Online poker you can play anytime you want — 24/7 365. You can play it altogether comfort, right through your own home, wearing whatever you like (or nothing at all), sitting, reclining, or jogging on a treadmill (though we don’t recommend it). You may set the lighting, temperature, and ambience to be just when you like it. In lots of ways, with online poker you simply have more control.

You have no other people to contend with (at least not in-person) — no-one hovering over you, talking at you, pushing you, crowding around you, giving you unsought advice, or shooting you nasty looks. You should not have to smell smoke should you not want to. You’ve got no sexy waitresses tempting you with mind-altering drinks and otherwise distracting your attention away from the game at hand (pun completely intended). You do not have to drive anywhere (and with fuel prices what they may be, that alone preserves your bankroll tremendously), nor do have to get dressed up or tip your dealer — all of which save you time and expense.

Another benefit of excellent online gambling agency (click for more info) poker is that you may play against people from on the other side of the globe. Think about it next time you sit down at an online poker table — not everybody there even speaks the exact same language. And globetrotting online provides you with access to more casinos and poker rooms than you can ever find in one single place, even if that one place is actually Vegas!

Online poker players get to select from an inordinate selection of cardrooms, game types, and table stakes. Moments ago, we mentioned the ambience of the environment where you are going to be sitting down with your computer to play online poker (almost certainly your house), but online poker gives you almost just as much control in determining the ambience of the cardroom itself.

Whether you enjoy an Old West setting, a Hollywood setting, an Egyptian setting, a jungle setting, a resort setting, as well as on and also on…you may most likely find an online poker room designed around what ever theme suits your tastes. Likewise, you can find rooms more more likely to have more (or less) experienced players, faster (or slower) action, higher (or lower) stakes, etc.

By the same token, on the flip side, when playing online poker additionally, it helps to be aware of its perceived disadvantages as compared to playing traditional “offline” poker. A simple awareness of the difference alone may make you an even better player.

For one, you do not get that intimate, face-to-face contact with other human beings. But don’t rule online poker out as a social outlet altogether. An increasing number of online poker rooms are fostering a real sense of community amongst their players with attractive and appealing member’s clubs, player forums, and sponsored land-based events.

For some poker players, the game just isn’t the same without the feel of the cards within your hands and the weight of the chips when you place them in the center of the table (or the sound of them clinking while you pull the pile towards you after a big win). And you cannot substitute a number, however large or small, for the visual impact of the chip stacks — red, blue, and white — increasing or receding in front of you and expect the exact same effect.

But probably the largest deal that makes some offline poker players leery of playing online poker is the inability to read the additional players. Most expert poker players rely on inadvertent visual cues given by their opponents — tells — as to the actual strength or weakness of their hands. There is something to be said for the total amount of information you may glean by simply looking your opponent in the eyes (thus the prevalence of sunglasses at the poker table) and watching their hands, their posture, their facial expressions, etc. Fortunately, on the contrary, there are various of tells you may look for in online poker as well, you need to simply know where (and how) to look. But that’s a subject for another article.

As for this article, we leave you having an analogy. If you like going to the theatre for your shows, the arena for your concerts, as well as the stadium for your games, get thee to a brick-and-mortar casino for your poker playing enjoyment. If you like Tivo though (or if perhaps you just ain’t got the dough for the theatre, arena, and stadium tickets), then online poker is your ticket.