Online Poker Vs Live Poker
When thinking about live poker and online poker, many people don’t realise that there are some key differences. Taking these things into consideration before deciding how to play can help make the. This is easily one of the biggest and most tangible differences between online poker. The most obvious difference between live and online poker is clearly the interactions between players. At a live poker table you're actually sitting down with your opponents, and can see them and talk to them. However, at (most) online poker.
The “Differences Between Online vs Live Texas Hold’em” is an excerpt from the book 'Fundamentals of Playing Online Texas Hold’em Poker' published by Mike Matteo, the Founder and Owner of PlayGreatPoker.com.Learn More About the Book
Differences Between Online vs Live Texas Holdem
Play Live Poker Online
Here are the key differences you will find when you start playing online.Free poker - free online poker games. 247 Free Poker has free online poker, jacks or better, tens or better, deuces wild, joker poker and many other poker games that you can play online for free or download. Your variance or 'swings' will be greater in internet poker as opposed to live poker (especially in low-limit poker games). There is no good defense against this except to realize that you are still playing correct.
- The first and most obvious difference is that with live poker it requires driving or flying to the nearest casino. The online game is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, while only being a few steps away. You can find a game online day or night and log in from your den, bedroom, or basement dressed in whatever you please.
- Another stark difference is the stakes at which you can play. At most casinos, the minimum table poker games are $1/$2 blinds, whereas online you can play for the smallest stakes imaginable (literally pennies) or even for free. You can find games online with blinds as low as 1/2 cents and going up in stakes to 10/20 cents, to 25/50 cents, continuing to as high as you probably would ever want, like 25/50 dollars.
- Hands per hour -- Online play is much faster than live poker. You can play many more hands per hour online. At a casino, you will be playing 30 to 50 hands per hour. Online the games are much faster and you can easily play 100 hands per hour. You can also play on multiple tables at once. It's common to play 200 to 400 hands in an hour online because you most likely will be playing multiple tables at once.
- Online players are much more skilled even at the lower levels. This is due to a few factors. One is the sheer number of hands online players can play gaining valuable table experience very quickly. Another factor is there are many “regulars” online, so you don't find as many casual players as you do at a casino. When playing at a casino you will find many tourists who rarely have the opportunity to visit a casino and are not very experienced poker players, but just want to play poker at a casino. Once you are playing on an online site you will probably see the same players day after day. In the online world, these regular players are called “Regs”.
- Players online use profiling tools. Most serious online players use one of the poker tracking software applications with built in Heads Up Display, referred to as HUD. HUDs attach to the game and give valuable information on opponents based on a database of hands. These applications are an enormous advantage in decision making. You will need a HUD to even the playing field when playing online.
- Analyzing your play with poker tracking software - If you like stats, trends, and running reports to determine patterns -- you will absolutely love playing online. As you play, you will be building a database of all the hands you played as well as all the hands your opponents played. As your database grows, you can run almost any report imaginable on these hands finding weaknesses in your own game as well as your opponents.
- Logging winning and losing - You can run but you can't hide online. With live poker, you have to log your wins and losses manually. This is easy when you're winning. It’s human nature that it is always much easier to track successes than failures. When people are not successful, they stop keeping track. Just ask anyone who has ever been on a diet. With online poker, your wins and losses can't be cheated. You can’t conveniently forget or just not be in the mood to log your losing sessions. Being online will allow you to absolutely track your total lifetime gain or loss. With Poker tracking software you can run reports on any date range you wish allowing you to see your win loss progress much easier.
- Reviewing hand histories - If you are one of the few who writes down your hands to review later in live games, you will love online poker. Since hands are automatically saved to a hand history database, every hand you play is available for review later and can be replayed in a Hand Replayer at any speed you please.
- Rake - Rake structures are generally lower with online poker. Live games have many more expenses due to paying dealers and allocating floor space. An online casino can add another table without any additional costs.
- Tells – With online poker, you can’t look someone in the eyes and get a sense of what they have. You will have to rely on betting patterns and bet timing for online tells.
- Six Max Table -- Playing cash games online has a variety of table options. On many sites, the most popular table is the six-player table known as Six Max Tables. Full ring games are offered as well but don't seem to be as popular with online players.
- Devices - With Online you can play anywhere 24 hours a day, 7 days a week using a PC, Smart Phone, Tablet, iPad. This can be a double-edged sword which will be discussed later.
Another interesting difference may be the demographics of online players. Based on a study by Rutgers University analyzing online players in New Jersey, online poker players were generally younger than live poker players and the high majority were male. The study showed that 92% of players were male and the average age was 35.
Many experienced Poker players use online poker as a training tool. These players know that like with almost everything else you get better with repetition. With online you will see so many more hands than at a casino, so you can improve very quickly. This point was never highlighted more than during the 2017 World Series of Poker. Scott Blumstein an online player from New Jersey won 8.1 million dollars winning the World Series of Poker in 2017. Blumstein who lived in Brigantine New Jersey at the time told reporters after winning the tournament, 'The best way to get better at anything is through repetition and practice,”… 'When you play online in New Jersey, it's hard for any live pro to see even close to the amount of hands I've probably seen in the last two years.'
At the end of the day, poker is poker. But, as I have highlighted, the online game can have a fair amount of differences from the live games. By knowing some of these differences it will allow you to more smoothly transition into the online world.
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A royal flush is a royal flush, and a flush will always trump a two pair — so can there be a difference between the live and online versions of the game? To cut a long story short, yes. Despite being cut from the same cloth, the online and the live online game experiences follow a different thread. Find out why in this blog.
The “Online versus Live poker” debate has polarised opinion, with purists of the game declaring that there is no substitute for the live land-based experience. However, like many other virtual experiences, the popularity of playing online has grown in leaps and bounds and the virtual live experience that we offer has the best of both worlds. It is challenging the perspective and even making inroads to becoming the most popular form of the game.
The following statistics suggest that there is substance behind the latter perspective:
- The total UK gambling industry revenue between 2014 and 2015, including live, online and lottery betting, came to around £12.6 billion
- Between 2014 and 2015, 162 new online casinos were licensed.
- During the same period, the number of virtual gambling machines worldwide counted 171,134.
If you’re sitting on the fence between visiting a brick-and-mortar establishment or simply surfing the web to try your hand at playing for the first time, you’ll want to continue reading. We’re going to shed some light on the sometimes not-so-subtle differences between the online and versions of the game.
What is live poker?
Live poker is still played online, however, it involves real-life dealers and live chat opportunities that give a more holistic casino experience from the comfort of players’ own homes.
What is online poker?
This refers to the family of the game that can be played online, with no live features.
The Differences Between Playing Online vs Live
Online is Tougher
This could be purely down to the environment, which happens to be in stark contrast to the live experience. Online, your screen and the game you’re playing have your undivided attention. Conversely, if you’re playing in the live experience, your attention is divided because it is could also be devoted to socialising through the live chat feature.
This means that, for the same stakes, you are playing more focused opponents which will invariably make winning a little more challenging.
The Game Moves at a Faster Pace Online
As is the case with most things online, the pace of the game is much faster than the live-action equivalent. How so? Apart from decision making, all other aspects become virtually instant.
Cards are dealt straight away, hands play out faster and there are no errors where the pot is concerned. Furthermore, you can also play at numerous tables simultaneously. It’s no wonder that playing online is fertile soil for training and practice. The live casino experience is a little slower, as the real dealer deals out the cards.
Online has More Variety
Regardless of which you go to, you will be hard-pressed to find the same range of variety that some of the best online sites offer. This variety is born out of having a wide selection of game types and the range of budget-friendly limits you can find.
The Size of Bets
Bet sizing can differ quite significantly when playing online, particularly when it comes to preflop raises. It is quite common to experience larger bets in live games where players open for more than they would in online games. In online poker, using a poker odds calculatorcan help you to get a better idea of what cards are in your opponents’ hands.
Variance
Online Poker Vs Live Poker
This refers to the fluctuations or swings between gains and losses in the short term versus those you undergo in the long-term. Due to the frantic pace of playing online and the ability to play at multiple tables, the variance can seem exaggerated since you will play notably more hands in the same period online than you would in a live setting.
While not necessarily a true change in variance, it does require a different bankroll management approach than would otherwise be taken in a live online scenario. The bankroll should be kept at a higher level when playing online to cater for these variances and the frequency of games played.
The Tells
A clear difference between playing the game online and in real life is the ability to see your opponents, these are called poker tells. When you play online, you don’t get to see your opponents so the visual cues and body language that would usually suffice as tells are no longer available to you. Instead, you may have to be more aware of patterns in behaviour and the quality of decisions being made during games.
Advantages of Playing Live
Atmosphere
There is a sense of occasion that comes alongside walking into an actual physical space which is why land-based places usually win when it comes to atmosphere. While this isn’t completely replicated in the live online experience, the social aspect is much more reminiscent of a land-based casino, particularly if you have live videos. After all, it’s nearly impossible to replicate the ambiance, social scene and glitz and glamour you can expect from a live venue.
Front-row Seats to Tells
Part of the thrill of the game is being able to read the body language, mannerisms and expressions of your opponents. Not only does this add a different dimension to the challenge of winning but if you happen to have a great poker face, and can read the ‘tells’ of your opponents, it can work well in your favour. While this isn’t completely possible in the live online experience, having a video feed or live chat to your opponents makes it easier to figure out their tells.
Advantages of Playing Online
Comfort and Convenience
Not everybody enjoys being out and about or leaving the house to venture outside. There are homebodies among us and many of us who prefer our own space. Playing online offers players the option of enjoying their favourite pastime from the comfort of home. There is no need to dress for the occasion or to travel — you just need to log on to your favourite site to play online and voila!
Pocket-friendly
When you play online, you are likely to spend less because each game is less costly online than it is at the brick-and-mortar alternative. However, be wary because you can get through many more games in a shorter space of time than you would offline.
You can even choose to play poker online for free before committing to playing with real money — which brings us to our next point.
Perfect Your Game
You can improve your game by constantly playing a series of free games and you can quickly learn how to play poker. This way you will be able to hone your skills and get a better grasp of the game than you would in the live experience.
If you choose to play against real opponents for real money, you have the peace of mind of knowing that you are bettering your play at a much lower cost than you would have had you chosen to play in a real venue. What’s more, you can also play on multiple tables at any one time.
Online Casinos are Always Open
While land-based casinos have a closing time, websites do not. This means that you can play to your heart’s content or until the sandman lulls you to sleep. We’re not encouraging gambling-induced insomnia, but for those of you who may only be able to play at less conventional times of the day, you can rest assured that you will always have somewhere to go.
Variety
One benefit of playing the live online experienceis that you know what you’re getting, but one drawback is that that’s all you’re getting. The best online gamblingsites can offer you not only the best poker online but a world of variety. You will have access to a nearly infinite variety of games with different promotions and bonuses that will only up the ante.
Going Live, Going Online and the Best of Both Worlds
Each version of the game has its merits. Part of making the choice between playing online or offline is knowing your personal preferences or your particular mood on any given day. We offer each experience as well as a hybrid of both.
Free Live Poker
We give you the chance to play live poker, blackjack, roulette and baccarat with no download required. Become part of one of the most realistic live casino experiences on the web with fully-trained real dealers, a great atmosphere, friendly players and generally busy tables around the clock – it’s anything but a gamble to pull up a seat with us!
Register today and have your best night in!
We’re here to help you keep it fun – remember to set your deposit limit. Click here for more details on the safer gambling tools available including reality checks and the ability to take a break from your gaming.
We’ve also made it even easier to find our Safer Gambling tools from the home page of our website and there’s loads of information available at GamCare. You can also call the National Gambling Helpline, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on Freephone 0808 8020 133.
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