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.
The main advantage of online poker boils down to speed. The games are so much faster than live poker that if its volume that you want, there is no substitute. All of the dealers responsibilities are done automatically. There is no time wasted on shuffling, counting chips, dealing, or gathering the cards. These time consuming actions are all done instantaneously by the poker room's software. This means that there is less time wasted and more time spent playing poker. This equates to 60, 70, or more hands every hour. This is if you only play one table at a time. Most online poker players take advantage of ability to play multiple tables at once. Some players even use several monitors and play 6-8 tables or more at a time. This will allow you to play 600 or more hands an hour. This equates to 20 or more times the number of hands you would be able to play in a live game. So for the winning poker player, more hands per hours should equal more winnings per hour right? Unfortunately its not that simple. Read On.
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.
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.
Since both forms of poker have their advantages I guess that we can conclude that its a draw. Online is better for some players where as live games suit others. It all depends on what you want to get out of your time at the tables.
The main advantage of online poker boils down to speed. The games are so much faster than live poker that if its volume that you want, there is no substitute. All of the dealers responsibilities are done automatically. There is no time wasted on shuffling, counting chips, dealing, or gathering the cards. These time consuming actions are all done instantaneously by the poker room's software. This means that there is less time wasted and more time spent playing poker. This equates to 60, 70, or more hands every hour. This is if you only play one table at a time. Most online poker players take advantage of ability to play multiple tables at once. Some players even use several monitors and play 6-8 tables or more at a time. This will allow you to play 600 or more hands an hour. This equates to 20 or more times the number of hands you would be able to play in a live game. So for the winning poker player, more hands per hours should equal more winnings per hour right? Unfortunately its not that simple. Read On.
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.
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.
Since both forms of poker have their advantages I guess that we can conclude that its a draw. Online is better for some players where as live games suit others. It all depends on what you want to get out of your time at the tables.
About the Author:
The author has played poker full time since 2005 and makes the majority of his income from online poker. He currently plays poker online and gets RakeBack at Betfair.
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