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.
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 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.
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 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.
About the Author:
The author is a successful limit cash game player. He plays poker online and receives Players Only Rakeback and Paradise Poker Rakeback.
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