Live vs Online

By Wes Burns

Online poker and live poker follow the same rules but there are still a few differences in the proper strategy for each game.

Some of these strategy differences between online & live poker are obvious while others may not be as obvious. Before we get started, I’d like to add that it’s important not to get too hung up on these differences. No matter where you play poker, the same basic concepts apply. The strategy differences between online and live poker are relatively minor.

Poker Tells

The most obvious strategic difference between online and live poker can be found in tells. Live poker players can see each other face to face and gather clues from their opponents that online players can’t. For example, a live player may notice a certain mannerism that another player displays when holding a strong hand.

Online poker can only make the use of timing tells, which are much less reliable. For example, a player may notice that another player always takes forever to bet when holding a strong hand. These tells aren’t as reliable because you can’t see what’s really going on with that player. The pause before that player’s most recent bet may have been due to him spilling soda all over the keyboard.

This may be the most obvious strategy difference between online and live poker but it’s actually the least important. Tells tend to play a much larger role in movies than they do in real life. The real key to winning at poker is playing a tight, solid game. Everything else comes second.

Opponent Skill

Online poker players have become increasingly skilled over the years. Today, online poker players are overwhelmingly more skilled than live players. Online poker players can play hundreds of thousands of hands per year online and that experience hones their skills quickly. On top of that, online players have access to poker software tools such as Holdem Manager that can track every hand and provide details statistics on every opponent ever played.

Live poker players tend to be a lot easier to play against. This is probably because live casinos attract lots of tourists and people who don’t normally play poker. Live games require a more straightforward approach than online games. You don’t have to do anything special to convince your live opponents to part with their money.

Online Poker Multi-Tabling

Multi-tabling is only possible for online players because online poker rooms are all digital. Your win rate per 100 hands will drop but that’s only more than made up for by the extra tables you play. Live poker players never could have dreamed of this idea before the internet came around and changed everything.

Live poker players must stick with just one table at a time. That gives them more time to observe their opponents, but it also severely limits their hourly win rate. If it helps any, the entire reason I play online poker is because multi-tabling is possible. If it wasn’t for multi-tabling, I would very rarely play poker.