In recent years web-based poker and particularly the Hold’em variant of the casino game has come to dominate our tv sets. I am frequently asked to comment on the differences in bet on among web poker and traditional rooms which I look to set out in this article.
1. Speed of on-line poker bet on is roughly twice that of land based poker play. The number of hands per hour in a land poker room would be circa 30 per hour at finest, maybe as low as twenty. Typical web based poker game would see fifty to sixty fingers per hour, and anything as much as one-hundred-twenty per hour for short handed "Turbo" play.
Two. Rake collected by an online poker site is going to be 5 % or less of each pot whereas brick and mortar rooms will probably be ten per-cent or even higher. In this regard internet based wager on may be the superior worth option. Several countries, such as the Great Britain have laws against the taking of rake. Instead they either charge by the hour or by the tournament. This could be the reason that Caribbean Poker is favoured over Texas hold’em in traditional gambling establishments in the UK.
3. The high quality of player located in an internet based poker site will normally be lower than that in land based rooms. There are many reasons for this except to actually go to a real world smoky area sitting down at a table of 10 takes an element of confidence that you don’t need in a web based poker environment. Brick and mortar gamblers are generally far better in that they usually understand the game before wagering it. By way of contrast your average on-line poker newbie has just watched the WPT on the Travel Channel or ESPN. The only exceptions to this that I have observed occur in Vegas where you acquire the full array of extremes from holiday makers attempting their hand with the very best in the world.
Four. On-line poker players can pick and decide on the time of day they wager on as they can bet on 24 hrs a day, five days a week and do so from the comfort of their own home. Traditional players must plan ahead and get to the venue at the due starting time.
5. Internet poker gamblers have extra choice, in the amount and selection of games to decide on from, ranging from free of charge wager on to cash games to tournaments of all sizes. If you want to win a seat at the upcoming 2006 WSOP, then you need to be looking towards web-based poker tournaments where a far greater array of options await such as satellite entries from as little as $5.
Six. Poker Tells involving online and real world poker bet on are quite different. Land based players spend extra time observing body language and voice tells by way of opponent questioning than they do observing time delays involving bets and wager size relative to the prospective odds of higher hands. Online Poker Tells have more to complete with timing, bet size, and table position rather than the judgement of facial expression.
Seven. Poker etiquette is extra disciplined in brick and mortar poker rooms. The web poker experience can usually be spoiled by drunken fools who believe they have Phil Ivey’s level of skill even though they clearly don’t. Catch a lucky card in an internet poker room and you may uncover your self on the end of some verbal abuse (via the typed chat system). Phrases such as "you’re an idiot" and worse wouldn’t be tolerated in a brick and mortar area but go largely unchecked on line. You constantly have the selection to turn off player chat except my preferred wagering style would be to goad the offending gambler into playing on tilt (usually a basic thing to do). One recourse you do have against abuse is always to report the gambler to the pit boss and they will likely be either banned from chat or thrown out of the area altogether.
8. Web-based poker gives you the unique ability to wager on much more than one home at a time. Clearly this is not an possibility open to traditional players. I know of folks who play as much as six tables simultaneously.
As you’ll be able to see both environments have the potential for a genuinely very good game of poker. Distinct experiences to suit various gambler needs. Personally I do not have a preference in between the two. I worth the convenience of web based wager on, but still love the interaction of a live room.