good online poker gambling agent poker you can play anytime you want — 24/7 365. You can play it in total comfort, right through your own home, wearing what ever you like (or nothing at all), sitting, reclining, or jogging on a treadmill (though we do not recommend it). You can set the lighting, temperature, and ambience to be just while you like it. In several ways, with online poker you simply have more control.

You have no others 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 do not have to smell smoke if you don’t 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 should 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 online poker is the fact that you can play against people from throughout the world. Think about it next time you sit down at an online poker table — not everybody there even speaks the exact same language. And globetrotting on the internet provides you with access to more casinos and poker rooms than you may ever find in one single place, even when that one place is actually Vegas!

Online poker players get to pick from an inordinate number of cardrooms, game types, and table stakes. Moments ago, we mentioned the ambience of the environment where you will be sitting down with your computer to play online poker (most likely 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, and on and on…you can more than likely find an online poker room designed around what ever theme suits your tastes. Likewise, you may find rooms more likely to have more (or less) experienced players, faster (or slower) action, higher (or lower) stakes, etc.

By the same token, however, when playing online poker it also helps to be aware of its perceived disadvantages as in comparison with playing traditional “offline” poker. A simple awareness of the main difference alone can 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. More and more online poker rooms are fostering a real feeling 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 exact same without the feel of the cards in your hands and also the weight of the chips as you place them in the center of the table (or perhaps the sound of them clinking as you pull the pile towards you after a big win). And also you can’t 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 same effect.

But probably the biggest 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 upon inadvertent visual cues given by their opponents — tells — as to the particular strength or weakness of their hands. There is a thing to be said for the total amount of information you can glean by simply looking your opponent within the eyes (thus the prevalence of sunglasses at the poker table) and watching their hands, their posture, their facial expressions, etc. Fortunately, however, there are various of tells you can look for in online poker also, you just have to know where (and how) to look. But that’s a subject for another article.

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