Online poker. Is it better than live game?

Twenty years ago just a few people had heard about the internet, much less people had access to it, and the opportunities from internet essentially confined to the contact and basic websites. The world of technology however is going forward really fast. Today the Internet equivalents are replacing almost everything - friends, meetings, trips, sex, etc. (only alcohol stays alive in real world - interesting how long). Also, poker couldn`t miss this wave - poker on the Internet brings more opportunities, it is faster, easier and better. But are you sure? 

The benefits of online poker

You can play at any time of day or night, can play with people from the whole world in his own, decorated as you like and as you need room. Someone likes to play in an environment of essential oil from India? No problem, someone likes to play naked - just get undressed. You can watch TV, read a book, play in the bath, etc. Most of these options in the casino usually look stupid or was prohibited.
Another important advantage is the ability to play their favorite game.  I saw few times people playing at the casino in no limit holdem, because no one else would like to play in Omaha. On the Internet you can play everything at all the time. I`m not talking only about the major forms of poker like holdem or stud. On the Internet there are so strange games  Chinese poker or badugi poker. Also opportunities to play in no limit holdem are larger. Various Table of Sit and Go, Cash games with deepstack, shortstack or Heads`up. Everyone will find something he likes. Often you need to go by whole Las Vegas to find the right game and you usually have to wait for this. On the Internet you can start the game in a few moments. Number of games also better online. Live game on more than one table is impossible. On the Internet there are no people who plays always just a one table. Usually people include from two to six tables, but there are maniacs who are able to master several windows at once. I don`t need to say how it affects on this players. If on the one table you can win 10BB per hour, then at six, you can win 60 (if you don`t lose the quality of the game). Another advantage is the ability to use a variety ways to help. Programs for calculating statistics  become very popular. They don`t make mistakes and very fast we know answer for our question.  This speeds up and improves our game.
Playing online is also cheaper. Less rake, no tip, no additional expenses (gasoline, hotel, food). All of this reduces our costs and increasing  our profits.

Benefits of live games

So why, despites of so many advantages of playing online, live game is still popular? The atmosphere, atmosphere and atmosphere again. In the Internet you will never feel the same way twice. "Nh" in the chat, is not the same as hearing a live "nice hand sir" from an opponent. Emotions about waiting for a lot longer for  your card are more interesting. Beautiful waitress giving us our favorite drink, a masseuse – we can have nothing from this by playing online.  
Another advantage is reading opponents. In online poker doesn`t actually exist so-called "reads" - read out from behavior, Invisibles, looks in the opponents cards. The best players live just know when you look at the cards what you have. This is an awesome and never will take place on the Internet.
No fraud is another advantage of the live games. I mean a lot less chance to use foul play. You have no possibility to check if some two players are talking about their cards on the online poker. You just can`t do it. Also using programs is a kind of immoral - live, everything is much more fair.

Summary

Online poker:

Advantages:
the opportunity to play at any time in any form of poker,
greater selection of games,
the opportunity to play more tables at once,
large amount of poker helps
cheaper game.
 
Cons:
unique atmosphere of the live game,
greater chance of fraud,
greater glory after winning live tournament,
lack of reads.
 
Live Poker is a pleasure, while its online counterpart becomes a work. Playing live is the birthplace of poker and will never disappear completely.

Michał 'Wahi' Wachowski