Online poker and live poker each have their pros and cons. Online poker involves dealing of more hands per hour. This is discernible when you are playing multiple hands or multiple tournaments online. Playing multiple hands or tournaments at a time online is a good way to learn the game, and play it effectively. Further, multiple hands or tournaments also allow possibility of higher profits if you are a skilled player.
Live poker offers the advantage of seeing other players face to face. It allows for personal interactions, such as telling famous poker tales, which a large of players enjoy. Additionally, if you are skilled at reading faces you can see other players and read their expressions as if they are showing you their cards. The best and professional poker players play the opponent and his expressions 80% of the time, and rely on the cards for only 20% of the time. Another advantage of playing live poker is that you are able to get your money in real time from the cashier unlike online casino where it might take weeks.
Some of the disadvantages of both online and live poker are summarized in this paragraph. Live poker allows you only one game at a time. Online poker does not give you access to your winnings in real time, and you might have to wait for weeks. Online poker lacks face-to-face interactions. Live poker mostly involves professional players with a lot of money; hence, it is very difficult to find a beginner’s again. Live poker is not traditionally played in comfort of your home, although some amateur games may be played at home, but high stakes real games are played in huge casinos. Further, it is customary to tip the dealer during a live game, and that can add to the cost of the game. Online tournaments allows you access to as many as 2000 to 5000 players at a time while live games don’t involve big multiplayer tournaments. Lastly, live games also include cost of travel.
When deciding whether to play poker live or online it is best to look at the pros and cons of each that satisfy your needs; and then just have fun.