Live Poker vs. Online Poker: 8 Differences You Should Know

Poker

Apr 5

When the COVID-19 (or Coronavirus) pandemic hit in early 2020, online poker experienced a boom not unlike that of 2006, as more and more people were stuck trying to entertain themselves at home. This resulted in record numbers of people signing up to online poker tournaments.

As COVID-19 is less of a threat these days and the Vegas casinos begin to go back to normal, it looks as if online poker will remain inflated way above pre-COVID levels of players.

If you’re one of the people who got hooked on online poker during the lockdown, or you’re thinking of moving from online poker to live poker, you should begin by learning some of the differences between online and live poker. Luckily, we’ve rounded up 8 of the main differences that you should know, right here.

*The coronavirus (or COVID19) pandemic has left the streets of Vegas empty, and poker players have fled to the safety of online poker.*

1. Online Poker is Shorter Handed

In live poker play you will typically find yourself at 10 handed tournament tables, and tables that are 8 or more handed in cash games. However, when it comes to online poker, you’ll find that most cash tables have a maximum of just 6 players per table.

Most online poker tournaments will have 9 handed tables at a maximum, and often you’ll see tables of 8 or less.

Shorter-handed play vastly affects optimal hand selection. In shorter-handed play you should loosen up your starting hands. This means that if you’ve been playing online poker and are looking to visit the casino to play some live poker, you’ll have to vastly tighten up your opening range if you want to be profitable.

To learn more about poker positions and how short-handed play affects your game, read our post explaining the basics of poker positions.

2. Online Poker Has Smaller Preflop Bet Sizing

It’s often the case that players in low limit live poker games have no idea how to properly bet size. Raising to 6bb or 10bb preflop to open the action is common, and bloats pots quickly. Anyone who has spent more than 20 minutes playing in a £1/£2 game can attest to this fact.

Online, you’ll generally find that players are following strict bet sizing rules such as 3bb + 1bb per limper. These bet sizing rules have the effect of making pots smaller in online poker - and as pot sizes compound throughout a hand, the average pot size is much smaller too.

3. Online Poker Has Much Faster Gameplay

In live poker, you can expect an absolute maximum of 35 hands per hour (and that’s with an exceptionally efficient dealer and players who are paying attention - which isn’t always the case).

Online poker games will easily double the number of hands played per house, not to mention that players also have the option to play on as many tables as they can keep up with.

This makes the hands per hour potential for online poker theoretically limitless.

If you’ve been enjoying the fast play of online poker, prepare yourself for slow play and conversation at the single table you play at at the casino. However, with slower play and conversation comes an increase in the amount of information you can gather from your opponents.

4. Online Poker Has Tougher Opponents

Considering the speed of online poker hands, the average online player can play more hands in one session than a live player might in an entire year. This means that online poker players have time to become far more experienced at poker. As a result, you will find that to win in online poker you must be prepared to do some studying.

You can find tonnes of great resources for learning poker online.

However, if you’re making the move to live poker, you’ll find much softer opponents (in general) who are often just at the casino to gamble, not to win. To find the softest casinos in your area, check out our casino reviews.

5. Different Rake in Online Poker

Rake in live poker games is usually somewhere around 5%-10%, with rake being capped at £5-£10 per hand. Rake in live poker can vary greatly by location, but as a rule - rakes above 10% are far too high to be beatable, whereas anything close to 5% is considered very low rake for live poker.

In comparison, rake in online poker will be between 3.5%-5% with a cap so high it is effectively uncapped - until you reach higher stakes.

For example, at $.05/$.10 on Pokerstars the rake is 4.5% with a $1.50 cap. This means you don't hit the rake cap until the pot reaches over £30, that is 300bb in a 100bb max buy-in game.

To see a breakdown of rake for poker games across all online poker casinos, check out our always up-to-date guide to online poker rake.

6. Different Stakes in Online Poker

As online poker games play far quicker than live games, and with the ability to multi-table in online poker too (which obviously becomes difficult to successfully pull off in live poker) stakes online are very low in comparison to stakes in live poker.

You may be used to playing £1/£2 in the casino playing live poker but online you’re more likely to find yourself playing 4 tables of $0.05/$0.10 online.

This makes online poker a great place to learn the rules and action in poker for smaller stakes before braving your local brick and mortar poker room and laying down a 100bb buy-in. (Just don’t forget these differences!)

7. Different Stack Depths in Online Poker

In online poker you’ll typically be limited to a buy-in of 100bb making for deep-stacked - but not super deep-stacked - play. In comparison, live poker often sets a buy-in limit of up to 200bb, and some games’ buy-ins are uncapped entirely.

There are considerable adjustments to be made when playing at different stack depths. If you are a novice player being shorter-stacked will make your life easier, as some decisions become automatic with a shorter stack. Deeper-stacked play also puts far greater importance on position, and unskilled players will suffer as a result.

8. Different reads & Tells in online poker

Could this be a poker post without discussing reads? In live poker, although rare, physical tells do exist. If you have that 1 in 100 guy at your table who has a nervous twitch when he is bluffing you can take advantage of it all day long.

When playing poker online, obviously you cannot see your opponent’s physical tells, and take such liberties. In online poker, you’re limited to timing tells, and bet sizing tells.

A good timing tell is that generally a delay before action indicates a strong hand. Bet sizing tells depends on your opponent and the previous action. However, you will also find that in larger field online poker tournaments tables break so often it's hard to build a profile on any players you encounter.

With online poker booming as a result of the COVID19 pandemic, now is a better time than ever to get stuck into online poker if you haven’t already. An increase in novice players online means the tournaments and cash games alike have become more fertile - just be aware of the sharks!

You’ll find it easy to dominate online poker at the moment if you put in a minimum amount of study - just starting with this blog will help!

Whether you’re playing poker on a mobile, tablet, laptop, or desktop, don’t be afraid of the apps and software needed to play online poker. Every reputable online poker platform wants to make it as easy as possible for new players to use their site, so they’re designed to be as easy to use as possible.

Check out our casino reviews to find the best online casinos to take your poker game to.