Online 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 (even though we don't recommend it). You can set the lighting, temperature, and ambience to be just as you like it. In many ways, with online poker you simply have more control.

You've got 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 have 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 gas prices what they can be, that alone preserves your bankroll tremendously), nor do have to get dressed up or click here! tip your dealer -- all of which save you money and time.

Another advantage of online poker is the fact that you can play against people from around the world. Think about it next time you sit down at an online poker table -- not everyone there even speaks the same language. And globetrotting over the internet 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 available an inordinate selection of cardrooms, game types, and table stakes. Moments ago, we mentioned the ambience of the environment where you'll be sitting down with your computer to play online poker (probably your home), 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 can certainly find an online poker room designed around what ever theme suits your tastes. Likewise, you can find rooms more prone to have more (or less) experienced players, faster (or slower) action, higher (or lower) stakes, etc.

Through the same token, on the contrary, when playing online poker it also helps to be aware of its perceived disadvantages as compared to playing traditional "offline" poker. A simple awareness of the real difference alone will make you a far better player.

For one, you don't get that intimate, face-to-face contact with other human beings. But do not rule online poker out as a social outlet altogether. Increasingly more online poker rooms are fostering a real experience 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 is not the exact same without the feel of the cards within your hands and the weight of the chips as you place them in the center of the table (or perhaps the sound of them clinking when 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 largest deal that makes some offline poker players leery of playing online poker will be the inability to read the additional players. Most expert poker players depend on inadvertent visual cues given by their opponents -- tells -- as to the specific strength or weakness of their hands. There is something to be said for the total amount of information you may glean through 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 many of tells you may look for in online poker as well, you just have to know where (and just how) to look. But that's a subject for another article.

As due to this article, we leave you with the 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 maybe if you just ain't got the dough for the theatre, arena, and stadium tickets), then online poker is your ticket.