There once was a time before the big ol’ Internet Switch was first turned on. 

In that dark time, people shopped in real stores by walking up and down aisles. They looked things up in “books” where information was printed in ink on paper. And when they wanted to play poker, they had to either a) round up their buddies or b) head to a card room to find a game of Texas hold’em.

Now, all that has changed.

Thanks to Ignition, you can play online poker at our casino right from the comfort of the best seat in the house: your own couch! But what are the differences and pros and cons between online and offline poker at a land based casino? Well, to answer that, let’s first talk about how online poker casinos are better than offline poker casinos.

Buckle up!

1. How Online Poker is Better than Offline Poker

Online poker is, without a doubt, better than live offline poker in a number of ways. The first difference and one of the biggest pros is the outstanding convenience of it. You can land a game at any time, from anywhere using Ignition’s Quick Seat. Having to get to the casino and waiting to find a seat at a table is one of the big cons of offline poker. You can also play from your mobile device wherever you are.

Another way online poker games are better than offline poker games is the difference in the speed of play. Instead of waiting around in person live at a casino for a dealer to collect cards, chat with the players, and get a new hand dealt out, cards online are coming out faster than shots of tequila at a bachelor party. Online casinos even let you play multiple hands at the same time! Online poker gives you way more action per minute than offline poker ever will.

Another one of the differences and cons with offline poker is the lack of information. Online, if you want to find out the pot size and size of everyone’s stack at the table, you can see it easily. To find those things in casinos during live poker play is way more challenging, but online, you have a lot more information right at your fingertips. You don’t even have to handle the poker chips! The computer does it for you, saving you from embarrassing tells when you tip your stack over, have shaky hands, or have difficulty picking chips up if you land a big hand.

Of course, if you miss playing with the chips, nothing’s stopping you from grabbing some to fiddle with while you play poker online.

2. Is online poker safe? 

Online poker as safe as it gets. One of the cons of live play at a land based casino is the possibility of drunk and rowdy casino players staring daggers at you across the table to read you, making threats, starting fights, or saying they’ll meet you in the parking lot after playing the game. There’s no negative drama like you find in live, in person poker. When you play online poker, you’ll find you’ve got total control over your environment. You also have the benefit of poker software that’s verified to be safe and secure, so you know you get fair games.

3. How Online and Offline Poker is the Same

There are some similarities between playing online and offline poker. The main similarity is in the game itself. There’s still that familiar two-card deal, three card flop, turn, and river. People are still putting out the blinds when they ante up. And the rules of the game are still the same. Online poker just offers a way more convenient way to play it than physical casinos do.

4. Online Poker Games Available 

Online poker comes in a number of game types. The first is cash games, where you sit with your bank roll and play until you’ve had enough. Then there’s tournaments, where you buy in for a set amount, and just keep playing until you win or get knocked out. For free roll tournaments, the difference is that you get in without having to pay, but can win real money if you make it to the end.

5. Types of Online Poker Available 

Online poker isn’t just Texas Hold’em, where you’re deal two cards and then make your best hand with the five community cards that are dealt by the end. There’s also games on the Internet like Omaha (still mostly based on classic poker rules), where you’re dealt four cards. You then make your best five-card hand using two cards from your pile and three selected from the five community cards in the center of the table. Omaha Hi Lo is a variation on this poker game where the main difference is that the low hand also can win. You can read more about Omaha Hi Lo here.

So that’s our brief talk on the differences, pros, and cons between playing online poker and offline poker. We don’t know how far you are from a brick and mortar casino, but we DO know that you’re already here at Ignition. We’ve just saved you a seat – click here to get in the game!

Your chariot awaits.