Main Differences Between Playing Poker Online and at a Land-Based Casino

Updated: August 2, 2023

Poker is all about the right skills, the willingness to take risks and… having really good luck. Players can’t lose focus for a second and need to be decisive and confident in their moves. Although the game itself has a set of rules that don’t change when you decide to play online or in a physical casino, there are some differences in the experience as such.

From reading players’ body language to allowing a live dealer to take their time to shuffle cards – the list is long and we’ll now focus on the key differences.

The Speed Of Games

For those who have been playing poker for a long time, the online mode offers more entertainment than the classic version because the games are played faster – above all because the time it takes for the dealer to shuffle cards, to distribute and collect the chips, is simply avoided.

In an online game, the number of hands that a player can play per hour, for example, in the case of Texas Hold’em, is 60, while in traditional poker it is usually around 30.

Security Measures

In online poker, security measures have been put in place to ensure that players’ bankroll and transactions are always safe. Current technology is also combined with the compulsory licences that bookmakers need to be able to operate between different countries.

In addition, online poker has been developed with an algorithm that guarantees chance in the distribution of the cards that the players receive, generating random numbers.

Of course, online bookmakers have supervision to detect any fraud or cheating attempts, such as collusion attempts that consist of agreements between players who exchange information through means outside the portal to attack the weakest. This doesn’t mean the technology found in land-based establishments are poor, however, they’re more limited.

Different Types Of Poker

Unlike traditional casinos, virtual poker rooms always have players willing to compete in different variants of the popular game.

Although Texas Hold’em is still the most popular type, you can also find other less popular options like Caribbean Stud Poker or Omaha Hold’Em, to name a few.

In a traditional casino, the choice is rather limited and often players end up waiting for tables to be emptied. In virtual casinos, that’s rarely the case!