Online Poker vs. Offline Poker

With the increase in popularity of online poker, many players who have only played online or offline but not the other are beginning to wonder which is a better format for playing. While this question is more of personal taste, there is some objectiveness that can be shed on the issue, and players should inform themselves on the facts before making a decision.

When you play poker, whether online or offline, the game play remains the same for the most part, but a shorter response time is required to play online. This shorter time helps keep people from cheating by discussing their cards on the phone or through a messenger program. However, if you're making a big decision with your money, you're going to have to make a quicker decision, and you may not choose the right one on occasion. This may be less important online, especially when the company is paying you to play. They do this to increase traffic and engage more players than what they would get if they were to just allow their players to mingle in.  

Online you also have the benefit of other players not being able to read your "tells" or knowing when you're bluffing or trying to milk the most out of your opponents. This is especially true when you make sure that you keep your betting sporadic and unpredictable to what's in your hand. However, this also means that if others are playing the same way, you're not going to be able to read them either. Fortunately, most online players are easy to read by just their betting changes.

Another great aspect is that you can play more hands online in just a couple of hours than you would get to play all day at a casino. This is a great way to increase your chances of winning more money, because the more you play the more you can win. In many cases, you will also be playing from a place that is much more comfortable than the stools and chairs that are offered by casinos. This will further help you concentrate on what's important, instead of thinking about not having somewhere nice to sit.

The next thing to consider is the fact that when you play online, there is less camaraderie. In a casino or other place where poker is played, there are likely to be people who all know each other and play on a regular basis as friends. It is also intimidating playing against experienced players who know what they are doing. Online you won't commonly play the same people, and when you do, you definitely won't feel like the odd man out because there won't be a bond formed between other players. 

This also ties into the fact that a larger percentage of online players are less competitive. They get online to play because they're bored and think it would be fun and interesting. They are right, because it's a great way to enjoy a few minutes here or there, as well as enjoying hours of playing. This isn't to say that there aren't good players online, because some of the best play online. However, there are simply more people online who are more liberal with their money and are less skilled than they are in a casino.

No matter where you are in the world, there are going to be games being played online when local casinos or poker rooms may be closed. This means that you can relax after a long night shift with a couple of hands of poker, or you could be away from home and not know where to go to play a good hand. This means that you will have the ability to win thousands a night if you can get lucky enough. You can even play at several tables at once online, so long as you can keep up with the betting rounds for each of them to help increase your odds.

Finally, the biggest advantage to playing online over casino is that you get the chance to learn from your mistakes and enjoy yourself before you have to put up a ton of money. In a casino, most buy-ins are fairly steep, and you aren't likely to run into amateurs that are willing to stake that much money on what they consider luck. This means you're going to play against fairly good players that aren't friends, and you have to own up to your mistakes immediately. With online games, it's easy to practice playing real poker for free.