Casinos have devoted a large portion of their real estate to poker. Dozens of table games and machines offer a chance to play yet another variation of poker. Or at least that's what they want you to think.
Most people who come into a casino are there to play the slots. They're the casino's cash crop. Everyone knows, or at least should know, that nearly all casino games, whether they're machine-based or on the felt, have odds weighted in favor of the house. The casino achieves these favorable odds by setting the payout scheme and the winning hands high enough that it's difficult to win. Regardless of how much money you put in, how long you sit there, or how well you play, the majority of the time, you will lose. There are some games (blackjack is one) in which your ability to play can help decrease the overwhelming advantage the house has. However, most of the time, when totaling the aggregate amount of money invested in casino games in a lifetime, most people have lost.
This isn't the case with poker, well, not real poker. The difference is your opponent. In regular casino games, your adversary is the house; you have to beat the dealer to win. In poker, your opponent is the other players, who have exactly the same starting odds as you do. That's why poker is arguably considered a sport. There are no weighted odds or minimum hands to win.
The only money that a casino makes off of a regular poker game is the rake, which is nothing compared to the millions of dollars made just a few feet away at the quarter-slots. Tournaments can generate a lot of revenue for the casino's hotel and surrounding businesses, but such large events take an enormous investment from the casino and are thus limited to set schedule each year.
However, casinos are nothing if not crafty, and have created new games to bring those poker fans to the greater-profit games. Games like Pai Gow, Let It Ride!, Caribbean Stud, and the ever-present poker machine are all technically types of poker, with a similar hand-ranking scheme. But there's one major difference: you're playing against the house again and its weighted odds.
I've walked into a casino many times in the past, wanting to play poker, but never making it that far. The usual fears, embarrassment, losing all my money in one hand, not knowing all the rules or how to get a seat at the table, often prevented me from making that step toward playing the real game I'd come to play. Just like any other game, though, the nice and helpful dealers are easy to find and flatten that learning curve.
If you're going to a casino just to have fun, try out any game you want. It's easy to have a good time at any game, even if you're losing, as long as the people you play with are jovial and exciting. But if you're going to play poker, real poker, don't settle for the poker-esque substitutes the casino created to take your money. Find the poker room, sign the waiting list, and play the only sporting game in the entire casino.