Poker vs. Online Poker
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Advantages of Online Poker
More Hands – You can play more hands per hour.
If you were going to play even a fairly loose
and fast game at a real casino, you would maybe
play 10-15 hands in an hour, as games tend to
last much longer. You may only find a few hands
actually worth playing. Online, games go much
faster, and it's not rare to play upwards of 100
hands in an hour, though usually it’s between 40
and 60 for one table. More playable hands (by
"playable" I mean decent starting hands) means
more potential wins. More wins means more money.
More money means a very happy online poker
player.
Signup Bonuses - This is one terrific reason. If
you sign up through one of our links to a poker
website, you'll get bonus cash that varies from
poker room to poker room. Your relatively small
bankroll can even double just by signing up
through our links. I can't find any real casinos
that will give you even a 25% bonus on the chips
your get. The online poker rooms do this to
entice you to sign up with them, and it works
out quite well for both parties.
Play at Several Tables - With online poker
rooms, you are usually allowed to play at more
than one table. This means you could
significantly increase your winnings. The
drawback is that you don't get to focus as much
on one game, meaning you might lose because
you're unaware of what type of players you're up
against. If your style is just to play really
tight and only play the best hands, however,
this method might be for you. Try it out and see
how you like it.
24/7/365 Playing - Whether it's 3am, 6pm, or ten
minutes to lunch, there are always poker games
to be played. Any time you feel like it, you can
sit down and start in. There will never be a
time when all the tables are taken and you must
wait, or when the room is completely empty and
you have to sit around for players to join. On
any online poker room at any time, there are
usually at least 10,000 people playing. That'll
never happen in a real casino.
Lower Limit Games - The game limits are great
for the beginning player. For example, you could
play a limit game as low as $.01/$02. Real
casinos put the minimums much higher so they get
more money from the percentage they take from
the rake. Since online casinos have so many
people playing online, though, they don't mind
only taking a $.2 rake every now and then.
Beginner Friendly - In a real casino, there are
usually a few people who are regulars and know
each other. They may look at you like you're the
new guy, and think that you don’t belong there.
It can be intimidating when it seems like
everyone is against you. In online poker,
however, the tables are constantly changing.
There are never any “regulars” to a specific
table, and while there are regular players at
poker rooms, you’ll rarely see them more than
once or twice because of the sheer number of
players. Maybe a couple people will remember
each other from previous games, but it’s nothing
like a brick-and-mortar poker room.
Comfort - You are able to play great poker from
the comfort of your own home. You can play a few
games as you have your morning coffee, while
you're doing laundry, etc. You don't have to
follow any sort of dress code as you do in some
casinos. You don't even have to be dressed at
all. No real casino will let you play a game of Hold'em while wearing a bathrobe and pink bunny
slippers.
Loose Players - Online poker room players tend
to be much looser with their money than real
casino players. This is in part due to the fact
that it's so easy to click a mouse, and you're
not holding your chips in your hand as you are
in real poker. Of course, not everyone plays
like this (hopefully you're one of those who
doesn't), but many players do.
Less Competition - There are less truly good
players online. In a real poker room, the
players at the table have to be fairly good (or
at least think they are) to play, since the
minimums stakes are fairly high. You don't get
in your car, drive to the nearest legal casino
that offers poker, and start playing real money
poker if you don't think you can win. Online
players are a little different, however. Some of
them play just to have fun, some play because
they saw it on TV, and some just have nothing
better to do.
Disadvantages of Online Poker
Harder to Read Tells - It is more difficult to
read your opponent in online poker than it is in
real poker. However, that's not to say it isn't
impossible, just that it's more difficult.
Online poker is more about the mathematics and
probability than real poker is. I do still think
that poker, online or offline, is a mental game.
You still MUST know your opponent's tendencies
and playing style to be able to bluff, trap, and
essentially beat them.
Easy Distraction - With online poker, it's much
easier to become distracted from the game. When
you're sitting down at a real table, looking
your opponents in the eye, feeling the chips and
the felt and the cards, you're focused. When
you're playing a game online, you want to check
your e-mail, read an interesting article, etc.
However, this can also work for you if it's your
opponent who's the one not paying full attention
to the game.
Shorter Reaction Time - Most online poker rooms
only give you 30 seconds to choose whether to
call, raise, check, or fold. This is obviously
not as much time as a regular poker room would.
For most people, it's plenty of time. Yet I'm
listing it as a disadvantage because I can't
seem to think of any other disadvantages. It can
be annoying when you have rush around to go to
the bathroom before the time runs out, though,
but you can always just opt to sit out while you
take a break to stretch your legs.
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