Why To Play Online Poker

There are many poker players who are still trying to decide whether or not to play on line. If you are one of them, I’m not going to try to convince you one way or another. Instead, let me provide you with a simple comparison so you can review the basic reasons to play or not to play on the Internet.

Reasons to Play

Game Selection:

For me, this is the best reason. Even if a casino or poker room is right down the street, you are going to be limited in the games that you can play. With limited game selection comes limited options for making money. You will often have to choose between a game that is not very profitable and not playing at all.

On the Internet, on the other hand, you have an almost endless variety of games to choose from. You can search around until you find a good game – which should be the goal of any serious poker player. Being the eighth best poker player in the world is worthless if you are limited to the one game with the seven better players.

Game selection is terrific because you have the ability, at the touch of a few fingers, to move around within a site and from site to site looking for good games. Unfortunately, most of the Internet players I know don’t take advantage of this prime advantage – content to play in the same game every time they log on.

Lower Rake:

The rake for Internet casinos is usually at least somewhat less than the rake in a casino. Where the standard casino poker room rake these days tends to be about 10% of the pot with a $4 or, increasingly, a $5 maximum per hand; on line rooms are frequently 5% with a $3.00 maximum – or even considerably less in the very low stakes rooms. In fact, in the micro-stakes rooms with betting limits of $.10 per bet or less, there is sometimes no rake.

Players frequently pay too little attention to the rake. But it can be devastating. On line rooms, with their minimal overhead, not having to hire dealers, rent a large space, buy tables and the like, can afford to charge less. But this doesn’t mean they’re making less money per hour. Quite the opposite. Because the games are so much faster, even with the lower rake, they are making quite a bit more money per hour because of all of the extra hands per hour that are raked. This need not hurt you, however, since if you are a winning player you should be winning more money per hour for the same reason. The net result should be that if you are playing against identical players as in a live game, your win rate should go up since the rake will be a lower percentage of your winnings.

Convenience:

The Internet is as close as your nearest computer. Funding it is as simple as transferring money into your account. No need to drive, to park, take public transportation, or walk. There’s no waiting in line a game (you can always find an open game), no worrying about carrying large amounts of cash to or from the casino, or buying gas for the car. Just stumble into a chair in front of the computer, fire it up, and start playing real money poker.

The convenience factor extends beyond the proximity of the game. When you go to a casino you have to get dressed, shower (at least you should do so), and deal with the public. When you play at home you don’t have to do any of those things. In fact, you can do many other things while you are playing. I’ve cooked dinner, carried on phone conversations, typed an article or two, and read the morning paper all while playing and making money in online poker games. Others like to watch television, listen to music, commute to work, or even play in a home game while logged on. Having your poker game with you on a computer screen gives you the advantage of being able to carry on your life while still being in a game.

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