In recent years on-line poker and particularly the Texas hold em variant of the game has come to dominate our tv sets. I am generally asked to comment on the differences in play between web based poker and real world rooms which I look to set out in this article.
One. Speed of internet poker play is roughly twice that of land based poker play. The amount of fingers per hour in a land poker room would be circa 30 per hour at ideal, maybe as low as twenty. Typical online poker game would see 50-60 fingers per hour, and anything as much as 120 per hour for short handed "Turbo" play.
Two. Rake collected by an on-line poker room will be 5 per cent or less of each pot whereas land based rooms will probably be ten % or even higher. In this regard net play may be the better worth option. Some countries, such as the UK have laws against the taking of rake. Instead they either charge by the hour or by the tournament. This is the reason that Caribbean Poker is favoured over Texas hold em in brick and mortar gambling houses in the UK.
3. The top quality of gambler identified in a web-based poker site will typically be lower than that in traditional rooms. There are numerous reasons for this but to truly go to a brick and mortar smoky room sitting down at a table of 10 takes an element of confidence that you do not require in a web-based poker environment. Land based gamblers are frequently better in that they usually understand the casino game before wagering it. By way of contrast your average on-line poker newbie has just watched the World Poker Tour on the Travel Channel or ESPN. The only exceptions to this that I have identified occur in Las Vegas exactly where you obtain the full array of extremes from holiday makers trying their hand with the best in the world.
Four. Online poker players can pick and opt for the time of day they bet on as they can play twenty-four hrs a day, 5 days a week and do so from the comfort of their own home. Land based players must plan ahead and get to the venue at the due starting time.
5. Web based poker players have much more choice, in the amount and selection of games to opt for from, ranging from absolutely free 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 internet based poker tournaments where a far greater range of options await such as satellite entries from as little as five dollars.
Six. Poker Tells amongst on line and traditional poker wager on are really different. Brick and mortar players spend far more time observing body language and voice tells by means of opponent questioning than they do observing time delays between wagers and bet size relative to the possible odds of higher hands. Web-based Poker Tells have extra to do with timing, bet size, and table position instead of the judgement of facial expression.
7. Poker etiquette is far more disciplined in traditional poker rooms. The on line poker experience can usually be spoiled by drunken fools who believe they have Phil Ivey’s ability even though they clearly do not. Catch a lucky card in a web-based poker room and you may well uncover your self on the end of several verbal abuse (by means of the typed chat system). Phrases such as "you’re an idiot" and worse would not be tolerated in a real world room except go largely unchecked online. You usually have the choice to turn off player chat except my preferred playing style is always to goad the offending player into wagering 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 space altogether.
Eight. Web poker gives you the unique capability to bet on more than one area at a time. Clearly this isn’t an choice open to traditional players. I know of men and women who wager on up to six tables simultaneously.
As you may see both environments have the prospective for a genuinely very good game of poker. Different experiences to suit various gambler needs. Personally I do not have a preference between the two. I worth the convenience of internet based play, except still get pleasure from the interaction of a live room.