Online poker has its pros, we are not talking about the guy who took half your bankroll and typed ezmoney fish in chat while waiting for poker guru to write an article on them, no more like pros and cons. But I digress, There's a lot to love about online poker and also a lot that makes you want to chokeslam your keyboard into your table. Today we discuss the advantages and disadvantages of being an online poker player in contrast to a live poker player. And crown a clear winner, I am just kidding no we won't, although players from both mediums claim theirs is the best, there is no clearly better medium here, some swear by live, others by online. Both have their pros and cons and what works best for you will be based on your priorities in a poker game. So let's discuss why players who play poker games online are gods playing in the coliseum and live scrubs shouldn't even be looking in their general direction. kidding, kidding, have..to...be.....objective. Alright enough messing around, let's channel some objectivity and get into it.

First, let's talk about the disadvantages

1-Lacks the social experience

Although online sessions can get quite lively at times, it doesn't match the appeal of sitting with chips in your hand at a felted poker table live. If you are looking to be chatty and interactive, you will find most players online play with you for hours without saying a single word, save the occasional chatty Kathy.Live also gives you an additional source of information for making your decisions, the person in front of you! Be wary though as they can manipulate this by either giving you wrong reads or taking reads off you.

2. Not as many soft games

It is mostly because of the skill level disparity. I can find a live game (fish pond) where I can probably make 30k a night on average off of tourists because on average I might have ~25% edge on the average player. Online it might be ~7-10%.or even lower because even the worst players are not that fundamentally bad online

3-Travelling

The difference between live and online poker, besides the sociality and sensuality, is that you have to travel a little to do it. Even if it's just down from your hotel room or to the final table of The WSOP main event. There isn't always a table ready for you to load up and jump in. In other words, it doesn't encourage the, "it's a million hand game," mentality. Which is a healthy mentality that online poker players have in greater abundance than live ones. You get to travel, more like you have to travel and you might end up enjoying it!

People stick around longer than they should. They end up taking bigger risks. They get tired, angry, overjoyed, all the while the table dynamics are changing and they're only sitting at one table.

With that said, Online poker is still king because the advantages it offers are unmatched

A-Geographical Independence

Online poker allows you to play from any legal country, provided you have an internet connection and a system to play on. You can do whatever you want, come back to your place, and grind online. Your country could be lacking basic infrastructure and have no poker scene, but as long as you have dreams, dedication, and online poker, the entire online poker world is your oyster.

B-You get to choose your buy-ins and games

There are always games running at online poker sites, one game or the other, heads up or knockout. Something or the other is literally running all the time. There is no point in the day where you log online to play and find zero games. You might not like the games currently running, but games are always running. You can find profitable games whether you are an NLHE player, a PLO degenerate, or an OFC enigma, on the bigger sites, you can even choose your preferred formats for playing these variants. Live gives you more choice than you could in any live poker room, in the comfort of your homes.

C-Action happens really fast

You get to put in more volume online. It does not play out at the sluggish pace of live. The average online players multi tables and plays really fast. This leads to you is to put a volume and realize the edge your skill provides. If you want to apply your poker skill long-term and make a career out of it, You have to play online as putting massive volume live is both difficult and inconsistent. No one waits to take 3 sips of coffee before folding their bluffs online. As they don't have to pretend to be thinking

I guess it comes down to personal choice. By a small margin, Online is the superior medium as you can get everything of the live experience as a skilled player by occasionally putting your volume live and then return to your staple online games for a consistent income. A live player cannot do vice versa unless he outranks the online players by quite a few stakes. As there will be significant skill disparity which will lead to the live player being stomped on. In my opinion, Live is more suited for extroverts, while online is better suited for introverts.Last but not the least, Whether you play live or online. Whats most important is you being comfortable and having fun!