safe online poker casino poker you can play anytime you want -- 24/7 365. You may play it in total comfort, right from your own home, wearing what ever you like (or nothing at all), sitting, reclining, or jogging on a treadmill (although we don't recommend it). You may set the lighting, temperature, and ambience to be just when you like it. In several ways, with online poker you simply have more control.

You've got no other people to contend with (at least not in person) -- nobody 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 should you not 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're, that alone preserves your bankroll tremendously), nor do have to get dressed up or tip your dealer -- all of which save you money and time.

Another advantage of online poker is the fact that you may play against people from on the other side of the globe. Consider it next time you sit down at an online poker table -- not everybody there even speaks the exact same language. And globetrotting via the internet provides you with access to more casinos and poker rooms than you can ever find in one single place, even when that one place is actually Vegas!

Online poker players get to choose from an inordinate selection of cardrooms, game types, and table stakes. Moments ago, we mentioned the ambience of the environment where you certainly will 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, and on and on...you can certainly find an online poker room designed around what ever theme suits your tastes. Likewise, you may find rooms more prone 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 additionally, it helps to be aware of its perceived disadvantages as compared with playing traditional "offline" poker. A simple awareness of the main difference alone might make you a 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 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 even the sound of them clinking while you pull the pile towards you after a big win). And also you can not 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 other players. Most expert poker players depend upon 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 amount of information you may glean simply by 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, conversely, there are many 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 due to this article, we leave you through an analogy. If you like going to the theatre for your shows, the arena for your concerts, and also the stadium for your games, get thee to a brick-and-mortar casino for your poker playing enjoyment. If you like Tivo although (or if you just ain't got the dough for the theatre, arena, and stadium tickets), then online poker is your ticket.