Online Poker vs Live Poker: Which Style is Right for You?

People always debate the skill level of live vs online poker players. Here’s the truth about each type of player and how skillful they are.

Skill Levels of Live Poker Players:
On average, a live poker player will usually be a lot less skilled than an online poker player for a number of reasons. The average player in live games is somewhat older than the average online poker player. Despite years spent playing the game, most live players have spent very little time actually studying poker. Instead, many of them repeat the same motions for years, constantly playing the same flawed poker strategy, greatly impacting the overall game softness.

Skill Levels of Online Poker Players:
Most online poker players study the game in some way or absorb different forms of educational content. This makes the average online poker game tougher than an average live poker game. Professional players who play at the online tables are typically much tougher than those in live games, while recreational players tend to play a better strategy online as well. It’s possible to find soft poker games though, if you know where to look.

Overall, in-person poker games are softer and offer a less competitive atmosphere with a weaker player pool. However, that is one of the few advantages of live vs online poker.

The typical bet sizes you encounter in online and live poker can be quite different. Being more skillful, the average online poker player usually knows how to size their bets more appropriately. On the other hand, live poker players tend to make bets that make very little sense and are easily exploitable.

Bet sizing differences start before the flop. In online poker cash games, you will often see raises of 2x to 2.5x the big blind, while live raise sizes tend to be closer to 4x or 5x, depending on the table. This initial raise size impacts the 3-bet and 4-bet sizes, which typically tend to get bigger in live poker games.

The differences go beyond the preflop betting round as well. As the flop is dealt, live poker players tend to have a harder time making appropriate bet sizes. For example, you will often see live players bet big on dry flops, whereas online players will bet smaller, in accordance with the GTO poker strategy.

Online poker players are more likely to adjust their bet sizes according to their poker position, the number of players in the hand, and other factors. Live players tend to make more straightforward decisions with a lot less strategic thinking behind them, which makes them a lot more exploitable.

Online poker players get to play more hands per hour, which can be a great advantage. A live poker game with a very fast dealer and players who act promptly may see 40 hands dealt in an hour. A very fast online poker game may see over 70 hands dealt per hour, and that’s just on a single table.

Since online poker players can play at multiple tables simultaneously, it is possible to play hundreds of poker hands in a single hour. For example, playing at four tables with 60 hands per hour gives you a chance to play 240 hands in one hour, about six times more than you could play at a single live poker table.

Playing so many more hands in the same timeframe allows online poker players to get experience faster. This translates into a faster learning curve, especially when coupled with all the learning tools available to online poker players. If you are looking to start from scratch and learn poker fast, online poker is the better option.

Whether you play live or online poker, the actions you make can say a lot about your hand. The unconscious gestures you make, the bet sizes you choose, and the speed at which you play all fall into this category. All of these actions at the poker table can be referred to as “poker tells.”

Both professionals and amateurs give away tells in poker. The more experienced players learn how to hide their tells and put on a “poker face,” while amateurs often wear their tells like signs around their necks. Whether you play online or live, you will want to master the art of hiding your poker tells.

In live poker, new poker players often have many tells. New players make many unconscious gestures that give away the strength of their hand. Looking at your chips immediately after facing a bet, throwing chips in forcibly when bluffing, or looking away from the table when you want a call can all be strong tells to an experienced player.

In online poker, tells are often more subtle. The best players focus on recognizing timing and bet-sizing tells. If you bet too fast when you have an easy decision but activate your time bank when you need time to think, your opponents will be able to pinpoint your ranges with more precision. To hide their tells in online poker, good players take their time on every decision and balance their bet sizes between bluffs and value bets.

The table image is another major difference between live poker vs online poker. By table image, we refer to the way other players in the game see you based on your actions, table talk, and other factors. The elements that make up your table image differ between live and online poker quite a bit, as portrayed below.

Live Poker Table Image Elements:

• The way you stack your chips
• Your conversations with other players
• Your looks, wardrobe, demeanour
• Bet sizing and aggression
• The level of comfort you exhibit

Online Poker Table Image Elements:

• Bet sizing
• Aggression frequency
• Timing tells

Professional poker players understand the importance of table image in both live and online poker. However, the way these images are built and maintained is quite different. As a general rule of thumb, building an aggressive and fearsome table image is advantageous in many ways. However, downplaying your skill level can have quite a few benefits in a live poker environment as well.

At the end of the day, you will have to be careful about the table image you have in both settings. Yet, your live poker table image will depend on a lot more factors than your online poker persona.

Poker is a game of information. Some information you need to win is readily available, such as chip stacks and bet sizes, while some is hidden, such as your opponent’s cards. The more information you have access to, the higher your chances of winning will be.

As an online poker player, you can see every player’s chip stack and every bet size without any interference. But, in real-world poker games, knowing the exact chip stacks of the players around you can be difficult at times.

Online poker also allows for the use of various software, such as heads-up displays (HUDs), which accumulate stats on other players. Stats such as VPIP, PFR, WTSD, and others can greatly help you understand the player type you are facing in any particular hand. Taking notes on opponents is also easier, as you can do so in your poker client or using a simple tool like Notepad on your computer.

The only advantage of in-person poker when it comes to information is that players tend to give away more with their actions. The table chatter, demeanor, and live tells can help you get access to information you might not have at an online poker table.

To play live poker, you have to get ready, walk or drive to the casino, and spend many hours away from home. Getting to the poker room can take hours in some places, which is time you could have spent playing in an online poker room. What’s more, leaving the tables at a brick-and-mortar poker room also means taking that same trip back home, which takes even more time from your day.

On the other hand, online poker is as flexible as you want it to be. You can load up your favorite poker site, start up some tables, and be in any number of games at any time. Online poker also offers more variety of stakes and game types, such as Texas Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha, and many others. It also allows you to sit down and get up from tables at your leisure.

If you are someone who values your time and would prefer to play at any time of day and from anywhere, online poker is the obvious choice. The social element and other advantages of live poker don’t fade away because of this, but they may not be enough for every player out there.

Rake is the percentage of each pot or tournament fee charged by the house. Rake in online poker games is usually lower than in live card rooms. Running a brick-and-mortar poker room is expensive, as it requires staff, space, and more. For that reason, rake in live games is usually quite high. In some places, low-stakes players claim that the rake is simply too big, even if you are the best player in the game.

While this is not always the case, and there are some affordably raked live poker games, online poker has a distinct advantage. Rake and tournament fees in online poker are always lower than their live counterparts. In fact, the difference in rake is the reason many players choose to play exclusively online. This is especially true when lower rake is combined with bonuses and cashback rewards offered by major online poker operators.

Both live and online poker have their pros and cons. The best choice depends on what you are looking for in a poker game.

Online poker, much like live poker, is primarily a skill game. While an element of luck does impact the game, the best players always win over the long run.

Online poker games allow for as many as 60-70 hands per hour per table. On the other hand, you can only play about 30 hands per hour in live poker.

Live poker tends to attract weaker players, offers a social atmosphere, and allows for a much higher hourly win rate per table played.

Online poker games allow for more flexibility, offer a wider range of stakes and game types, lower rake, more bonuses and promotions, and are available around the clock.