The Advantages of Live vs Online Poker
Since the birth of online poker there has been a debate going on as to what form of poker is better. Online or live in a casino or card room? The answer, unfortunately isn’t as easy as a simple either or. Like most questions in poker the answer is, “it depends”. While live poker and online poker have basically the same rules, there are a lot of differences.
The main advantage of online poker boils down to speed. The games are so much faster than live poker that if its volume that you want, there is no substitute. All of the dealers responsibilities are done automatically. There is no time wasted on shuffling, counting chips, dealing, or gathering the cards. These time consuming actions are all done instantaneously by the poker room’s software. This means that there is less time wasted and more time spent playing poker. This equates to 60, 70, or more hands every hour. This is if you only play one table at a time. Most online poker players take advantage of ability to play multiple tables at once. Some players even use several monitors and play 6-8 tables or more at a time. This will allow you to play 600 or more hands an hour. This equates to 20 or more times the number of hands you would be able to play in a live game. So for the winning poker player, more hands per hours should equal more winnings per hour right? Unfortunately its not that simple. Read On.
Live poker also has some advantages. While you will only play twenty to thirty five hands per hour, you should be able to make a lot more per hand on average. The competition in live games is extremely weak when compared to similar limits in online poker. It has been my experience that the 20/40 limit holdem game at the local casino is much softer than online games as small as 1/2. This means that you should be able to play live games at much higher stakes without being “out of your league” skill wise. In fact some players at these levels in a casino often are unaware of poker information as basic as hand rankings. I’ve seen players who are unaware that their two pair is going to loose to a flush even after the cards are all turned over. Players this weak might as well have ATM embroidered on their baseball caps. For a skilled poker player we would imagine that higher staked and weak opponents lead to more money right? Perhaps…
The financial advantages to online poker and live poker are different and will be seen differently by different players. But there are other factors that can help us decide if online poker or live brick and mortar games are best for us. Live poker has a social element to it that online games just don’t have. If you want to get out of the house, have some conversation, and possibly sip on a cocktail, than live poker may be much more rewarding for you. Online poker, while lacking in the social aspects, has its own unique advantages. You are able to play anytime from anywhere that you can connect to the internet. You can play in your underwear if you like(if that is advantageous in your opinion). The bottom line is that it’s convenient, fast, and allows you to take advantage of other tools like rakeback, poker software, poker bonuses, and all that good stuff. If you’re looking for convenience, nothing compares to online poker. If its the money your after though, online poker probably affords you more opportunities to pad your bankroll.
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.
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