Online poker is harder compared to live poker. The natural setting of live poker allows you to feel the game more physically with the rules set in your mind differently compared to looking at a screen. Online players are more rapid due to the sheer number of hands they can play per hour compared to live. Here are some of the differences between live and online poker.
Play More Poker Hands Online
The best way to get better at anything is to repeat it repeatedly, making the task second nature to you. This is especially true when it comes to playing poker. The more hands you play, the quicker you’ll improve your skills and understanding of the game.
On average, online poker players will play around 100 hands per hour. This is more than live poker, which averages around 30 hands per hour. This growth gives online players a huge advantage when learning the basics. Multi-tabling is another common practice option.
You will find tables with two to three weak players when you reach mid-high stakes online. Good players will fill most tables with one fish. Serious online players use tracking software to keep track of their massive hands.
Online Players Value Money More
Players who play online tend to be younger on average. Often, they’re just getting started with a small amount of money, and it can even be difficult for them to gather $300-500 to participate in a live game. It is nearly impossible to accumulate a full live bankroll. In most areas, the lowest live No Limit game is $1/$2, which requires about $4000 to play properly. Meanwhile, you can buy in for 25NL online for $500 and get 20 buy-ins.
Live Players Experience Short-Term Variance
If a good player was to play $1/$2 online tables through a single month, the chance of them losing would be very difficult when it comes to the money they are spending. The high number of hands played through the month will push the variance in the favor of the player.
Alternatively, a better-than-average player entering $5/$10 tables could easily finish the month with less than they started. Playing live poker is a lot harder to complete big sessions and log a lot of hands. The short-term variance makes players play with much more caution making live players much more results orientated compared to online players.
The possibility of getting all in with AK or Tens preflop is unlimited online, so players have a large amount of data to help them determine if it was the right move. Short-term results are often inaccurate for live players since they don’t witness certain situations often.
Live Players Do not use Online Resources
The internet has become an essential part of learning for online players. Wikipedia was more commonly used by them than an encyclopedia when they were growing up. Live players, on the other hand, tend to be older and less tech-savvy. Many of the amazing resources available online are unknown to many. Many people who are aware of things like training sites and tools do not use them, either because they don’t believe they can help or because they just don’t want to. The point I’m trying to make here is not to pick on live players. It’s not the case with all of them, but here’s an example to illustrate the general point.
Online Poker Attracts the Best Players
If you’re a hard-working player that puts the effort in, any kind of poker style will be enjoyable and possibly profitable. Online poker is always going to be the more convenient option as you won’t have to travel to the casino. This extra convenience and accessibility to play multiple tables attract the best players to the online world, making it a much more competitive space and also a great way to fast-track the improvement of your skills.
