Online and Casino Poker Game Differences

Online poker has grown in popularity and credibility over the last few years. The online poker world has many players that never or seldom play face-to-face poker while many traditional casino players would never venture online to play the game.

To understand the reasons why some poker players prefer online play or face-to-face play we should look at some of the differences between the two methods of playing poker.

Poker Faces Optional
The single biggest difference between the two poker formats is the lack of a requirement for face-to-face meetings among the players. Traditional poker players don't like online play as they feel they don't know who you are playing; they are unable to "read" their opponents face and/or their mannerisms. Much of their game playing involves "playing the player", that is looking for body cues, and without it they feel the game becomes a game of luck of the draw.

This is a fact. When playing online poker a poker face is purely optional as no one can see your facial expressions. Not only are subtle body cues unseen by your opponents you are completely free to behave as you wish. If the flop gives you an almost unbeatable hand you can jump up and down and scream with delight without your opponents being any the wiser.

Because online players can't be seen they can do such things as; looking at charts to decide how to play starting hands, figuring out pot odds using calculators, or even taking a quick peek at the advice of their favorite poker author on how to play a hand. Doing any of these things playing face-to-face poker would be considered improper etiquette.

Pacing Differences
Online poker games are fast, much faster than face-to-face poker games. It takes some time to deal cards in a real sit-down poker room while it takes less than a second for online poker hands to be dealt. Also in a live game the players fold their hands one by one as their turn comes around taking a moment to do so, online games have a "fold" button and once pressed when a players' turn comes around the hand is mucked in an instant. An online poker game is played at roughly twice the speed of a face-to-face poker game

No tipping the dealer
Tipping the dealer is not done at informal poker games such as those played everywhere on kitchen tables, but for players playing at casinos it's a real cost of playing poker. Tipping the dealer ("toking") is not done in online poker rooms this makes online poker play just a little bit cheaper to play.

Rakes
Another expense that offline poker players have is a larger rake than online players have. Both casino and roadhouse card rooms charge about the same rake rates in a given area. The hard fact is that there are greater costs involved in running a face-to-face game than an online game. These costs have to be recovered online costs are lower than offline cost so the rakes are less.

Table Selection and Movement
Right now online there are likely a few hundred $1 and $2 limit Texas hold'em tables running. At any time from the comfort of your own home you decide to play at any one of them. If you decide that one table is playing too tight or too loose or if you simply get a bad feeling about some aspect of the table play you can easily switch to another table. Offline poker rooms have fewer tables running at the same limits. While they may have several tables at your limit watching them and moving from one table to another is not nearly as convenient.

Online poker rooms are much more accommodating in the limit games offered. While higher limit games may not be as plentiful online they offer $.01 and $.02 games, try to find these hosted in the real world. The casinos simply can't afford to offer these low limit games.

Online poker players can often choose to play multiple tables at once. When an online player finds two tables she/he likes she/he can often elect to play at both of them and some online poker rooms will let you play four tables at once. By playing additional tables players get to play more hands in an hour, maximizing their hourly rate. When playing in a land-based poker room you have physical constraints that don't allow players to play at different tables at the same time.

Hand Recall
After playing a six hour poker session the details of past hands played becomes fuzzy. Most players cannot remember the details of what happened in the 16th hand of the night with the player two seats to your right. When you play online all information is tracked and recorded by the poker rooms' powerful computers. Online players can access hand histories to find out a lot of information such as: what cards you held in the 12th game of the night, which player had the big stack and how many chips where in it, and even what was said on chat. In the real world such information is lost after each hand is played.

Online this information can be recalled and if you want to input it into one of several computer programs available you can analyze the games. These programs show playing tendencies, both yours and those of your opponents. This analysis can be used to improve your play and to show any pattern of play an opponent may exhibit. If you think you may play against this player again you may wish to make notes on his/her playing stile for later use.

When playing online you can make notes on your opponents for later reference. You can make observations on such things as: do they check raise often, do they see every flop, call every bet, play aggressively, or play conservatively? When you play against these players at a later date you can reference your notes to find out their playing style.

In short online players can track a lot of information, and keep records of things they feel gives them an edge.

Tournament Play
A casino tournament is an exciting event. Players meet each other face-to-face and socialize often talking poker at the next break and recapping with other players during the buffet. Those who make it to the final tournament table play before spectators and are in the spotlight for as long as their chips hold out. Of course even when they don't make it to first place they are treated to prize winnings from placing well in the tournament.

Offline tournaments are large multi-table events that have both a set registration and start time. Online tournaments are often "Sit and Go" tournaments that begin when every seat at the table is filled. These tournaments have no starting time they start whenever enough people interested in playing fill a table. With the ability of having players from all over the world participating online poker rooms can offer many more tournaments than offline establishments can.

Since the larger online poker rooms have tournament prize pools that equal those of the largest land-based tournaments the only difference between the two tournaments is that of atmosphere and convenience.

Bonuses and Comps
Go online and check-out an online poker room. Chances are that it will welcome you as a new player by adding free chips to your first chip purchase. These free chip introductory bonuses are not common in the offline world.

Online poker rooms often offer re-deposit bonuses to existing players.

And finally because of the computing power in online poker rooms they can accurately track your playing time anywhere in the room. They can use this information to offer interesting comp systems that reward players for time spent playing at the room. The comps can be anything from cash bonuses and free merchandise to free entry into player appreciation tournaments.