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DIFFERENCES BETWEEN POKER AND BRIDGE

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While bridge is a popular card game, the card game that really has captured the imagination of the general population is Texas Holdem poker. Online Texas Holdem has a worldwide following and poker programs can be found on numerous networks. If you are a bridge player that is considering taking a flyer with poker, here are a few things to consider.

There Are No Partners

First, poker is an individual game. You are solely dependant on your own ability to get you through the game. If you are the weaker player at the table, then there is nobody to bail you out. At the same time, if you are someone that prefers to play a game by yourself, then poker may be the game for you.

Money vs. Challenge

The object of playing poker is to win money. If you are dealt a hand you do not want to play in poker, you fold it. In bridge, you must determine how to best play the hand each time and every time. You may go for hours and not play a hand in a poker game. Not so in bridge. Bridge ends up being a much more challenging game as a result. Many bridge players would likely find poker boring.

Poker is a People Game

Where bridge is based a lot on how a particular hand is played, poker is played more in tune with how the other players are playing. In fact, one of the key things you look for in poker are tells. A bridge player may be considered to be cheating if they were looking for tells or trying to give off false ones. In poker, giving off false tells is actually considered a good skill to develop as it helps you to throw your opponents off.

Risk of Financial Ruin

How many times have you heard of a bridge player going broke playing bridge? I haven’t. However, I can tell you several people that have went broke playing poker. Even the best players in the world go broke. For example, Jean Robert Bellande just recently went broke. He has won hundreds of thousands of dollars playing poker. However, no matter how good you are, the risk of ruin is ever present. Bridge is a much less expensive pastime.

I am not saying that you shouldn’t play poker. The above thoughts were just presented to give you some realities about playing poker. If you are still interested in playing, check out some online poker sites review and determine which sites are best for you to play at. Then take your seat and try you hand that the hottest game in the country. Good luck.

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