Online Poker vs Live Poker

This article will elaborate on the many reasons to play online poker instead of live poker, assuming your goal is to make as much money as possible at the tables.

When online poker first emerged, admittedly many players were highly skeptical. Electronic poker was at first regarded as inferior to "the real game,” lacking the finer nuances of sight and touch. However, it did not take long before poker pros everywhere were switching gears and devoting their time and skills to online poker. There are many reasons why the pros, and thousands of would-be players, have flocked to the online poker rooms. Here we will list eight good reasons for playing online poker instead of live.

1. Convenience

It is very possible that don’t live near a casino or a poker club. Face it - you can’t get a live game whenever you want it. Online, you can play poker whenever you want to, any time of the day or night. Not only that, but you can play wherever you want to, in your swimming pool, or on your balcony, or sitting naked in your bathroom. The only limits are your own imagination and comfort. All you need is a laptop with an internet connection.

2. Less rake

If you compare online poker rake to live poker rake, you will find a considerable difference. In the lower stake games in casinos and card rooms, the house generally takes more than $6 in rake! You won’t find any online poker site charging their players more than $3 in rake - that’s the cap for almost every online poker room.

3. Hands per hour

If you play live, you have undoubtedly experienced how slow the games can be. You will play an average of 20-30 hands per hour in live games, whereas online, you usually play an average of 70 -100 hands per hour. Thus by playing online, you more than double your hourly rate.

4. Multitabling

Multiple simultaneous games are another good reason play poker online. We've already established the difference in hands per hour on a single table. Playing online, you have the opportunity to play up to 20 tables at a time (provided you have the hardware to display the tables). Many pros who have mastered online play use multiple monitors and have in some cases ten tables going at a time. To paint a picture of the profitability capacity of multitabling, let's compare hands per hour online playing six tables, to live poker: 6*((70+100)/2)-((20+30)/2) = 485 more hands per hour. If you have the skills to beat the game, your profit margin increases exponentially with the volume made possible through online multitabling.

5. Game selection & Table selection

Have you experienced problems finding tables for the particular game you want to play? This is never a problem online. If you choose one of the bigger, well-established online poker networks, the constancy of traffic from around the world, and the variety of games offered at all times of the day and night, ensures you will find what you want. You also have the opportunity to choose which opponents you wish to play against. This is nearly impossible in live play, since often there is only one seat open, or only one table going for the game and stake you prefer. More often than not, you are simply stuck with whatever typical grinders happen to be seated at a given table. With the element of opponent choice removed, profitability decreases. Online, you will rarely if ever have a problem choosing tables plentiful in fish, or even targeting specific players you know you have an edge over. Game selection too becomes an exact science online. By perusing the average pot, and players per flop percentage (essentially a quantified method of judging how much action there is at a given table), you can choose the perfect game for your plans of ownage and devastation.

6. Micro & low limit

You generally won’t find any micro and low limit poker games in casinos or card rooms. And if you do find a micro/low limit game at a B&M, be prepared to get killed by the rake.

7. Dealers

In live poker you see a great deal of dealer error over time. Dealers are human - they make mistakes. Exposing cards, bad shuffles, annoying slowness, errors in determining chip outcomes - these are all guaranteed to happen sooner or later playing live. This is never an issue online. Internet poker cards are well-shuffled every time, dealt at lightning speeds, and there are never any errors in chip distribution.

8. Tools

Electronic tools are always at your disposal when you play online. You can be reviewing your stats using Poker Tracker or Poker Office, replaying hands, analyzing the play of your opponents, and checking on other tables in your tournament - all while you are winning money. These tools will help you take your poker game to the next level.

So if you haven't come over to the online poker bandwagon yet, we advise you to jump in as soon as possible. The water is fine and the fish are biting. See you there