Online poker vs. Live poker
Social distancing across the globe means many live poker players are trying out online poker for the first time. While both live and online versions use the same underlying set of rules for poker, the games do play out differently in online versus your normal casino or home game.
Today we take a look at some of those differences to help players adapt to the online game – or maybe even take that first leap into the brick and mortar casino world once they open up again.
Live game players see much fewer cards
One of the great benefits of online poker is the speed at which each hand is dealt. While a chatty casino dealer can liven up the action and make for an interesting night, all that time spent shuffling up the cards and dealing then out is done in mere seconds in online poker. A typical live poker game may deal out about 15 hands each hour to players, online poker players can easily play three to four times as many hands.
Why play one table, when you can play two (or more)?
This brings us to the second advantage of online poker – playing at more than one table. It would be frowned upon to be hopping between tables at your local poker room but online poker makes it easy to do with just the click of a mouse. You may not get the same joy out of stacking your clay chips but playing multiple tables means you’re never more than a few moments away from the next action filled pot.
Rake in live games is higher
In poker, there’s no “house” edge for the casino, so poker rooms online and live earn their money by charging a rake, or fee, for each hand dealt (or for tournaments as an entry fee). Every time a pot is won, a percentage of that goes to the poker room and every poker player has felt that sting of watching those hard-earned chips they won go into the casino’s pockets.
Yet walking into a casino, all those glitzy water fountains and complimentary buffets have a cost and it’s the rake that covers that. Don’t forget the wages for your dealers, pit bosses and servers. A live casino is an expensive operation and the rake you pay shows it.
The rake in online poker is much lower than live and this means taking home more winnings. An even opportunity with online poker is having rakeback where poker players get back a percentage of the rake they paid the online casino. That translates into more money and more poker to be played.
Online poker offers constant action
Whether it’s sitting down at lunchtime for a quick Sit and Go tournament or an evening session playing four tables of a cash game, there’s always a game waiting for you in online poker.
The time spent driving out to the casino and finding parking, signing up with the poker room manager, heading to the cage to pick up poker chips and then waiting for a seat to open up is replaced with just a few quick mouse clicks.
There’s also no worry about whether other poker players are ready to play – a frequent problem in the late night or early day time live poker games. With players from around the globe, there’s always a game running online.
Better win rates in online poker
While the game may be the same and the strategy somewhat similar, online poker players often have a much higher profit on an hourly basis versus live players.
The sheer number of hands a poker player sees each hour means a winning player can multiply what they would normally win at a live casino. Also gone are those bad situations players get themselves into when they get tired of waiting for a hand in a live casino. It’s a lot easier to fold that hand you know will get you in trouble with the click of a mouse than having to physically toss it into the muck!
Online poker has revolutionized the game and moved it from the casino and smoky backrooms of a local poker club to the comfort of your living room. There’s plenty of action always available online and plenty of joy (and heartbreak) with all the flops players will see. With plenty of great new player bonus offers, now is the time to try out online poker.
