There are almost “too many” options to play online poker, and this has helped the game grow and mature, become more easily accessible to fans and aficionados, and generate significant prize pots around the world.
Yet, one question seems to still split the community – is it “easier „to play online poker compared to land-based tournaments and on-site in card rooms? To understand this dilemma, we first need to look at what we mean by “easier.”
Easily Accessible, But Not Without Its Challenges
The first aspect to focus on when talking about online poker being easy is whether it’s accessible. The Internet poker revolution has made it so that players can connect and play remotely for any amount. You can be grinding for mere cents at a time, and this too feels meaningful and if you want to – it can lead to much better things in your poker career.
In fact, playing poker online real money games is the best way to improve according to some, as it presents you with a variety of opportunities to play on different levels. From the point of view of how easy it is to connect, it’s indeed much simpler to set yourself up at an online card room that you know you can trust.
There are poker sites that will provide you with hundreds of cash games, and tournaments all throughout the week and on weekends. So, in terms of accessibility, it’s definitely safe to say that it is much easier to play online than travel to a card room. Of course, there are times to play online, and then again – there are times to pack up your things and leave for the Las Vegas Strip and hit the World Series of Poker.
The Skills Required for Land-Based and Online Poker
Not least, there is another consideration here – whether it takes a different type of skill to play in-person and online. The answer is yes, and which one is easier is hard to say. There are several factors to consider. For one, online poker will often have you playing with smaller amounts.
There is much less pressure to win a hand or a table, or even make it ahead in an event than there is during a land-based event. Conversely, playing in-person will often feel a little more demanding and a little more challenging for numerous reasons. One of those is the fact that you are probably betting and playing with much larger sums which can in itself have a negative impact if you are not used to this.
Then, there are the hecklers, the spotlight, and the inter-personal conflicts that can sprout up with as little as a turn of a phrase. All of these things are real concerns that players face when they play in-person, and they are quite normal. So, in terms of the pressure that you are going to face, it’s definitely so much easier to play online.
The Challenges of Online Poker
Of course, online poker is not without its challenges. For one, they call it a “poker face” for a reason. If you cannot see your opponent’s face, how do you know what’s in their head? Are you going to only play based on stats and don’t really check for any tell-tale signs and giveaways that your opponent may have? To be perfectly honest, at the highest level of poker, there are no tell-tale signs.
Final table pros are confident, calm, and sometimes – irate after the fact, but they do maintain a steely look that few people can penetrate. However, the fact remains that some players – including the best land-based poker players find it a little harder to play online without being able to tell what their opponents are up to.
The consensus among most players seems to be just the opposite of what we believe to be true – live poker just tends to be easier, but the risks of losing too much too quickly are also there as well.
Think of the Competition
Events such as WSOP do not necessarily bring the best poker players (actually WSOP now hosts both a land-based and online tournament). Yes, there are those hardcore pros that do travel to “beat the fish” but there are a lot of lesser players whom you can triumph over with a bit of a good attitude, honest practice, and a dedication to growing and improving yourself.
Most players agree that despite the psychological pressure of winning a big tournament, they find it somewhat comforting to play live games. A possible issue with online poker can be that there are too many people who will try too hard. It’s true. People who grind cash games at the lowest level must win and must win a lot.
They hunt down weaker opponents, play lengthy sessions, and do not stop. Unlike land-based poker professionals, these players are not just one in ten. They are often two or three tens of the total, which means there are a lot of players who are out to beat the fish.
Ultimately, there are challenges to playing both, and this is quite normal. You will have to adapt. If you believe public opinion – online is the harder of the two, but the accessibility of Internet card rooms is something that is difficult to deny.
