Internet vs Casino Poker

Why should I play poker on the Internet? Playing Internet poker is a great way to sharpen your poker skills at a cheap price. Most new poker players are too embarrassed to play in a brick and mortar casino. While playing poker on the Internet you don't have to worry about making a wrong move or playing your hand incorrectly. You can easily just forget about it, turn the "chat" off or move to another table if the other players are annoying you. One of best parts of playing online is you can play poker for free. Most Internet poker sites offer free poker tournaments for their players unlike brick and mortar casinos where you don't get free poker tournaments and actually costs you money just to get to the casino.

Advantages of Internet Poker

There is no spending your gambling dollars on gas, traveling to the poker room.
You can play for free at any online poker site and you could actually win real money.
The minimum bets are much lower for Internet poker rooms ($.01/.02 stakes vs $3/6 stakes).
You can smoke, drink or do whatever you want inside your own home.
No losing chips or being robbed (just make sure it's a trusted online poker room).
You can block chat when there are rude people around you, or you can easily find another table.
The competition is generally a whole lot weaker at Internet poker sites.
You can keep notes and search for the weak players at most online poker rooms.
Lower rake (less fees paid to the poker rooms).
The poker room goes wherever you go (you can play anywhere).
You can find a poker game 24/7, 365 days of the year.
You can login and play for as little time as you want.
You can play at more than one table at the same time.
You can play against the "Pros" without breaking your bankroll.
Great sign-up bonuses and loyalty programs for online poker sites.

Why Online Poker is better than Live Poker

There is no spending your gambling dollars on gas, traveling to the poker room.
With gasoline prices near $3 a gallon in the USA and $.95 a litre in Canada, North Americans can save hundreds of dollars every year just by playing online. At the end of the year, even the average player should be able to play at an Internet poker room, with the money they saved from not driving to and from the casino.

You can play for free at any online poker site and win real money.
You can learn a lot about poker playing on the Internet and it will cost you nothing. Almost all poker sites have freerolls (free poker tournaments with real money prize pools) for their players. These freerolls can be open to anyone who has downloaded and registered at their poker room. Online poker freerolls are the only sure bet in gambling. Good luck in trying to ask the pit boss at your local casino for a $500 freeroll.

The minimum bets are much lower for Internet poker rooms.
Playing the $3/6 cash games at a land-based casino can be an expensive lesson. Most Internet poker sites have $.25/.50 ring games and some even offer $.01/.02 ring game action.

You can smoke, drink or do whatever you want inside your own home.
Tired of being told to butt out or being told there is no drinking on the gaming floor? If so, online poker may be what you are looking for. Playing poker at home makes you the boss (assuming your wife is not home) so you can do whatever you want.

No losing chips or being robbed outside the casino.
Losing gambling chips and being robbed has been increasingly becoming a problem at a brick and mortar casino. You won't lose your chips or get robbed at an Internet poker site (just make sure you play at a trustworthy poker room that we have reviewed).

You can block chat when there are rude people around you or go to another table.
Is someone really annoying you at the poker table and won't shut up? I hope you're playing online or else you may have to quit playing poker, or try to be moved to another table (good luck with that) or wear earplugs while you're playing. At an Internet poker room, you can easily find another poker table or simply block chat (you can even block chat just for that one individual player).

The competition is generally a whole lot weaker at Internet poker sites.
Why are consistent losers at my local casino winning at Internet poker rooms? Besides saving money on gas, paying less rake and playing in free poker tournaments, the competition is generally a whole lot weaker online.

You can keep notes and search for the weak players at most online poker rooms.
Sure you can take mental notes on players at a casino but at an online poker site you can write down on an electronic note pad, how each player plays for future reference. Some poker sites even have a "Friend Finder" or otherwise called a "Fish Finder" so you can search for all the players you know you can beat.

Lower rake (less fees paid to the poker rooms).
What is rake and why is it so much lower for Internet poker sites? The rake is a small fee (generally 5% up to $3 online and 10% for land-based casinos) taken from each pot. The rake is usually a lot lower on the Internet because of the low cost associated with running an online poker room and the incredible competition on the net.

The poker room goes wherever you go (you can play anywhere).
Did you ever win your way into a poker tournament and couldn't make it to the tournament to play? This happens a lot with live poker tournaments. Many poker players will be on business trips, get stranded in traffic, blocked by a train or stranded in airports on the day of the tournament. If the tournament was online though you could play wherever there is Internet service and you could even play after logging in late unlike some brick and mortar casinos.

You can find a poker game 24/7, 365 days of the year.
Great I want to play poker but at my casino the next poker tournament isn't until tomorrow, what should I do now? Play at an Internet poker room. On the Internet you should be able to find a poker tournament that suits you within fifteen minutes.

You can login and play for as little time as you want.
What's the point of playing poker if I only want to play for half an hour? There is no point, unless you are planning of playing online. On the Internet you can easily login and play for thirty minutes but for land-based casinos, you'll waste the time just driving to and from the casino if you're lucky.

You can play at more than one table at the same time.
Is playing at one table boring you or not making you enough profit? If so, you can try cloning yourself to play at your local casino at multiple tables. It would be easier though if you were playing poker on the Internet, because you can easily play multiple tables at the same time, at most online poker rooms.

You can play against the best poker players in the world in your own home.
You can play against poker superstars such as Phil Ivey, Doyle Brunson, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, Jennifer Harman and Mike Matusow online. Sure, you play against these same players at a casino, but who has the time to fly to Las Vegas, get a bank loan and fly home, every day of the week. On the Internet you can play against the "Pros" for as little as $5 on some nights.

Great sign-up bonuses and loyalty programs for online poker sites.
When was the last time your local casino gave you free money just for playing poker? I wouldn't be surprised if it was never, but at most Internet poker sites you can get free money just by playing your favorite poker games. Different poker rooms give out different bonuses. We have listed the poker bonuses at our individual poker room reviews and we have also listed some of the best Internet poker bonuses below.

Top Internet Poker Bonus
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