What are the Differences between Poker and Online Poker?

There are a number of differences between land based poker and online poker. Being successful in either format requires different skills and abilities, and it's important that players not only understand, but are able to identify these key factors.

The most obvious difference between the two formats is that players don't sit opposite each other in online poker and consequently don't have the opportunity to pick up information from a player's body language or behavior. However, this doesn't mean that there are no poker 'tells' in the online format of the game. In fact the opposite is true. There are a large number of tells that online players can use. These vary from a player’s reaction time, their speed of play, the use of auto play check boxes, the use of online chat features as well as betting patterns can enable more experienced players to identify weaknesses in opponent’s hands and game strategy.

Another major difference is the speed of the game. In land based poker games the card dealer has to physically collect and shuffle the cards after each and every hand. Even with experienced dealers this can take time and on average dealers will deal 20 to 25 hands per hour. This contrasts with the online variant of the game, where the number of hands per hour is closer to 90 at most 2D online poker sites, and approximately 60 hands per hour at 3D Poker sites.

Finally, and arguably one of the most significant differences between the two formats is the greater ability for online players to generate more revenue than they could playing traditional land based poker. With land based poker, players can only play a single table. Even if they are successful they can only play one hand at a time. However, with online poker, most of the leading sites such as Full Tilt, Party Poker, and PKR Poker offer the ability to play multiple tables at the same time. The software from these sites makes it possible for the player to view up to ten different tables on the one computer screen. Consequently, players have the ability to earn more per hour playing online than they could at the same stakes in a land based game.