Online Poker vs. Offline Poker
Play Poker » Online Poker vs. Offline Poker
Poker is an old card game whose origin can be traced back to early 19th century. Over this long period, the game has modified and evolved and now many variants are played across the world. After the internet became a household phenomenon, poker also went online. It was a lot easier to play the game without going to a casino, or calling friends over to play the game. However, the charm of the traditional game still remains. Here is a comparison of online and offline poker.
Bonuses: Almost every online poker room today offers bonuses to players. Players can use this bonus but cannot withdraw unless certain conditions have been fulfilled. But this does give the players a chance to play with a lot more money. In offline poker this is not possible. You have to be very careful about your bankroll. Online poker rooms also have promotional offers that you will not find when playing in a land based casino.
Number of hands: When playing online poker for real money, you use the software of the site. There are various advantages that come with the software. You can look at your past hands and how you have played, which can be hard to remember in offline poker. But most importantly the software allows you to play a lot more hands. In an offline poker game you play about 15-20 hands per hour. When playing online poker for real money, you can play at the same rate at multiple tables. This increases the winnings if you are a skilled player.
Distraction: Along with the ability to play at multiple tables, there is also the possibility of being distracted. When you play at too many tables, your attention will never be 100% on a single game and that can lead to a poor level of play. Playing an offline game is completely different as you are sitting in front of the players and you are focusing on the game going on, with little chance of getting distracted.
Bluffing: Bluffing and spotting others’ bluffs is a very important part of poker. The entire game revolves around the fact whether you can read what the other players are doing. For this, you need to see the facial expressions and gestures of other players. This is not possible in online poker. Even though poker is a mental game and you can tell what the other players are thinking through their bets, it becomes a lot harder without having them in front of you.
Reaction time: Time is not of much concern when you are playing offline poker. It is common to find long drawn out poker games, where players are trying to read each other. When it comes to online poker, most poker rooms place a restriction on the time you have before you make a move. Having a restriction can have negative effect on the game play of some players.
Competition: When a player travels a certain distance and spends money to come to a casino to play poker, you can be fairly certain that they are good enough players to spend that much cash on gambling. However, it doesn’t take much for anyone to play poker online. That is why you can be sure that if you try hard enough, you will find tables in poker rooms that have novice players, which gives you a very good chance of winning. Finding inexperienced players in a land based casino can be a difficult task.
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