Online Poker

When playing the game of poker online, there are not specifically any differences with the actual hand of poker, but the major differences lie in the fact that the human factor is removed.

When playing poker in a casino so much of a playing strategy involves reading your opponents body language, facial expressions and reactions.  Online, this factor is removed and poker players have to adapt to the blind conditions of the online poker room.

Poker players are adaptable because the nature of the game demands adaptability and players find new ways to read their opponents.  Gamblers focus more on how much time it takes other players to react to play and their competitors betting patterns amongst other reactions.

Another big difference between online poker and casino poker is the rate of play.  In a normal brick and mortar casino the rate of play is hampered by the physical aspect of the dealer having to collect, shuffle and deal the cards.  Likewise the chips have to be counted when dealing with a split pot.  The rate of play is around thirty hands per hour in a regular casino.  Conversely, in an online poker room, collecting, shuffling and dealing the cards is instantaneous due to auto-action buttons and this more than doubles the rate of play to between sixty to eighty hands per hour.

In online poker rooms it is possible to increase your potential winnings easily as concurrent hands can be played.  Expert players play sometimes as many as ten hands at a time and view these hands on separate window displays on their monitor.  This will increase their earning capability considerable.  The only way to increase the earning capability in a land based casino is by increasing the limit.

A major influence that online poker has had on players is that now it is possible to learn poker well, in a short space of time.  With brick and mortar casinos, it would be impossible to sit down and play with no knowledge of the game.  Now most poker rooms offer a free mode option which allows the poker player to hone their skills and not part with any money, before embarking on a competitive game.