Has Online Poker Taken Over the Conventional Experience of Playing in a Casino?
Online poker has become increasingly popular over the past decade. There are many online poker tournaments available daily and anyone who has a computer and internet connection can play, building on the growing interest of the game in the digital landscape of the past two decades. As of 2019, more than 100 million people played online poker and in the United States alone, more than 60 million people play online poker. So, with those figures in mind, it appears more people are playing online poker than the conventional experience of playing in a casino. Why would that be the case?
The Statistics
When considering if online poker has taken over the conventional experience of playing in a casino, we would need concrete statistics to make a final judgement. This information is not easy to come by because not every land based casino is keeping track of the exact number of people coming through the doors to play poker. Online statistics may show more than 100 million people around the world were playing poker online in 2019 but there was likely to be a substantial number of people playing poker in casinos that went uncounted. However, it is highly unlikely more than 100 million people were playing poker in a casino and online poker is more popular than the conventional experience of playing in a casino.
Why has Online Poker Become Popular?
Purely in comparison to playing poker at a casino, online poker has become popular because of convenience. It takes just a matter of minutes to switch on a computer and join a poker game online. Thanks to the development of smartphones, you do not have to be sat at the computer anymore to enjoy a game of online poker, it is possible to play on mobile device. It does not matter where you are in the world, if you have a reliable internet connection, you can play poker online. However, playing in a casino requires travelling for most people, it is not a simply five minute walk down the street. You could live in a remote region of Australia, with an internet connection but no land based casino within a 30 kilometre radius. In addition to poker games, online casinos host other games and Australian online pokies real money are a good example.
Advantages of Online Poker vs Casino Based Poker
Online poker comes without the pressure of playing with other people, in a room, with the possibility of a crowd around the table. Many people feel more comfortable playing poker online because there is no pressure and it allows beginner players to learn without feeling uncomfortable. There are numerous online poker tables with low stakes and that is something not guaranteed when playing in a casino. Online casinos tend to offer a wide range of poker games, with several variants available to play 24/7. This is difficult for land based casinos to match.
However, something online casinos struggle to replicate is the thrill of being in a real casino, playing poker. You simply cannot beat the buzz of playing poker in a casino room and while more people may be playing online poker, there is still something special about the conventional experience of playing poker in a casino.