by Marianne Pelletier

Created on: June 11, 2010

Preferences for games really depend on what you like to get out of play. For poker fans, it's all about the standing up to someone else, guessing what cards your opponents may have, keeping your face as blank as possible, and laying it all on the table to see if you've won. For blackjack players, it's about playing the odds, hoping that the dealer busts, choosing the right move according to a prescribed set of rules.

If I were a person who played sports, I would want to play an individual sport like golfing or tennis. A team sport is too confusing for me. I think that helps me understand why I prefer blackjack: I want to play against one person, not against an entire table. Also, when I play blackjack, my cards are already on the table, I don't have to worry whether my red face is giving away what I have in my hand - everyone can see it.

In poker, the name of the game is tricking other people, regardless of what I have in my hand. I don't want the cards to decide everything. I want the others to be intimidated and drop out before they find out whether they would have won. This kind of competitive aggression doesn't suit my tastes. I'm a statistician and I really prefer testing the odds rather than testing other people.

If I were a salesperson who had to read others and then work with what I perceive to change their minds about something, then I'd like poker very much. As it is, I once broke out into a sweat in the only poker game I tried. I had 3 aces. Because I gave away my tell so ealry in the game, I was taken out in the next hand by a very clever player. I never went back.

Blackjack, however, it a competition with the dealer, and nobody cares about whether I'm going to surrender before the final decision. I can sweat, moan, flail (though people around me might object) and still get to play the game. I'm competing with the next card up, not with the relative courage of those around me. 

A finaly comparison would be football vs. baseball. In football, big guys ram into each other to try to get the ball from one place to another. In baseball, it's more about the intelligence of the next chosen move. Everything is in control of the batter - he can opt to bunt or to slam out a home run (if he's talented and well practied enough). I'd really rather play a thinking game. Of course, betting on football can be a game of probability, and that does sound fun. Playing football, or poker, leaves me feeling scared, outclassed, and not able to focus on the game. Give me blackjack any day. 

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