Poker

[Bartmanhomer]

Have anyone ever play Poker? I have played it years ago at the casino. I happen to a loose-aggressive player. I won a few times and lost so many times.

[Lvl 2 Expert]

Most forms of poker are quite interesting games. Fiction usually presents them as social games, where reading your opponent is key, but they're easily just as much statistical odds games, positional games and a nearly literal waiting game. (Folding when you know you should is hard okay?) None of these aspects in themselves make for a super easy game, the statistics for instance are a lot harder with cards than they would be with dice, but they're still managable. Taken all together though poker is deceptively hard.

It's actually quite a lot like Pokémon in that regard. It's not impossibly hard getting your type matchups right most of the time, but then there's roles (sweeper, wall, tank, setter upper, scout, rapid spinner), common movesets and coverage moves, specialty teams (weather, terrain, trick room). You're never quite as good as you thought you'd be by now. Poker is like that as well.

I'd recommend playing with friends, or through a free game like Governer of Poker 3. Playing at a casino is only going to be both expensive and frustrating unless you're pretty good at it yourself. And pretty good is hard to achieve.

[JeromeKCog]

I used to play quite a bit at Uni with my hockey team, very small buy in with no serious stakes, usually before a social night out. Won the pot a couple of times, and came close a few times as well. It was mostly an excuse for all of us to get suited up and spend an evening doing something fun together.

I'd recommend watching the Yogscast poker nights on youtube, even though I haven't played in years I still really enjoy watching the antics that take place.

[Bartmanhomer]

Most forms of poker are quite interesting games. Fiction usually presents them as social games, where reading your opponent is key, but they're easily just as much statistical odds games, positional games and a nearly literal waiting game. (Folding when you know you should is hard okay?) None of these aspects in themselves makes for a super easy game, the statistics, for instance, are a lot harder with cards than they would be with dice, but they're still manageable. Taken all together though poker is deceptively hard.

It's actually quite a lot like Pokémon in that regard. It's not impossibly hard getting your type matchups right most of the time, but then there's roles (sweeper, wall, tank, setter upper, scout, rapid spinner), common movesets and coverage moves, speciality teams (weather, terrain, trick room). You're never quite as good as you thought you'd be by now. Poker is like that as well.

I'd recommend playing with friends, or through a free game like Governor of Poker 3. Playing at a casino is only going to be both expensive and frustrating unless you're pretty good at it yourself. And pretty good is hard to achieve.

But Pokemon and Poker are different games. I mean I don't see how you can compare to Pokemon and Poker. Pokemon is a two-player game where Pokemon is a multiplayer game usually four players or more.

[Lvl 2 Expert]

But Pokemon and Poker are different games. I mean I don't see how you can compare to Pokemon and Poker. Pokemon is a two-player game where Pokemon is a multiplayer game usually four players or more.

They're both games with a lot of hidden depth, is what I mean.

Take Settlers of Catan (no idea if you ever played that by the way, which is why I tried to explain this using Pokémon instead, because I know you've played that): Catan seems pretty complex on the surface, with 5 different resources and three different buildings and a robber and knights and victory points and... If you're not used to more modern board games it might even be a bit intimidating. But it's really not that bad ones you get to playing it, most games of Settlers of Catan are decided by the table chatter rather than mastery of the mechanics.

Poker and Pokémon are both the opposite. Poker seems like a game where you have five cards and if they're good you win by betting high and if they're bad you still win by betting high. Pokémon seems like an RPG toned down for kids. But play either against a decent player and you'll need quite a good grip of some underlying mechanics to stand a good chance. The specific mechanics you'll need to know are completely different for Pokémon and poker. For poker you want to know how to count your outs, how to count possible out for other players, what kind of bets are used for what kind of hands, other stuff I don't actually know a lot about... It's a much less simple game than it seems.

[Bartmanhomer]

They're both games with a lot of hidden depth, is what I mean.

Take Settlers of Catan (no idea if you ever played that by the way, which is why I tried to explain this using Pokémon instead, because I know you've played that): Catan seems pretty complex on the surface, with 5 different resources and three different buildings and a robber and knights and victory points and... If you're not used to more modern board games it might even be a bit intimidating. But it's really not that bad ones you get to playing it, most games of Settlers of Catan are decided by the table chatter rather than mastery of the mechanics.

Poker and Pokémon are both the opposite. Poker seems like a game where you have five cards and if they're good you win by betting high and if they're bad you still win by betting high. Pokémon seems like an RPG toned down for kids. But play either against a decent player and you'll need quite a good grip of some underlying mechanics to stand a good chance. The specific mechanics you'll need to know are completely different for Pokémon and poker. For poker you want to know how to count your outs, how to count possible out for other players, what kind of bets are used for what kind of hands, other stuff I don't actually know a lot about... It's a much less simple game than it seems.

Well I never play Settlers of Catan so I can't vouched my thoughts and opinions on that but I might be interested on that game but that's for another thread. And as for Pokemon you need a good and powerful team to beat the opponent. Poker takes a lot of bluffing and real mathematics for the pot that players raising. Facial expression play a part of well to some degree.