In current years on-line poker and particularly the Hold’em variant of the casino game has come to dominate our tv sets. I am typically asked to comment on the differences in wager on in between internet based poker and brick and mortar rooms which I look to set out in this article.
1. Speed of internet based poker wager on is roughly twice that of real world poker play. The variety of hands per hour in a land poker site would be circa thirty per hour at finest, perhaps as low as 20. Typical on-line poker game would see 50-60 fingers per hour, and anything as much as 120 per hour for short handed "Turbo" play.
2. Rake collected by an online poker room will likely be five percent or less of each pot whereas brick and mortar rooms will likely be ten % or even higher. In this regard web wager on may be the superior worth option. Several countries, such as the United Kingdom have laws against the taking of rake. Instead they either charge by the hour or by the tournament. This may be the reason that Caribbean Poker is favoured over Hold em in real world gambling dens in the UK.
Three. The quality of player observed in an on-line poker room will normally be lower than that in traditional rooms. There are lots of reasons for this except to actually go to a real world smoky place sitting down at a table of ten takes an element of confidence that you do not will need in an online poker environment. Land based gamblers are frequently superior in that they usually understand the casino game prior to betting it. By way of contrast your average web poker newbie has just watched the WPT on the Travel Channel or ESPN. The only exceptions to this that I have discovered occur in Las Vegas where you have the full variety of extremes from holiday makers trying their hand with the very best in the world.
Four. Internet based poker gamblers can pick and choose the time of day they bet on as they can wager on twenty four hrs a day, 5 days a week and do so from the comfort of their own home. Real world gamblers must plan ahead and have to the venue at the due starting time.
Five. Internet poker gamblers have a lot more option, in the quantity and selection of games to choose from, ranging from free of cost wager on to cash games to tournaments of all sizes. If you would like to win a seat at the upcoming 2006 World Series of Poker, then you have to be looking towards internet based poker tournaments exactly where a far greater assortment of options await such as satellite entries from as little as $5.
6. Poker Tells in between online and land based poker play are incredibly different. Land based gamblers spend more time observing body language and voice tells through opponent questioning than they do observing time delays between bets and bet size relative to the possible odds of larger hands. Internet based Poker Tells have far more to complete with timing, bet size, and table position rather than the judgement of facial expression.
7. Poker etiquette is more disciplined in land based poker rooms. The web-based poker experience can frequently be spoiled by drunken fools who believe they have Phil Ivey’s ability even though they clearly don’t. Catch a lucky card in an internet poker site and you may find your self on the end of a few verbal abuse (by way of the typed chat system). Phrases such as "you are an idiot" and worse would not be tolerated in a real world space but go largely unchecked web. You usually have the possibility to turn off gambler chat but my preferred wagering style would be to goad the offending gambler into betting on tilt (usually a straightforward thing to do). One recourse you do have against abuse is to report the gambler to the pit boss and they might be either banned from chat or thrown out of the place altogether.
8. Web-based poker gives you the unique ability to play much more than one space at a time. Clearly this is not an alternative open to land based players. I know of people who play up to six tables simultaneously.
As you are able to see both environments have the prospective for a genuinely great casino game of poker. Different experiences to suit distinct gambler needs. Personally I do not have a preference amongst the two. I value the convenience of web based wager on, but still like the interaction of a live room.