by mrgrind101

Created on: April 19, 2010

Most avid poker players will tell you that there is a difference between online poker and live poker.  The obvious difference is the fact that you can not see someone’s poker face online.  Anything that is used to gather information on a player is called a tell.  Tells are very hard to pick up on while playing online poker.  One of the most important things to watch while playing online is an opponents betting pattern.  This is one of the few tells that if evaluated properly can give you some valuable information on a player. 

Now let’s observe the positive traits of a live poker game.  First off, you have a greater ability to read a player based on what tells they are showing.  Also, you have the ability to create a table image just by the way you interact with the other players at the table.  This can come in handy when trying to bluff an opponent.  Another positive that should be noted is the social aspect of a live game.  A player can talk to a variety of people at a poker table which keeps the game interesting. 

As for the negative traits of a live poker game the number of hands played per hour has to be the biggest detriment.  In live poker it is physically impossible to play multiple tables at one time.  Also, the shuffling of the deck takes considerably longer in a live game.  Another negative aspect of a live game is the amount of games offered to a player.  A casino might host one tournament a day, and only offer a 2/4 and a 5/10 no limit game.  Also if you happened to be in the casino at three in the morning it might be hard to get a 5/10 game started. 

Since we have evaluated both the negatives and the positives of a live poker game let’s analyze both sides of the online poker community.  The biggest positive of online poker has to be the amount of games that are offered at any time of the day.  Some poker sites state that they have a tournament starting at every second of the day.  Online poker also offers a wide variety of different stakes for cash games.  Most sites have anywhere from .05c/10c no limit holdem all the way up to 500/1000 holdem.  Another positive of the online poker game is players can play more than one table at a time.  Some players might play two or three cash games while playing a multi-table tournament.  The ability to do this can really maximize a player’s profit. 

As for the negative aspects of online poker, the ability to get a read on your opponent has to be number one.  Many players say after long sessions of online poker they feel like they have been playing a computer for hours.  The other negative would have to be the lack of fellowship during a session.  Yes you can chat to players while playing, but it is nothing like face-to-face interaction at a live poker table.

After evaluating and analyzing the pros and cons of both the traditional poker game and the online poker game I guess it is all up to each player to decide what game they feel more comfortable playing.  Personally I think a good mix of the two can really help a player in the long run.  After playing a ten hour session online, maybe go to the casino the next day and play some live poker.  Either way every player has to model his strategy conducive to the type of game he is playing.  Good luck!

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