Venture into any casino, whether it’s located in the centre of Las Vegas or an exclusive part of London, chances are each will incorporate a very similar layout. Towards the entrance, you’ll find rows upon rows of illuminated slot machines, complete with several players anxiously spinning the wheels and wondering if lady luck is shining down on them.

Move a little further and you’ll find the elegant games, such as blackjack, baccarat, roulette and of course, craps. Keep going and chances are you’ll reach a doorway leading into a very different section of the casino; the poker rooms. Here, you won’t find any of the camaraderie you’d expect to experience at the craps table, nor will you hear the excited yelps of a player who has hit the jackpot. Poker is cool, calm, calculated and (as many players would have you believe) shares very little in common with other casino games.

However, while there are of course differences between luck and skill games, poker does share similarities with its casino counterparts. The most obvious example would of course be video poker, which is essentially an amalgamation of slots and traditional poker games. Believe it or not though, players can also learn about how to control their poker face by watching the tightly drawn features of blackjack players. As any card counter will tell you, in order to ensure you aren’t caught you have to play the game deceptively. Not only do these pro’s count cards, they also purposely lose hands in an effort to cover their tracks. Given the atmosphere of a poker table when it’s just two players after the pot, a card counter’s deceptive skill would no doubt prove an incredible aid to a poker player having to face off with their competitor.

Surprisingly, poker players can also learn a thing or two from slot machine enthusiasts. As any gambling expert will tell you, slots are often considered the least profitable games available in a casino, yet you could lose even more money playing a casino game you don’t understand. Professional slots players also know that in order to preserve their bankroll, they have to leave when a slot is “tight”, or not paying out. Before rushing into a high risk win/lose situation, poker players should bear that all important slots mantra in mind: “Know when to walk away”, or in poker’s case, fold.

With any casino game, whether its slots, blackjack or even sic bo, there’s aspects of the strategies used in these games which can be applied to poker. It could even be suggested that the best poker players are those who are willing to go outside of their comfort zone and learn from other casino goers.