q, K). This hand never loses, it can only tie or win. So the theoretical mathematical value is the best. Blackjack and video poker have each been among the most played casino games for decades. Fans of these games love using in-depth strategy to improve their odds of winning. Assuming you use perfect strategy on the right blackjack or video poker variation, you’ll be facing less than a 0.5% house edge. Poker and blackjack have a lot in common, and some strategies from 21 are certainly transferable to the poker tables. We've listed seven of them here. While poker and blackjack couldn't be more different on some levels, there are certainly skills that are common to both games.

Poker and real money blackjack have many similarities. They are both card games you will find at all major online and offline casinos, they both have professional circuits and pro players, and you can win at both of them by learning some basic strategy.

But which game is better, where are the best places to play, and which offers you the best chance of success?

Poker vs Real Money Blackjack: The Odds

Both poker and blackjack have a lot of variants, but while these variants offer the same chance of success in poker (providing you are playing against other players and not against the casino or a video poker machine) the odds in blackjack can differ greatly.

That's because blackjack is played against the house, not against other players. This means that the house always has an edge over you and will look to increase this edge anyway they can. The most obvious way to do this is to create new variations of the game, offering side bets and bonuses to distract you from the fact that they have lowered your chances of winning.

Just take a look at these popular actual money forms of online blackjack to see how the odds can differ:

• Switch Blackjack (Online): 0.17%
  
• Single Deck (Online & Offline): 0.31%
• Vegas Strip Blackjack (Offline): 0.43%
• Double Exposure Blackjack (Online): 0.69%
• Atlantic City Blackjack (Offline): 1.5% +

Poker vs Real Money Blackjack: The Pro Circuit

The pro circuit for poker is huge. Offline there is the World Series of Poker, the European Poker Tour, the Aussie Millions, the World Poker Tour, and more, and then you have online events like the Spring Series of Online Poker and the World Championship of Online Poker.

And these are just the major events, because throughout the year there are many smaller tournaments at all levels, from the UK Poker Tour all of the way to the Caribbean Poker Adventure.

In blackjack, there is very little. There used to be an Ultimate Blackjack Tour and this received some television coverage, but it wasn’t popular enough to stick.

As a pro poker player you have options for sponsorship, TV coverage and more, and you can be playing every week of every year if you wish. In blackjack, most of your time will be spent in local casinos plying single games, as well as local blackjack tournaments.

In other words, the poker circuit is much bigger, much better, and much more profitable for the players on it.

Poker vs Real Money Blackjack: Online or Offline?

You have a great chance of winning at poker whether you play online or offline. The only benefit with regards to offline play is that you can see the players’ faces, which means you have a better chance of judging whether they are bluffing you or not.

However, real money poker involves a lot of folding and a lot of waiting, and when you’re playing offline this means you could spend 30 to 40 minutes at a time doing nothing but waiting. Online it moves much quicker, and you can play multiple games at once, so you are always doing something and you are always entertained, making online play preferable.

With blackjack, however, you may be better off offline, but only if you can count cards. Contrary to popular belief, this is not illegal, but they can remove you from the casino (except for in Atlantic City) if they suspect you of it.

You can not count cards playing online because the cards are automatically shuffled after every hand.

So, a general rule of thumb is: play poker online and blackjack offline.

Poker vs Real Money Blackjack: Which is Best?

It is hard to pick a winner here. Both games have their pros and their cons, both can win you a lot of money and both can be found at all casinos and card-rooms.

However, professional gamblers will tell you that poker has the edge. There is a greater skill element, and the best players tend to win the most money. There is still luck involved, but the same can be said for all games that require skill and knowledge, and as far as gambling goes poker is the game where these two things matter the most and will lead to the most wins.

Because of that, we have to give this one to poker.

Poker and blackjack are a couple of popular games that you can find at almost every casino across the globe. You don’t even have to have ever gone to a casino to have heard of poker and blackjack. They both have a popular presence online for those that like to play online casino games.

It’s definitely a debate that could take us down several rabbit holes, but many players, including myself, would say that poker is a much better game to play than blackjack, especially when it comes to the winning potential that poker has over blackjack.

The truth is that while blackjack is popular (probably because it’s fairly simple and less intimidating to new players or players who are more introverted and don’t really like all the banter and talking that happens at a poker table), poker is hands down more profitable for anyone playing card games in a casino.

The reason for this is simple—when playing blackjack, it’s you against the casino, meaning it’s you against the house edge that the casino has over every single player that sits down to play at the slots, blackjack, and many other games that are designed by default to have the casino win.

Now that doesn’t mean that the casino wins every time. Rather, it means that the casino is going to win a percentage of your money back over the long run. This percentage can be as high as 20% at a game like keno, or it can be as small as a quarter of a percentage point, like you can find in some bets on the craps table.

Why would you want to spend all of your time playing against a system designed to make you lose when you can play against other people who might not be the smartest players? If you are a decent poker player, than you have much more of a chance walking away victorious than someone who spends all their time playing games against the house (which is the case for blackjack).

There is an exception when it comes to blackjack and the house edge, and that is if a player is a skilled card counter. If you can count cards, then that really is your only chance of going on a winning streak playing blackjack.

Unless of course the universe is just working in your favor and you happen to get that lucky. This scenario is very unlikely, but it does happen.

The problem with counting cards is that the casinos typically despise the players who do it. They keep an eye out via the security cameras for players who are winning at the blackjack table. If a player is in fact counting cards, then they run the risk of having to deal with the consequences.

The players who can get away with counting cards are usually very clever and know not to spend too much time sitting at the same table. They often will bounce from table to table, making it more difficult for the casino security to be able to keep track of their actions.

With all of that being said, most people don’t sit around all day practicing card counting. All that being said, there are several reasons why poker is just a better game to play than blackjack.

There are many reasons why this is, so I will touch on a couple basic reasons why you should just stick to poker and not waste your time with blackjack.

1- Poker is Easier to Learn and Play

Poker is an easier game to play and learn over blackjack, and to be honest, most people have a pretty basic understanding of poker from movies and TV shows even if they’ve never actually played.

The rules are quite simple to learn. Heck, I learned how to play around 8 years old, and I remember it being just as easy, if not easier, than any other card game I had learned at that age.

So if an 8 year old can learn how to play, I am pretty sure anyone can. For an adult who is learning how to play poker, everything that they would need to know in order to be a decent poker player can be broken down into basic math.

People end up throwing money away by just throwing chips in the pot and pretty much just hoping for the best.

A seasoned poker player knows that poker is a game of strategy and that certain plays are going to be more or less profitable. Essentially, they know when to hold ‘em, and they know when to fold ‘em.

If a skilled player is playing against opponents who have that luck-inspired mentality, then it’s a definite possibility that the skilled player will completely destroy the rest of the players.

In poker, you have to understand that every situation presents an opportunity that would be the most profitable for you. The key is to be able to make more decisions that are profitable versus making decisions that are going to cause you to lose money.

Is Poker And Blackjack More Profitable Money

Every decision you make while playing poker is either going to be for profit or not. You can end up making hundreds of decisions while at the poker table, and a good player will be able to make as many of those decisions as they can correctly.

Once you learn the simple rules and format of the game and can go out and practice, you will notice over time that more and more of your decisions are going to turn out correct. I know that might sound confusing considering you never really know the cards that your opponents are holding, but over time you can simply learn from their actions and behaviors and let them be an indicator of what ranked hand they might be holding.

Is Poker And Blackjack More Profitable Games

Poker can be a much easier and more profitable game for a player once they get the hang of it.

2- Poker Has More Variety

If you compare the layout of poker and blackjack side by side, it wouldn’t take a rocket science to be able to determine the straightforward nature of blackjack. You get two cards, the dealer shows you one of theirs, and then you make the decision of what to do with your hand from there.

There is a little more to it, but no matter what blackjack table you decide to play at, it’s gonna be the same thing from table to table. Poker has a much larger array of options that are available across the poker tables at the casino. You could play 5 card draw, Texas Hold ’Em, or 7 card stud, just to name a few.

These games can have a limit or no limit. A player could play games for cash, single or multi-table tournaments, and a wide array of other playing options. There is also a wide array of buy-in levels found at each poker table in casinos nationwide.

Good poker players can play well in all different types of poker games.

Most styles of poker are available online for free, so you can practice that way and not have to worry about losing any money. A downfall of playing online is not getting to see the other player’s facial expressions and behavior. Learning how to read people can be a very beneficial skill for a poker player.

Once you master one style of poker, then you can move on to the next. If you learn how to play 5 card draw and feel like you are ready to move on, learning Texas Hold ’Em would be an easy transition from 5 card draw.

There are so many other formats of poker that are available to learn compared to the simple and basic game of blackjack. This is a huge reason why I think poker is still just a better game all around.

Is Poker And Blackjack More Profitable Slots

Do you have other reasons why poker is better than blackjack? Feel free to let me know in the comment section below.