Differences Between Online and Offline Poker Play

Before joining the online poker community, poker players tend to have experienced off-line poker first. There are important differences between the two, which can be exploited to give you the edge at the poker table. Use these online poker tips to develop a poker play-style which will provide you with the maximum profit.

1. The ability to change seat. If you're sat down at a real casino and decide to move seats, you'll get a lot of aggro from other players at the table. If you move so you act before a very loose player, or after a very tight player then other players at the table will complain that you're getting an unfair advantage over them. In online poker you don't have that problem, if you want to change to an empty seat you can just click on the 'empty seat' button and you'll be seated at this new location.

2. Become a 'new you'. At the online poker table no one knows who you are. You could be a 7 foot tall body builder, or a 5 foot tall boy - that's irrelevant, it's how you present yourself at the poker table that will dictate how other players envision you. If you have an intimidating name, like 'PokerSlayer' people at the table will react to this. The same goes for your image (most sites allow you to upload a photo / image).

3. Distractions. There are distractions in both online and offline poker, offlline poker tends to be either eating/drinking, conversation or watching players at other tables. Online poker has distractions too, which are normally the other opportunities on your computer - films / TV series / other viewable content... The best strategy is to only have the poker websites on your internet browser, possibly an poker tips site too.

4. Obnoxious players. Don't get me wrong, you do have obnoxious player's in both online and offline poker. Offline players being overly rude tend to be warned and then banned from the poker table by the croupier or casino manager. Online it's a lot harder to get rid of these players, there's often a 'vote player off table' option, but because of the volume of players on these poker rooms it's impossible for the admins to ensure this happens correctly.

5. Hand's Per Hour. This is probably the biggest difference between the two. Offline hands can last for what feels like an eternity, people think for minutes before they act. In online poker there are restrictions on how long you can have for 'thinking time', which leads to a lot more hands per hour.

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Online Poker Vs. Table Poker - Differences in Gameplay

Online Poker and Table Poker games have several differences between them. The major difference between the two is that in case of Online Poker games, the players cannot see one another. While playing Table Poker games, one can observe the reaction as well as the body language of other players.

This gives an idea on the type of hand that opponents are having. This is impossible in case of Online Poker games. Online Poker is more convenient to play as one does not need to go outside for playing the game. It can be played by sitting back at home and as per one's convenient time. What is needed is just an access to computer.

One can also play games online that are absolutely free of cost. When a person is playing a Table Poker, one has to sit at only one table for it is not possible to be at two places at a time. On the other hand, multiple tables can be played by the players of Online Poker. This in turn increases the chances of winning more cash.

The limits in Table Poker are more in comparison to most of the Online Poker rooms. It can be as low as 1 cent for Online Poker, which can be as much as 1 dollar in case of Table Poker.

While playing Online Poker, one needs to concentrate on the reaction times of the player along with their betting patterns and speed. There are several Online Poker rooms that provide tips in learning the basics of playing online poker games to the starters.

An Online Poker room can be visited by a person just to practice the game with fake money before actually starting up with the game. Online Poker is preferred by those who have got a busy schedule but still they want to enjoy the game.

People who want to risk lesser money; Online Poker is an ideal one for them. Playing Table Poker costs much more and the risk involved is also more in comparison to Online Poker. Table Poker games are mostly played by people who are experienced. Players of Online Poker can be an absolute novice.

However, there is a tremendous rate of pressure these days especially in the US to declare Online Poker illegal. Whether it is playing poker online or playing it on table, one needs to understand the game properly before getting started.

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The Differences Between Online Poker and Offline Poker

Online poker you can play anytime you want -- 24/7 365. You can play it in total comfort, right from your own home, wearing whatever you like (or nothing at all), sitting, reclining, or jogging on a treadmill (though we don't recommend it). You can set the lighting, temperature, and ambience to be just as you like it. In many ways, with online poker you simply have more control.

You have no other people to contend with (at least not in person) -- no one hovering over you, talking at you, pushing you, crowding around you, giving you unsought advice, or shooting you nasty looks. You don't have to smell smoke if you don't want to. You have no sexy waitresses tempting you with mind-altering drinks and otherwise distracting your attention away from the game at hand (pun completely intended). You don't have to drive anywhere (and with gas prices what they are, that alone preserves your bankroll tremendously), nor do have to get dressed up or tip your dealer -- all of which save you time and money.

Another benefit of online poker is that you can play against people from across the globe. Think about it next time you sit down at an online poker table -- not everyone there even speaks the same language. And globetrotting on the internet gives you access to more casinos and poker rooms than you can ever find in one single place, even if that one place happens to be Vegas!

Online poker players get to choose from an inordinate variety of cardrooms, game types, and table stakes. Moments ago, we mentioned the ambience of the environment where you'll be sitting down with your computer to play online poker (most likely your home), but online poker gives you almost just as much control in determining the ambience of the cardroom itself.

Whether you enjoy an Old West setting, a Hollywood setting, an Egyptian setting, a jungle setting, a resort setting, and on and on...you can almost certainly find an online poker room designed around whatever theme suits your tastes. Likewise, you can find rooms more likely to have more (or less) experienced players, faster (or slower) action, higher (or lower) stakes, etc.

By the same token, however, when playing online poker it also helps to be aware of its perceived disadvantages as compared with playing traditional "offline" poker. A simple awareness of the difference alone can make you a better player.

For one, you don't get that intimate, face-to-face contact with other human beings. But don't rule online poker out as a social outlet altogether. More and more online poker rooms are fostering a real sense of community amongst their players with attractive and appealing member's clubs, player forums, and sponsored land-based events.

For some poker players, the game just isn't the same without the feel of the cards in your hands and the weight of the chips as you place them in the center of the table (or the sound of them clinking as you pull the pile towards you after a big win). And you can't substitute a number, however large or small, for the visual impact of the chip stacks -- red, blue, and white -- increasing or receding in front of you and expect the same effect.

But probably the biggest deal that makes some offline poker players leery of playing online poker is the inability to read the other players. Most expert poker players rely on inadvertent visual cues given by their opponents -- tells -- as to the actual strength or weakness of their hands. There is something to be said for the amount of information you can glean by simply looking your opponent in the eyes (thus the prevalence of sunglasses at the poker table) and watching their hands, their posture, their facial expressions, etc. Fortunately, however, there are a number of tells you can look for in online poker as well, you just have to know where (and how) to look. But that's a subject for another article.

As for this article, we leave you with an analogy. If you like going to the theatre for your shows, the arena for your concerts, and the stadium for your games, get thee to a brick-and-mortar casino for your poker playing enjoyment. If you like Tivo though (or if you just ain't got the dough for the theatre, arena, and stadium tickets), then online poker is your ticket.

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Differences Between Online and Conventional Poker

There are substantial differences between online poker gaming and conventional, in-person gaming.

One obvious difference is that players do not sit right across from each other, removing any ability to observe others' reactions and body language. Instead, online poker players learn to focus more keenly on betting patterns, reaction time and other behavior tells that are not physical in nature. Since poker is a game that requires adaptability, successful online players learn to master the new frontiers of their surroundings.

Another less obvious difference is the rate of play. In brick and mortar casinos the dealer has to collect the cards, then shuffle and deal them after every hand. Due to this and other delays common in offline casinos, the average rate of play is around thirty hands per hour. Online casinos, however, do not have these delays; the dealing and shuffling are instant, there are no delays relating to counting chips (for a split pot), and on average the play is faster due to "auto-action" buttons (where the player selects his action before his turn). It is not uncommon for an online poker table to average sixty to eighty hands per hour.

This large difference in rate of play has created another effect among online poker players. In the brick and mortar casino, the only real way to increase your earnings is to increase your limit. In the online world players have another option, play more tables. Unlike a physical casino where it would be nearly impossible to play multiple tables at once, most online poker rooms allow a player to be on up to 4 tables at once. For example, a player may make around $10 per 100 hands at a lower limit game. In a casino, this would earn them under $4 an hour, which minus dealer tips would probably barely break even. In an online poker room, the same player with the same win rate could play four tables at once, which at 60 hands per hour each would result in an earning of $24/hour, which is a modest salary for somebody playing online poker. Some online players even play eight or more tables at once, in an effort to increase their winnings.

Another important change results from the fact that online poker rooms, in some cases, offer online poker schools that teach the basics and significantly speed up the learning curve for novices. Many online poker rooms also provide free money play so that players may practice these skills in various poker games and limits without the risk of losing real money. People who previously had no way to learn and improve because they had no one to play with now have the ability to learn the game much more quickly and gain invaluable experience from free money play.

Tracking play

Tracking poker play in a B&M casino is very difficult. You can easily monitor your winnings, but tracking any detailed statistics about your game requires a player to take notes after each hand, which is cumbersome and distracting.

Conversely, tracking poker play online is easy. Most online poker rooms support "Hand Histories" text files which track every action both you and your opponents made during each hand. The ability to specifically track every single played hand has many advantages. Many third-party software applications process hand history files and return detailed summaries of poker play. These not only include exact tallies of rake and winnings, which are useful for tax purposes, but also offer detailed statistics about the person's poker play. Serious players use these statistics to check for weaknesses or "leaks" (mistakes that leak money from their winnings) in their game. Such detailed analysis of poker play was never available in the past, but with the growth of online poker play, it is now commonplace among nearly all serious and professional online poker players.

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Joe Boggs,a seasoned Poker Player and active contributor to Casino Poker Places [http://www.casino-poker-places.com] where online poker is covered more in-depth, along side many other forms of online gambling such as Online Casinos [http://www.casino-poker-places.com/Casinos-Home.php]