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The pros and cons of online and live poker

The pros and cons of online and live poker

Although it is the same game, online and live poker have unique characteristics.

by Academia   |   comments 0
Monday, April 6 2020

One question that pervades many poker players is: what is better, online or live poker?

To answer this question, first it's important that we know the pros and cons of each of these variants.

Live poker is a powerful tool for social interaction, as you will spend hours sitting at a table with so many other people. Some of the best friends I made were playing live poker. Furthermore, it is a consensus that the live game is softer, that is, easier to beat, the level of players, in a general context, is weaker. In addition, if you are an experienced player, you can get tells from beginners or weak players, who do not try to hide these details that, believe me, make all the difference.

But there are also cons to opting for live poker. The main thing, certainly, is the volume you can impose while playing. If online you open three, four or more tables to play simultaneously, in live you will only play one, and receiving far fewer hands per hour, compared to online. For good players, this makes an absurd difference in your winrate. Unless you are playing in a large casino, there is also the problem of not being able to do table selection properly, as the game options are infinitely more restricted compared to online gambling.

As for online, the advantages are the volume and number of hands that the player receives per hour, much higher than the live. Although the field is tougher and more competent, it is possible to do table selection, as there is always a variety of games taking place almost 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also play several tables at the same time, which makes the game much more interesting and dynamic, not to mention that you can do it from the comfort of your home or wherever you want.

However, there are disadvantages. One of the great qualities of poker is lost: social interaction with several other people. It is necessary, nowadays, to be careful with collusion, which is nothing more than when two players, or more, are playing together, one talking their cards to the other. Another problem that seems very evident to me is that when some players are playing online, the chance of tilting is greater, since they are alone, and they often do not need to police their actions or moves, since practically everyone is unknown at the table.

Anyway, nowadays, options of how and where to play poker are abundant. It's up to you to experiment and practice both online and live, not only to become a more complete player, but mainly to see where your game fits best.

Daniel Dornelles