Live Poker V Online Poker

• Author: Thomas Kearns
• Filed under: Betting
• Date: Oct 31,2009

The beginning of online poker not so many years ago spawned an interesting poker question. What is better, online poker or live brick and mortar table games? While the two generally have the same or similar rules and structure, there are a lot of advantages and disadvantages to each form. So to answer our question…. It depends.

If its speed and sheer volume of hands that you’re after than online poker is the hands down winner. Dealing, shuffling, counting chips, and collecting cards is all done automatically by the poker room software. A lot of time is also saved by knowing how much money is in the pot at all times and how much money is in each players stack. When you also factor in the clock that is put on each player when it is their turn, you start to get double and even triple the amount of hands per hour when compared to a live game. Another thing to consider is the fact that you can play several tables at a time online. If you are good enough to play six to eight tables at once you may well get 600 or more hands in every hour. Under some conditions you may well end up playing more than 20 times the number of live hands that would be dealt in a similar amount of time. As a skilled player, the more hands you play the more money you make right? The answer again is “it depends”.

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.

The author takes advantage of the highest Interpoker Rakeback. Please visit Rakeback Solution to also sign up for Interpoker Rakeback.

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