The Advantages of Live vs Online Poker

Since the dawn of the online poker age there has always been the question of which is better, online poker or live games in a casino or card room? The answer is the same as most poker questions…. It depends. While the two generally have the same rules and structure, you are dealing with two very different games.

Online poker obviously has the advantage of speed. Since the dealing is done digitally, there is no time wasted shuffling, dealing, collecting cards, or anything else that the dealer would normally spend time doing. You also save a lot of time by having the pot automatically counted at all times and the rake is taken out automatically. When you add in the built in clock that most sites have for players to act in time, you will get 2 to 3 times the amount of hands per hour or more by playing online. If you also take into account that you are able to play up to 8 tables or more simultaneously, you could well end up playing up to 600 hands per hour or more. This is roughly 20 times the amount of hands that you might play in a live ring game. More hands equals more money for the winning player right? Again, the answer is maybe.

Live games generally have much weaker opponents than online games. The downside is that you'll only get 25 to 35 hands per hour depending on the quality of your dealer. People go to the casino for a good time and don't generally mind losing a few bucks for the entertainment. This means that you get a lot of casual players, and even players who don't know the rules of the game. You get a lot of players who seem to do OK at their friday night game at their buddies house and want to see how they stack up at the casino. I often find that a 20/40 limit hold'em game in the local casino is much softer than a 1/2 or 2/4 game online. So you can probably play higher limits at the casino without giving up any of your win rate. So higher stakes means more money for the winning player right? You get the idea.

Since each game has its advantages and disadvantages financially, there must be something else to separate these two forms of poker. There is. Live poker offers a much more social environment. If you're looking to have some fun and shoot the breeze with the other players, than live poker in an actual brick and mortar casino or card room would probably suit you better. On the other hand, internet poker offers its own conveniences. If you're only looking to play for a half hour or so, you may not want to drive to the casino, park, get on the waiting list, ect. If you play online all you have to do is fire up your computer and find a game. You can even play in your under ware, your old sweat pants that your wife won't let you leave the house in, or nothing at all. The other advantages that online poker has are all the software available, rakeback, bonuses, and multitabling. If you're all business, than online poker may be the better route for you.

So what did we learn from this little discussion? Neither online poker or live poker games are definitively better. It all depends on what you aim to achieve at the poker tables.

The author of this article plays online poker and gets Rakeback at Cellsino Poker where they offer the highest Cellsino Rakeback.

categories: poker,gambling,games,recreation,entertainment,hobbies,hobby,casino,betting