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Online poker rooms have evolved in both convenience and credibility to the point that some poker payers will only play online poker games. These online players will seldom (or never) play at casinos playing face-to-face poker, while on the other hand many casino poker players would never go online to play poker against "faceless" opponents.
While poker is the game being played there are differences between online and face-to-face games. Let's look at eight of these differences:
1) A Poker Face Is Not Required
This is the single biggest difference between online and offline poker games. Online poker is played at your home and thus, because you are not physically at a poker table, you cannot "read" your opponents facial expressions or study their mannerisms. For this reason most traditional poker players do not like the online game as for them much of the game of poker is "playing the player" (using body cues and mannerisms) against the opposing player. Eliminating the face to face interface means the game becomes much more a game where the luck of the cards determines the winner.
This is true. Playing online poker a poker face is not required as no one can see your face. Not only can other players not see the subtle cues your face and/or body may give away at a poker table, you are completely free to behave any way you want. In the event that you get the perfect flop you can scream with delight and no one will be the wiser.
Online players have an advantage when learning the game of poker. They can spend time looking up starting hands, use a calculator to figure out odds, or quickly check on the advice their favorite poker author would give on how to proceed. These things are not considered proper etiquette at a casino table.
2) The Pace Is Faster
As well as being faceless an online poker game is fast, much faster than a casino game. The dealing of the cards in a real sit-down poker game takes a moment or two but takes less than a second in an online poker game. In a real sit-down poker game the players fold their hands one by one taking the time to do so, playing online the players choose a "fold" button and when it's their turn the hand is mucked in an instant.
3) You Don't Tip the Dealer
When playing small kitchen table games and other informal games the players don't have to worry about tipping the dealer. However for poker players playing poker at a casino it's a real cost of playing the game. When playing online the practice of tipping the dealer ("toking") is not part of the game, making playing online a little bit easier on the wallet.
4) Rakes
Another practice not part of kitchen table games and other informal games is that of the rake. The running of a poker room is a business and there are costs involved, the rake is designed to cover these costs. The running of a face-to-face poker game at either a roadhouse card room or a casino is expensive and these costs have to be covered, thus the rakes at both these poker rooms are similar in size, while at online casinos the costs aren't the same so the rakes are lower
The rakes are usually a percentage of the pot and casinos simply can't afford to offer games with a small limit. Online poker rooms may not offer as many high limit games as casinos however they are much more accommodating when it comes to modest limit games, try finding a $.01 or $.02 game hosted offline.
5) Game and Table Selection
Right now online there are likely several hundred $1 to $2 limit Texas Hold'em games being played. You have the option of playing any one of these games from your own home any time you want to. If you find that one poker table is too tight or too loose; or if you decide you simply don't like sitting beside a player whose style you don't like, you can quickly find another table to play at. Offline poker rooms have a smaller number of tables playing at the same limits however watching the players and moving from one table to another table is not very convenient.
Another option available to online poker players is the ability to play multiple tables at once. If you find two tables that you like you can play both of them while some online rooms will let you play up to four tables at once. The ability to play multiple tables allows players to play more hands per hour and maximizes their hourly rate. When playing at a land-based poker room you can't play at different tables at the same time, obviously.
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