Is There a Crossover Between Slot and Poker Strategies?

Meta: Slots and poker are among the most popular games to play at licensed iGaming sites. Is there a crossover between slot and poker strategies? Find out here.

Slots and poker are two completely different games. For example, poker relies heavily on strategy, skill, and a little luck, while slots rely purely on luck. All you have to do is hit the spin button and hope to land a winner.

However, a few basic strategies can be applied to poker and slots. If you’re more interested in games that require a level of skill and strategy, then poker might be the better choice for you. 

If you want a nice and simple game that doesn’t require any skill and is based purely on luck, you might prefer playing slots. Let’s dive straight in to discover more about some of the best strategies you can use when you next play poker or slots at a licensed casino site like 10bet Africa. 

Is casino poker the same as poker played at dedicated poker sites?

Yes and no. For example, the standard winning poker hands are the same, but the gameplay is completely different. Playing poker at a licensed online casino from your smartphone, tablet, laptop, or desktop computer is completely different from playing at a dedicated poker site. 

For example, casino poker is often played alone or against the dealer, so it’s much simpler and doesn’t require too much strategy or bluffing. The main types of poker at casino sites are ‘regular’ (computer-generated poker), video poker (also computer-generated), and live dealer poker. 

At dedicated poker sites, you will be playing against other people to win money, never against the dealer or alone. At poker sites, you can find sit ‘n go cash tables, heads-up tables, MTTs (multi-table tournaments), and cash game tables. 

Remember that when playing poker at online casinos, you don’t have to play against other players to win. You only have to decide at each new round whether you want to stay in the game. 

Is there a crossover between slot and poker strategies?

The main crossover strategies between slots and poker lie in the way you bet. Certain bankroll management strategies, for example, can be applied to both poker and slots. Another strategy is choosing which games to play based on their RTP% payout rate. Let’s take a closer look at what this means:

• When choosing which games to play, whether that’s casino poker games or the best online slots South Africa has to offer, some players will only ever seek out the games with above-average RTP% (Return To Player percentage) payout rates. Although you aren’t guaranteed to win more on a slot or poker game with a higher RTP% payout rate, statistically speaking, you are. Casino games with above-average payout rates are considered anywhere from 97.00% to 98.00% or higher, and in games with below-average RTP% payout rates, it’s around 93.00% or lower
• This also leads us to VOLATILITY. Do you want to play the games that don’t pay out as often, but when they do pay out, the wins are fairly big (highly volatile) or do you want to play games that pay out frequently but much smaller wins (low volatility)? You can find low, medium, and high-volatility casino slots and poker games
• Setting limits is another great strategy for staying in much better control of your spending. Today, many trusted iGaming sites let you set things like win/loss and session time limits. One of the best ‘safer gambling tools’ is the deposit limit (daily, weekly, and monthly deposit limits are available)
• Always pay attention to your stake. You could try bumping up your stake a little if you hit a win streak in any game. If you feel as though you’ve hit a losing streak, either close the game or reduce/adjust your stake accordingly until the losing streak ends
• Where possible, practice playing certain casino poker games or slots in the free play mode until you have familiarised yourself with the payouts and rules. This is another popular strategy can also be applied to slots and casino poker games

What other strategies can I use?

Some casino sites also have a hot and cold games section. The hot games are more likely to pay (but never guaranteed to return you a profit), and the cold games are less likely to pay. Perhaps try a few ‘hot’ games before trying the cold games. 

Understanding each game’s different odds/payout structures, which also means understanding the IPR (implied probability rate), is super important. 

For example, in blackjack, which usually pays 3:2, it means there’s a 40.00% implied probability rate (IPR) of this outcome occurring. In fractional odds, 3:2 is 3/2. In decimal odds, it’s 2.50, and in American/moneyline odds, it’s +150. 

Finally, whenever you are offered a casino bonus, don’t forget to claim it because you have nothing to lose. You never know; the free $/€/£5.00 cash bonus or the 10 free spins you just received could turn into something bigger if you use the bonus to try your luck at the slots/poker games. You won’t know if you don’t try.